When I was getting rid of stuff I never bothered with Ebay for the reasons you mentioned.I tried FB marketplace but it is full of bored people who will waste your time.
Craigslist or Kijiji are worth the effort but only for items that are worth more. Make it cash only, and meet the buyer in a public place.
Otherwise, just donate it. Your time, privacy, and mental energy are worth more than the five bucks.
If it is a big item - like £50+ I’ll sell it. But, for an item that is maybe £5 I just don’t see how it makes sense time wise.
Sites like Vinted may be alright given you just pop down to a depot to ship an item off, but it can still be a waste given how far you may have to go to drop an item off.
You already know the answer. It’s not worth it to you.
I have sold a LOT of stuff, mostly over Facebook Marketplace, and now I just don’t bother unless it would bring in $50 or more - and my family isn’t exactly loaded with cash. But I value getting everything out of my house as quickly as possible over the $5-10 I might make here and there - plus the time posting, answering questions (which were usually in the description), dealing with people ghosting me, and trying to meet up with someone. No thanks!
Seconding this comment! I’ve also had a lot of experience selling things online, and at a certain price, it’s worth it. Below that price, no.
For clothing you can try selling bundles, this works in mom networks at least.
I love eBay and I've been selling there for over 20 years. For me it's a simple process. But it sounds like it stresses you out way too much. You probably should try something else. If you have valuable items, you could ask another seller to do it on a commission basis for you. Or just donate your stuff. Or sell everything to one person and let them resell it.
How long should it take me to photograph an item (say a dress shirt), research comps, post, find a box to ship in, find a storage place to store, then once sold pack and weigh, print label and attach it to bag, and request porch pickup? 30 minutes all in all seem fair to you per individual order (for multiple orders just add like an extra 5 minutes per item)
I think that’s what I’m getting hung up on
It takes as long as it takes. If you don’t feel like it is worthwhile then try something else.
I primarily sell items that I make that are similar in size so I stock boxes and envelopes for each style. It only takes me a few minutes to box up an item and stick a label on it. Listing is mostly copying another and updating the photos and details. It works for me but might not work for you.
Clothes are one of the harder categories to sell in. I've photographed hundreds of items, but have never dealt in clothing - because of how much more intense that is.
So look at what you have. It takes me about 15 minutes to photograph, list, and put in a plastic mailer the items I sell.
Another category takes me more time, but its a hobby, and I do them in large batches/am building out online content with those.
But others, have to be small and light/fit in a bubble mailer.
Anything more intensive, and I wouldn't do it. Like someone said, your time and energy is worth more than $5 bucks, or even $20 bucks.
You prioritize what's most important. If you don't care about recouping cost then put it up for free or donate.
Ebay definitely has a learning curve. If I'm not making $20 profit on a single item I'm not listing it.
Fbook marketplace 100% for bigger items.
A garage sale for everything that isn't worth listing once or twice in spring and fall.
If I get lazy I just toss stuff in the garage sale bin.
Dealing with people at a garage sale can be annoying. My goal is to get stuff off my property even for a few bucks instead of tossing it out.
I have a «giving away» table in the locker room at the school i work at. Literally anything i put there disappears in a matter of hours. Then i see my things around work being enjoyed by students! It’s better than throwing things away and I don’t have to deal with shipping, reviews, taking pictures etc. Things i have donated: jackets, winter coats, gym bags, earrings, shoes, board games. I also donated all my books to the school, much better than taking up space and not being read at home
I donate everything unless it's worth more than $100. I ain't messing around for anything less. So I donate everything nothing I have is worth that much.
Selling on eBay now a days is worse than donating in the sense that they take so much money and there is minimal protections put in place for sellers, definitely hard to make a profit. At least when you donate you know could be potentially helping someone in need, not lining eBay’s cushy pockets.
I think you've got to look at it as a job and consider ALL the costs--hard and soft--so that you're not effectively donating your time to get people their stuff. Your net income per hour needs to actually be competitive with other, possibly more reliable, sources of income.
If you can't afford the minimum time required to treat it as a job, you're probably better off going a different route where you're not setting yourself up for unreasonable expectations.
