Cue the typical summer scene: I'm sprawled out on the couch, scrolling aimlessly through Facebook for lack of something better to do, and I stumble across an ad for an app called Yerdle. I typically scroll past any Facebook ads. I assume they're all scams or pointless downloads. But, being the crazy bargain-hunter that I am, I saw the word "re-use" and went straight to the app store for further investigation.
When explaining Yerdle to my friends, I describe it as, "eBay, but with fake money." Sound too good to be true? I thought so. But it's not.
Here's how it works.
- Download the app. It's free!
- Sign up with your Facebook or email.
- Start giving. Take photos of any gently used items you don't need anymore. Use your good judgement to list each item for at an appropriate re-selling price e.g., your four-year-old denim cutoffs are probably only worth $8, max.
- Ship. Once an item is "purchased" you will be notified via email. You then have seven days to pack it up and send it on its way to a new home! The buyer pays for the shipping costs (usually about $4) so all you have to do is print out the pre-paid label and drop it off at UPS.
- Browse. When your item is marked as "shipped," the Yerdle dollars will be automatically credited to your account. You can use these dollars to purchase items from a number of different categories ranging from clothing to electronics, and basically anything in between. The only thing you have to pay for with real cash is shipping, which ranges from $4 to $6 (sometimes, if you're lucky, Yerdle will mark the item as free shipping and cover the cost themselves). Plus, you get 25 bonus Yerdle dollars just for signing up!
Told you it was easy.
Yerdle Pro-Tips:
- Be prepared. When I listed over 20 of my old articles of clothing I wasn't expecting to get much interest immediately. All of my items were purchased within a week. Stock up on shipping envelopes and have extra printer ink on hand to print off shipping labels (I was vastly unprepared and had neither).
- Bundling. Some people may ask to "bundle" if they want to purchase multiple items in your shop. To do this, simply mark one of the bundled items with the proper shipping weight (the small box option is typically fine if you're only shipping a few items in the bundle). Then, turn on the "local pickup" option for the rest of the items. That way the buyer will only have to pay for shipping once, but you will still be credited for all of the Yerdle dollars in the sale! Just make sure the buyer marks these items as "received" once they get the shipping notification for the first item.
- Shipping. When shipping small items I use plastic bubble mailers from Walmart. You can get a pack of five for $5, which is the best deal I've found so far. If you're shipping items in a re-used box, make sure to mark out any previous labels or markings.
Happy Yerdling!
