Want some extra cash in your hip pocket? With our four-step guide you can easily make money from unwanted items.
Step 1: Get organised
The first step to making money from the things you don’t want is to first determine what those items are. Go through every room in your house, sorting through your storage and organising your things into likened categories. Determine what is salvageable and what needs to be thrown away.
Step 2: Plan a strategy
Decide what medium you’ll use to sell your unwanted items. If you want to get rid of a lot at once, the classic garage sale is ideal. Advertise to your friends online, in the newspaper, or using signs/leaflets.
You can try selling your goods in the newspaper classifieds, but more affectively, there are now websites such as Gumtree which are the online version of classified ads. All you have to do is create a post, add a photograph and description of your item, and wait for interested buyers to contact you by phone or email. If you’re trying to sell clothing, you might want to try the site Etsy, which specialises in clothing, especially handmade and vintage items.
Additionally, to optimise your sales, consider the season: if your item is best used in summer, you’ll likely make more profit selling it accordingly.
Step 3: Set your price
As a rule, when selling furniture, cut the original price in half and further detract according to any damages. If you’re unsure on pricing, try Googling similar items.
Some items, such as rarities or antiques, might be worth a more substantial amount than you expected. If you suspect your item might be worth a lot of money, you can have the item appraised. This service can cost you a few hundred dollars, so do you research with comparable items online first. If you happen to possess a confirmed antique or rarity, your item will likely fetch its greatest return at an auction.
Other items will go for unexpectedly less. Many varieties of upright pianos, for example, are a dime a dozen on resale sites, and as such, it could be hard to get what the item might actually be worth. The more common an item, the harder it is to sell.
Step 4: Complete a sale
Once you’ve priced, posted, and found a potential buyer, you might need to negotiate the amount for which you are willing to sell the item. Sometimes lowering your expectations is better than losing a sale. Once settled, arrange to meet for exchange in person to ensure both sides are satisfied. It is also safest to plan that another person is present during the time of the sale.
Before you know it, your house will be free of clutter and your wallet full.