Double Your Money!

5/31/10 Utility trailer, sold for $450 (minus $50 seller's commission)

I returned to Maine today after spending the Memorial Day weekend in Boston to discover that, once again, the downsizing had taken care of itself. I continue to be in such a zone that it happens without me even trying. As my cousin Amy said, "Unconscious downsizing -- amazing!"

Amazing, indeed, and here's what makes it better: the trailer sold for more than twice what I paid for it. Yep, that's a good return on investment.

You may recall the trailer from this post, in which I used it to transport a bed over to my parents' house. Desperate to simply my life as we scrambled into the last week of home ownership, I simply left the trailer in Winthrop, suggesting that I could sell it from there easier than from my temporary lodging over here.

My dad, ever the salesmen, approaches such opportunities with gusto. He quickly had the trailer out on the front yard and, after starting at a lofty $600, almost immediately hooked someone in at $450.

"I think I could have got more," he later told me on the phone, "But it was quite a bit more than you paid for it, anyway."

I'll say.

I had purchased the trailer from my neighbor two years ago for $200. Now, after two years of use, having spent exactly $0 on care and maintenance for it, I discovered it had been sold and delivered -- through no effort of my own -- for $450. That's a deal I'll accept any day.

Of course, Dad is nothing if not a shrewd salesman, so he also informed me that a $50 commission seemed appropriate, given I'd had no hand in any part of the transaction. Fair enough.

I just love this unconscious downsizing.