Inside: Use these five tips to sell unwanted items online quickly and profitably. You can make money from what’s become clutter in your home!
Have you decluttered your home and hoped you could make some money back on what you no longer want? While it’s true that your stuff isn’t usually worth what you spent on it, there is an opportunity to make money selling your unwanted items online.
The money you make could be used for something you’ve been budgeting for or simply saved for use at a future time.
Deciding to sell your things online is one thing, but doing it is another. The motivation to get started can be the biggest hurdle.
However, the main priority is to get as much money as possible and get rid of these items as quickly as possible. So how do you do that?
Here are five tips to help you sell unwanted items online quickly and profitably.
5 Tips to Sell Unwanted Items Online Quickly
Before you begin the process of selling your unwanted items online, you should take into consideration if the time and effort you’ll put in are worth it to you.
If you decide it’s worth the work, use these five tips to sell your unwanted items quickly.
1. Anything has the potential to sell
Decluttering your home might be on your mind right now, and it is worth remembering that anything has the potential to sell. Here are some of the things to think about.
Big-ticket items
One of the obvious things to think about would be to sell some of the big-ticket items you have in your home you no longer need. Perhaps you have invested in a new phone or computer, or maybe you have some designer items you no longer love.
These things can be stuffed in a cupboard or drawer and forgotten about where they could be making you some money.
Small things
Sometimes people think the small things are not worth the hassle of selling, but the money adds up.
Say you sell a t-shirt or some cups for $5, do that for ten days, and before you know it, you have $50 you didn’t have before.
Be open-minded
It is always a good idea to be open-minded and consider selling anything. What you might not see any value in might have a value to someone else. You will be surprised by what sells.
Likewise, the market may also tell you that something that you thought was valuable doesn’t actually have good resale value.
2. Don’t just stick with one platform
It is essential to ensure that you don’t limit yourself to one platform. It might be tempting to stick with one place because you have had success with it before or feel comfortable using it, but this could hinder your chances of a quick and profitable sale.
Instead, try a few different places. Here are some options to consider:
If you decide to list in other places, remember to remove those listings if the item sells so that you don’t end up selling it twice or causing issues for yourself.
3. Things to remember with the listings
Now that you have the items you want to sell, you are ready to go with your chosen platforms; the next thing to consider is the listings themselves.
Make sure that you do what you can to give yourself the best opportunity to sell. Here are two things you need to remember regarding your listings.
Clear images
One of the most significant assets you have when it comes to your listing is the images. The photographs you use will predominantly sell your things, so make sure you use clear images.
Make sure you take pictures in natural daylight and avoid any cluttered backgrounds. Provide multiple pictures showing different angles to give potential buyers a good feel for the product and its condition.
Take photos from different angles and close-ups of labels and any damage there is. The more pictures you have, the better chance you have of selling it.
No one wants to waste time driving to see a product that they aren’t sure about so the more you can remove that question for the equation to more likely you are to find a buyer.
Accurate and detailed descriptions
Another thing to consider is the descriptions. The more detail you put into the listings will increase your chances to sell the item.
Share any issues and damage, if there are any, and be clear with your descriptions. Include accurate measurements and sizing to prevent receiving messages asking these questions.
4. Make sure you do some research
Do some research before you list your item. It is an excellent idea to know whether specific platforms perform better with certain items and about the potential prices you could list for.
Here are a couple of things to consider researching before you click publish on your items listing.
Look at past listings
You can look at past listings on some platforms. This can help you to understand what sort of value some items have.
You may be surprised by what some things will go for at the end of an auction. It will then help you to add a realistic starting price or fixed price for your item to make sure you get that sale fast.
What sort of listing will work?
Another thing to think about would be which sort of listing would work well for you.
Many of the platforms won’t give you options on listing types, but eBay does.
Will an auction listing be better, or are the items selling for a similar price when a fixed listing would be more suitable? Try different things and see what works well for you.
5. When and how to start
Finally, the biggest hurdle you can face is the motivation to get started. You may want to get rid of things in your home but feel like time is not on your side, or you just don’t know where to start.
These two things will help you get going to help you sell your unwanted items once and for all.
Set yourself a goal
Setting goals can be a great way to help you get to where you need to be and start listing things for sale. It could be a simple goal of one or two items a day.
You will find it gets more manageable and you’ll get your postings up faster as you go. Before you know it, you’ll have all of your listings up and running.
Do one area at a time
If you’re listing items while still decluttering, continue with the process one area at a time. It could be a set of drawers, a cupboard, or a room.
Sort your unwanted items into sell, donate, recycle, or trash. Continue to post additional listings as you run across more items that you want to sell.
Set a deadline
You don’t want selling items to end up creating a lot of clutter in your home or garage as you wait for items to sell. Price your items competitively but also give yourself a deadline for when the items needs to be sold by.
If it isn’t gone by then, it’s time to donate it. Then relax and enjoy the benefits of having a decluttered home.
Now You Can Sell Unwanted Items Online Quickly and Profitably
I hope you’ve found these tips helpful as you sell your unwanted items online. If you find that selling online isn’t for you, you could always consider hosting a yard sale instead.
If neither of these options feels worth the time and effort they require, it’s also completely ok to simply donate your unwanted items.
The end goal is to get the clutter out of your home (and maybe make a few bucks in the process)!
Want to keep up to date with The Simplicity Habit? Sign up on the form below and get weekly simplifying and decluttering tips sent straight to your inbox. You’ll also get the free Decluttering Jumpstart which includes 100 easy items to declutter and 12 high-impact areas to declutter in 10 minutes.
