
Converting Clutter to Cash
Got stuff? Got years of accumulated clutter? You may be able to convert that clutter to cash. Online garage sale arbitrage is a trend that’s adding hundreds and even thousands to the monthly income of those motivated to hustle.
It could be a hobby, a serious business or a fun and economical way to clean out the stuff you no longer want or need. There are some folks who are actually earning six figures a year flipping garage sale merchandise.
A popular online arbitrage is garage sale arbitrage. We first heard of what’s possible with this concept from Gary Vaynerchuk, one of the entrepreneurs we follow. It’s simply the arbitrage of “flipping” products you find for cheap and reselling it for more.
Supplemental Retirement Income
My mother’s friend who’s in her late 60’s, buys jewelry and trinkets at yard sales, garage sales and flea markets, and resells them on eBay. She’s not a techie person but she figured it out one step at a time, and has been earning a living or supplementing retirement by doing this for several years now.
For her it’s a hobby converted to cash.
Of course it still takes work and many things such as clothing typically don’t do well. But it’s not as much work as a yard sale and you stand a better chance of getting much better prices than you would holding your own yard sale.
Whether it’s clearing out your own clutter or scavenging garage sales, if you’re looking to earn some extra cash this could be a fun solution. It’s even more fun if you can do it with a friend.
Gary Vee’s Garage Sale Arbitrage Strategy
Gary Vaynerchuk, aka, Gary Vee, calls it “Trash Talk”. He’s a wealthy, mega successful businessman but still loves going to yard sales, finding deals and flipping them for a profit on eBay for fun. Tune in for ideas that might inspire more of your own possibility thinking.
“This is how ANYONE watching this video can make an extra $100 – $1,000 on the weekends… Whether it’s garage sales, or craigslist free, or eBay, if you just spend your Saturdays and Sundays taking the time to do this, you can CRUSH 2019.”
~Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur, visionary, speaker, author, b.11/14/1975
WARNING: Gary swears A LOT!! So if you can tolerate that you can learn a lot from Gary.
Here are some extra resources for getting started:
- Finding easy selling products for ebay
- How to find FREE stuff to sell on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay
- Here’s the playlist of all of Gary’s Trash Talk episodes.
Just remember this WARNING:
Gary swears a lot in most of his audio and video content, he calls it “Jersey mouth”. However, he’s genuine, entertaining, full of practical advice, and his approach to garage sale arbitrage could be a great way to remove clutter and make extra cash!
First, let’s clarify in case you’re not familiar with this commerce term.
What is Arbitrage?
Arbitrage is about acquiring a commodity and selling it in a different marketplace with the goal of earning more than you paid for the product. While the word can sometimes be hard to say, the concept is fairly simple to grasp. Khan Academy has a great training on the basics of arbitrage which you can watch here!
“Every second you spend thinking about what somebody else has, is taking away time that you could create something for yourself.”
~Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur, visionary, speaker, author, b.11/14/1975

Clearing Out the Old – Converting Clutter to Cash
We’ve lived in the same home for 28 years. This has been our home, our haven, our homeschool, our business offices, and also our warehouse for inventory. It is also where we garden and grow things… children… plants… people… critters… ourselves.
In these past few years of entrepreneurial endeavors, and as LeAura shifted from mostly full time mom and homeschool parent to full time entrepreneur, some things had to change. One was the order and extra attention to the extra niceties of things that used to hold sway here.
If you’re on an entrepreneurial journey, be that building a business, building an art portfolio or writing books, you’ll find that you can’t do it all, so don’t try. Trying to be Wonder Woman or Superman can be a fast track to stress and burnout.
Anyway, subsequently, we’re very long overdue gutting our closets and basically every area of the home. So that’s an ongoing project for the rest of this year, fall through spring, and we’re definitely turning some of the clutter to cash!
As nature clears the trees of that which must be let go, so too are we clearing the nooks and crannies of our home. It’s slow going because we can’t do it full time… a drawer or cabinet at a time, but we are making progress. #NameOfTheGame
If you don’t have a lot of time to put into it, then you can’t expect to make a lot, but it’s a whole lot better than the work involved in creating your own yard sale. At least that’s been our experience.
“Hustle is the most controllable thing to change the outcome of what disappoints you.”
~Gary Vaynerchuk, magnate, thought leader, author, b.11/14/75

Best Clutter to Cash Sales We’ve Made
Here’s a sampling of some of the things we’ve sold the fastest on eBay:
- Overhead projector
- Gun accessories
- Popular personal development courses
- Tools & equipment, some examples:
- Rock polisher
- Rock engraver
- Metal detector
Best items sold on Amazon
- New books
- Used books in good condition
Book sales on Amazon won’t bring in a lot of cash. However, there’s still something gratifying about thinning out cluttered book cases and selling books we’ve been able to enjoy (or else never go to) in exchange for a few dollars.
Of course another popular dispensation for books is to donate to your local library. You can use that as a charitable write-off too if you like.
Cross Marketing Opportunities
If you have a business where you’re selling anything, to sell your used books from home, or garage sale items, gives you a chance to include you brand business card in the packages you ship. Even better if you have sample products to add as an unexpected bonus gift to those who order your garage sale arbitrage, used books and other items.
You never know but that the recipient might end up interested in your business products too and either way, you’ve earned some goodwill for the unexpected treats.
Gift Products from iCreateDaily
For example, at iCreateDaily we had a run of goals journals where the cover was a misprint in such a way that we just didn’t feel good about selling them. We also have updated the journals to include a blank calendar grid before each month in our 90 Day Goals Journals. So we’re using the earlier printings without the calendar grids as freebie gifts in our “cash for clutter” online arbitrage sales.
Sure there’s a risk in shipping out freebies that aren’t perfect, however, most people aren’t going to be as critical or observant about what’s not right as we are as the creators. Plus, it’s free and we include a handwritten card of explanation as to the nature of the gift.
There’s also a risk that some less scrupulous folks would turn around and sell their freebie on Amazon in another form of online arbitrage. However, we figure the chances of that are very slim and the goodwill and cross marketing opportunity is worth the risk.
Let us know how it goes if you try some online arbitrage from your clutter or bargain hunting. Also, check out this article for more ideas on how to make money online.
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Hello! I’m LeAura, owner and co-creator of iCreateDaily.com®. As an autodidactic philosopher, generalist, personal development advocate, entrepreneur, writer, editor, author, ideator, media publisher, and podcaster, I’m passionate about helping others achieve their best possible life! Our small family of entrepreneurs, writers, investors, educators and creators own and run websites around topics we enjoy, such as gardening, health and fitness, creativity and pets, with more to come.
While my greatest teacher is Life… my formal training includes certifications in mediation, fitness, and strategic intervention coaching, including marriage and family. Today, the synergy of creating websites, articles and podcasts, brings together all my favorite things: family, learning, growth, creating, connecting and contributing. To share these with you is a privilege, that serves my lifelong aspiration to help others.
My personal areas of creativity are in writing, masterminding, ideation, synthesis and bringing ideas to life through business and entrepreneurship, all with a pervasive spiritual foundation with a focus on elevating the lives of others.
Want to submit your photos, videos and/or article content for publication? We love to consider your contribution for publication! creators@icreatedaily.com