I’ts math nerd time again.

As my wardrobe changes and I rotate out good clothes that I no longer wear, I got to thinking: “Should I donate, consign, or sell items on Tradesy.com?”

If I donate, here’s how much real cash comes back to me in this example case. I assumed $100,000 income to keep the math simple.

$100,000 is taxed federally at 22% in 2018. That would mean $22,000 to the goverment without any deductions. A deduction means that the amount of income is lowered so that the income taxed is lower. An example:

$100,000 no deductions, pay $22,000 tax on $100,000

$100,000 with $24,000 deduction for married couple, pay $16,720 on $83,820 income. This is the new standard deduction. It is twice what it used to be thanks to Congress 🙂

Now, for MORE deductions to get that taxable income even lower, we can donate stuff, up to $5,000/year.

Let’s start with a simple case of my yellow blazer and compare with consigning and selling.

Option A:

Donate Yellow Blazer

Goodwill Donation guide:$5.99

or you can use “thrift value”

Thrift value (10% of retail $169.00)

$16.99

Income $100,000-16.99=$99,983

$99,983 taxed @22%=$21,996

$22,000-$21,996=

$4.00 back to me

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Option B: Consign:

Most consignment shops take 60% of the sales price (they are paying the rent, electricity, staff)

Sales price $20.00

$20*40%=$8

Figure in gas also. In Sedona, the one consigment shop has a waiting list for items, so I would have to drive to the next town 23 miles each way. That’s 2 gallons of gasoline @3.00/gal. $6.00

$2.00 net to me 😦

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Option C: Sell on Tradesy

Flat commission:$7.50

Sales Price:$35.00

Shipping:I pay up front, but charge to buyer $6.00

Gasoline to and from poste: 3miles, 1gal/24 miles, $3.00/gal $0.38/trip

Net to me: $27.12 😀

Looks like I’m back in the Tradesy business again.

Image modified from pinterest.com

You can buy and sell clothing & accessories on http://www.tradesy.com or with the Tradesy app.