Transcript Podcast Episode 12: Selling Your Items Quickly and Easily
Selling Your Items Quickly & Easily
Wannabe Minimalist Show Transcript Episode 12
You’re listening to the Wannabe Minimalist Show, Episode Number 12. On today’s show we’re talking about how to sell all of the stuff you decluttered as quickly and as easily as possible.
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Welcome to the Wannabe Minimalist Show. I’m your host, Deanna Yates and each week on the podcast we will talk about what it really takes to be a minimalist with a family. I believe minimalism is a mindset for how we see stuff, but more importantly, being mindful of the items we let into our lives, homes, and relationships. Let’s do this!
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Well, hello there. Welcome back to another episode of the Wannabe Minimalist Show. I’m your host, Deanna Yates from Little Green Bow dot com. Today’s topic is one that was requested by several members in my 21-day declutter challenge. They’ve asked about taking photos for selling things, how to price items, where to sell things, and then how to follow through and actually get rid of items.
Some of you may have heard this part of my story before, but for those of you who haven’t back in 2014 my husband and I traveled around Europe for 6 months with our then 1 year old daughter. We were running a business together back then (which was all online) and realized that we could run it from anywhere with a solid internet connection.
So just about the time our daughter turned one, we decided to sell our stuff and travel. Yep, we became those people. When all was said and done, everything we owned fit in one 5 foot by 8 foot storage pod. We donated, tossed, and sold about 90% of what we owned.
It felt freeing and liberating and the $28,000, we made wasn’t too shabby either. Yep, that’r right we made $28,000 from selling our stuff so I know a thing or two about placing ads, selling online, and letting it go.
But, before we dive in and I talk about my tips and tricks for selling your stuff online, I want to remind you about the Wannabe Minimalist Group on Facebook. We’re a few days into our 21-day decluttering challenge so at the time of this recording there is still time to get in on the action and make progress.
If you missed out and are listening to this at a later date, you can still join the group and do the challenge at your own pace. The lessons will still be there as will some support from me and the community, but it won’t be quite as exciting as doing it all together.
It’s easy to join and you can get all the details by going to Little Green Bow dot com forwardslash challenge.
You deserve to live the life of your dreams. Your family deserves the get the best version of you on a daily basis. You know, the one where you enjoy your everydays instead of counting down the minutes until bedtime.
If you're tired of the chaos, I invite you to join me on the journey to minimalism that actually works for families. No, it's not stark white walls, one plate per person, and zero toys. It's a life filled with meaning, simplicity, and experiences and trust me...this side feels ah-mazing.
Join the Decluttering Challenge today and start this year lighter, energized, and focused on what matters most to you.
Go ahead...I guarantee you’ll love life on the other side. And did I mention it’s FREE? What are you waiting for?!? Head on over to Little Green Bow dot com forwardslash challenge to join in. Again, that’s Little Green Bow dot com forwardslash challenge.
Okay so let’s get back to the show and dive into how to sell your unwanted items online - quickly and easily so you can make some money, clean out your home, and enjoy this more minimalist life with your family.
First thing’s first, you have to decide what you are selling and where you want to sell it. When I cleared out my whole home in 2014, I walked around with a notepad and basically listed everything I could see in the room. Remember, I was trying to sell pretty much EVERYTHING we owned so this helped me keep track of it. If you are with me on the decluttering challenge, you may be adding new things to your list everyday. Or you may have items in your head that you know need to go.
Either way, I recommend writing down the items you want to sell on a list. I have even included a Google sheet template in the cheatsheet for today’s episode so you can keep track of your items easily.
You can get a copy of the cheatsheet for today’s episode by going to LittleGreenBow.com/12. That’s Little Green Bow dot com forward slash the number twelve.
The second step is deciding where you want to sell your items. Most people think of Craigslist or eBay first, but there are several places you can sell your items - both online and offline. Here are my 8 favorite places to sell things, why I like them and the items that sell best on those platforms.
Stick with me until the end of the show and I will give you my top 5 tips for how to successfully post your items online and create ads that will get your things sold quickly and easily.
First, let’s look at the leaders in the online market starting with Craigslist -
Yes, Craigslist has a good portion of the market share and I use it a lot when I need to sell things online. I like Craigslist because it can be easy to post items and there is some anonymity until you decided to sell an item to someone.
Things that sell the best on Craigslist are big items that cannot ship easily. This includes furniture, toys, vehicles, kitchen appliances, and sporting equipment.
The next big player in online sales is eBay. Admittedly, I have not sold many things on eBay, but my parents have and I’ve helped them with the process. eBay is great because it connects you to a larger audience. While Craigslist is best for your local market, eBay works great no matter where in the world your buyer is.
