Selling Strategies
1) Garage Sale
b. advertising – signs, classified ads
c. labor and negotiating
d. exhausting
e. people try to get the lowest price possible
f. in person, cash transaction
g. break down after sale
h. donate leftovers by taking them to Goodwill or put a FREE sign on stuff in front of your yard
i. non-internet based (except for free online advertising if you wish)
j. relies on foot traffic or neighborhood for business
k. Venmo payments are becoming popular
Garage Sale Final Analysis: lowest return money-wise, the quickest way to clear stuff out
2) Craig’s List
b. create listing
c. receive text or email from interested party
d. lots of “back and forth” communication with potential buyers
e. meet at some public place to make a sale
f. deal with flakes and scammers
g. in person, cash transaction
h. reaches a wider base of buyers, still mostly local buyers
i. great for large bulky items that are too big to ship
j. Venmo payments are becoming popular
Craig’s List Final Analysis: money is fair, even if one wants a good deal, one gets better prices than at a garage sale. Slower way to move stuff, selling one item at a time for the most part
3) eBay
b. take photos
c. create listings
d. sell, ship
e. online transaction
f. be organized, what’s listed, where to store listings?
g. buyers leave feedback and ratings
h. best selling prices for collectibles potentially
i. fees involved: listing and final value fees and PayPal fees, shipping costs if you offer FREE shipping, supplies
j. occasionally buyers want refunds or to return items
k. not great for hard-to-ship/large items like a dining table or ping pong table.
How do I, Anne Z sell my stuff?
I do a combo of all three. I have 2-3 garage sales a year. They are exhausting but nothing goes back into my house when my deal ends. It cleans out a lot of stuff, even if the sales are slow. Ads are free if one uses, paper signs over and over again. Use NextDoor and Craig’s List for free advertising rather than a local newspaper for paid classified ads.
I have 30+ listings running on Craig’s List at all times. I try to list new things a couple of times a week. Free to list. Lots of scammers which can be annoying. Local deals on most items. Many nice and friendly buyers.
I have over 1600+ items listed currently on eBay. eBay takes the most work, but the potential is there for selling at a higher price than a garage sale or CL. I love eBay and continue to list every day and sell every day. Most of my successful sales are on eBay.
As a long-time seller of almost twenty years, I have taught many folks how to sell on eBay. I used to give live-in-person classes to people, but now I’ve branched out to the online course world.
Shipping Tools
You can find most of them on eBay or where noted. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Free Priority Stickers and Boxes – USPS.com
- eBay branded packing tape
- Clear shipping tape
- Give away business cards – Vistaprint.com
- Thank you stamp and ink pad
- Fragile stickers
- Post it notes and pen
- Soft tape measure
- 2-Up Plain Shipping Adhesive Labels
- Postal Scale (up to 90 pounds)
- Scissors – 2 pack
- Electric Cordless Scissors
- Rollo Thermal 4×6 Printer *** The best tool ever! No INK needed!
- 1000 – 4×6 Labels (for the above Rollo printer)
Hopefully, you can find a solution for what to do with all your unwanted stuff.
Comment below and let me know what works for you!
Lily Leung
Wow, good for you, Anne! I hate selling so I’m no good at it. My hubby is good at it so I let him do it. He uses Kijji which is like Craig’s List.
Lily
Anne Z
Hi Lily-
Hope you keep your hubby on track! I will check out Kijji! Thanks for the tip! ANNE