Selling your belongings online – tips and tricks

Low on cash and looking for an easy way to pad your budget a little? Selling your belongings online could be the solution you’re looking for! It’s a simple and quick way to earn some extra money while decluttering at the same time by getting rid of this you no longer need. That’s a win-win situation, especially when you’re in the middle of planning a move. But selling your belongings online can also be a bit of hit-and-miss. That’s why Spyder Moving Services put together some useful tips and tricks for you. This simple advice is sure to help you make the most of your online sales!

Why selling your belongings online is a good idea when moving?

Having too much stuff is one of the biggest obstacles you can run into when moving. Packing a lot of things takes a lot of time and a lot of supplies. And the price of whichever moving company services you decide on increases with the number of things that need to be moved. Overall, more stuff means more time and more expenses when you’re moving. That’s why selling your belongings online can be a great way to make relocation easier while also cutting costs.

Selling your belongings online – the what

Obviously, you can’t just up and list everything you own. So how do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of?

Things to keep

Picking out the things to keep should be relatively easy. Anything that you use on the regular, be it clothes you wear, pots you cook in, the furniture you sit on or books you read, should move with you. In addition to that, family heirlooms, photo albums, and pretty much anything of sentimental value, especially if it can’t be replaced, should make the list.

Things to get rid of

Get rid of everything you already don’t use or won’t be using in the near future. This includes furniture you plan on replacing, clothes you’ve grown out of, and technology you’ve upgraded just to name a few. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used it in the last year, you probably don’t need it anymore.

To sell or to donate, the question is now

Of course, you will trash anything that is no longer useable. But things like outdated clothes that aren’t ripped lightly used furniture or kitchen appliances still in working order don’t deserve to go in the bin. You can either sell them or donate them. Think about the value of the item in question – is the money worth the time and effort you need to put in to sell it? If not, donate it instead. The donation can also be a saving grace when you want to get rid of stuff quickly as it doesn’t involve listing the items, bidding on them, and shipping them. Organizations like Goodwill accept donations all the time and will be grateful for everything you can spare!

Selling your belongings online – the where

There are a lot of places to sell stuff online. How do you choose the right one?

Choose a site based on the item

Not all sites suit all types of things you might want to sell. Art pieces and crafty items, for example, will sell well on Etsy. Used furniture, on the other hand, probably won’t. It’s important to match the item you’re selling to the site you’re selling it on.

Sites specifically for selling and reselling

Websites like Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist are your best bet for the widest variety of stuff and fastest sales. You can sell pretty much anything on these websites and their international popularity will certainly widen your clientele. Once you make a profile on some of these websites, you need to make your profile look good. This way, you will attract more potential customers since they are going to believe that you are a genuine person selling something. From home appliances over furniture to small things, you can literally sell anything. Make sure that when you sell something, or when you need to move, hire long distance movers Memphis since they are going to take great care of your belongings so you can have peace of mind!

Social media

Social media, especially Facebook groups, and Twitter is another great way of selling your belongings online. Furniture and electronics go fastest on these sites. But their biggest advantage is that they allow you to get in touch with locals easily. So if you want to sell bulky and heavy items but don’t want to break the bank shipping them or lug them around far, social media can be a good idea. If you want to save up some extra money, you can always search for the cheapest Memphis moving companies in order to find the best deal possible. Not to mention that when you are using social media in order to sell something, you can ask your friends to share it on their profiles. This will significantly increase your chances of selling something!

Read the terms and conditions (and the fine print too)

Okay, we know nobody actually reads the terms and conditions before agreeing to them. But in this case, you should. Some websites will charge you a fee for the membership or take a commission out of your sale.  Don’t be afraid to take out as much time as you need to read it. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before deciding where to sell your stuff. In return, you will know everything about the website you want to use to sell your belongings. 

Selling your belongings online – the how

Once you’ve settled on what to sell and where you need to know how to do it best to maximize your chances at success. If you’ve never downsized before or are a student moving for the first time, you may not have any experience selling your belongings online. The process, however, is not as frightening as it might seem. Before we even deep dive into the steps of how to sell certain items online, you need to keep in mind one important thing that people tend to overlook. Make sure to do research on prices for an item you’re trying to sell. This way, you will know exactly how much you can sell something. Believe it or not, people make a common mistake by underpricing their own possessions and eventually selling them for a lower price. 

Marketing matters – take good photos

People are visual creatures. Keep that in mind when listing your belongings on various sites. A good photo will grab the attention of potential buyers and tell more than a thousand words you could write about the item in question. Use only high-resolution photos, include any details that could be selling points, and try to take photos from different angles. Also, make sure your items are clean when you are taking pictures for an ad. It might look newer and you might be able to sell it for even more money than you’ve initially planned. 

Tell a story that sells but remember that honesty is the best policy

Make sure to really sell what you’re listing. Highlight the selling points, whether it’s the durability of a leather jacket, the age of an antique, or the comfort of a sofa. Don’t go too far though – make sure to mention any potential damage and be honest about the condition of the items. Lying might have your sale falling through at the last minute. You know that many websites where you can sell your belongings have user profiles. You can rate user profiles with either good or bad grades. With that in mind, you don’t want your profile to have bad grades because that will drastically affect the chances of you selling something. Also, when selling something, it’s a great idea to hire Spyder Moving Services so you minimize the risk of something unwanted happening.

Even with all the necessary information, your descriptions should be brief and to the point. Try formatting them in a way that allows the highlights to be easily found: no one wants to read through a huge block of text just to find the dimensions of a bookshelf.

The price is right – be realistic

When pricing your items, research what similar things are selling for. Try to remember what you paid, then lower the price a little for age, use, and damage. If something matters to you a lot, you may be tempted to put a higher number on it. But then you risk not being able to sell it. Remember that selling things at all will make your relocation easier even if you’re not making a large profit and even if parting with your belongings can be hard!