Marie Kondo’s influential book centers on her philosophy (the KonMari method for short) that if something doesn’t spark joy, you should throw it out, and it has become a cultural reference point since it was published in 2014.
Even if you like your stuff, thankyouverymuch, the lessons in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing can be applied to at least some of the things collecting dust in your home.
But selling stuff can suck up you free time, and that certainly doesn’t spark joy. There’s a more strategic way of doing things, and the three technologies detailed below show just how to declutter your life and do it with speed.
Sell it!
LetGo
How LetGo Works: You take a photo of the item you want to sell, upload it to the app — it will use image recognition to ID the object — and post it. Then you can chat with buyers or sellers.
How Much Does LetGo Cost? LetGo can sell data around sales to retailers who would value that sort of information as they set prices for items. It’s right there in the Terms of Service: LegGo may “make available access to information, products, services and other materials made available by third parties, including listings for Products and other Submissions.”
Get rid of this stuff already.
DeCluttr
How DeCluttr Works: If you’ve got physical media — CDs DVDs, etc. — DeCluttr is a great way to rid yourself of them. It also will help you sell your Apple or Kindle products, and your phone, and books. If you need to liquidate your stuff, there are worse methods that the Decluttr one. You enter the bar code of your media, or search for the product name if it’s an electronic device. With the app, you can just use your phone’s camera to scan the barcode. Put your stuff in a box, attach the free shipping label, and put it in the mail. You get paid the day after your old things arrive at Decluttr. For example, a 256-GB iPhone 8 will get that’s unlocked will get you $458.
How Much Does DeCluttr Cost? It’s free, sort of. Decluttr takes a cut of your sale.
Somebody out there surely wants this thing.
OfferUp
How OfferUp Works: OfferUp is a great place to shop. You can message the sellers, of course, but you can also review seller profiles to review their history. If you’re selling, it’s also very easy — and you can sell large stuff, like cars. You take a photo of the thing you want to sell, upload it to the app, and “then offers will start rolling in,” the app promises.
How Much Does OfferUp Cost? For sellers, there are “service fees” for transactions. They include fees to Stripe and OfferUp. And of course, “OfferUp reserves the right to change the Service Fees from time to time.”
- There you have it, the benefits of a selling app. Love a selling app not mentioned here? Tell me your story at nick@inverse.com.Previous Strategy Series Entries:
- Part 1: Investing money without thinking about it
- Part 2: Saving money without thinking about it.
- Part 3: Four these remarkably useful budgeting apps
- Part 4: Points or cash-back credit cards? The 2018 guide