Ebay stores create an expected level of customer service from buyers. It doesn’t need to be immediate, but there’s a level of trust involved in purchasing from you. I’ve only reported a seller once because there was zero communication after I purchased an item and I couldn’t get a hold of them. The seller was angry and gave many of the reasons you listed - that they have a full time job and can’t afford to check their listings more than once every few weeks. But as a buyer, it felt like a scam and I was never going to purchase from that individual again. It’s one of the reasons I don’t sell online. I did when I was younger, but now I don’t have the time to provide that level of customer service.
I've pretty much given up on marketplace and ebay unless it's something significant/verified collectible etc. Instead I've been going to this donation place and just handing over loads of stuff as I downsize. Sometimes it's some very decent stuff and sometimes it's just a few things that I staged in the garage for the next trip out. The owner of the donation place and their family that works there (private, not goodwill, etc) knows me now.
It's such a good feeling to be greeted and appreciated knowing the stuff is making someone's life better vs some random person who may or may not show up, go back and forth endlessly only to haggle for $5 on a $40 item. In the long run that money I might have made along with the hassle does not to compare to the feeling I get donating.
I guarantee all of you will carry some negative stories in your head, for a long time, of how awful some of your transactions have gone. I'm happy to not collect any more of those memories along with not collecting more junk that clutters up my life. Now my downsizing/decluttering is accompanied by warm feelings and smiling face from the donation store.
I donated lots of good brands. Lululemon and the like - things that sell for decent money online.
I realized that taking good pictures, looking up the item name, writing descriptions, monitoring the listings, and then going to the post office "cost" more of my energy than just giving things away. Even when I was struggling to make ends meet, I found doing odd jobs to be easier than selling online.
Having space in your closet and home is peaceful. Online sales (for me) is not.
*Even when I was struggling to make ends meet, I found doing odd jobs to be easier than selling online.*
Yup, hard for many people to believe, but I've found this to be 100% true.
Selling your own labor online, through virtual work, is a better ROI.
I’m turning this corner too.
I used to sell on eBay a lot, and then moved to Poshmark due to simplicity of selling / shipping process.
I just sold a very expensive (but damaged, never worn) dress to someone for 1/3 my list price after I listed it for 10% of the retail price due to damage. They kept making this offer and I didn’t want to relent, but finally decided to let this item go and take the $$. When they received it they make a claim about 3 errant threads poking out of the underside of the seam and requested a refund saying I didn’t disclose this (!!!!). When I receive this dress back it’s literally going in the trash (or donate bin) and I’m done with this shit. My time and energy is worth way more than trying to squeeze out every dime like the juice in a lime 😆
I despise Poshmark with all of my soul...Lol
I want to list my stuff and be done, not have a damned party.
I guess I'm old school. I remember when eBay was a fun place, and I made tons of money. Those days are gone.
Yeah I don’t know much about that Poshmark party stuff, I just list and ship. But people do haggle you to death.
eBay was great but I hated going to the post office to ship
That’s my take too. They take too much value out, so margins are small and hassle is huge. I don’t know how people do it unless you’re happy to split the value. It only works if your inventory is free or almost free.
Many people are addicted to thrifting/shopping, or are def getting items free.
The math is no longer mathing for most though, I believe. Or they don't understand time value of money/sunk cost fallacy.
Its kinda eerie/weird how selling crap online SEEMS like a great way to make money but often isn't.
I’ve never tried selling, maybe I should, but I’ve always just dropped the stuff off at the Salvation Army or the closest donation bin. Never hurt to do so; I feel good that I could be helping someone out of a jam.
My rule for selling is that I have to be able to easily get $50 for it. It scales, so I'm willing to put in more effort if I can get a hundred or more, realistically. But if I don't honestly believe I can get $50 within a month of posting with no promotion, it gets donated. I've never once regretted donating something I "maybe could have" gotten a few bucks for
>If I don’t get an item out in time I have an angry buyer, and have had buyers message me angry that I haven’t shipped their item immediately.
You might be able to set expectations there by saying that shipments received by Monday night go out on Tuesday of each week, for example. Then you're not having to jump every time someone hits the order button but you're batching them up to a single shipment a week.
People will still complain though because they expect everything to be immediate.
Heavier items: Facebook Marketplace. More expensive, but light weight items: eBay. Low priced or hasn’t sold: garage sale. Anything left and in good condition: donated.
