To sell or not to sell......

Ok, here is the question. I have a few garbage bags full of clothes that I can not fit into any longer. The problem is this, I dont know if I should take them to a consignment shop or have a yard sale. I would do the online thing, but I am not very good at that kind of stuff. Actually, I dont do very well at yard sales. I dont like to go to them and the thought of having one makes me feel ill. So, what have you guys done with all of your loose fitting clothes. Is the on line thing very hard? I guess I will have to get off of my lazy butt and have a yard sale. AGHHH!!!!!! Talk to you all later! Cathy

Hi Cathy, Don't know if ya have a support group for wls but if ya do maybe you could bring your outgrown clothes and share with anyone who can use them. I have had wonderful clothes during my losing so far. Two gals at my group brought me tons of stuff and I pass it on when I'm done as well. Mary

Hello Cathy. I have passed my clothes on to others waiting for surgery or just in need of the clothes. I have been really blessed by people handing them down to me. It has been such a blessing. Are you coming to Lynchburg? Their may be someone who can use them there. Often clothes are brought to pass on. Let me know if you are coming. Others are coming from Harrisonburg. Check w/ Renea or Stacy. Hope to see you there. Also let me know what size you are in now if so, I may have some things for you. Shannon

Hello Cathy - I don't know enough about the "online sales" (like EBay) enough to be of any help to you. I keep telling myself to start doinkin' around on EBAY, even if it's just to LOOK, but never get around to it. I've never done the consignment stores either (lol, are you wondering why Im even here in your thread?) ... BUT, I have done the garage sales and it seems to me, that when people start "haggling" to get the ONE DOLLAR ITEM lowered to a QUARTER, it's just not worth the hassle. Havent done garage sales in a long time, the last time I did. I was pretty disenchanted with all the effort put into it. I also got so aggrad at one lady that wanted to haggle over a $300 ladies business suit in mint condition (which was listed for $5 and she wanted to negotiate it down to a $1) ....it just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Who knows, maybe because it was sevearl hours into the day -or- because I can't stand people that EXPECT "something for nothing" in life. Long story over? I told her to move along because I'd decided to just DONATE it to the Tulsa Womans Shelter. Figured a lady in the shelter might need some "interviewing" clothes for future jobs and took everything that was left there. AFTER losing all my weight, I really did NOT want to go the sales route again and have just boxed things up and given them to fellow weight loss peeps along the way with the condition that they pass them along to other WLS friends when they outgrew them. Good luck to you - I understand the windfall of clothes during the losing stages. Lei

I avoid the selling thing at all costs. I hate to put together garage sales because it takes SO many hours to put it together and to run it to only make a few dollars. Plus, the people that come....OMG! I once had a set up of 5 new Barbies, clothes, carrying case, and pool w/pool toys and I was selling it all as one set for $10.00. There was alot of stuff there. And this woman only wanted to give me $5.00 for it. She haggled and haggled and got mad when I kept saying no. Then, to listen to people offer $0.25 per peice for clothing items that were in great condition. Too much for my temper to handle. Guess this is why I don't go to garage sales, either. Anyways....I donate mine to the local woman's shelter. I KNOW that they need them. And i take the right-off at the end of the year. Jill 263/182/145

My mom is having a yard sale fri- sat set up @ ur house too.

I took most of my first load to a charity that was sending plus size clothes to help Katrina victims since they were especially asking for plus size stuff. My second load went to Goodwill(I have various sizes from 26 to 8 in my closet and as I undergrow each size I offload it). I did take out several outfits, things like church dresses and suits, for the consignment store. Many of my nicer things still had tags since I never really went anywhere at my heavest weights. I haven't done Ebay for clothing since it would just be a hastle to photograph, detail and ship. If you're curious about doing Ebay I can give you a basic walk-thru of buying and selling, since we have gotten rid of many other things that way. I have another load that's almost ready to go. I think I'm going to take it over to donate to the Habitat for Humanity thrift shop. I just want to make sure someone who needs it gets it. Liz

Cathy, When I first started shrinking out of my clothes, I didn't have any WLS friends, so I took a ton of stuff to the Goodwill. Later, a friend's mother had surgery, and so I sent her a bunch of stuff. Not long after, I met Holly and so she has gotten lots of stuff from me. Naturally, she in turn has passed stuff down to others here on the board. It makes me feel good to see that my stuff has helped others, and will continue to be passed on to others following along in this journey. I could have sold stuff, but I feel that I'm gaining more than a few dollars by helping others by doing this. Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth! JoAnn

I'm the same way as you; I can't be bothered with the time consumed holding a yard sale. I donated 20 trash bags of clothes and shoes to the Fairfax Christian Ministry program near my office. Painfree and they give you a receipt for taxes if you like.

Just a note....I work for a Homeless Shelter...and I will tell you that clothes are DEFINITELY welcome. Most of the residents are in the process of seeking employment and many left situations where they were unable to bring many of their things with them. There are also shops that sell donated clothing and give the profits to local organizations. I am very fortunate and I would much rather pass on my clothes than haggle for a few quarters. (Funny though...with the Yard Sale stories...that the people that try to cheap you down...are always the ones that drove up in their high dollar cars wearing the designer clothes. Most people that are truly needy appreciate the deal and are more than willing to pay) Good luck with the clothes and Congrats on the weight loss Sue