Selling our Soles

The past couple of months have been dominated by the logistics of selling our stuff. We're still having fun, but we haven't really taken pictures of our adventures for at least a month. All of the pictures on the camera are the items we were putting up for sale. In a previous post, I think I alluded to us having reduced our "stuff" down to what could fit in (or on) our van -- still way too much.

The windsurfing gear was the biggest and stupidest thing to bring to Oz. Really, we should have sold the windsurfing gear in the USA. We only ended up using it a few times. When we finally managed to sell it (3 boards, 5 masts, 3 booms, 10 sails, etc.), it was for a song. Wavesailing in Oz just isn't as popular as we had assumed, probably because many people, like us, have switched to kiteboarding. This will be the first time in 12 years that we won't have any windsurfing gear -- a nostalgic event, given how this sport dominated many years of our lives.

Our main tool for selling things has been eBay. There have been a few surprises -- a used Leatherman sold for $60! Six months ago, we bought a used roof luggage box for $150 and we just sold it for $225. A Yakima Rocket Box that we paid $280 for 10 years ago at GI Joes (RIP) sold for $417! Most things, we were just happy not to put in a landfill. We've had much more success selling Scott's stuff. It seems that most girls here don't buy wetsuits, snorkeling gear, biking jerseys, etc. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. We've seen very few girls surfing, kiting, or biking. The only item I managed to sell was a pair of $120 near-new Dansko shoes for $25 -- lucky girl.

We've given away most of our clothes and shoes, except for what we're wearing now and some winter items for New Zealand. Even though I hadn't worn some of these clothes for years, it was still hard to say goodbye. However, now that they're gone, I definitely don't miss a thing.

Our biggest concern was selling the van, but with 2 weeks to go, we've found a

buyer. He put down a hefty deposit, didn't negotiate, and is accommodating our travel schedule. Our net loss on the van after 2 years will be less than 1 month's rent at our Sydney apartment -- almost too good to be true. It scares me to even type it. I've only done half of a happy-dance, hoping not to jinx us.