donations welcome

we're on the final stretch now; six weeks until we embark on our 'big holiday'. boyfriend has never been further abroad than egypt, and i haven't crossed the equator since first moving to the uk almost three years ago. with the flights to australia now fully paid off, it's time to assess the spending money situation. lucky for us, we have accommodation sorted out. thank god for friends and family indeed, as if not for them, i very much don't know that we'd make this holiday happen.

i'm a pretty good saver, it's true. renowned, in fact, for making my money stretch to unfathomable places. boyfriend - well, not so much. so now it's time to try an make a quick buck. but how? selling unwanted goods seems to be the obvious answer, but what, and how? when we moved, we got rid of so much stuff - charity shops mostly, but i also sold a lot of stuff on ebay. in the last few months though, postage seems to be a massive bone of contention when it comes to ebay and etsy; small items are costing more and more to post, and is beginning to make the bargain hunt online all that more tiresome. more and more i'm seeing items listed for 99p with a postage charge of upwards of £4. where's the bargain in that? yeh maybe if the item sells for more than a tenner, but if not, it just seems like a waste of time.

then there's music magpie. known for their cash for cds and games service, i'd never really taken much notice of it until just before we moved, when we used their online quote service to estimate how much his junk was worth (not a lot quite rightly!). but then the other day i saw in their advert that they now offer a cash for clothes service too. this piqued my interest. mostly because it's guaranteed money, and the pick-up service is completely free. i had a quick look to see what kind of clothes music magpie would accept, and seems to be anything from the high street right through to designer digs - obviously the cash out depends on the label, which is great if you're selling a dozen high-street dresses, or just a few pricier pieces. this option could be a winner, although it would just depend on how much stuff i find to sell on!

the only other option i can think of is to get involved with the beloved boot sale. only problem being, we don't have a car. we would have to pack all our unwanted bits up in a suitcase and lug them all the way there. then there's the cost involved in renting the spot and all the effort in organizing. i just want something easy guys!

what's your favourite way to sell unwanted goods?


*written in collaboration with brand*