Selling your stuff

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Xarpho's Return

Xarpho's Return

has sort of lost it
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kiwifarms.net
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29 de Sep, 2022
I have various household things (toys, books, etc) I want to sell for a meager, if tangible profit. My question is how would I go about doing so? It's too low volume for a garage sale, the local flea market has closed down, eBay is increasingly hostile to sellers, and I don't know about Facebook Marketplace.

What advice do you have to give to a fellow kiwi who just wants to liquidate things without taking a 100% loss?
 
For fast sales do lots. You will lose money but will sell quicker than per piece.
Facebook Marketplace is fine, better than craigslist, more traffic. Leafs use Kijiji and Marketplace. Also heard of offerup and nextdoor (never used)
You can meet in a public parking lot if you don't want people at your home, list your address as a nearby store to your home (even if you are meeting somewhere else)
You can do whats called porch pickup, item on porch and buyer leaves money in mailbox. Not suggested if you live in a flat that's not 99.99% white
Try listing in multiple cities close to you instead of just 1 ad.
Have contact on the ad (phone number, email, Most will prefer texting over marketplace or phone)
Good photos (if its a mirror good luck)
Be aware and do not underestimate how stupid people are, and can be with their messages when inquiring on an ad, they are seriously that dumb. It surprises a lot of first time sellers, perhaps not a kiwi
 
When selling stuff one of the most important factors is time. The faster you need to sell the less money you'll get, if the buyer knows you need the money now they know they can rip you off. If you want the most from your stuff you got be OK with it sitting for awhile but being able to do that all depends on your circumstances.
One of the best things you can do is putting effort into your pictures and descriptions. Good lighting and a simple backdrop or cheap white cardboard photo box will make all your listing look more professional and credible. Even if a listing is cheaper and the item is in better shape if the photo is some lazy dim picture on the carpet People just aren't going to trust it.
 
Última edición:
If you're meeting people off the internet who want to buy your stuff, it can be good to meet them at your financial institution and have a teller run the bills through their machine. This will authenticate the bills and make sure there are no counterfeit ones (this is actually a big problem). If you're selling something for a few hundred or a few thousand, this can be doubly helpful for counting the money.

My family swears by Facebook marketplace but I've never personally used it myself. From what they've told me about it, I would recommend it.
 
I've used Nextdoor, Offerup, Mercari, and a few local websites. FB Marketplace is okay but full of weird scams. Wouldn't touch Craigslist with a 20ft pole.

You can also see if there's multi-family garage/yard sales in your area and see if you can hop in as well. Some places like community centers, churches, and local markets will facilitate swap meets but those usually have an overhead fee to sell, unless it's entirely nonprofit. Church swap meets usually don't charge but do hope you'll leave a charitable donation.
 
Mortan Shekelstorm dijo:
You can do whats called porch pickup, item on porch and buyer leaves money in mailbox. Not suggested if you live in a flat that's not 99.99% white
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This is where payment services like Zelle or Venmo come in handy. If you're doing porch pickup have them send you the money before they even start heading toward your house. Money in the mailbox seems like an easy way for people to steal from you.
 
Chongqing dijo:
If you're meeting people off the internet who want to buy your stuff, it can be good to meet them at your financial institution and have a teller run the bills through their machine.
Presiona para expandir...
Also some police stations have a spot setup for those kinds of transactions, promising at least somewhere that is physically safe from violence. People have been murdered for something as trivial as a game console.
 
Believe it or not Craigslist is still a thing, and its not good place for sellers, Buyers can get amazing deals on things because people are desperate.
 
eBay has worked well for me to sell items. Here are several things I do to make my life easier:

1. No returns. Returns give buyers an easier out to send an item back if it doesn't meet their exact specifications. No returns put the onus on buyers to make sure they really want the item. On my side, I take thorough pictures and include a lot of details, including damage and answers to anticipated question, in the description.

2. No auction. Unless your item is a hot commodity, you will always lose more money this way. Instead, I only do "Buy It Now" or "Best Offer," this gives me more control.

3. Pre-package and weigh the item to get accurate information for shipping. If I don't have a scale, any of the normal shipping stores will do it for free.

4. Include the cost of packing materials into the shipping costs.

5. No free shipping. I set the shipping price based on information from the previous two points.

6. No international shipping. This is always a pain in the ass.

7. I don't buy eBay's shipping label. I use third-party sites that offer cheaper rates. If eBay's is cheaper, then I buy their label.

8. Always communicate with buyers. If I can't ship an item immediately or some other issue arises that may delay the buyer from receiving the item, I let them know; usually they are fine with the delay and appreciative of the communication.

9. Don't use PayPal. eBay already cuts into my profit, and I don't need another company getting their cut just for being a middle man way. Thankfully, eBay allows for direct deposit for sales.

10. Feedback is everything. If a buyer doesn't leave feedback immediately after a sale, I follow up with a friendly reminder. I do that two more times and stop if they don't respond.
 
Flatline dijo:
9. Don't use PayPal.
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Can fucking confirm.

"Hello, this is Synchrony Bank, with Paypal Credit, calling for [Mom's name]"
"Um...she died a couple of months back, can I help you with anything else?"
"Oh! Our condolences for your loss."

Week later? I get a bill in the mail postmarked THE DAY AFTER, "This is a notice regarding your past due Paypal Credit balance..."

Nah, fuck 'em, all my niggas hate Synchrony Bank
 
Xarpho's Return dijo:
I have various household things (toys, books, etc) I want to sell for a meager, if tangible profit. My question is how would I go about doing so? It's too low volume for a garage sale, the local flea market has closed down, eBay is increasingly hostile to sellers, and I don't know about Facebook Marketplace.
Presiona para expandir...
eBay is still the best available option, and while they are not especially pro-seller, they are more pro-seller than the alternatives. Additionally you can keep perfect feedback on eBay by placating the crazies every now and then. It's worth it, unfortunately.
 
Not sure if FB Marketplace is viable; posted something there and ensured it was a valid listing, yet I couldn't find it when I went back to FB Marketplace without signing in.
 
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