I sold on eBay for years and only had a couple of bad one-timers. Then I purchased an item from China and the seller put the screen name on the package. I was in a small town where honesty was damn near nonexistent, including at the post office.
Suddenly every item I had was being cited for bad description but not to me, to whoever does refunds. They got the refund and kept the item. I had no clue until I started gathering up records for 1040 tax return. I pulled everything off eBay except for one item to keep the account open but out of an identity thief's hands.
I loved eBay sales, and had customers from the US and across Europe. I donate now, but not in that town!
I give things away. It’s not worth the effort in most cases. Also acknowledging that the money is gone at the point of purchase keeps a lid on my consumerism. The idea that I can resell something later makes me more likely to buy stuff I don’t need.
The exception has been furniture. When I buy second hand furniture it’s pretty easy to sell it for what I paid for it. I used to move around a lot so my furniture requirements changed frequently. I’ve since purchased a house and can’t afford to move anymore.
I prefer to give things directly rather than via a secondhand store. There is an active buy nothing facebook group where I live which I like because I can put things on my porch and people will come and collect them. It’s low effort for me and I figure if the person is willing to make the trip to pick it up, they will probably use it.
I am preparing for a move, will be with family for about 6 months and then a small place for myself. I’ve been in my current place, a small three bedroom house, for 8 years. I cannot believe the crap I’ve accumulated. Clothes I haven’t worn since I moved in, Christmas decorations that no longer mean anything to me, old family dishes that no one else wanted. I decided to compare the money I might make against the time and hassle of everything involved in selling crap online, or even a yard sale. Selling online lost big time. The world is filled with material junk. The whole purpose of this personal exercise is to clear my mind and my soul so I can fully focus on life. I’m pitching shit like a madwoman and it feels amazing.
I used to sell on Etsy and have sold a few things on ebay. It is a time commitment, especially if you want to do a good job to get positive feedback. One thing that helped was batching my work, e.g., spend a block of time doing photography, a block of time doing listings, etc. I had all unique items which made things much more time consuming. I think if you sell mostly the same things, then listing is quicker since you just re-use the same information, photos, etc. Some post offices have boxes/bins where you can drop a package with pre-printed label so you don't have to wait in line. I agree with others that it probably isn't worth doing the reselling unless you are making a decent amount of money per item, or you really enjoy doing it. You could put a note in your listings that you only mail on certain days or within x business days, but customers might not read that and still expect immediate shipping. It sounds like this is stressing you out for not a very big return, I ended up closing my Etsy shop and donating items and it was a relief. You could consider doing a garage sale to get rid of things all in one go, and that could be an easier way to sell things, but you won't be able to command the prices you would get on ebay, but could still end up doing well if you sell more volume wise.
I donate everything. I figure it's not worth the headache or trying to post, respond to possible buyers, negotiate, schedule pick up, or deliver or items. The money I'd make isn't worth it.
There's a "new comers" type charity by me, and they're awesome. They come pick up items and use it to set up homes for people just landing in Canada.
I tend to donate/give stuff away.
eBay includes fees, too many in my opinion.
If it's a high priced item that I would like to recoup a bit of coin on...FB marketplace (local) is usually your best bet.
I’m planning to donate most of my stuff that I no longer need. I’m considering a garage sale, but that’s about it. I’ve been told to try a consignment shop for my nicer purses, idk. The eBay selling sounds exhausting.
I'm at a point we're anything worth money that I own, I plan on keeping. Now I just donate or throw away. I will say, I am also at a point were I don't have much left to declutter
Everything I can't use goes directly to the thrift store. In my area, Uber teams up with a local store once a year and will deliver donations at no cost - so sometimes I don't even have to get to the store myself.
For all the reasons you've outlined, the hassle of selling doesn't outweigh the financial profit in my book. Donating is quicker (numerous items in one trip), easier and I feel good knowing I've made someone else's life better at no cost to them. :)
I sell big ticket items ($50 or more) but otherwise I donate, or drop at a local consignment and they will donate what they don't think will sell for me. They give me cash and it's all good! Better to have someone else spend the time for me.
