Moving? Websites to Sell Stuff
If you’re moving an office or a home, you’ve got a great opportunity to clear out the junk that we all accumulate over time and maybe make a little money by selling off items that you really don’t use. After all, there is no point paying long distance movers to carry things you don’t need or want in your new place, and getting rid of a few things can make your next living space seem bigger, airier, and more spacious. Some extra money never hurts either- moving into a new home can be an expensive affair.
Traditionally, the best way to have a clear out was to host a garage sale. A big family could expect to shift a lot of goods in a single day, but garage sale prices were always low because of the limited audience. If it wasn’t a bargain, most garage sale browsers weren’t interested. More expensive items could be sold through the local newspaper classified section or by sticking a note in the corner store window.
Happily times have changed. The internet has revolutionized the way we buy and sell both new and second hand goods. The best services (and there are plenty of them) are free and they reach a huge number of potential buyers. Specialists looking for something very specific can find it very easily, and that means it’s easy to get the best prices for niche-market items and clear almost anything out of your home before the packers and movers arrive.
eBay is the giant of the online shopping world. On any given day there are tens of millions of listings on ebay.com, across several different countries and an unthinkably large number of different products, new and not-so-new. Although it’s used to sell all kinds of everyday items from cars to shoes to iPods, eBay has a reputation as a place to buy and sell some very strange things.
Famous sales include a piece of toast with the face of Jesus on it, the toilet from a jailhouse, a second hand rubber duck (said to be haunted), and a half-eaten piece of Justin Timberlake’s French toast. The latter went for more than $3000 so who knows what you could get for your weird stuff?
Craiglist and Gumtree have one advantage over eBay- they’re local. That means delivery is easier to arrange or you can ask the buyer to pick up heavy items like tables and computers. Both are listing sites rather than an auction sites, so you can’t let potential buyers bid on your goods, but they are is simple, easy to use, and very popular.
Zaarly is an up-and-coming marketplace. Buyers generally don’t pay until they’ve received their package in good order. Like eBay, they have payment processing options on site. Those can be very helpful if you’re concerned about the possibility of fraud.
Wherever you sell, it’s worth keeping security in mind. That goes double if buyers will be picking anything up from your home. Keep your personal details personal- use PayPal rather than handing over bank details, and never give out your credit card number.
