It's nice to save money, but it is even better to MAKE a little extra money, and now is the perfect time!
With the holidays officially behind us, now is the perfect time. We all have more....stuff now, and likely need to clean out our closets. Maybe you got some things for Christmas that you don't necessarily want to keep, but couldn't return.
I know you were thinking Ï can re-gift this!" Why keep it around for a whole year, when you could sell it for a little extra cash now?
And what about all those Spring/Summer clothes that no longer fit (the kids of course, I know NONE of us have gained any weight over the holidays).
Why not get a jump on the spring cleaning and clean out the house and make some extra (vacation?) money. Have I got you on board? Then get to cleaning those closets out and compile all the stuff you want out of your house!
But now what, where do we sell these things. There are tons of options for selling items, and I've tried my hand at most of them.
Yard Sale- Yard Sales by far take the most time and effort on your part. You have to set up, price and man the sale all day long. You can get a good turn out, especially if you live in a high traffic area and get with a friend or two to make it a "multi-family"sale. However, it is 5 degrees out side today, and not really yard sale weather where I live. Plus, I just don't have a weekend to spend sitting in my front yard. This is actually my least favorite way to sell, just because it is so time consuming and dependent on the weather.
Consignment Sale- Believe it or not, consignment season is just around the corner. Consignment sales are generally held in doors and you will only be responsible for tagging your items, others work the sale. You need to be careful though, because some sales are very picky about how the items are brought in, especially clothes. They may require wire hangers facing a certain way with the tag in a certain place, etc. You will also be charged a fee to consign (around $10) plus they will take about 30% of your profit. I generally do very well with selling Children's clothes and bigger toys/furniture at these sales. Shoes also sell well. However, tagging can still be very time consuming and you loose part of your profit.
Ebay- Ebay was the original on-line yard sale. For this to work best, you will also need a paypal account. You list your item with either a set price, or allow people to bid. You can also charge the buyer for shipping or pay shipping yourself. I've always had my best luck by starting my item at $.99 and letting people bid and having the buyer pay shipping as well. You can also sell clothes or other items in "lots" or groups. Beware though, if you are new to Ebay, they will hold the buyers funds until the buyer receives their item, so you will have to pay shipping out of pocket at first. Ebay will also take a small percentage of the sale and so will Paypal. Shipping can also be time consuming and expensive up front. However, if you have the extra time and funds up front, I have gotten my biggest return from Ebay.
Craigslist- Craigslist, unlike Ebay, is free and local (and by local I mean everyone that considers themselves Nashville instead of Chattanooga). You can post your item for free, along with your phone number and people will call you about your item. Most people will try to haggle you and get a cheaper price. Once you have a buyer, you and the buyer will agree upon a time and they will meet you to get the item. I'm not as fond of Craigslist, because most of the questions/negotiations are done by phone and I don't particularly like having my phone number out in public. However, it is completely free and you are in charge of all pricing. I've found that Craigslist is the best way to sell very large items (boats, kitchen tables, etc).
Facebook- These days, everyone is selling things on their personal facebook pages. I've had some luck with this myself. The downside? you are selling directly to your friends, so your audience is limited. Plus if the sale doesn't go according to plan, or your friend ends up feeling ripped off, there goes a virtual friendship.
Varagesale- Varagesale is an app for your phone (iphone atleast) that allows you to join local (real local, not like craigslist local) or world wide online yard sales. The app is free. You post your item for free. People comment through the app (they have none of your personal information!) and you decide on a place to meet (or you ship the item if its world wide). Everything is free, personal info is kept confidential, and it can be truly local. This is by far my new favorite way to sell!
Do you have any other good ways to sell your stuff? What are your thoughts on how to sell items?
With the holidays officially behind us, now is the perfect time. We all have more....stuff now, and likely need to clean out our closets. Maybe you got some things for Christmas that you don't necessarily want to keep, but couldn't return.
I know you were thinking Ï can re-gift this!" Why keep it around for a whole year, when you could sell it for a little extra cash now?
And what about all those Spring/Summer clothes that no longer fit (the kids of course, I know NONE of us have gained any weight over the holidays).
Why not get a jump on the spring cleaning and clean out the house and make some extra (vacation?) money. Have I got you on board? Then get to cleaning those closets out and compile all the stuff you want out of your house!
But now what, where do we sell these things. There are tons of options for selling items, and I've tried my hand at most of them.
Yard Sale- Yard Sales by far take the most time and effort on your part. You have to set up, price and man the sale all day long. You can get a good turn out, especially if you live in a high traffic area and get with a friend or two to make it a "multi-family"sale. However, it is 5 degrees out side today, and not really yard sale weather where I live. Plus, I just don't have a weekend to spend sitting in my front yard. This is actually my least favorite way to sell, just because it is so time consuming and dependent on the weather.
Consignment Sale- Believe it or not, consignment season is just around the corner. Consignment sales are generally held in doors and you will only be responsible for tagging your items, others work the sale. You need to be careful though, because some sales are very picky about how the items are brought in, especially clothes. They may require wire hangers facing a certain way with the tag in a certain place, etc. You will also be charged a fee to consign (around $10) plus they will take about 30% of your profit. I generally do very well with selling Children's clothes and bigger toys/furniture at these sales. Shoes also sell well. However, tagging can still be very time consuming and you loose part of your profit.
Ebay- Ebay was the original on-line yard sale. For this to work best, you will also need a paypal account. You list your item with either a set price, or allow people to bid. You can also charge the buyer for shipping or pay shipping yourself. I've always had my best luck by starting my item at $.99 and letting people bid and having the buyer pay shipping as well. You can also sell clothes or other items in "lots" or groups. Beware though, if you are new to Ebay, they will hold the buyers funds until the buyer receives their item, so you will have to pay shipping out of pocket at first. Ebay will also take a small percentage of the sale and so will Paypal. Shipping can also be time consuming and expensive up front. However, if you have the extra time and funds up front, I have gotten my biggest return from Ebay.
Craigslist- Craigslist, unlike Ebay, is free and local (and by local I mean everyone that considers themselves Nashville instead of Chattanooga). You can post your item for free, along with your phone number and people will call you about your item. Most people will try to haggle you and get a cheaper price. Once you have a buyer, you and the buyer will agree upon a time and they will meet you to get the item. I'm not as fond of Craigslist, because most of the questions/negotiations are done by phone and I don't particularly like having my phone number out in public. However, it is completely free and you are in charge of all pricing. I've found that Craigslist is the best way to sell very large items (boats, kitchen tables, etc).
Facebook- These days, everyone is selling things on their personal facebook pages. I've had some luck with this myself. The downside? you are selling directly to your friends, so your audience is limited. Plus if the sale doesn't go according to plan, or your friend ends up feeling ripped off, there goes a virtual friendship.
Varagesale- Varagesale is an app for your phone (iphone atleast) that allows you to join local (real local, not like craigslist local) or world wide online yard sales. The app is free. You post your item for free. People comment through the app (they have none of your personal information!) and you decide on a place to meet (or you ship the item if its world wide). Everything is free, personal info is kept confidential, and it can be truly local. This is by far my new favorite way to sell!
Do you have any other good ways to sell your stuff? What are your thoughts on how to sell items?
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