7 ms·

I wish all my unused crap would sell itself (and arrange shipping). 2014, in a universe slightly more awesome than ours: Postman: "Hi, I'm here to collect tho

by sdfjkl 13y ago

I wish all my unused crap would sell itself (and arrange shipping). 2014, in a universe slightly more awesome than ours: Postman: "Hi, I'm here to collect those old memory modules you left in a box when upgrading and forgot about." Me: "Wow, I did. How much did they sell themselves for?" Postman: "$40 - just bump your phone here to get paid. Have a nice day."

JoeAltmaier 13y ago
But then I'd have to find them, somewhere, maybe in the garage? I worked for a short time with an ex-EBay guy on an escrow service for sellers. You left your stuff with some guy with a storage unit. If it sold, they went to that guy, scanned a barcode they printed when they won the auction, I got paid and the escrow guy got paid. Never got off the ground. My partner thought it too complex. BUt I kind of liked the idea.
- akozak 13y ago
  Some ebay sellers do (or at least did) open up storefronts. I think one challenge for that idea would have been- why add another intermediary?
  - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
    In my case, it was intended for students. When they leave nobody wants what they have (school is over, everyone leaving). When they arrive they all want the same things. So it was an over-the-summer kind of thing.
Pwntastic 13y ago
Actually I think Amazon supports something similar to this, wherein you ship them crap to hold on to and then after they receive and inventory it, they can optionally sell it for you. Though I'm not sure how the shipping plays into that.
- j_s 13y ago
  This was discussed on Hacker News about 5 months ago: How to get rid of old stuff, sell it for more, and use Amazon as cheap storage http://benguild.com/2013/10/20/store-sell-old-stuff-with-amazon/ http://benguild.com/2013/10/20/store-sell-old-stuff-with-ama... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6587539 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6587539
- sdfjkl 13y ago
  Yeah, but you still have to list it, which is work. I actually used a service like this to sell my book collection before I last moved. You ship them a box of books and that's it. After 3 months they tell you which ones they sold, give you 50% of the profit and ask you what to do with the ones that didn't sell.
  - pavel_lishin 13y ago
    What are the options for non-sold books?
    - sdfjkl 13y ago
      They offered to return them to me or recycle them: http://www.goldstonebooks.co.uk/files/rubbish.jpg http://www.goldstonebooks.co.uk/files/rubbish.jpg
stcredzero 13y ago
Reminds me of the bovinoid that wants to be eaten from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
- laumars 13y ago
  I was definitely seeing a Douglas Adams reference, but I was thinking more Sirius Cybernetics Corporation who gave 'Genuine People Personalities' to things like sliding doors and -of course- Marvin. edit: and of course, Red Dwarf. How could I have forgotten about the toaster in that show? :)
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
Apply that to tools collecting dust in a garage and I think you have a good business model. Need a tool? It will come to you and you just pay for it. Don't need a tool that you already have? It will leave you for a slightly lower price.

by sdfjkl 13y ago

JoeAltmaier 13y ago

But then I'd have to find them, somewhere, maybe in the garage? I worked for a short time with an ex-EBay guy on an escrow service for sellers. You left your stuff with some guy with a storage unit. If it sold, they went to that guy, scanned a barcode they printed when they won the auction, I got paid and the escrow guy got paid. Never got off the ground. My partner thought it too complex. BUt I kind of liked the idea.

akozak 13y ago
Some ebay sellers do (or at least did) open up storefronts. I think one challenge for that idea would have been- why add another intermediary?
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
  In my case, it was intended for students. When they leave nobody wants what they have (school is over, everyone leaving). When they arrive they all want the same things. So it was an over-the-summer kind of thing.

Pwntastic 13y ago

Actually I think Amazon supports something similar to this, wherein you ship them crap to hold on to and then after they receive and inventory it, they can optionally sell it for you. Though I'm not sure how the shipping plays into that.

j_s 13y ago
This was discussed on Hacker News about 5 months ago: How to get rid of old stuff, sell it for more, and use Amazon as cheap storage http://benguild.com/2013/10/20/store-sell-old-stuff-with-amazon/ http://benguild.com/2013/10/20/store-sell-old-stuff-with-ama... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6587539 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6587539
sdfjkl 13y ago
Yeah, but you still have to list it, which is work. I actually used a service like this to sell my book collection before I last moved. You ship them a box of books and that's it. After 3 months they tell you which ones they sold, give you 50% of the profit and ask you what to do with the ones that didn't sell.
- pavel_lishin 13y ago
  What are the options for non-sold books?
  - sdfjkl 13y ago
    They offered to return them to me or recycle them: http://www.goldstonebooks.co.uk/files/rubbish.jpg http://www.goldstonebooks.co.uk/files/rubbish.jpg

stcredzero 13y ago

Reminds me of the bovinoid that wants to be eaten from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

laumars 13y ago
I was definitely seeing a Douglas Adams reference, but I was thinking more Sirius Cybernetics Corporation who gave 'Genuine People Personalities' to things like sliding doors and -of course- Marvin. edit: and of course, Red Dwarf. How could I have forgotten about the toaster in that show? :)

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

Apply that to tools collecting dust in a garage and I think you have a good business model. Need a tool? It will come to you and you just pay for it. Don't need a tool that you already have? It will leave you for a slightly lower price.