Things that sell best on eBay are collectibles, items that can ship easily, and hobby items like photography equipment. The buyer on eBay is usually looking for something very specific.
Another place to sell your items online is through Facebook marketplaces. The Facebook Marketplace allows you to list your items for free so that is one of the reasons to use it over eBay, but it is more localized so depending on your location, it may be better to cast a wider net with eBay.
Things that sell best on the Facebook Marketplace are popular goods like electronics, smaller items that are worth less than the cost to ship with eBay, and kids items - those parent groups can be crazy active on Facebook.
My final place to sell your items online is either Swap or ThreadUp. Both are sites for used clothing so I am including them together. Which you choose will depend on your style - I have heard of people having success on one site and not the other and vice versa.
These are great because you can send in your clothes and they will handle everything for the sale - taking photos, pricing, and placing the ad. You get paid via Paypal or with store credit. Any items they do not accept or that do not sell can be donated without any additional work on your end. Pretty great.
Those are my top 4 places to sell used items online and what works best on each platform. But, what if you prefer to sell offline or have a lot of items to post. Here are my favorite old-school places to sell your decluttered items.
First is the tried and true garage or yard sale. This is the easiest way to sell a bunch of stuff at once. However, I will never say that a garage sale is an easy thing to pull off. They can definitely be worth it and all of your effort is concentrated on one day so that might be a great option for you. The downside of garage sales is that buyers generally want a bargain - rarely will people pay the highest price at a yard sale and they often want to negotiate. You might also find that you are not able to have a garage sale in your area - perhaps it’s not allowed by an HOA or you live in an area where yard sales are not common. We’ve lived in several different states and garage sales were only common in about half of them.
The second way you can sell your stuff offline is though a consignment shop. The benefit of a consignment shop is that you can unload a lot of your items at once. The downsides can be that not all of your items will be accepted by the shop, you share your profits with the shop, you have to collect any items that do not sell by a specific date, and you do not get paid out until the item is sold by the shop. Designer clothing and Kid’s stuff tends to do the best at consignment shops.
The third way to sell your items offline is through a pawn shop. This is similar to a consignment shop in that you can unload a lot of your items at once. The downsides are similar in that not all of your items will be accepted by the shop, but once a pawn shop agrees to purchase your items, you get paid cash and will not be on the hook if the items does not sell to an end buyer after that point. For mitigating that risk, you will be paid less than the pawn shop plans to sell the items - just like on the show Pawn Stars - they have to make a profit - but you are free from your stuff and have some cash in your pocket.
Another way to sell your items offline is through used book stores. Of course as the name suggests, you will only be able to sell your books here, but books tend to be difficult to sell in any other online or offline format. Your payout from the used bookstore will either be in cash or in the form of store credit (which is usually a slightly higher payout than cash). The latter option is good if you like to read and want to purchase more books.
So there you have it 8 places to sell your unwanted and decluttered items. But, how do you craft a good ad so that your items sell quickly for the most money?
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Remember, I sold over $28,000 dollars worth of stuff in a matter of weeks online so I definitely learned a thing or two about creating great ads and posting them quickly.
These are my top 5 tips for selling your decluttered items quickly and easily.
1. Tip number one is to find the Right Listing Price.
My general rule of thumb is to sell and item for around 50% of current retail value. To get the current retail value, go online to Amazon and look up the item you are selling. Even if it costs more at other retailers, I generally tried to find the lowest price online and mark down from there. After all, if you were buying an item new, you'd look for the best price, wouldn’t you?
If someone can buy it new for $50, they are not going to pay that for your used item. That $50 price tag is the current market price and your gage for setting your sale price.
To make life easier, I list my used things just above 50% of the retail price. This provides room to negotiate as people often ask for a discount on Craigslist. For example, if the retail price is $50, I will list an item between $28 - $30. Generally, the buyer and I will settle on a $25 sale price, which is 50% of the retail value.
2. Tip number 2 is to let go of your emotions.
This one can be hard, but YOUR memories and emotional attachment are not why someone is buying your item. They are buying it to make their own memories. Once you have decided to sell something, you must detach your emotions so that you can let the item go and let it be useful to someone else.
This makes it easier to price the item accordingly as well. When you are pricing an item too high, it’s generally because you still have a strong emotional attachment to it.
3. Tip number 3 is to create an account on your selling platform.
Sure you have to do this on eBay, and you can only sell on Facebook with an account, but on Craigslist you only need an email. However, I highly recommend creating an account because it’s one of the best ways to keep track of multiple postings.
With an account, you will have a color-coordinated list of all of your items listed for sale, which listings are expired and which listings you have deleted (because an item was sold). If a posting expires and the item has not sold, you can easily edit the ad and quickly repost it without having redo the ad or upload the photos again. This is a HUGE time saver when managing several different postings.
