Selling personal belongings online – tips and tricks

Have you always wanted to sell your personal items on the Internet? It may seem like a great opportunity to earn money. However, you should know everything about the online market before you venture onto this adventure. For this reason, here is the compilation of all the essential tips and tricks for selling personal belongings online.

Advantages of selling personal belongings online

If you are still a little bit unsure about selling personal belongings online, here are just some of the advantages.

• Decluttering. Do you have some clothes that you have not worn in ages? They are still good as new and you cannot just throw them in the garbage. For this reason, you can sell them online and make a place for new clothes to come. You can even apply this method when decluttering your office space.
• Money. Money is an extremely good reason to start a business. Not only will you get rid of the things you no longer need, but you will profit from it as well.
• It is easy. You do not have to organize a garage sale or rent a space. The Internet is your platform, which is free and accessible to everyone.

The spring cleaning

Before you start selling your personal belongings online, you should do long overdue spring cleaning. Start with the closets then move to cabinets and drawers. However, do not just throw all your clothes on the floor and hope for the best. Have several bags or boxes prepared for the categorization. One should be for “trash”, other for “selling” and the last one to “donate”. Some of your belongings can be in a pretty bad shape that you cannot sell them. For this reason, you should also rent a dumpster in order to easily throw away all the unnecessary things. Lastly, do not start decluttering a new room before you finish with the current one. You will only make it hard for yourself.

Where is the best place for selling personal belongings online?

You have three best options for you.

• Amazon. When you make the sale, the money can be deposited into your bank account if you decide to connect it. Amazon will charge a fee if you make the sale. The fee depends on the price of your items. However, you should keep in mind that Amazon is extremely popular and you will have a tough competition.
• eBay. With eBay you have two options; you can either have your payment deposited into your bank account or use PayPal. Similar to Amazon, eBay also will charge you for listing and it is based on the item’s value.
• Craigslist. Lastly, you can use Craigslist. Good news is that they will not charge you any fees nor will they take transaction fees. However, there are a couple of exceptions you should check out beforehand if you decide to use this site.

Deciding on the price

Now comes a little bit tricky part. How much you should ask for your personal belongings? You should not go overboard but rather be objective. Research is the best option you have at your disposal. Surf the Internet and see what other people have done. Find the highest price and the lowest for the item that is the same as yours. It would be best if your price is in the middle on that scale. If you wish to sell the item as quickly as possible, then price it towards the low end. This may seem like a hassle and upcoming headache but selling personal belongings online is the best for residential junk removal.

Appeal to the public

As you might already know, you are not the only one trying to sell their items on the Internet. For this reason, you should try to attract potential buyers. The best way to do it is with a good description. Be as thorough as you can because people like details. This should include the following information.

• How old is your item
• Does it have any flaws
• How often have you used it/worn it

If you are honest with your customers, you will make a name for yourself and people will have trust in you. There are many scammers on the Internet and if one is sincere, it will pay off.

Selling personal belongings online with a good picture

A picture is worth thousands of words. A good description is necessary and you should include it. However, nothing attracts buyers like a quality picture. Take quality pictures of your belongings. This does not mean you have to buy a professional camera in order to make them. You can always google how to do it. Make sure to include all the flaws that your items might have since that will show your honesty. In addition to this, upload several pictures instead of just one. People love to see the item from all the sides and angles. Lastly, a small tip for you. You do not have to post a picture for the books on Amazon since it will automatically put it after you enter the title.

Shipping

Shipping is also important if you wish to sell your things online. Make it clear who is paying for shipping as it will help you to find more customers. Some people sell their items for relatively cheap but then they charge 15 dollars for shipping. This is not the way you should behave but be more considerate. If your item is an expensive one, then you can offer free shipping since you will earn enough money with the item alone. In addition to this, invest in some sturdy boxes, wrap the items well and ship quickly. You will get good reviews, which means more potential buyers. After you earn some money, you can put it to the good use, such as moving to the new state, Massachusetts for example. Search about moving costs Massachusetts and you can see how much you need to earn from the online selling.

Selling personal belongings online

If you have time and patience, do it. You can declutter your place and earn some additional money.