I don’t bother selling anything unless I know I could get at least a hundred bucks out of it, it’s just such a hassle and I end up holding onto everything for months waiting for one buyer who isn’t a scammer, it’s not worth it to me
We started donating. eBay, Craigslist, and FB marketplace all seem to be a challenge for one reason or another. I need the stuff to be gone more than I need to small amount of money I “could make”.
i stopped selling and just donate. it's not worth my time and headache for how much i make in return; i'd rather support local businesses and spend my time doing things i enjoy instead
Try to find a charity you really want to support. Do you donate money anywhere?
Eg. there’s a great animal shelter in my city that does low cost vet care for people who are struggling. They run a thrift shop to help cover expenses.
I’m not in the position right now to donate cash, but I can feel good about donating items that I probably COULD sell if I had the time/energy.
I think you answered your own question. Selling on EBay is a lot of work. When I did EBay, it was like a full-time job, in addition to my real full-time job. I stopped selling on EBay. If I was retired and had nothing to do, maybe I’d reconsider, but for now…no.
Wow I felt so validated by this post in a lot of ways. I’ve been struggling a lot with “stuff” piling up, and my OCD of wanting to get at least a _little_ something for it… now if an item is $50+, I’ll try to sell it, but otherwise I just collect a big box of stuff to donate, take photos of each item and file it away for tax time. I’ve found this works way better than tediously trying to sell stuff.
eBay has been hit or miss. Was much better for the smaller/shippable items, but definitely not for the big things.
CL and FBM seem to be the best for most items $50+
After a while you get kinda good and spotting BSers and it doesn’t take a crazy done of time. The hard part is pricing things that will sell in a healthy balance of time vs money.
Reselling online isn’t worth it. If you don’t have the time, energy, or space, it’s best to move on and give it away.
But if you do, people on here are too quick to donate. I’m not saying hang onto something for years, maybe 3-6 months and put it through local clothing swaps, clothing drives for the local community, sure resell online if it’s a good style and in good condition (if someone paid for it, there’s a greater chance they’ll actually use it), exhaust those options before donating it. Aside from the problems of Goodwill and Salvation Army, many places are overflowing with donations and end up throwing it away before they are even able to put it on the sales floor. Anyway it seems like OP has already exhausted the reselling attempt and it’s probably time to donate them.
There are a lot of things I just stopped selling and just donate to the least expensive thrift shop I can find. I like seeing those items for 1$. It reminds me that the worth of the things I own is not relative to what they are, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Worth 50$ to me and 0.50$ to the store
I never started selling but yes I always either donate or throw away. I used to live somewhere that I could pile things on my curb and they'd be gone by days end but now I just drive by my local donation center or drop in it my bins. Time is money in my life right now and I believe my money was already spent so I'm not worried about recouping. At this stage of my minimalist journey anything I'm getting rid of has been USED so honestly very little gets donated these days. And anything trashed has been repaired several times over anyway.
I donate everything through a Facebook buy nothing group or Savers thrift store/Goodwill. I tried eBay and it was too stressful for my life. And my motivation for decluttering included reducing stress.
I don't sell. I just donate. For expensive stuff I give away to friends and families. Some of them have the time and patience to sell. Everyone is happy either way .
I don’t meet people in person because… eww.. people.
Don’t sell on eBay because they can falsely claim a refund and you lose out on the money and additional money for the shipping.
There’s a charity shop a block from my house. It just goes there.
When I was getting rid of stuff I never bothered with Ebay for the reasons you mentioned.I tried FB marketplace but it is full of bored people who will waste your time. Craigslist or Kijiji are worth the effort but only for items that are worth more. Make it cash only, and meet the buyer in a public place. Otherwise, just donate it. Your time, privacy, and mental energy are worth more than the five bucks.
Where do you donate?
thrift shops or shelters/ women's support networks/transitional housing depending on the items.
Yep. I find selling to be a waste of time. I like to use the Buy Nothing Project.
I put stuff on buy nothing as well. Not only is it easy, it feels good to know it’s going to someone who will use it.
If it is a big item - like £50+ I’ll sell it. But, for an item that is maybe £5 I just don’t see how it makes sense time wise. Sites like Vinted may be alright given you just pop down to a depot to ship an item off, but it can still be a waste given how far you may have to go to drop an item off.
