Selling – Turn Your Unwanted Goods Into Cash!

So, you’ve been on a mission to declutter and simplify your life, or simply wanted to clear out some toys or clothing that the kids have outgrown? Or perhaps  you are looking for ways to make some extra cash in time for Christmas and the school holidays? According to this report by Gumtree, 89% of Australian households have unwanted items lying around, worth a staggering $4,200 on average. This unwanted stuff costs money and time to store or maintain, and takes up space that could easily be used for something else.

Once you’ve cleaned out the house, garage or shed of unwanted items (and been shocked by the amount of useless junk you’ve spent your hard-earned money on over the years), it’s time to move it on to it’s new home, and get back some of that cash into your wallet. So, where do you sell your items?

Facebook – with an abundance of local Buy, Sell, Swap groups, niche selling groups (clothing, cloth nappies, etc) plus Facebook Marketplace, it’s free and easy to list.

eBay – eBay is a massive platform, however I find the fees a bit high and items take longer to sell than they used to.

Gumtree – free and easy to list, you can sell anything from clothing to real estate.

Fishpond – free and easy to list, I find Fishpond great for selling books. They take a small commission from each sale, and postage of $5 (paid by the buyer) is automatically added to your listing price.

StudentVIP – got some old textbooks lying around? List them on Australia’s biggest textbook marketplace to clear them out for some cash.

Garage sale – holding a garage sale on a weekend morning can be a great way clear out a lot of stuff at once. Advertise the sale everywhere you can (including a flyer on community noticeboards), set everything up before the sale starts, and make sure you have plenty of change on hand.

Maybe you’ve turned a hobby into a small side hustle business, or discovered a knack for flipping items you’ve picked up cheaply? Here are a couple of places you can sell handmade items in addition to the ones already listed above:

Etsy

Made It

Local markets 

 

Tips:

• Take plenty of clear photos, and include as much detail in the listing description as possible.
• Always have some change on hand if people are picking up items in person from you.
• If you are willing to post items, know the cost beforehand. I personally only use the prepaid Parcel Post satchels from Australia Post, so I know the flat rate price, plus they have tracking available.

 

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash