How to sell your used things online

Do you have a lot of stuff occupying your home space and collecting dust? Maybe it’s time to jump on the tidy-up train and get rid of the things that can find a new owner who will actually use it? Junk for you can be someone’s treasure.

Whether you want to clean up after all these months of working from home, or it is an embrace of minimalism or a desire to be more sustainable – selling your used things is the way ahead. And let’s not forget that you can make some money in the process.

Garage salles surely could be an option, but if you want to make it fast without wasting much time on it, selling your stuff online is the best way to go.

What are the most popular things to sell online:

These days you can actually sell online almost anything. However, there are some categories of products that are always on demand, which will make your task to get rid of it faster:

Electronics, video games, mobile phones, headphones, and accessories. These are the top-selling things.
Branded clothes and shoes. It’s always easier to buy things from the brand you know.
Toys and stuff for kids. Children grow fast and a lot of things get unnecessary in a bit.
Furniture, interior décor, and carpets. Some people decorate the entire houses with second-hand items.
Sports equipment.
Household appliances. Used but working vacuum cleaner or microwave are cheaper than the new ones and do the same job.

Some items are harder or even illegal to sell online

The first thing one needs to do to sell things is to evaluate their value and if there is a buyer for it.

If the item is in very poor condition is quite unlikely that there is a buyer for it out there.
Fiction literature is not really on-demand at the reseller’s platforms.
Luxury goods, like expensive fashion clothes, accessories, and jewelry are harder to sell on bigger marketplaces. There are several special platforms that resale luxury goods and offer security, checking all items for authenticity. However, their commission is high.
And remember: weapons, explosives, poisons, currency, precious stones, X-ray equipment, drugs are illegal to sell without a license.

Here we gathered some of the most popular web-resources to sell used things online

Facebook Marketplace

Anyone who has Facebook account can access Marketplace through the website or app. Very comfortable place to sell without any fees to your staff for local pickup or offer shipping. However, it offers less sellers protection and it has a considerable amount of scammers.

Poshmark

You can list almost anything at Poshmark, but it is best known for selling name-brand clothes, shoes, and accessories. It doesn’t cost anything to list your items for sale, but Poshmark does charge a fee for each sale.

This platform offers some useful features, like people can follow your store on Poshmark and if you list similar items frequently, and this is how you may get repeated sales. You can also offer discounts for multiple purchase. However, Poshmark has a restriction to several goods categories, so you can’t list there: cellphones, DVDs, furniture, and others.

Mercari

On Mercari you can sell almous anithing without a face-to-face meeting, so all orders are shipped. Listing your items for sale is free and a fee is charged on all purchases. Payments are made to your Mercari account and than could be transfered to your bank account. Regular transfers may take a few business days, but you can pay $2 for an instant transfer to your bank.

Beware of scammers. If someone asks you to complete a sale outside of the site where your item is listed, decline.

Decluttr

This marketplace works a little differently than other selling sites. Instead of selling person-to-person, you sell to Decluttr and they do the rest. This may be a good option for your if you want to sell your goods fast, as you don’t have to wait for the right person to come along to buy your item. However, you might make more on the other sites.

EBay

You can sell pretty much anything on eBay. The main advantage of eBay over other platforms is that you can allow offers rather than selling for a fixed price. This allows buyers to make offers on your item, and you can choose to accept or decline them, or make a counteroffer. However, as the platform is so big, you should put an effort on four elements of the perfect listing: a descriptive title, a clear item description, high-quality photos and a competitive price.

Bonanza

Bonanza operates like an online shopping mall. Rather than having individual listings, each seller operates a “booth” where you can sell multiple items at once. This might not be the best platform if you just want to free yourself from one or two things, but if you are looking to make repeat sales, this could be the best place for your goods.

How to prepare your goods for sale

Here we gathered some main checkpoints to sell your things fast, easy, and more profitably:

Make sure it’s clean and in the condition, you specified. Even it should be a no-brainer, there are still an of cases the item arrives dirty or broken. Make sure you did it all right, which will save your time from dealing with complaints at least.
Take high-quality photos. Good presentation of your things is the key. A good setup and natural lightening can actually do the sale. But make sure the color appears accurate in the picture.
Write detailed descriptions with as much information as possible. It will save you and your customers time.
Measure everything. Sizing can be confusing, especially when selling clothes, which can range widely in size from brand to brand. Use a tape measure to an accuracy of all dimensions of your items.
Figure out what shipping you will use. Think ahead of the right packaging, use bubble wrap and paper to ensure that your item is secure.
Ship your goods on time. When selling online, it’s essential to establish a good record with buyers. Delivering your things on time and in a good condition is surely the best way to get a good review.

How to establish the price

After figuring out what you want to sell, you need to get an idea of how much you can sell it for. The best way is to research the prices for similar items, to get to know the market better. This also can give you’re an idea of how to describe your item and what features the customers are expecting to see.

Most of the times, it makes sense to list an item online for a little more than you’re willing to accept to make room for barging. Most secondhand shoppers are trying to score a deal and will make offers that are generally lower than your asking price. And if an item doesn’t sell, you can always drop the price later.

Actually, don’t be afraid to drop the price. If you’ve got something that’s been hanging out in your listings for more than a couple of weeks, it might be a sign that your price is a little too high for buyers. Drop it by 10 percent or more, and watch the buyers roll in.

Protect yourself from scams

There are plenty of scammers on the internet, and marketplaces are no exception. Make sure that you’re only conducting transactions through the platform’s official channels, and use protected payment methods.

Use e-gree Purchase and Sale contract, that will to memorialize the terms of most any purchase and sale transaction. The e-greement will cover a wide variety of private party, retail and commercial transactions for new or used goods. Examples include: cars, bikes, jewelry, electronics, equipment, and household goods. Whether negotiating online or face-to-face, simply open the app, negotiate the terms most important to you both, and, as quick as a handshake, you will have a clear and concise written contract describing how your transaction will be accomplished.