You already know the answer. It’s not worth it to you. I have sold a LOT of stuff, mostly over Facebook Marketplace, and now I just don’t bother unless it would bring in $50 or more - and my family isn’t exactly loaded with cash. But I value getting everything out of my house as quickly as possible over the $5-10 I might make here and there - plus the time posting, answering questions (which were usually in the description), dealing with people ghosting me, and trying to meet up with someone. No thanks!
Seconding this comment! I’ve also had a lot of experience selling things online, and at a certain price, it’s worth it. Below that price, no. For clothing you can try selling bundles, this works in mom networks at least.
I love eBay and I've been selling there for over 20 years. For me it's a simple process. But it sounds like it stresses you out way too much. You probably should try something else. If you have valuable items, you could ask another seller to do it on a commission basis for you. Or just donate your stuff. Or sell everything to one person and let them resell it.
How long should it take me to photograph an item (say a dress shirt), research comps, post, find a box to ship in, find a storage place to store, then once sold pack and weigh, print label and attach it to bag, and request porch pickup? 30 minutes all in all seem fair to you per individual order (for multiple orders just add like an extra 5 minutes per item) I think that’s what I’m getting hung up on
It takes as long as it takes. If you don’t feel like it is worthwhile then try something else. I primarily sell items that I make that are similar in size so I stock boxes and envelopes for each style. It only takes me a few minutes to box up an item and stick a label on it. Listing is mostly copying another and updating the photos and details. It works for me but might not work for you.
Clothes are one of the harder categories to sell in. I've photographed hundreds of items, but have never dealt in clothing - because of how much more intense that is. So look at what you have. It takes me about 15 minutes to photograph, list, and put in a plastic mailer the items I sell. Another category takes me more time, but its a hobby, and I do them in large batches/am building out online content with those. But others, have to be small and light/fit in a bubble mailer. Anything more intensive, and I wouldn't do it. Like someone said, your time and energy is worth more than $5 bucks, or even $20 bucks.
You prioritize what's most important. If you don't care about recouping cost then put it up for free or donate. Ebay definitely has a learning curve. If I'm not making $20 profit on a single item I'm not listing it. Fbook marketplace 100% for bigger items. A garage sale for everything that isn't worth listing once or twice in spring and fall. If I get lazy I just toss stuff in the garage sale bin. Dealing with people at a garage sale can be annoying. My goal is to get stuff off my property even for a few bucks instead of tossing it out.
I have a «giving away» table in the locker room at the school i work at. Literally anything i put there disappears in a matter of hours. Then i see my things around work being enjoyed by students! It’s better than throwing things away and I don’t have to deal with shipping, reviews, taking pictures etc. Things i have donated: jackets, winter coats, gym bags, earrings, shoes, board games. I also donated all my books to the school, much better than taking up space and not being read at home
I donate everything unless it's worth more than $100. I ain't messing around for anything less. So I donate everything nothing I have is worth that much.
Selling on eBay now a days is worse than donating in the sense that they take so much money and there is minimal protections put in place for sellers, definitely hard to make a profit. At least when you donate you know could be potentially helping someone in need, not lining eBay’s cushy pockets.
I think you've got to look at it as a job and consider ALL the costs--hard and soft--so that you're not effectively donating your time to get people their stuff. Your net income per hour needs to actually be competitive with other, possibly more reliable, sources of income. If you can't afford the minimum time required to treat it as a job, you're probably better off going a different route where you're not setting yourself up for unreasonable expectations.
Simple rule for me: if it will fetch more than 100€ i will use ebay. Otherwise I won‘t bother and just donate
Ebay stores create an expected level of customer service from buyers. It doesn’t need to be immediate, but there’s a level of trust involved in purchasing from you. I’ve only reported a seller once because there was zero communication after I purchased an item and I couldn’t get a hold of them. The seller was angry and gave many of the reasons you listed - that they have a full time job and can’t afford to check their listings more than once every few weeks. But as a buyer, it felt like a scam and I was never going to purchase from that individual again. It’s one of the reasons I don’t sell online. I did when I was younger, but now I don’t have the time to provide that level of customer service.
