Selling stuff online and boring money crap
Anyone on here sell stuff online? It's been worth flogging games and text books on Amazon but I have clothes and novels I want rid of and am wondering if eBay is worth the hassle for offloading pretty dresses that I'll never wear again, and can anyone make money selling paperbacks?

Alternative-yet-related topic: give me your legal hints for living frugally or making money during these harsh times. Or just make fun of people who shop in ASDA.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:09, 70 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Oh my god
I can't belive you are dissing ASDA
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:10, Reply)

You're the sort of person who'd drive the whole way to Cornwall just to shop in ASDA

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:12, Reply)

They had a MASSIVE
MASSIVE one on the way home and I was really tempted to stop off.
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:13, Reply)

To be fair,
I was shopping in ASDA Living last week. I can't face the food store though.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:16, Reply)

It's so cheap though

( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:20, Reply)

especially when the whoops baker's been in

( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:22, Reply)

my boyfriend always gets really excited by the trolley of bread that they wheel to the entrance around 5pm
with lots of whoops offers. He doesn't seem to grasp the concept of bread having a short shelf life. It doesn't matter that these loaves are only 9p, we can't eat 10 of them!
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:24, Reply)

you can if you try
I had 2 doughnuts for 13p!
( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:24, Reply)

Did they have spiders in them?

( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:27, Reply)

nope
and I think the jam was really jam
( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:27, Reply)

Already beter than Tesco then

( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:30, Reply)

sounds like a nasty story there

( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:30, Reply)

ha
Oh you've never heard the Gonz spider story. Bless.
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:43, Reply)

Freeze them.

( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:25, Reply)

I know someone who makes sandwiches at the start of the week
and freezes them. Apparently they thaw by lunchtime, but it seems wrong to me
( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:29, Reply)

that sounds ming

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:32, Reply)

Definitely
surely as the bread defrosts it just turns the filling into a ming Slushie.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:36, Reply)

this was my argument

( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:39, Reply)

Learn how to cook a good rissotto
You can feed 2 for less than £1 if you're frugal, and it's nice enough to eat a couple of times a week.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:12, Reply)

This is a good tip, right here.
I'm doing an audit month from next payday where I account for every penny spent and do proper meal planning - risotto included. I'll probably end the month living on value porridge oats and free vitamin tablets.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:14, Reply)

Soup!

( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:18, Reply)

A lot of Indian food is dirt cheap too,

(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:18, Reply)

Especially if you make your own chapatis.

( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:21, Reply)

I live off pasta bake
for my lunches, one jar is about £1.50 and it does 3 days, plus the pasta is really filling.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:22, Reply)

Not if you use decent risotto rice, proper parmisan and a quality white wine/vermouth
which are essential for a "good rissotto"
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:29, Reply)

he probably shops in Waitrose
when he wants to cut back on his spending
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:36, Reply)

I do shop in waitrose.

(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:49, Reply)

I once had to shop in waitrose while I was on holiday
a tiny jar of coffee was £4. I was shocked. Even M&S isn't that pricey.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 13:10, Reply)

You can't really make money selling paperbacks on ebay
you'd be better off trying on amazon marketplace. Clothes are worth a shot if they're in good condition.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:14, Reply)

Nah, I don't want to sell the books on ebay
but they're only worth pennies on Amazon. I was thinking of that greenmetropolis site.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:15, Reply)

I was an eBay powerseller when I was unemployed a few years ago
I made about £4000 in 2 months selling glowsticks and faulty tents. You wont make much money selling the paperbacks. If they're not worth much put them on bookcrossing instead.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:16, Reply)

Hmmm, might try selling the dresses on ebay.
If I had glowsticks I'd be well sorted.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:19, Reply)

how about
One dress, careful owner, free glowstick!
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:37, Reply)

Give the paperbacks to charity
or sell them as a job lot to a man who smells of off milk who wears slippers to the shops (most likely Asda). No one will pay for individual paperbacks.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:16, Reply)

I already give them to charity but I go through a lot of crime novels that I pay about £1.50 each for
so I either have to go to the library (where I've read most of the ones that aren't by James Patterson) or stop buying books
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:18, Reply)

The TV advert for James Patterson
makes me want to kill, and kill again.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:20, Reply)

I sold quite a few old clothes on ebay
the important thing is the photo. If you're selling a top, for example, wear it with some nice jeans and matching accessories and all that crap, so the buyer imagines it as a whole outfit.

If you're too much of a huge pregnant mass now to fit into said tops, find a sexy friend and get them to model instead. I found that tops I'd had listed for ages sold immediately when I changed the photo to a model shot. I did sell some slutty dresses that garnered a bit of pervy attention. Who uses ebay to hit on people? Jeez.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:20, Reply)

You're talking to someone who's pregnant by someone she met on here.

(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:21, Reply)

In my defence,
I didn't strike up any kind of interaction with him 'til I met him in the flesh. No romantic gazzes of the "I like breasts" kind.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:24, Reply)

will it be
the first b3tababy?
(Halfy By light alone, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:24, Reply)

b4by?

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:25, Reply)

the next generation

( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:27, Reply)

haha
They too like breasts.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:32, Reply)

I don't think so.

