Here's a method I heard and thought was useful:
If it's worth less than $50, just donate.
If it's worth more than $50- post it for the price you want. After 3 days, decrease the price by 10%. Keep repeating every 3 days until the price is less than $50, then just donate.
I personally can’t be arsed to do all the things to sell stuff, including storing while waiting for stuff to sell, so I just donate it. The money is already spent, so I just cut my losses and get it out of my house asap.
Firstly decide for sure whether you want or need to sell the things you no longer want. I think it’s fine if people enjoy selling things and they have the time and energy but the most important things is to get the stuff out of your house. Don’t feel bad that the stuff has value. The money is already gone. If it’s small stuff like clothes it’s easy to give to thrift shops etc. if it’s larger items like furniture, some charities will collect it and sell/give it to people in need. Worst case, if you cannot give it away, resort to trashing it. It’s feels wonderful to have a clear space both physically and emotionally. Good luck!
How much is your time worth? If you have the time and patience needed to sell the “nice stuff” then you should do that. If you’ve accepted the fact that no matter how nice your things are they are probably only worth a fraction of what you paid for them then maybe it’s time to donate everything!
I just donate it. It's just a huge hassle otherwise.
If you feel the item is worth your time in hours then I'd do that. ie it's something very very very expensive, then yeah. But otherwise it's almost better just giving it away -- and next time being super picky with what you buy.
I donate because I have nice stuff. I figure its more likely to end up being put out for sale and finding a new home. And it helps me accept what is end of life/trash and not just pass the decision onto someone else.
My compromise is to sell cheap. That way I can be picky and specific about terms and still get a buyer. And be choosy about who I will sell to (choosing the person who is easiest to work with). One of my little tricks is in the post I tell them what info to put when they message me. I look for the people who bother to follow those instructions.
As someone who sells a lot of things I can tell you this is the way. Price an item at 25-50% of market value, depending on demand, and it will sell quickly.
I just tried selling a chair. the only bite i got turned out to be a scam. he texted from a number with a nigerian dialing code. thankfully i used a google voice number.
Depends on the brands. Things I’ve managed to sell relatively easily and quickly are patagonia pants, doc martens and a tna coat. Search for the brand of the item your selling and filter to « sold » to see what people are listing it at.
I donate because selling things and dealing with people on fb marketplace is a pain. If it’s something worth a few hundred then I’ll take the time to sell… eventually…. But more often than not I’d rather declutter immediately and just donate instead of having stuff taking up space because I want to make a few bucks
I sold some at resellers stores, the stuff they didnt want i'll be giving it to my friend 💁♀️..ive been that fashionble person all my life..so im pretty sure she'll love the 💩 outta it, & plus she got free clothes, so that works out
if it is something that someone else would be excited to get for free then enjoy the joy of giving, however most items less than 100 dollars aren't worth selling to me.
I’m actually apart of my neighborhood buy nothing Facebook group where you can post free items for the taking so that is actually making me feel better.
Just donate to a local charity shop. It's safer to not let strangers in your home. The hassle is not worth it most often. If something extra nice take a photo and send to friends . Anyone want this before it goes to donation?
I'm selling because it's part of what I do and I could use the extra funds. However, I've still donated a carload and a half so far because there are just items not worth selling online. If I didn't need to sell I likely would just donate everything because it is a HUGE hassle. I gave up trying local because I would have to meet people and try and time that. And people want to go WAY under eBay prices and if that's the case I'll just sell there.
Your cutoff could be $20, or $50 to be worth it. I found out unless the item is really small $10 is not worth it after fees.
Try a buy nothing group! Most are on Facebook. You snap a picture, say what it is, and people will come pick it up if they want it. Some people just put their address and say first come first serve and others will have people message them for their address
For me, it’s a difference between something I’ve collected vs something I’ve acquired.
For things that I’ve collected, I know the market. I know all the details of the thing. I know where stuff sells. I know what has value. So I might look up a few details, but I have a pretty good idea of what to sell and where to sell it. Selling something I once loved is a 15 min to 1 hr job, (it might take weeks to sell, but the “write descriptions, answer questions, chat and box” active part of the program is less labor intensive) and usually nets $50 to $400.
If it’s clothes, or electronics, or kitchenwares, or furniture - stuff that I was given or acquired to use - I donate. It isn’t worth it to learn how to sell it.
Do you need the money? Does selling make you feel better about acquisitions, or does it make you feel like a part of your community? Or is it just “hey, cash is nice”?
It’s going to depend on the item.
Some stuff will sell quickly.
I’m decluttering and getting rid of stuff like dressers and outdoor kid toys. The dressers sold within the day a listed them. My kids electric ride power wheel toy took a whole week for someone else to express interest and buy.
My approach is to list first on Facebook marketplace. If it doesn’t sell, then donate it.
