Clark Howard

How to turn your old CDs, DVDs and games into cash!

It’s spring cleaning time and if you’ve got old CDs, DVDs, video games and tech gadgets laying around, there’s an easy way for you to turn them into cash!

RELATED: How to make extra money from stuff that others throw away

Declutter your home and get paid with Decluttr!

If you're looking to make a little extra money, you could take on a second job — maybe something in the work-from-home category.

Or you could just sell that old pile of used media that’s sitting there unloved in your home that you’ve collected over the years!

That's what I've been doing around my home to great effect with a website and app called Decluttr.

Decluttr buys old media and tech gadgets and offers a guaranteed price for them, with no hidden fees.

Here’s how it works

The way Decluttr works is simple.

Once you create an account, you can grab a pile of CDs or DVDs and either enter the barcodes manually on the Decluttr website or simply download the Decluttr app and let it do the work for you.

The app, which features a built-in barcode scanner, is available for both Android and iOS.

Each time you enter an item, you get an immediate quote for how much they’ll offer you for that particular item.

I’ve tasked my nine- and six-year olds at home with the job of doing it the old-fashioned manual way. This keeps keep them busy and out of each other’s hair. They love to see the money add up!

Then we take the money we get and use it to buy into the equity market through Motif Investing, which offers free stock trades (executed at the next day's market open price) with no minimums or fees at all.

It’s a win/win: The clutter gets cleaned out and the kids get to learn a little bit about investing!

Once you’ve tallied up all the used CDs or DVDs you want to sell, just click “Complete Order” and get ready to send your stash in.

To do that, you just pack your CDs and DVDs up in a box and seal it with tape. I save boxes from Amazon shipments for the purpose of reusing them for Decluttr orders. That way I don’t have to buy boxes.

Decluttr sends you a postage paid form via email that’s pre-addressed to be shipped to their headquarters. The very final step is you just print that up, slap it on the box and take it to a UPS drop-off point.

How soon will you get paid?

Once Decluttr receives the package, they’ll check the order and cut you a paper check for the amount you agreed to. The whole transaction takes about seven to 10 days.

If you prefer to receive your money by direct deposit, Decluttr promises you’ll have next-day payment! I haven’t tried that option yet, so I can’t speak to it.

There are no hidden fees or gotchas with this service and I’ve already used it and gotten paid three times so far. It is truly one of the easiest ways to clear out unwanted media and get paid for it.

BONUS TIP: Some used CD stores like 2nd and Charles will put the CDs and DVDs they don't want to buy from customers out in big bins at the front of the store. You can load up on these throwaways and re-sell them on Decluttr!

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