(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:37, Reply)

yeah, but it's eBay
I mean, come on. EBAY?!
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:25, Reply)

it's like going on the pull at a car boot sale

( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:26, Reply)

exactly!
they must have been enticed by my ability to make sweet, sweet acronyms
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:28, Reply)

Cool,
in that case I'm going to get all artistic and do some photos that make the party frocks look even prettier.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:25, Reply)

I'd laugh if
Catface bought them all back for his weekend job
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:28, Reply)

He's talking about shaving his hair off in an attempt to look more manly.
He says the reason is that the hairdresser costs too much and takes too much time, but I think it's an attempt to look more manly.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:30, Reply)

that's all I did
even if the top was just a primark one, people get suckered in when you're modelling it with some sexy jeans and sexy heels on a sexy sofa with some sexy wine.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:31, Reply)

They're buying the lifestyle, fo' sho'

( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:33, Reply)

yeah but be careful
or you'll get negative feedback with "I bought this dress, but I have yet to become sexy or have wine, ITEM NOT AS DESCRIBED!!!"
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:34, Reply)

My wifes stepmum sold a tub of posh facecream
the bidding started at 99p and went up to £22. She sent the item and yesterday got and email asking for a partial refund as she didn't think it was good value for money. She just emailed back "You bid for it retard" negative feedback ahoy!
( Peej, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:40, Reply)

what a dumbass
do people not understand the concept of paying only what you think something is worth?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:45, Reply)

haha win
I'm so in fear of the negative feedback, I never dare be rude to them. I had trouble selling corsets on ebay though, people didn't seem to understand the idea of a custom made item taking more than 24 hours to arrive.
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:45, Reply)

I got negative feedback once
I paid, it never arrived and he fobbed me off with emails and promises he sent another one until the time limit to complain was over. He then left me negative feedback. It wiped off after a year though and I am back on 100% awesomeness!
( Peej, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:48, Reply)

did you not take it up with PayPal
or whoever?

and what did you buy?
(bamboozled Can hear you getting fatter, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 13:02, Reply)

blow up doll

( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 13:11, Reply)

Good advice
I know someone who buys fetish gear on ebay and then sells it back but instead of picture of just the item she uses a picture of her wearing it. She makes loads on each item because of internet pervs.
( Peej, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:38, Reply)

is it you?

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:46, Reply)

Shhhhhhh!

( Peej, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:49, Reply)

I once bought a jacket at 1/2 price so £50

Wore it for a week or so, decided I didn't like it and sold it for £80, wins!
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:28, Reply)

she asked for tips on how to be frugal
not your ebay tales of smuggery!
( Kitty v1.0 desperately naive, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:38, Reply)

I shop at Asda, they have more organic stuff than Waitrose.
I can get loads of organic stuff remaindered because the plebs do not buy it, cos it aint processed enough for them.

I can do a whole shop of organic food, which I can't do at Waitrose anymore.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:42, Reply)

The best bit of ebay advice I can give is
Low starting prices, long auctions and a 6.30 Sunday evening finishing time will result in higher sale price.

Also don't accidentally put 6.30 Sunday morning like I did which is why my laptop sold for £30 instead of the £140 identical ones did that evening.
( Peej, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:47, Reply)

Whenever possible
cook meals that can be cooked in bulk and then frozen in portions - curry, chilli, stew etc. It's far cheaper to buy and cook in bulk, than buy ingredients for 1 meal at a time.

Buy rice from your local oriental supermarket. And don't be too scathing of Asda - full of freaks it may be, but if you can hold your breath and try not to touch anyone, you can nip in and out and get a lot of decent organic fruit/veg, and basic household essentials (cleaning stuff, pasta, tea) is quite good value there.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 12:49, Reply)

Having been being frugal for a while now I've got quite good at some of my grandmothers old cheap recepies:
As these were shown to Mum then she showed them to me there aren't any exact timings or quantities, experiment.

YaYa’s Greek Meatballs.

This are good for about to go out of date discount mince and freezes well.

Use 500 grams – or more - best lean mince.
Put it in large mixing bowl and stir in a large diced onion. Make the onion pieces very small – smaller than a pea.
Stir in a large handful of dried mint. (add basil instead for Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs.)
Stir in 2-3 slices of bread crumbed.
Make a well in the mixture and add a beaten egg and stir in.
Stir in juice of a fresh lemon.
The mixture should be quite moist. It will be quite speckled with the mint.
Shape golf ball sized balls in the palm of your hand and then coat them in flour. Roll on a tray don’t shake in a bag.
Fry briefly to brown them in olive oil in a large frying pan then transfer – a single layer- to a buttered swallow oven dish.
Cover completely with chopped tin tomatoes and season with black pepper if desired.
Bake at 200°C – be sure meat balls are cooked through before serving.
Serve hot with salad and crumbled feta cheese. also nice with greek yoghurt.

Orange Pasta
The pasta used for this is Orzo (also known as Risoni)
Grate a lot of mature cheddar - at least 500 grams for two people – and put aside.
Add a few drops of olive oil to the water and cook in a large pan following instructions on package.
Add a large diced onion to the pasta – while still cooking - still in the boiling water.
When the pasta is cooked drain and return to pan with two 14oz tins of chopped tomatoes – or break up whole tinned toms.
Return to a low heat and keep stirring to heat the toms. Or heat the toms while the pasta is cooking. If you do heat the toms separately add the diced onion to this pan instead of adding it to the pasta.
Stir all together and add some grated cheese now and serve.
Everyone to add more cheese as desired.
(bill, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 14:27, Reply)

I don't see any times there
5 minutes? An hour? All day?
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 15:35, Reply)

I'll direct you to the first line sir.

(bill, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 16:10, Reply)