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Post by MsHavisham on Apr 8, 2017 17:54:55 GMT -5
Hello, all! I just wanted to share my experience using the mail/UPS to declutter. I do not drive and have some physical issues, so passing on items that are too good to throw away can be a physical and logistical nightmare. Clothing and Household Goods: A few months ago I read about Give Back Box (https://givebackbox.com). This program underwritten by several online retailers provides free shipping labels for your charity donations. What can you ship? "Any household items such as clothes, shoes and jewelry are appropriate.. We cannot accept electronics, any liquids, fragile, hazardous or volatile items, or ammunition in the boxes. How do I ship the box? Ship this donation like you would ship any other box through UPS or USPS. Drop it off at the nearest UPS or USPS location or leave it in the post room of your building for them to pick up when they next visit." No post room here: They are happy to pick up from my front door. USPS will take boxes up to 70 lbs. So far, all my shipping labels have been for various Goodwill donation centers. On the rare occasions someone notices the boxes, I just tell them about the program. Response has been overwhelmingly positive. Remember: CLEANIES are always decluttering! The only danger is that if you have a LOT of boxes, people may assume you are conducting a charity drive and bring you donations!  Print another free label and off it goes.  Books: Last year, I sent boxes of books to Amazon and offered them for sale using the Fulfilled by Amazon option. In the future, I will do this more selectively. (You can use the sales stats to figure out what's likely to sell quickly and what won't but I knew I needed to "trick" myself to get more books out the door, so I lost money.) Amazon will charge you storage fees for items that don't move quickly. You either pay the fee, have them shipped "back" or agree to have your inventory destroyed. Books are like holy things to me and I hate the idea of destroying them so I had my unsold inventory shipped to Better World Books (https://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/donatebooks). It would've been less expensive to just ship them to Better World Books in the first place but warehousing the books with Amazon and trying to sell them let me detach from them in stages. I am sure that will make sense to some of you! I did sell some books to partially offset the cost and I chalked the balance of the fees up to "therapeutic self-deception". Hope this is of help to someone! MsHavisham |
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Post by Unswamping on Apr 8, 2017 18:01:18 GMT -5
MsHavisham this is a great idea! Im glad you have had such a good experience. I had read about it and never followed up on it. Im bookmarking this so im ready for the june purgeathon. Thank you!
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Post by phoenixcat on Apr 9, 2017 9:16:42 GMT -5
Thank you for posting this. DM lives in a rural community which makes it hard to donate but she goes to the post office all the time.  |
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Apr 9, 2017 12:09:38 GMT -5
thanks for this!! Have you posted to announce this in someplace like freecycle.org or craigslist locally?
I just printed a label to the give boxes. Being so rural I will just drop off at UPS center a the address shows as IN...9 states away.
I have a ton of new shipping boxes leftover after I retired I use for donations, and now I can pack up a lot of items for mailed donation too. The GBB label I have shows 12 lb limit... Will test it this week and report back.
It feels too good to be true. I can and do take items to support local thrifts, but this makes a great added resource.
MsHavisham- On the Books to Better world it APPEARS we pay the ship cost for the heavy books? Do you know? I can donate to the library, thrifts, and also eventually contact a local used/new BS to come evaluate and take the thousand+ new books someday when the place is cleared enough to allow that.
I am hoping to get to the point of turning the GBR into JUST stacks of boxes of books as the last point of a cleared room. letting someone else lift and carry out is the big job! and I need someone to do that.
PS I hope no one does what they do here and leave bags of garbage /useless stuff when they move at the receiving gate at the thrift store...I imagine GBB traces exactly back to the sender, but someone who already sent smelly old shoes, or rags, or glass items? Not to focus on what goes wrong but there must be stories of this.
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Post by dustylady on Apr 9, 2017 12:12:25 GMT -5
This is great! Thank you!
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Post by angela on Apr 9, 2017 12:33:00 GMT -5
What a great resource! Thank you for posting this info!
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Post by MsHavisham on Apr 9, 2017 15:44:42 GMT -5
Unswamping, GBB can definitely be used for a big purge, but I'm finding the best way to use it is to keep a box in the bedroom and a box in the kitchen/living area. Whenever a shirt doesn't fit or I realize I never use some kitchen gadget, into the box! (I need a drop the mic emoji for what that feels like. ) I've sent about 15 boxes via GBB date - 2 more going tomorrow, yay! halfway2hoarder, I am surprised your GBB label has a 12 lb limit. Is this USPS or UPS you are using? Maybe its a local carrier limitation because that contradicts the GBB FAQ and certainly hasn't been my experience. I am sure you are right that not all GBB donations are saleable. However, I doubt they get the trash the drop off centers see. It's not anonymous and if anyone sent something truly hazardous, the postal inspectors might be involved. As for BetterWorld Books, you are correct the BWB donor does pay shipping. I have not asked an accountant about this, but I think those shipping charges might be tax deductible since it was for a charitable purpose? Books can ship at the USPS reduced Media and Library Mail rates so that helps a little. (See pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm)This isn't going to be the best option for everyone. It was for me, so I mentioned it for those in similar situations. I do not drive and I have health issues. The local book dealers closed shop, and the library and churches are inundated with donated books. I regularly see free boxes of books left out on the sidewalks. If wanted to load up an SUV taxi, each round trip fare to the nearest big city would be $200, plus tip. (And the resulting medical bills, much more. Oof!) I would like to clear my place out, fix it up and sell it in the next 2 years. I don't know if I can pull that off, but I have to try. The books had become more of an obstacle than an asset, so shipping them made sense *for me*. YMMV |
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Apr 9, 2017 16:19:56 GMT -5
halfway2hoarder, I am surprised your GBB label has a 12 lb limit. Is this USPS or UPS you are using?
yes this label is UPS as I noted, >>[Being so rural I will just drop off at UPS center] and it shows 12 lbs at the top...and to AR. I will ask at UPS as I will be only one around doing this I bet.
I sold books for 14 years online, so yes Media Mail was my friend..and why I wanted to point out to others here who might assume if GBB is free then BWB was free too..see?
I ask a million questions until I am clear..saves time and heartache <grin>
I imagine GBB traces exactly back to the sender, but someone who already sent smelly old shoes, or rags, or glass items? <<< I know local thrift stores pay $20,000 a year to process junk left at their door, crap people leave, like jars with no lids, dirty baby clothes, it is sad. lots of seasonal/rental housing, college students, who do this sticking someone else with their problem.
Most likely the people who use this service are not THOSE people.
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