4. Tip number 4 is to batch post your ads. I like to cut down on my ad creation by taking photos of several items all at once. This makes it easier to get good lighting, clear out a background space, and get into the groove of getting all of the shots and angles you need. Then I upload and resize all of the images once in a big batch. Finally, I’m able to write the ads and post them all at the same time. Batching can save a ton of time when you are posting a lot to Craigslist at
once.
5. Tip number 5 is to write great ads. A great ad means the difference between selling an item quickly or having it sit in the corner collecting dust. Remember, there is so much noise online so you need your ad to stand out. A good ad answers as many questions for the potential customer as possible.
Your ad needs to include:
The reason you are selling your stuff - this should be a reason highlighting the object, and not disparaging it. Don’t lie or pretend the product is something it’s not, but make the item look desirable to a buyer. An example might be, “Love this dollhouse, but my daughter has outgrown it.” Avoid saying, “I’m downsizing and getting rid of my clutter” - who wants to knowingly buy clutter?
Good descriptions - keep your description short, sweet, and to the point. Highlight the benefits and features and what you like about the item. If you're stuck, look at how other people are describing items like the one you have for sale. Use that for inspiration along with the ad copy from Amazon, Google, or the original brand's website. Your goal is to make someone interested in what you are selling!
Include keywords - when someone is looking for an item online, they will use the search function. You need your items to show up in those searches and keywords are how to do it. List all relevant keywords you think someone would use to search for your item like couch, sofa, love seat, etc. along with the color of the item like tan, beige, cream. You also want to include brands or styles as well as complimentary brands, like Pottery Barn and CB2 for an item from West Elm. Don’t overdo it, but you never know exactly what keywords someone will use so it’s best to use several variations.
Dimensions - when I first started selling online half of the questions I received were about dimensions and the size of the items. By including these in the ad copy in addition to the dedicated space on the ad platform, you can cut down on these easily answered questions, saving yourself a lot of time.
Great pictures - Your items will be judged based on what they look like in the pictures. Make sure the lighting is bright, the item for sale is not surrounded by a bunch of other clutter, that it’s clean, and that the image is not blurry. Not only will people be more inclined to look at your ad, but they will think you take better care of your items which will translate to more money in your pocket. And put your best image first!
There you have it! Those are my top tips for selling your used items both online and offline and how to create a great ad that will not only get seen, but get your item sold quickly, easily, and at the right price.
To recap:
My favorite places to sell online are Craigslist, eBay, Facebook marketplace, and swap.com or threadup.com.
My favorite places to sell online are a garage or yard sale, a consignment shop, a pawn shop, or used book stores.
Then my top 5 tips for selling your decluttered items quickly and easily are:
1. Find the Right Listing Price.
2. Let go of your emotions.
3. Create an account on your selling platform.
4. Batch post your ads.
5. Write great ads.
Your ads should include:
- the reason you are selling your stuff
- a good description that is too the point
- relevant keywords
- dimensions
- clear and bright photos
Now, it’s your turn…which of these places are you going to sell your decluttered items?
I’d love for you to jump over to the Wannabe Minimalist Facebook group and let me know, it’s totally free. You can search for us on Facebook. Again it’s the Wannabe Minimalist Facebook Group and I’ll be sure to leave a link in the show notes to make it even easier for you.
Come on over to the group and share one of the places you are going to sell your stuff so you can get it out of your house and start living the life you dream about. I can’t wait to hear from you and help encourage you on your journey toward less stuff and more happiness. So jump on over to the Facebook group and let me know what you are thinking.
If you liked this episode, I would love it if you would subscribe and leave a comment or rating so others can find this show too.
I’ll see you next week when we’ll be in the second week of our 21-Day Decluttering Challenge. We’re having so much fun in there and your before and after pictures are amazing!! Thanks for inspiring me and the other community members.
If you’re not in the group yet, join us. I hope to see you there!!!
So, this episode is might be over, but we don’t have to say goodbye just yet. Head over to my website, LittleGreenBow.com for tons of great resources, freebies, courses, and a link to join my free Wannabe Minimalist group on Facebook. Let’s tackle this thing together.
And if you loved this episode it would be really helpful if you left a rating or review so more families can find the show.
You’re awesome!
Thanks and see you next week.
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So, this episode is might be over, but we don’t have to say goodbye just yet. Head over to my website, LittleGreenBow.com for tons of great resources, freebies, courses, and a link to join my free Wannabe Minimalist group on Facebook. Let’s tackle this thing together.
And if you loved this episode it would be really helpful if you left a rating or review so more families can find the show.
You’re awesome!
Thanks and see you next week.