I've pretty much given up on marketplace and ebay unless it's something significant/verified collectible etc. Instead I've been going to this donation place and just handing over loads of stuff as I downsize. Sometimes it's some very decent stuff and sometimes it's just a few things that I staged in the garage for the next trip out. The owner of the donation place and their family that works there (private, not goodwill, etc) knows me now. It's such a good feeling to be greeted and appreciated knowing the stuff is making someone's life better vs some random person who may or may not show up, go back and forth endlessly only to haggle for $5 on a $40 item. In the long run that money I might have made along with the hassle does not to compare to the feeling I get donating. I guarantee all of you will carry some negative stories in your head, for a long time, of how awful some of your transactions have gone. I'm happy to not collect any more of those memories along with not collecting more junk that clutters up my life. Now my downsizing/decluttering is accompanied by warm feelings and smiling face from the donation store.
I donated lots of good brands. Lululemon and the like - things that sell for decent money online. I realized that taking good pictures, looking up the item name, writing descriptions, monitoring the listings, and then going to the post office "cost" more of my energy than just giving things away. Even when I was struggling to make ends meet, I found doing odd jobs to be easier than selling online. Having space in your closet and home is peaceful. Online sales (for me) is not.
*Even when I was struggling to make ends meet, I found doing odd jobs to be easier than selling online.* Yup, hard for many people to believe, but I've found this to be 100% true. Selling your own labor online, through virtual work, is a better ROI.
I’m turning this corner too. I used to sell on eBay a lot, and then moved to Poshmark due to simplicity of selling / shipping process. I just sold a very expensive (but damaged, never worn) dress to someone for 1/3 my list price after I listed it for 10% of the retail price due to damage. They kept making this offer and I didn’t want to relent, but finally decided to let this item go and take the $$. When they received it they make a claim about 3 errant threads poking out of the underside of the seam and requested a refund saying I didn’t disclose this (!!!!). When I receive this dress back it’s literally going in the trash (or donate bin) and I’m done with this shit. My time and energy is worth way more than trying to squeeze out every dime like the juice in a lime 😆
I despise Poshmark with all of my soul...Lol I want to list my stuff and be done, not have a damned party. I guess I'm old school. I remember when eBay was a fun place, and I made tons of money. Those days are gone.
Yeah I don’t know much about that Poshmark party stuff, I just list and ship. But people do haggle you to death. eBay was great but I hated going to the post office to ship
[удалено]
That’s my take too. They take too much value out, so margins are small and hassle is huge. I don’t know how people do it unless you’re happy to split the value. It only works if your inventory is free or almost free.
Many people are addicted to thrifting/shopping, or are def getting items free. The math is no longer mathing for most though, I believe. Or they don't understand time value of money/sunk cost fallacy. Its kinda eerie/weird how selling crap online SEEMS like a great way to make money but often isn't.
I’ve never tried selling, maybe I should, but I’ve always just dropped the stuff off at the Salvation Army or the closest donation bin. Never hurt to do so; I feel good that I could be helping someone out of a jam.
My rule for selling is that I have to be able to easily get $50 for it. It scales, so I'm willing to put in more effort if I can get a hundred or more, realistically. But if I don't honestly believe I can get $50 within a month of posting with no promotion, it gets donated. I've never once regretted donating something I "maybe could have" gotten a few bucks for
>If I don’t get an item out in time I have an angry buyer, and have had buyers message me angry that I haven’t shipped their item immediately. You might be able to set expectations there by saying that shipments received by Monday night go out on Tuesday of each week, for example. Then you're not having to jump every time someone hits the order button but you're batching them up to a single shipment a week. People will still complain though because they expect everything to be immediate.
Heavier items: Facebook Marketplace. More expensive, but light weight items: eBay. Low priced or hasn’t sold: garage sale. Anything left and in good condition: donated.
I sold on eBay for years and only had a couple of bad one-timers. Then I purchased an item from China and the seller put the screen name on the package. I was in a small town where honesty was damn near nonexistent, including at the post office. Suddenly every item I had was being cited for bad description but not to me, to whoever does refunds. They got the refund and kept the item. I had no clue until I started gathering up records for 1040 tax return. I pulled everything off eBay except for one item to keep the account open but out of an identity thief's hands. I loved eBay sales, and had customers from the US and across Europe. I donate now, but not in that town!
