I recently read that a typical home contains at least $1600 worth of clutter!
That is crazy to be sitting on such a treasure chest of potential fun. The trick is knowing how to turn your clutter into cash!
One of the biggest opportunities for making money from clutter is from what I call gift clutter.
You know, gifts that people give you that you don’t exactly want or need.
And that’s where I come in… I’m going to share with you right now some easy ways for selling clutter!
Many folks intend to sell things but aren’t quite sure what the best way to do it is and the items just clutter up their homes.
Here are some easy guidelines to sell clutter and actually make money from it!
Ballpark a value
First, figure out what you have and search on eBay and Craigslist to get an approximate value.
Check completed eBay auction listings too to see what items actually sold for, as opposed to live auctions that just indicate what sellers want for the item.
Can’t find the item?
Generally, you’ll get 25-50% of the original price back from selling it.
Of course each item is different and this is just a ballpark estimate.
Condition and item desirability factor a lot into the price decision.
It’s really important to do this little amount of research to get an idea of the going rate for items and see if it’s even worth your trouble.
Also, you don’t want to give your treasure away for peanuts.
Pick where you’ll sell your clutter
Next, figure out the best sales venue for selling clutter.
Is the item worth less than $10?
Then you might want to go with a garage sale or even donate that item.
It might not be worth your time to have a garage sale and deal with all the hassles that holding a garage sale entails.
Watch this video for help with making that decision:
Item worth more than $10?
Craigslist, eBay and Facebook are your new best friends!
Here’s how to go about working each of those sites along with some advantages and disadvantages too.
To sell items on Facebook, find local groups that are for sale by owner groups.
They’re essentially virtual garage sales groups that are great alternatives to Craigslist because it is really easy to list items.
Snap a picture of the item, describe your item in a new post in the Facebook group page and attach the picture you just took.
Make sure to include your price and other relevant details such as whether the item comes from a home with pets or smokers.
Also note the condition of the item (rips, stains, dents, chips, etc.), as the picture may not show everything a buyer would want to know.
Pros & Cons: Potentially faster than listing on Craigslist, and in my experience, there’s an ease to communication because everything stays within Facebook.
Interested buyers either comment on the item post or send a private message to indicate their interest.
Payment and item pickup arrangements are then made between the parties.
I’ve had items sell in 2 minutes of being listed.
It is pretty easy and painless to sell your clutter this way.
But on the flipside, there is a potentially smaller pool of potential buyers depending on how many groups are in your area and how many members are in each group.
Craigslist
To list an item on Craigslist, I highly recommend creating an account.
You’ll be able to manage all of your listings and can easily edit or re-list your items.
Once you have an account, start getting your items posted, using the same guidelines as described above.
Pros & Cons: Ability to list items anonymously.
Easy management of item listing.
Broad audience to reach.
Potential to get Spam messages, but they are filtered through Craigslist and the spammers do not have your real email address.
It’s really just an annoyance.
Learn to spot fake responses – people replying to your posting at 3 am are likely not legitimately interested!
Worried about meeting strangers?
Arrange to meet in a public place – a Starbucks parking lot, perhaps.
Or set a pickup time for when you know your spouse will be home.
eBay
If you have something collectible, a great option is eBay.
You’ll need to create an account, but the company has made listing items pretty easy.
Fill out the listing with an item description and condition information as described above.
Pros & Cons: Potential to get more money for items since you’re reaching a niche audience for your item.
You don’t have to meet people in person.
The biggest con is that you’ll likely have to ship the item, but if you like seeing the friendly folks at your post office, that could be a pro!
Need help selling your stuff?
Ok, so you’re convinced you’re going to de-clutter your home and line your pockets with cash at the same time.
But you’re still unclear about how exactly to do that…
Well, I’ve got you covered!
I’ve designed the perfect guide that walks you step-by-step through the entire process of posting your items for sale to what to do if your item doesn’t sell.
No more wondering about what information to include for quick selling clutter.
It’s all covered in the How to Sell Your Clutter Guide. Snag it now to start making some money from stuff that’s just in your way.
Over to you!
If you do make some moolah selling your clutter using the tips I’ve shared here, please let me know below!
I love to celebrate wins with my readers!
