Let's Make a Personal Property Plan: Question Number Four

In the last blog post you decided whether you wanted to sell or donate your personal property.  This post will decide how to turn that decision into action.

Q4:  How Can I Sell or Donate My Personal Property?

The answer to this question largely lies in what it is you are wanting to sell or donate.  The potential resources are endless and far too vast to list here, although a sampling is included at the end of this post.

However, in all cases, once you have determined which items will be sold and which will be donated, take the following steps:

1)  If the item(s) are smaller in nature, isolate them in a box or room that is clearly designated as items to be sold with another area for items to be donated.  If possible, organize these boxes by type, i.e. Books, Clothing, Jewelry, CD's, Electronics, etc.

2) If the items are larger in nature, such as a car, make a list of the specific items that are to be sold and those to be donated so as to make your intentions clear and avoid confusion.

3)  Consult with me.  Based on the items in question, I can provide both sale and donated resources for specific categories and types of items. 

Which resources are best suited to your needs will depend in part on the answers you have already thought through in Question 2, i.e. Are you willing to pay commissions, what is your desired sales price and tolerance for discount, how involved or uninvolved do you want to be in the process, etc.   

While an exhaustive list of sale and donation resources is impossible, here's a fun sampling!

Books to Sell:  Powells Books, a Portland institution, now allows you to sell both in person and online.  A quick scan  with your phone of the ISBN number of your book will tell you if Powells is buying that book and what they will give you in either cash or store credit.

Books to Donate: Consider Operation Paperback (books for overseas soldiers), Reader to Reader, or Kids Need To Read.

Electronics to Sell: Gazelle will provide you with an offer and shipping label for your cellular phone, tablet and some other electronic devices just by providing them with some basic information about model and condition.  

Electronics to Donate:  World Computer Exchange uses donated computers to build computer labs in primary schools and colleges in more than 78 underdeveloped countries. They only accept working computers of specific makes and models but also take working tablets, laptop computers, cellphones, keyboards, mice, cables, power cords, computer parts, and scanners. Visit the Give Computers page on its website to see the complete list of accepted devices.

CD's, DVD's and Records to Sell: Another Portland institution, Everyday Music, will assess and purchase the items they are currently in need of.