If you're clearing out closets this spring, don't just dump what you no longer need curbside. Get some cash by taking used items to secondhand stores, selling them online or donating goods for tax deductions.
Sell secondhand
National retail chains Play It Again Sports, GameStop (video games and consoles), Plato's Closet (teen and young-adult clothes and accessories) and Music Go Round (instruments) will pay for used items.
Check the chains' Web sites or call their nearest locations for an estimate. If you bought a stationary bike for $300 two years ago and have used it more as a clothes rack lately, you could get about $45. Older, worn items may sell for only a few dollars -- if the store wants them at all.
GameStop pays $15 apiece or more for 150 high-demand video games such as Wii Guitar Hero World Tour and Xbox 360 FIFA Soccer 09, but many older games fetch closer to $2.
Go online
No matter how junky you think an item is, someone somewhere will probably pay for it.
There are three ways to go on the Web. You can sell items on amazon.com or eBay.com, and ship them at the buyer's expense. Just make sure the prices you will charge will more than cover the sales fees listed on the Web sites and the packing materials.
You can sell your electronics to gazelle.com, which lists its purchase price after you describe what you are unloading. The site pays shipping charges and sends you a box to send in the item.
Or you can advertise your used things on craigslist.org or backpage.com and have a local customer come to your home.
Donate to charity
Goodwill and the Salvation Army often need clothing or household items in good condition. In return, you will get a tax deduction. Not all locations accept donations or pick up goods from homes, so call your local chapter or visit goodwill.org and salvationarmyusa.org for estimates.
Valuations are usually low -- say, $2 to $12 for a blouse and no more than $40 for a floor lamp. But donations of big-ticket electronics and furniture can turn into tidy write-offs while you are helping others. If you, say, donate a computer worth $500, you can deduct $500 from your taxable income, which would translate to a savings of about $125 for a couple in the 25 percent tax bracket.
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