You’re going to have decide if you can afford to have your space taken up and deal with people. If you don’t have the space or time. Just donate it, it’s already consuming your time.
I donate or gift through local organizations (e.g. NFP thrift store) or to neighbors via Buy Nothing Project or social groups.
Neighbors have happily picked up all kinds of odd things. I pulled a parking sign for Santa out of the garage stock left by a prior owner, neighbor was super excited to receive it. It’s a bit of work but I despise throwing out plastic and it saves a lot.
It isn’t generally worth my time to sell most things. The few times I have, people have gotten weird like angry I sold an item to someone else who offered full price when they did not or aggressive haggling. I don’t need that in my life. When I got COVID while moving, my neighbors were a huge help, I’d rather have that vibe of love and support.
I donated most of my stuff but I have sold some things like collectables and video games. I eventually settled on the method of photographing a bunch of stuff on a Sunday afternoon as I'm less likely to be needed for anything else that day and for eBay it's a good day for listings to end so running the auctions for a week works out well. I photograph stuff until I think I have enough to list. Then I sit and list it all until I've either a) Listed everything I took photos of. b) Listed as much stuff as I want to deal with when it comes to posting it. c) Get fed up and stop after making what feels like a zillion listings. Sometimes that last one works out OK though because it means I have some photos ready to go the next week.
As you can probably tell selling can be a long, tedious process. If you're heart isn't in it donate because otherwise you will procrastinate and the items will stay in your home forever or until you get sick of looking at them and finally donate it all.
For general stuff like clothes, furniture and houseware I don't have anything fancy so we just donated it to a charity shop or put it out by the path. It might help someone out who's on a budget and I don't have to worry about waiting for people to come to the house. Basically decide what your comfort level is and how much time you want to dedicate to re-homing these items and make your choice from there.
I have 4 categories:
1. selling for valuable things
2. selling at a flea market, for things that are not worth advertising online in terms of price
3. donate, if I think it could help others.
4. throw away if it is no longer good for anyone.
Here's a method I heard and thought was useful: If it's worth less than $50, just donate. If it's worth more than $50- post it for the price you want. After 3 days, decrease the price by 10%. Keep repeating every 3 days until the price is less than $50, then just donate.
I actually really like that advice, thank you!
This is pretty similar to how I handle things. I'll usually give something 3 weeks to sell. Then drop the price for a week. If no hits it's gone.
No problem! :)
Just donate. It’s not worth the hassle to sell and you won’t make much money to compensate for your time most likely.
I feel the same way. I offer items to my friends and either give any leftover items to a charity shop or put them out for pickers to take.
agreed
I personally can’t be arsed to do all the things to sell stuff, including storing while waiting for stuff to sell, so I just donate it. The money is already spent, so I just cut my losses and get it out of my house asap.
Firstly decide for sure whether you want or need to sell the things you no longer want. I think it’s fine if people enjoy selling things and they have the time and energy but the most important things is to get the stuff out of your house. Don’t feel bad that the stuff has value. The money is already gone. If it’s small stuff like clothes it’s easy to give to thrift shops etc. if it’s larger items like furniture, some charities will collect it and sell/give it to people in need. Worst case, if you cannot give it away, resort to trashing it. It’s feels wonderful to have a clear space both physically and emotionally. Good luck!
How much is your time worth? If you have the time and patience needed to sell the “nice stuff” then you should do that. If you’ve accepted the fact that no matter how nice your things are they are probably only worth a fraction of what you paid for them then maybe it’s time to donate everything!
I just donate it. It's just a huge hassle otherwise. If you feel the item is worth your time in hours then I'd do that. ie it's something very very very expensive, then yeah. But otherwise it's almost better just giving it away -- and next time being super picky with what you buy.
That’s the plan is to be more intentional on what comes into the house!
I donate because I have nice stuff. I figure its more likely to end up being put out for sale and finding a new home. And it helps me accept what is end of life/trash and not just pass the decision onto someone else.
I sold as much as I could. Then once stuff stopped selling I donated the rest.
My compromise is to sell cheap. That way I can be picky and specific about terms and still get a buyer. And be choosy about who I will sell to (choosing the person who is easiest to work with). One of my little tricks is in the post I tell them what info to put when they message me. I look for the people who bother to follow those instructions.
As someone who sells a lot of things I can tell you this is the way. Price an item at 25-50% of market value, depending on demand, and it will sell quickly.
I just tried selling a chair. the only bite i got turned out to be a scam. he texted from a number with a nigerian dialing code. thankfully i used a google voice number.
Yea and that’s another thing too to be on the lookout for us scammers and I know Facebook marketplace has tons of them
Donate to you favorite organization.
Depends on the brands. Things I’ve managed to sell relatively easily and quickly are patagonia pants, doc martens and a tna coat. Search for the brand of the item your selling and filter to « sold » to see what people are listing it at.
