Last month I shared where you can take all that stuff you don't want in your house anymore out for donation. Maybe you want to make a buck or two though on your items and you need some ideas for how to sell it all. Hopefully this blog post will teach you at least one new method that would be helpful to you... |
Okay, so I know this is the last thing you want to do with your weekend, especially when the alternative option is to sleep in for the first time in over a week! The good news is, you can get it over and done with early in the morning on Friday, or Saturday and then hopefully, enjoy the rest of your weekend. The trick is to price everything well, and by well, I mean low! A good garage sale price is 75% to 90% below the retail price you originally paid for the item. It's practically impossible to sell everything and make a lot of money by overpricing your items! People are looking for deals when shopping garage sales, and even if your item is really nice, they won't buy it if it's priced too high. Have plenty of grocery bags on hand and discount your prices in the last hour or two of the sale. Another great way to ensure you don't have to pack everything that didn't sell back up for another sale, or load it in your vehicle for a donation drop off, is to let your customers give you their best offer, as well as to sell in bulk... "Oh, you want to buy that book? Take the other 10 for just one more dollar!"
Craigslist (https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites)
Clearly, this option has its plus and minuses. No matter who you are, or how old you are, you know about Craigslist. It's online and local, you can list everything individually in the comfort of your own home and air-conditioning, and you don't have to take it to the post office to ship it to a buyer. The not so positive factors: your phone may be ringing off the hook with potential buyers, you either have to invite people to your home or meet them in a public place for safety reasons, and it can be overwhelmingly time consuming if you have multiple items being posted for sale... especially a garage sale full. Now, this can be a great option for selling all that's left after a garage sale. To do so, sell it all for one price. For someone to PAY YOU to clear out your driveway and take it all away - that's a great deal right there!
MaxSold (http://maxsold.com/)
Have a full house to sell? MaxSold is an online auction company, based out of Canada, but also a great option for those in the states. It can be a seller-managed sale, or you can have a Professional Organizer or Senior Move Manager manage it for you. MaxSold can sell everything, including the kitchen cabinets! With a 98% sell-rate, you can be confident it will all go! The great thing about this method of selling, is that MaxSold does all the advertising, they communicate with potential buyers, and they collect the money! The auction process takes one to two weeks and everyone comes within a four hour timeframe to pick up their purchased item(s). They bring their own resources to pack and haul it away too! If you have an Organizer do the sorting for you, that may come at an hourly cost. At the end, MaxSold gets 30% of what sells. You walk away with 70%!
Estate Sale
Having an estate sale is another option to sell your household contents. Furniture, glassware, kitchen utensils and appliances, decor, almost everything! I have seen fees range from 40 to 70% of the profits to have an estate sale in Central Florida. Sorting for the sale usually requires a team of estate sale representatives in your home for upwards of a week, maybe more in a larger home. Make sure you know and understand all of the contract details... is the time involved in sorting paid for within the percentage charged for the items that actually sell, or does this cost extra? If it costs extra, don't be surprised if you have funds due to the estate sale company at the end of the sale! I have moved clients who were completely shocked with this happening to them!
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/)
This is something my mother-in-law has mastered! If she sees something in her house she doesn't need anymore, she takes a picture of it, and posts it to multiple Facebook groups at once. Usually, it's sold within 30 minutes! Depending on the item, she meets the buyer for a pickup or dropoff, makes the swap, and it's done! Makes it easy when it's just one or two items at a time, but you could certainly dispose of a whole home of contents overtime if you needed to! Look up garage sale groups in your area on Facebook, ask to join, and practice by selling one item. Remember to be cautious, and to be safe, and meet the buyer at your local police station or sheriff's office!
I hope this gave you a few tips and resources you could use to get rid of all that stuff you don't want anymore! Feel free to reply below if you have any others you'd like to add.
Your Professional Organizer & Certified Senior Move Manager®,
Nicole Ramer
321.624.1690