the dormspam sale cycle by Veronica P. '27
because what is outlook if not a flea market?
PHASE ZERO: “WHAT IS A DORMSPAM SALE?”
A dormspam sale, also known as a “senior sale” for graduating seniors (who have a lot of wares to get rid of), is a sale sent in Google Slides format to MIT’s Dormspam, a public email forum for MIT students. While typically clothes, sales also include furniture, appliances, textbooks, bikes, etc! Roommates or friends will often dormspam sale together, consolidating items they want to sell in singular slide. Dormspam sales are a great way to find good deals, and the lowest-activation-energy way to sell your items.
PHASE ONE: “SHOULD I DO A DORMSPAM SALE?”
a question that often arrives after:
A) realizing you hate almost everything in your closet and wishing you were a minimalist
B) realizing you have way too many clothes and you need get rid of some so your drawers will actually close
C) realizing you want way too many new clothes and needing some spare money to justifying purchasing them
PHASE TWO: THE THREE PILES
in which you go through all your closet and sort all your belongings into
- items you want to keep
- items you want to get rid of
- items you can’t decide about and need to try on at least three separate times
PHASE THREE: SET YOUR PRICE
once you have decided the items you want to sell, you must now determine their worth. Many factors here come into play
- quality of the piece (do you have a remarkably warm winter coat?)
- ‘demand’ for the piece (do you have that trendy top that all the freshmen want?)
- price you paid for the piece (did your friend gift it to you?… are they going to receive this dormspam?)
- emotional attachment to the piece (you might subconsiously mark up an item you actually want to keep)
- how much you want to get rid of the piece
dormspam sales often have a “free” section, for low value items that people genuinely just want to get off their hands. one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and all that.
PHASE FOUR: SET YOUR RULES
the first slide of a dormspam sale features the following information
- method of payment- usually venmo or zelle
- pickup location, and/or locations you are willing to drop off (usually the desk of your dorm)
- “claim” system- usually people comment on the item with their kerb, first come first serve
- purchase terms- try-ons or returns allowed?
PHASE FIVE: CREATE YOUR SLIDES
in which you fill your camera roll with a million photos of clothes
PHASE SIX: SEND THE DORMSPAM
often involving consulting mit’s official how to dormspam website (be sure to include your underwear color). prepare for the immediate slew of claims no matter the hour
PHASE SEVEN: DISTRIBUTE THE SALES
and cope with the fact that half of the claims will never actually venmo you
PHASE EIGHT: BUY MORE CLOTHES WITH YOUR NEWFOUND RICHES
what else are you to do with all that closet space?