I donate because selling things and dealing with people on fb marketplace is a pain. If it’s something worth a few hundred then I’ll take the time to sell… eventually…. But more often than not I’d rather declutter immediately and just donate instead of having stuff taking up space because I want to make a few bucks
I sold some at resellers stores, the stuff they didnt want i'll be giving it to my friend 💁♀️..ive been that fashionble person all my life..so im pretty sure she'll love the 💩 outta it, & plus she got free clothes, so that works out
if it is something that someone else would be excited to get for free then enjoy the joy of giving, however most items less than 100 dollars aren't worth selling to me.
I’m actually apart of my neighborhood buy nothing Facebook group where you can post free items for the taking so that is actually making me feel better.
Just donate to a local charity shop. It's safer to not let strangers in your home. The hassle is not worth it most often. If something extra nice take a photo and send to friends . Anyone want this before it goes to donation?
I'm selling because it's part of what I do and I could use the extra funds. However, I've still donated a carload and a half so far because there are just items not worth selling online. If I didn't need to sell I likely would just donate everything because it is a HUGE hassle. I gave up trying local because I would have to meet people and try and time that. And people want to go WAY under eBay prices and if that's the case I'll just sell there. Your cutoff could be $20, or $50 to be worth it. I found out unless the item is really small $10 is not worth it after fees.
I list stuff and if it isn’t sold in two weeks, I give it away in my buy nothing group, bonus, I already have photos
Try a buy nothing group! Most are on Facebook. You snap a picture, say what it is, and people will come pick it up if they want it. Some people just put their address and say first come first serve and others will have people message them for their address
Donate. I donate everything. It makes me realize how blessed I am that I can be generous and don't have to sell my stuff but donate it.
For me, it’s a difference between something I’ve collected vs something I’ve acquired. For things that I’ve collected, I know the market. I know all the details of the thing. I know where stuff sells. I know what has value. So I might look up a few details, but I have a pretty good idea of what to sell and where to sell it. Selling something I once loved is a 15 min to 1 hr job, (it might take weeks to sell, but the “write descriptions, answer questions, chat and box” active part of the program is less labor intensive) and usually nets $50 to $400. If it’s clothes, or electronics, or kitchenwares, or furniture - stuff that I was given or acquired to use - I donate. It isn’t worth it to learn how to sell it. Do you need the money? Does selling make you feel better about acquisitions, or does it make you feel like a part of your community? Or is it just “hey, cash is nice”?
It’s going to depend on the item. Some stuff will sell quickly. I’m decluttering and getting rid of stuff like dressers and outdoor kid toys. The dressers sold within the day a listed them. My kids electric ride power wheel toy took a whole week for someone else to express interest and buy. My approach is to list first on Facebook marketplace. If it doesn’t sell, then donate it. You’re going to have decide if you can afford to have your space taken up and deal with people. If you don’t have the space or time. Just donate it, it’s already consuming your time.
I donate or gift through local organizations (e.g. NFP thrift store) or to neighbors via Buy Nothing Project or social groups. Neighbors have happily picked up all kinds of odd things. I pulled a parking sign for Santa out of the garage stock left by a prior owner, neighbor was super excited to receive it. It’s a bit of work but I despise throwing out plastic and it saves a lot. It isn’t generally worth my time to sell most things. The few times I have, people have gotten weird like angry I sold an item to someone else who offered full price when they did not or aggressive haggling. I don’t need that in my life. When I got COVID while moving, my neighbors were a huge help, I’d rather have that vibe of love and support.
I donated most of my stuff but I have sold some things like collectables and video games. I eventually settled on the method of photographing a bunch of stuff on a Sunday afternoon as I'm less likely to be needed for anything else that day and for eBay it's a good day for listings to end so running the auctions for a week works out well. I photograph stuff until I think I have enough to list. Then I sit and list it all until I've either a) Listed everything I took photos of. b) Listed as much stuff as I want to deal with when it comes to posting it. c) Get fed up and stop after making what feels like a zillion listings. Sometimes that last one works out OK though because it means I have some photos ready to go the next week. As you can probably tell selling can be a long, tedious process. If you're heart isn't in it donate because otherwise you will procrastinate and the items will stay in your home forever or until you get sick of looking at them and finally donate it all. For general stuff like clothes, furniture and houseware I don't have anything fancy so we just donated it to a charity shop or put it out by the path. It might help someone out who's on a budget and I don't have to worry about waiting for people to come to the house. Basically decide what your comfort level is and how much time you want to dedicate to re-homing these items and make your choice from there.
I have 4 categories: 1. selling for valuable things 2. selling at a flea market, for things that are not worth advertising online in terms of price 3. donate, if I think it could help others. 4. throw away if it is no longer good for anyone.