Almost everyone has a ton of stuff they don’t really use but keep around anyway. Autumn may not be a season you traditionally associate with household clear outs. After all, it’s called a ‘spring clean’ for a reason! But, the run up to Christmas is a great time to have a sort through your old things and make room for the new things you’ll hopefully be given. And, you know what they say – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure – so if you can give your stuff a new home and make some money from it, then who are you to say no? We look at five ways to make money from having a good clear out.
Buy and sell on Facebook
If you’re a Facebook user, then it will have been hard to miss the local selling groups popping up in your feed lately. Taking their lead from old favourites like GumTree and Craigslist, they’ve become so popular that Facebook now has a whole section in their app dedicated to them – Facebook Marketplace. It’s free to sign up and there are no listing fees to advertise what you have for sale. The only real catch is that you don’t get paid for your goods until the buyer has received them. Have a browse around and see if anyone is selling anything similar to you, and how much for, to get a feel of what you could get for your things.
Top tip:
Local groups are a great way to get rid of bulky items like furniture that you need your buyer to collect from you. By advertising in a local group, you’re much less likely to get people wasting your time not realising how far away from them you are.
eBay
For years, eBay has had the monopoly on the online marketplace. Their online auctions mean that, if there’s demand for what you’re selling, you can end up making way more than the item is actually worth. Kerching! You can sell virtually anything, from the practical to the downright ridiculous (although we don’t recommend that…). There’s bound to be a category for whatever you’ve got to sell. The only real catch is the fees. You don’t have to pay to sign up to eBay, and you get 20 free listings per month, but eBay do take a small commission on anything you sell.
Top tip:
Link your PayPal and eBay accounts together. This saves you having to give your bank details to any strangers to pay you, and makes the whole selling process super smooth!
Trade in “hard copies” and old electronics
With the rise of services like iTunes, Netflix and Spotify, and space in your home ever precious, keeping hard copies of music, movies, and even books, is on the decline. Your old CD, DVD, video game and book collections are among the top things you can clear out to make some serious space and money for yourself. Once you’ve got rid of your CD and DVD collections, you can trade in your old players, consoles and other electronics for recycling to make a quick buck, too. They might be worth more than you think!
Top tip:
Check the trade-in prices for your items across a few sites to make sure you get the best price. You may also want to try putting things on eBay first. You could then use trading them in as a fallback, as you’ll often make more selling on eBay.
Boot sales
It seems like you see less of them nowadays, but good old fashioned car boot sales do still exist. You can find them advertised in local newspapers and online. While you may have to pay a “pitch fee” to reserve your spot, it usually isn’t a large amount of money and if you do well from your sales, the fee should end up paying for itself. If hanging out in the cold on weekend mornings doesn’t appeal, though, an online boot sale might be more up your alley. There are plenty around, ranging from national online sales to local, “classified ads” style ones, so it’s worth the research!
Top tip:
Be ready to haggle! Car boot sales are one of the few places it’s deemed OK to try and get something for as low a price as possible. Don’t be afraid to stand your ground if you think one of your items is worth more than you’re being offered for it. After all, if the buyer wants it badly enough, they’ll pay!
Feeling charitable?
Well, it is the season of goodwill after all. At this time of year lots of groups organise events to help those less fortunate. So, your autumn clear out can become a great way to give something back by donating to your local charity shop, homeless shelter, or even church. You won’t make any money, but you’ll get rid of your unwanted things in return for some warm fuzzy feelings. Knowing you’ve contributed to helping someone who really needed it is an amazing thing. You could also consider freecycling as a way of giving things away – simply advertise them on Gumtree or in a Facebook buying and selling group, and see what happens.
Our top tips for selling success
- Do your research before you sell anything – have a scan around the internet and see what others are selling similar items for. This will give you a good idea of what you should be asking for when you sell yours, and if actually anything you’re selling is a secret goldmine you didn’t know you were sitting on!
- Think about how you present your items for sale – whether you’re taking photographs of an item or writing the description, remember you are trying to sell them! While yes, you have to be honest about the condition something is in, that’s no reason not to photograph it well, in good light and a nice setting, and write a nice description about the quality of the item
- Ask for feedback – especially on online selling platforms like eBay, people who buy from you have the opportunity to rate their experience of you as a seller. The more positive feedback you have, the more likely people are to buy from you when you sell more in the future
Can you think of any other ways you can make money from your old goods? Let us know in the comments!
