It’s Thursday! For our trivia, which of the following is the most popular garden product for sale on Amazon? Is it … glow-in-the-dark pebbles, a plant urinal, singing garden gnomes or a fully inflatable greenhouse? The answer is at the end.

Excited to expand your tech know-how? Great! We have a ton of interesting things to explore together, so let’s get started! — Kim

$816 billion. That’s how much returns cost retailers last year — twice the cost in 2020. It’s no wonder, given how much we shop online and how often those purchases don’t work out.

After reading this stat, I wondered, “What happens to all those returns?” We did the research and found the best places where you can score deals to tell you about in this free newsletter.

Wait, how does that work?

Let’s take Amazon as an example. Any package that’s undeliverable and unclaimed for 90 days is now fair game. Amazon sells unclaimed stuff right on its website.

The same goes for packages from other retailers sent through the U.S. Postal Service. After 90 days, those items are sold to the highest bidder. 

Like a garage sale but better

The USPS contracts a website to auction off things postal workers can’t deliver. Go to GovDeals.com to browse everything from TVs to vehicles to kitchen appliances. 

Liquidation.com hawks packages and undelivered goods from Amazon, Target, Walmart and The Home Depot. You can filter by brand or retailer. This fireplace TV stand retails for nearly $1,700, but the current bid is $350. You'll find plenty of deals like this.

Feeling mysterious?

Some returned and undelivered merch is packaged into “mystery boxes,” which are like grab bags. You don’t know precisely what you’ll get, but the idea is you’ll find a valuable item you want to keep or sell.

Sound like fun? Try Poshmark. Search for “mystery box” and you’ll find listings for returns from retailers like Walmart and Amazon, ranging in price from a few bucks to over $500. This $18 mystery box includes three women’s dresses.

✅ Facebook Marketplace and eBay are solid places to check, too, but I can’t fit all the details here! Read about them on my site.

💰 Want to make money? Buying and reselling is a smart way to do it. We put together a step-by-step guide to help you out. (It’s totally free!)

🥸 Hiding in plain sight: Researchers caught an Android app with 100,000+ downloads secretly collecting GPS coordinates, Wi-Fi and cell tower data — and sending it back to servers in Hong Kong and mainland China. BM2 markets itself as a car battery monitoring app that doesn’t collect or share personal data. Use it? Delete it now!

Easier than a spy balloon: Heard of Hikvision and Dahua? They’re two of the world’s leading surveillance camera manufacturers, and they’re based in China. The BBC hired a hacker to prove just how easy their cams are to take over thanks to a security flaw. Scary when you consider how many government buildings these things are installed in around the world.

🪪 ID, please: Costco is taking a page from Netflix’s book and cracking down on sharing. Be warned if you’ve used someone else’s card at the self-checkout: An employee will now check your membership card and photo ID — just like in the regular lines. The cashier at Costco asked why I needed so much whiteout. Biiig mistake.

YOU WON! Finally, a payout from Publishers Clearing House. The FTC sued the company, saying it used “dark patterns” (aka tricky tactics) to fool people into buying products and giving away data for the chance to win money. Wonder if the settlements will be in the form of giant checks.

☕️ Hey, you have to see my new coffee mug that says, “In coffee we trust, In Komando we listen!” Check it out here. Science says using this mug will make you tech-smarter with every sip.

On the Edge: In its latest attempt to dethrone Chrome, Microsoft now opens browser links from Outlook in the Microsoft Edge sidebar. “No more disruptive switching,” they say. If you think it’s annoying: Open Edge, go to Settings, then click Sidebar under the three-line menu in the upper-left corner. Under App and notification settings, select Outlook. Turn off “Automatically open Outlook email context in the side pane.”

Too little, too late: Parents, you can now see who your kids are talking to on Facebook Messenger. Too bad kids aren’t on FB anymore. Hey, at least it works on Instagram, too. You can approve what types of users teens can message: Friends, friends of friends or no one. (Nope, you can’t read the contents of their messages.) Only a decade late.

Hidden gems: An estimated 5 billion cellphones are sitting in drawers — that’s 50,000 tons of copper, 500 tons of silver, 100 tons of gold … and enough cobalt to build batteries for 10 million electric vehicles. Don’t be surprised when your carrier reaches out to get your old phones.

📺 Vintage masterpiece: Such a cool video for you today. A 26-year-old artist, James Cook, created intricate illustrations (complete with shading, texture, perspective and even some color) using a vintage typewriter. You have to see this.

Sound like a tech pro, even if you're not one. Try my award-winning, daily podcast. Search for my last name with "K" wherever you get your podcasts and "Go Komando!"

Listen to my podcast, Kim Komando Today, here.

A recent analysis of over 17 million sales on eBay uncovered the best items to sell for some extra cash. I bet you have a few of these products stashed in closets — or maybe your parents do.

From jeans to toys

Got a pair of Levi's from the ’80s or ’90s? Vintage denim goes for up to $275 a pair. VHS tapes are also making a comeback, with limited editions or rares fetching up to $250 each.

Antique furniture (particularly midcentury modern pieces) is in high demand — even if slightly damaged. Hey, it’s part of the charm.

Your old coins and banknotes could bring you a small fortune. Collectors pay premium prices for rare or discontinued currency.

Never underestimate the appeal of vintage toys. Classic LEGO sets, especially if they're complete and in good condition, can be worth big money, too.

Check out the average selling prices …

… of these common eBay items. Think of how much money you have sitting around your house collecting dust!

1. U.S. coins — $205.32
2. Sports fan apparel souvenirs — $59.47
3. Action figures — $56.92
4. Pokémon cards — $40.10
5. Vinyl records — $38.55
6. Books — $22.05
7. Collectible card games — $19.20
8. DVDs and Blu-ray Discs — $16.90
9. Collectible game cards — $11.87
10. Comic books, manga and memorabilia — $8.46

😂 Speaking of, I’m selling all of my John Lennon collection on eBay. Imagine all the PayPal. Sometimes I crack myself up.

Facebook and Google Photos love to remind us of the past. That stinks when it shows pictures of your ex, a friend you had a falling out with or other painful memories. 

Did you know you can hide photos from showing up? You’re not removing them — just hiding them from view.

On Facebook:

• Open Facebook on your phone and tap the three-line menu icon.
• Tap Memories, then the gear icon.
• You can choose to get notifications for All Memories, Highlights (special videos and collections, as deemed by Facebook) or None.
• Under Hide Memories, you can tap People or Dates to hide memories that involve people and dates you’d rather not see.

On Google:

• Open the Google Photos app on your phone, choose your Google account and tap Photos settings.
• Choose Memories, Hide people and pets. Select from the profiles listed to hide photos or videos individually.

📸 While you’re at it: You need to get all the interior pics of your house off real estate sites. (Think of it as a virtual blueprint for would-be thieves.) Here’s how.

Big Tech is supposed to safely handle our personal online data, but now they’re getting into the political game. I don’t want to be any part of that, and neither should you. That’s why I trust and use ExpressVPN.

These Big Tech companies match your internet activity to your identity or location by using your public IP address, but with ExpressVPN, no one can see your IP address — no one.

It was probably checking its website.

🪨 The answer: Glow-in-the-dark pebbles made from photoluminescent pigment absorb sunlight during the day to illuminate for hours. They’re often used for decorative purposes in gardens, pathways or potted plants. So cool!

Whew! There was a lot to cover today. I love to get your questions about what to buy, how to make money online, how to get things done or whatever. Drop me a line here. I read every note! — Kim