A Nielsen survey conducted for eBay notes the average home has more than $3,000 worth of unused items lying about that could be worth instant cash. So, before you start tossing, check your attic, garage and closets for items you may be able to sell for some extra money.
- Vintage Toys – Old toys are in high demand and you may be surprised at their value. Vintage pogo sticks can sell for $100 or more on eBay, while original Cabbage Patch Dolls and some old Matchbox cars may be worth thousands.
- Old Comic Books and Magazines – Early issues of X-Men, Flash and Strange Tales have sold for over $10,000 an issue on eBay. Avid collectors will pay big bucks for vintage issues of Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine and even TV Guides.
- Books – Scan your bookshelves for old best sellers and first editions, and search for their value on the used book website AbeBooks. The rarer the item, the more it’s worth, sometimes even into the thousands.
- Gaming Consoles and Accessories – You may not make a profit on old video game consoles from PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo, but you can cash them in to get back a third, or even half, of what you paid for them. Used PlayStation 4 consoles, for example, are fetching just under $200 on eBay.
- Old Stereo Equipment – Vintage audio equipment, like stereos made in Japan in the 1970s, are in high demand. If you have an old Pioneer or Marantz receiver sitting in the closet, you may want to put it on eBay or Craigslist. Boomboxes from the 1980s are also gaining value, as are Sony Walkman cassette players.
- Vinyl Records – Old records made by certain artists can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars at music stores or on eBay, where one unreleased Elvis Presley disc is listed for $8,900.
- Board Games – Don’t toss that old Monopoly set. A 1991 collector’s edition is selling on eBay for $800. Also desirable are old Mah Jongg sets.
