It probably sounds crazy but I was having trouble getting rid of a diamond bracelet.
I had a buyer who was ready to pay my full asking price but when we met for the exchange, she realized it wasn’t what she wanted. She had been trying to replace a bracelet she lost and wanted only the exact same thing. I had posted clear photos and a detailed description so I can’t explain how she thought mine was right. On Kijiji I punted several lowball offers and just thought, to heck with it. It’s not about the money, anyway. I wanted someone who loved it to have it.
Derek found a website called Listia and after reading some reviews and poking through the website, I tried it out. You post an item and sell it to the bidder who offers the most points. Then you can turn around and use your points to buy something else.
Like any auction site, there’s crap and there are gems and it’s up to you to wade through them. People were skeptical that my diamond bauble was real because I had no history on Listia so some veterans offered me suggestions on how to make myself look more credible. I took their advice and added my contact information and other things that confirmed I was a real person. As soon as I did, the bidding war kicked into high gear.
I ended up selling the bracelet for more than 100,000 points. Once my buyer received the item and posted her enthusiastically positive feedback, the points were transferred to my account. Then I went shopping and bought an iHome colour-changing iPhone dock-alarm clock which I am now using.
It “cost” me about half of my points and was shipped for free to a friend’s US address.
Like the bitcoin or any form of barter, Listia requires users to maintain confidence in it for it to work. But it’s fun to putter around in and explore. And I turned something I didn’t want into something I’m finding very useful. So far the only cash I’ve spent is the few bucks it cost me to ship the bracelet. Good deal, I’d say.