Buy and hold, or trade my puzzles?

I’ve been an avid puzzler for over five years now, which started as an occasional activity with a favorite cousin who would visit a few times a year, and became a slightly obsessive hobby since the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. During this time I accumulated more than 200 puzzles. Now, the question is what to do with them all.

Initially, I held onto all of them because I thought I might want to build them again. And while there have been a few puzzles I have made more than once, for the great part, I simply put them in a staff where they sit, and sit.

Recently, I weeded through my collection and pulled out 45 puzzles that I was certain I would never want to put together again. They were the less aesthetically exciting puzzles, with pieces that didn’t stay together easily, Christmas puzzles that I had way too many of, and otherwise, were my least favorites. I advertise them on Craigslist for four dollars apiece or $150 for the batch. I also posted on Neighborhood Nextdoor classifieds and Facebook marketplace. For months, my post sat, and sat. Occasionally, I got interest, but then, as it is often with online classified ad patrons, they failed to follow up or show up.

Finally, a lady in my neighborhood responded to my Facebook marketplace post, offering me $100 for everything. I accepted it. She came by and excitedly loaded the two large boxes into her car, telling me they were for her father, an avid puzzler or who was homebound. I was happy to see the puzzles go to an appreciative home.

So, after the rigmarole of selling 45 puzzles, which involved photographing them, posting my ads, monitoring my ads and responding to the interested-not-interested potential buyers, scheduling time for these customers to show up, and then waiting around when they didn’t show up, etc., I wondered if it was all worth it. I realize the best part of the experience was the feeling I got knowing the puzzles went to someone who would enjoy them and value them like I did.
In this process, I discovered there are many puzzle exchange boards online. These are places where people post their gently used puzzles and offer to trade them for other puzzles. It’s also where many people post puzzles for free pickup. No trade or money is requested. By the pace of the responses I see on these take-them-for-free posts, I gather that free puzzles go quickly, and the recipients are reliable. It’s a great way to clear out unwanted puzzles, and odds are they will go to a good home.

It was nice to have $100 in my pocket to help offset my investment of likely $500 to $700, but in the end, was it worth the hassle? Some people will say putting a price on something gives it greater value. For instance, if you offer an item at a garage sale for $10, people will think it is worth more than the items in the junk box for free, though that might not be true. So, would would-be buyers think my puzzles are better than free ones? Or do I just seem like the ungracious person in the puzzle community who wants money for what other people give away?

I struggle now to decide what to do. If I trade them, I simply end up with the same number of puzzles in my possession— and my current collection is overflowing on every tabletop and to the floor and my family room. If I sell them, I can anticipate a laborious sales cycle and ultimately sell them at a bargain. If I give them away, I can be pretty certain they will go to good use, but I recover nothing from the funds I have spent to acquire them.

My current solution is to post them for sale and set a deadline, perhaps three weeks. At that threshold, I will reduce them to a clearance price and set a new deadline. If they don’t sell in that timeframe, I will offer them for free. This seems like the best plan to get rid of the towers of boxes in my home without exacting too much of a cost to myself!