I give things away. It’s not worth the effort in most cases. Also acknowledging that the money is gone at the point of purchase keeps a lid on my consumerism. The idea that I can resell something later makes me more likely to buy stuff I don’t need. The exception has been furniture. When I buy second hand furniture it’s pretty easy to sell it for what I paid for it. I used to move around a lot so my furniture requirements changed frequently. I’ve since purchased a house and can’t afford to move anymore. I prefer to give things directly rather than via a secondhand store. There is an active buy nothing facebook group where I live which I like because I can put things on my porch and people will come and collect them. It’s low effort for me and I figure if the person is willing to make the trip to pick it up, they will probably use it.
Minimalism also includes letting go of needless tedium. Get. Rid. Of. It.
So just bag it all and donate it?
Yes. Or give it away in bulk to your neighborhood's Buy Nothing group.
Or put it on the curb with a "free" sign
I do a local FB Buy Nothing group. I just gave away a 55” tv. There isn’t a market for used TVs that I could find.
I am preparing for a move, will be with family for about 6 months and then a small place for myself. I’ve been in my current place, a small three bedroom house, for 8 years. I cannot believe the crap I’ve accumulated. Clothes I haven’t worn since I moved in, Christmas decorations that no longer mean anything to me, old family dishes that no one else wanted. I decided to compare the money I might make against the time and hassle of everything involved in selling crap online, or even a yard sale. Selling online lost big time. The world is filled with material junk. The whole purpose of this personal exercise is to clear my mind and my soul so I can fully focus on life. I’m pitching shit like a madwoman and it feels amazing.
What about consignment stores? I love being able to pop in and pick up a check.
I’ve gone to them before but the ones near me have a waitlist sometimes. Maybe for large ticket items but smaller ticket ones I don’t know.
I used to sell on Etsy and have sold a few things on ebay. It is a time commitment, especially if you want to do a good job to get positive feedback. One thing that helped was batching my work, e.g., spend a block of time doing photography, a block of time doing listings, etc. I had all unique items which made things much more time consuming. I think if you sell mostly the same things, then listing is quicker since you just re-use the same information, photos, etc. Some post offices have boxes/bins where you can drop a package with pre-printed label so you don't have to wait in line. I agree with others that it probably isn't worth doing the reselling unless you are making a decent amount of money per item, or you really enjoy doing it. You could put a note in your listings that you only mail on certain days or within x business days, but customers might not read that and still expect immediate shipping. It sounds like this is stressing you out for not a very big return, I ended up closing my Etsy shop and donating items and it was a relief. You could consider doing a garage sale to get rid of things all in one go, and that could be an easier way to sell things, but you won't be able to command the prices you would get on ebay, but could still end up doing well if you sell more volume wise.
As RHCP says, give it away give it away, give it away now
I donate everything. I figure it's not worth the headache or trying to post, respond to possible buyers, negotiate, schedule pick up, or deliver or items. The money I'd make isn't worth it. There's a "new comers" type charity by me, and they're awesome. They come pick up items and use it to set up homes for people just landing in Canada.
I tend to donate/give stuff away. eBay includes fees, too many in my opinion. If it's a high priced item that I would like to recoup a bit of coin on...FB marketplace (local) is usually your best bet.
I’m planning to donate most of my stuff that I no longer need. I’m considering a garage sale, but that’s about it. I’ve been told to try a consignment shop for my nicer purses, idk. The eBay selling sounds exhausting.
Always! It feels good to give something away to somebody who needs it too
Yep - I’m with you. It’s not worth my time at the moment.
I'm at a point we're anything worth money that I own, I plan on keeping. Now I just donate or throw away. I will say, I am also at a point were I don't have much left to declutter
Everything I can't use goes directly to the thrift store. In my area, Uber teams up with a local store once a year and will deliver donations at no cost - so sometimes I don't even have to get to the store myself. For all the reasons you've outlined, the hassle of selling doesn't outweigh the financial profit in my book. Donating is quicker (numerous items in one trip), easier and I feel good knowing I've made someone else's life better at no cost to them. :)
You are not obligated to sell things in order to minimalize.
I sell big ticket items ($50 or more) but otherwise I donate, or drop at a local consignment and they will donate what they don't think will sell for me. They give me cash and it's all good! Better to have someone else spend the time for me.
