1) Garage Sale
a. Set up time
b. advertising – signs, classified ads
c. labor and negotiating
d. exhausting
e. people try to get lowest price possible
f. in person, cash transaction
g. break down after sale
h. donate leftovers
i. non internet based (except for free online advertising if you wish)
j. relies on foot traffic or neighborhood for business
Garage Sale Final Analysis: lowest return money wise, quickest way to clear stuff out
a. take photo
b. create listing
c. receive text or email from interested party
d. lots of “back and forth” communication with potential buyer
e. meet at some public place to make 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
Craig’s List Final Analysis: money is fair, even if they want 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
a. need to learn the ropes: set up ebay and paypal accounts
b. take photos
c. create listings
d. sell, ship
e. online, paypal 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 items like a dining table or ping pong table.
eBay Final Analysis: best chance to make more money, need to be consistent and use best practices to be a successful seller. More potential buyers (millions) because eBay has a huge internet presence, and you can find most everything on eBay!
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 sale is over. 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 local newspaper for paid classified ads.
I have 20+ listings running on Craig’s List at all times. I try to list new things a couple 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 600+ items listed currently on eBay. eBay takes the most work, but the potential is there for selling at a higher price that 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 lots and lots of 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. Here is a link to my class. The price is right if you are interested in learning how to sell from a PRO!
Shipping Tools
You can find most of them on eBay or where noted.
- 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 75 pounds)
- Scissors – 2 pack
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