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The joy of selling - 3 ways it's great

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My friend Stephen asked about charging for things. He felt bad about charging someone $30 for an artwork - even if it cost him much more.

Should he feel bad?

No. If someone wants to pay the price, they obviously value it highly (at least more than the $30). If he's willing to sell, he must value it less than $30. So it's going to the person who will get more joy out of it.

Why not just give it to them for free?

Money is a convenient way to measure value. It's also a way to share the joy. If Steve gives the art away then he no longer gets to enjoy it - so is worse off. By selling it for $30, he is happier with the $30, and the buyer is happier with the artwork.

The end result of the sale is that both people are happier than they were before.

Here are 3 reasons it's better to sell than to giveaway and how it helps you declutter and minimise better.

1. Money (most obviously).

It might just be a few bucks here and there - but it adds up. My wife and I often sell an item for $5. We've done that 97* times, for a total of $485. That's significant. It's helpful for us, while still giving each buyer a great bargain.

2. May the joy be with you (and others)

Recently I found some Star Wars items in a box. If you'd asked me the previous day I would not have known I owned them. Hadn't even seen them in years.

If I had to choose to keep or giveaway, I might have kept them. I have fond memories of Star Wars and the figurines are cool - especially Yoda, C3PO, R2D2 and Chewbacca. But they obviously aren't super-meaningful for me, given that I'd forgotten I had them.


I split them into sets and made a total of $48. I've succeeded in increasing the joy in the world. By putting them in sets, at least three 3 kids (and one surprisingly enthusiastic adult) can now enjoy these items on a regular basis.

It slightly decreases my joy to part with them, but the $48 more than makes up for that. That's what makes it possible for me to part with these items that would have otherwise been yet another box of clutter, not being used.

3. The 'Oops' fund

How many things do we keep "just in case" we need them? Lots. This can hamper our downsizing efforts if we're worried about losing something we might need sometime in the future. So we end up having a lot of possessions we never use.

The beauty of selling is that you accumulate funds. From books alone, my wife and I have made $209. If we ever want to read one of those books again - and that hasn't happened yet - we can use some of the $209 to get another copy. If it's not at the library for free.

The money you get from a sale gives you the confidence to downsize further and to part with extra items that you may not have given away freely.

[Update: A reader contacted me to say they love the 'oops' fund idea, and that "I tend to get rid of stuff brutally but my spouse gets freaked out sometimes so this idea might appeal to us both!"]

*Update: Now we've sold 122 items for $5 each. Each buyer still gets a bargain, and it adds up to $610 for us.

Related reading

You may also want to read by free ebook Less Clutter More Cash - with tips for selling online.
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Comments

  1. Sianzilla31 July 2020 at 12:24

    I am such a fan of "Less Stuff, More Joy" - I see so many people I love that are absolutely shackled by their need to find a place for/take care of/get a good deal for their stuff. My much loved father was an entry-level hoarder and when he passed I was happy to pay someone else to sift though everything and donate/dump everything. He spent bucketloads of his money on all that crap and I had to pay someone - let that sink in. I'm not a minimalist, by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm conscious of finding good homes for stuff I don't use. To that end, I volunteer with a "Library of Things" in my area to help support less consumer waste and full life-cycle use of appliances and tools. One of my roles is selling/finding new homes for donations that aren't being used or are no longer useable for us. Someone gets a desired thing at a deep discount and we get to pay our rent - everyone's a winner :-)

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  2. david2 September 2020 at 11:54

    Hi Sianzilla,
    Yes there's so much value in items. Often it's just a case of finding the person who will appreciate it. Library of things is a great one because so many people can get value from the one item.
    'Minimalist' is an odd term because it conjures up so many different images. If you're finding alternate homes for anything you don't use, that sounds pretty close to minimalism to me. It's just not being "shackled" (as you say) by heaps of stuff we don't need.
    All the best for the library. I hope it continue to be able to pay the rent, reduce waste and provide value for people. :)

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