I am a frugal sort, I shop around, I make savings where I can and if I can make a little extra cash easily, well I’m not going to say no am I?!
I am a serial declutter fiend. I hate just storing things which we never look at, use or play with, taking up valuable storage space especially when I can make some pennies easily off them. You do not need to keep old cds and what not “just in case”, when you haven’t listened to them in years (yes husband I am talking to you lol).
When we dismantled our home office to make room for our newest arrival, we came across boxes of old cd’s, dvds and console games. Scouring about t’internet I found MusicMagpie. I’d seen them on the tv before but in truth I hadn’t really taken a lot of notice.
MusicMagpie takes dvds, cds etc off your hands and pays you for the privilege. To start with I looked to see what I would get for them all on Amazon and at first glance I would get more, until I took off all the fees and took into account that I had to wait for items to be sold so money could come in dribs and drabs and that there would be multiple trips to the post office!
Checking an items worth on MusicMagpie really couldn’t be easier as you literally enter the barcode in and it will tell you how much your item is worth. The value can seem pretty low for some ie 30p a cd, but 1) they’ve been sat in your cupboard for three years and 2) it’s actually more than you’d get anywhere else. I’ve used MusicMagpie several times now and they’ve paid me between 30p and £8.50 for a single item. They decide the value based on how popular or rare an item is. I presume they sell them on but I’m not concerned with what happens to them, once they are gone and I’m paid, I’m happy!
So how do you do it?
- Register with MusicMagpie
- Enter your barcode which tell you what an item is worth to them
- When you’ve finished your order you print off the freepost label (or in my case sheet, which I attached to the box with tape lol) or if you are sending 50+ items they will arrange a free courier to collect.
You can find a more comprehensive “How-To” here.
Once posted off MusicMagpie will check your items (they have to be in boxes and in good condition), and you will be paid.
They’ve got all clever and technical recently and you can now scan the barcodes on your phone or by using your webcam. I haven’t done this as yet, for my last order I just manually typed the barcodes in, but this will make life even easier (I’m frugal AND lazy).
So, declutter, and add some pennies to your holiday fund, help pay off a bill, or treat yourself! I’ve just about decluttered and cashed in all my old naff dvds, games and cds now (I’m sure there is another box lurking somewhere), but I wouldn’t hesitate to use MusicMagpie again!
What a fantastic idea. We have hundreds of items of our own and of my late FIL’s. Thanks for posting.
It’s the ease that appeals to me. I haven’t the time of patience for a car-booty, listing and I bloody hate the extortionate fees some people charge. So for me, it’s been a winner.
I would think that most people have between 100 and 200 cds that could all be stored in little cellphone sized (or smaller) podthings. 150 x 30p is 45 quid! Well that’s a trip to the zoo, or a babysitter, a pizza and a bottle of plonk for the grownups. You could think of it as a free outing.
That’s a good way of looking at!
I think they need the cases to be sent to musicmagpie so cant really be stored in the cellphone sized cases. However, it is free post and if you send enough, then they collect. Definitely recommend them for dvds and cds, for games, better alternatives that pay more such as those specialists in the sector – try cex and tradeyourgames.co.uk for those.
Brilliant, just sorting things through at the moment so that’s great news! Was about to take them to charity shop and after scanning most of them I already have an estimate of £60!
I make a small fortune on mine, more than I would have done via Amazon etc when you take off fees and of course there isn’t the hassle of repeatedly going down to the post office, waiting for sales etc. Gutted I’ve run out of old stuff now lol!