Junk money

People will pay lots of cash for your
old crap, says online middleman

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Mark Hodess

Age: 40

Occupation: Founder of Money for Clutter

Bio: When not working his straight job as a business development manager for an Old Montreal-based software company, this swank Côte-St-Luc father of three is busy running Money for Clutter, a service where he’ll go get you top dollar for your unwanted items, from cars and condos to kitchen appliances, electronics and jewellery. He was inspired to launch the biz/hobby last year after offering to help some Internet-confused relatives “sell some clutter that was just too good to give away at a garage sale,” and he turned everything around within a couple of days for good money while thoroughly enjoying himself. Should you not have the time, skills, knowledge or inclination to post your own bang-up Internet classified ad, contact him via www.moneyforclutter.com, and he’ll figure out how much your crap is worth and sell it all for you. He drives the chick magnet otherwise known as a 2006 Dodge Caravan.

What makes him any better than you when it comes to the overwhelmingly difficult task of posting something on Craigslist: “Experience. I know what’s going to sell and where the buyers are. And it’s not just Craigslist, there’re lots of good local sites to sell on. I’m really good at using the right wording in my posts, which is so important, and I research the product before I list it to make sure you get top dollar. Like, I sold some Porsche sunglasses from 1980 for $100 not long ago. The seller thought I was crazy asking $100, they were ready to let ’em go for $20. But I just knew they’d have value, and I sold them within 48 hours too.”

A few things that are more desirable than people realize: “Vintage china sets and electronics. You’d be shocked. It’s huge—old cell phones, computers, TVs, anything electronic, that stuff just sells. People like the old styles sometimes, they like the vintage look of, say, that old cordless phone you have, or one of those old TV consoles, you know the ones cased in a wood frame? You can’t keep those even a day, they go so fast. You know what else sells quick? Used wheelchairs.”

What it’s gonna cost you to employ his talents: “It depends. Every deal is different, but it’s never big dollars. You see, for me this is really fun. So depending on the value of what you have to sell, I’ll come to your house, take pictures of it, list it, set up the appointments for you at your convenience and negotiate on your behalf if need be. And if you don’t want to have visitors then I’ll take the item to my place and sell it from there. It’s all local, so people see what they’re buying first. And because of that there’s never any returns or hassles with PayPal. It’s all cash too.”

Childhood ambition: To become a coroner like TV’s Quincy. “Quincy was my idol.”

Last book read: Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey.

Musical preferences: RHCP, Barenaked Ladies, Hoobastank.

Words of wisdom: “To be happy in life you must immediately sell all your clutter.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net