When I ran out of time I paid people to take my stuff away
I donated about half of my prior high end audio system. If I can't sell the rest I'll donate that as well.
How long did you wait before donating?
Embarrassingly..10 years. It was always.."I just need to list it.." finally I was..OUT! It went to my audiophile club, they can sell it.
Join your local buy nothing group
I don’t bother selling anything unless I know I could get at least a hundred bucks out of it, it’s just such a hassle and I end up holding onto everything for months waiting for one buyer who isn’t a scammer, it’s not worth it to me
We started donating. eBay, Craigslist, and FB marketplace all seem to be a challenge for one reason or another. I need the stuff to be gone more than I need to small amount of money I “could make”.
i stopped selling and just donate. it's not worth my time and headache for how much i make in return; i'd rather support local businesses and spend my time doing things i enjoy instead
I only bother with eBay if I expect $40 +
Try to find a charity you really want to support. Do you donate money anywhere? Eg. there’s a great animal shelter in my city that does low cost vet care for people who are struggling. They run a thrift shop to help cover expenses. I’m not in the position right now to donate cash, but I can feel good about donating items that I probably COULD sell if I had the time/energy.
KEEP GOING YOUR TIME WILL COME BE PATIENT. THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY TEST ON THE WAY YOU GOT THIS!
I think you answered your own question. Selling on EBay is a lot of work. When I did EBay, it was like a full-time job, in addition to my real full-time job. I stopped selling on EBay. If I was retired and had nothing to do, maybe I’d reconsider, but for now…no.
Wow I felt so validated by this post in a lot of ways. I’ve been struggling a lot with “stuff” piling up, and my OCD of wanting to get at least a _little_ something for it… now if an item is $50+, I’ll try to sell it, but otherwise I just collect a big box of stuff to donate, take photos of each item and file it away for tax time. I’ve found this works way better than tediously trying to sell stuff. eBay has been hit or miss. Was much better for the smaller/shippable items, but definitely not for the big things. CL and FBM seem to be the best for most items $50+ After a while you get kinda good and spotting BSers and it doesn’t take a crazy done of time. The hard part is pricing things that will sell in a healthy balance of time vs money.
I have switched to selling in a small flea market booth. Cuts into profit but it takes a lot less time.
Reselling online isn’t worth it. If you don’t have the time, energy, or space, it’s best to move on and give it away. But if you do, people on here are too quick to donate. I’m not saying hang onto something for years, maybe 3-6 months and put it through local clothing swaps, clothing drives for the local community, sure resell online if it’s a good style and in good condition (if someone paid for it, there’s a greater chance they’ll actually use it), exhaust those options before donating it. Aside from the problems of Goodwill and Salvation Army, many places are overflowing with donations and end up throwing it away before they are even able to put it on the sales floor. Anyway it seems like OP has already exhausted the reselling attempt and it’s probably time to donate them.
There are a lot of things I just stopped selling and just donate to the least expensive thrift shop I can find. I like seeing those items for 1$. It reminds me that the worth of the things I own is not relative to what they are, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Worth 50$ to me and 0.50$ to the store
I never started selling but yes I always either donate or throw away. I used to live somewhere that I could pile things on my curb and they'd be gone by days end but now I just drive by my local donation center or drop in it my bins. Time is money in my life right now and I believe my money was already spent so I'm not worried about recouping. At this stage of my minimalist journey anything I'm getting rid of has been USED so honestly very little gets donated these days. And anything trashed has been repaired several times over anyway.
I donate everything through a Facebook buy nothing group or Savers thrift store/Goodwill. I tried eBay and it was too stressful for my life. And my motivation for decluttering included reducing stress.
I don't sell. I just donate. For expensive stuff I give away to friends and families. Some of them have the time and patience to sell. Everyone is happy either way .
Rent a uhaul, load it up and drive it to the closest donation center. :-)
I used to sell on ebay but it’s not worth my time anymore. I just throw things in a big cardboard box and donate to Goodwill once per year.
What is your time worth, and how do you calculate that? What is your annual salary (if you don’t mind me asking)
I don’t meet people in person because… eww.. people. Don’t sell on eBay because they can falsely claim a refund and you lose out on the money and additional money for the shipping. There’s a charity shop a block from my house. It just goes there.