How to make bank by selling your stuff online, Published on The Cusp, August 2016
If you are looking for a way to splurge on a second coffee at brunch or if you’re tucking some cash away for a new set of wheels, it’s all about bringing in extra income with minimal effort and resources. Selling some stuff you don’t need or want anymore is an easy win.
Selling your stuff involves resources that you most likely already have: stuff to get rid of, and a strong Wi-Fi connection. Get ahead of the pack with your spring clean this year and earn yourself some extra cash to spend, save, or throw in the air and dance around in all the extra space you’ve created.
Organise everything that needs to be sold in the one place
Dedicate time to take stock of everything: furniture, clothes, shoes, at-home-gym-items and put what you can together in the same place. You’ll be more motivated to get rid of things once you’ve seen the magnitude of what you have to sell and the amount of cash you can potentially trade it for. Being organised has the added bonus of less effort later when a sale has been made and you don’t have to hunt around at the last minute on a Saturday morning after Friday night dranks.
It's all about aesthetics
Taking a good photo can be the difference between a $30 sale and a $5 offer. Make it count. Think about lighting, background, and angle.
Plan to take your pictures when the light is optimal (direct sunlight is a no-no; filtered light or late afternoon are good). Where are you going to place the object for the photo? Some sources say that it’s good to have a model for a photo but let’s think about that for a minute: would you like to buy a dress you saw online worn by a total stranger? Unlikely, and this isn’t a K-Mart catalogue, it’s Gumtree. A nice white background or clean space works for everything from your 2007 maxi-dress to your 2011 treadmill. Win, win, cha-ching.
Get the headline right
Don’t waste your time putting all the juicy stuff in the item description. Get it all down in the item title to get straight to the point and not waste anyone’s time. We’re talking colour, size, measurements, brand, and condition. Use the description box to be upfront with any minor scratch or tear even if you have labelled it as brand new. Buyers will respect your honesty and you will filter out the ‘is there anything wrong with it?’ emails.
Shop it around different sites
The internet is a glorious haven of options and anyone who does not take advantage of such options should be considered a damn fool. To start with, post your ad on the basic sites: eBay, Gumtree, and Etsy. Then take it nek level and share on local Facebook groups for selling stuff.
There are major buy, swap, sell pages in Sydney and Melbourne, and more local groups in specific suburbs can easily be found with little extra effort. Plus, depending on the brand or style of your item there are even more localised groups that can be a great resource. Heard of the Gorman group yet? More posts means more shares which means more money and less stuff.
Know your market
Search for what you are selling online to see what other listings there are and what the general asking price is.
If you are selling a high value item it is useful to have it valued from a local source before you list the price as a backup when bargaining. For example, take your car to your mechanic for a ballpark figure and to arm yourself with some of the general lingo. Knowledge is power, you guys.
Bargain, but know your limits
If you are one of those people who doesn’t like bargaining then suck it up and learn because there is no room for them to smell your fear. This is basic negotiation, and you can do this.
Ask yourself what price you want for your item. Then add $20-$30 on top of this as your listing price. Everyone loves to bargain prices down, so if the $80 chair that you wanted $50 for goes down to $65, you’re pretty much a Rockefeller. Can only get offers of $45? You’re still only down $5.
Clear the clutter and score some cash. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.