Make money from old rope!

Getting money from old rope is no longer just a saying. There are now lots of ways to make money from stuff you might have thought was worthless. Szu Ping Chan investigates.

For me, the phrase 'money for old rope' conjures up images of Del Boy and Rodney, trying to flog the 'next big thing' from the back of their three-wheeled yellow van.

But with the recession still in full swing (despite what those financial gardeners and their green shoots may tell you), retailers are pulling out all the stops to try to get you to spend again. And with so many deals available, you can quite literally get money for old rope.

The question is: are these deals really as good as they look?

Comet white goods scheme

Following in the footsteps of the car scrappage scheme, the trade-in your TV scheme and the trade your granny in scheme (just kidding) is the trade-in your fridge scheme.

Manufacturer BSH Home Appliances has teamed up with Comet to offer 20% off large kitchen appliances by Bosch, Neff and Siemens when you trade in your old model. What's more, they'll even take away your old machine for recycling.

The offer was first trialled earlier this month, and is still available online.

But before you rush to place your order, make sure you use a shopbot to ensure you're getting a good deal.

For example, Comet is selling a Neff S41T69S0GB dishwasher for £627.56 including the 20% discount. I found the same dishwasher at Deals4u.co.uk for just £570, that's nearly £60 cheaper than the offer price.

So be sure to do your research before going for the discount. It may not always prove cheaper in the end.

£150 off a Sony TV

Gone are the days when you had to get up from the couch and walk to the TV to change the channel.

These days, the couch potato generation has brought with it LCD, OLED, DLP, plasma screens, and a range of other technical abbreviations to describe today's state of the art offerings.

Now Sony is offering up to £150 off one of their swanky new models when you trade in your old TV.

'Up to' is the operative phrase here, and you'll only get the full £150 off if you buy a top-of-the-range model.

You'll bag £50 discount for TVs between 26' and 37', £100 off if you buy a TV measuring 40' and £150 for models of 46' and above.

You can see the full range on the Sony website. The offer runs until October 18.

Like the Comet offer, it pays to shop around. Sony's 46' KDL-46W5500 LCD TV is priced at £1,499 at the Sony store (£1,349 including the discount).

But if you did your homework, you could bag the same TV for just £1,034.99 at Pricelesselectronics.co.uk, saving you over £300 - without the need to trade-in.

Car scrappage scheme

It's been four months since Darling and Brown unveiled the new car scrappage scheme, and from the looks of things, it's given the industry a much needed boost.

The scheme runs until March next year, and offers £2,000 if you trade in your old car for a new one. Your car has to be more than 10 years old, and you must have owned it for more than a year.

Mind you, not everyone thinks it's such a great scheme. In fact, as fellow writer Neil Faulkner highlighted, the scheme could actually end up costing you money.

Again, you need to do your research and shop around for the best deal!

Mobile phone recycling

If you've got a few old mobile phones lying around, there's now a popular way to earn money for it.

Mobile phone recycling sites such as Envirofone, Fonebank and Mopay take old phones off your hands for cash.

You simply enter the model number and the site will offer you a price. If you're happy, you send off your phone, and wait for the cheque in the post. Many sites also take phones that no longer work.

Cashback websites such as Quidco and Topcashback will also give your trade-in a cash boost if you sell your phone through their online portals.

Quidco currently offers an extra £4.50 on top of what you'd get with Cashinmyfone, and Topcashback will give you £3 extra on all mobiles traded at Fonebank.

However, if you have an old iPhone or a Blackberry, you'd probably be better off selling it on eBay or Amazon, as the returns are generally much higher (as long as you can be bothered to list it).

Car boot sales

Last month, LoveSoph, one of my colleagues at lovemoney.com, asked if it was better to flog her old stuff on eBay, or at a car boot sale.

Car boot sales can be a fun way to get rid of those once-loved items. But it's also far too easy to get into the 'Apprentice' mentality, where you start the day quoting high prices only to find that with one hour left, you still have way too much stock on your hands.

So, faced with the prospect of having to bring your mum's Mills & Boon collection back home, you slash your asking prices to cut your losses.

So, while ndf9876 and klbell gave some excellent advice when they said that while low value items are ideal for a car boot sale, you'll probably get a better return for those gadgets and gizmos online.

eBay and Amazon

I've sold items on eBay and Amazon Marketplace for several years, and as I wrote in this article back in April, both have their benefits and drawbacks.

When it comes to selling items, there are two main differences between eBay and Amazon. On eBay, you can either choose to auction your item over a period of one to 10 days, and/or offer the option for buyers to 'Buy it Now', and purchase the item immediately.

Amazon hosts your item on its site for 60 days, free of charge. You choose the amount you're happy to sell for, then wait for buyers to snap it up.

Both sites also run very different fee systems. During my research, I found that Amazon's restrictive, flat-fee postage system can sometimes leave sellers out of pocket.

In addition, rare or collectors items can sometimes be hard to sell on Amazon, as the site is designed for items to be placed in categories that already exist. A new listing may leave your item lost in Amazon's cyberspace.

Finally, for all those pedants who went into anaphylactic shock when I said you could literally get money for old rope, take a look at this hopeful lot on eBay.

Any bidders?

More: Five ways to save money in five minutes /  Six things you can recycle for cash!