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| Options for Selling Your Junk |
If you’ve got a lot of stuff, you’ll probably consider trying to sell it. Selling your junk can be a great way to make some extra cash and declutter your home at the same time, but it’s also going to take a lot of work, and a lot of patience.
A lot of patience.
Here are four simple ways to cash in on the stuff you already have:
Sell Your Stuff Online
I’ve found that I can cut down on the work I need to put into a sale by selling most of my stuff on Amazon Marketplace or eBay. Both sites charge a fee to use their selling services, and you’ll probably end up spending some of your own money on shipping. However, you eliminate the need to coordinate with a buyer, which is a huge time saver.
If your item is small enough to ship, try to sell it online first. It’s just easier.
Having said that, many of your larger items (and higher-value items) can’t be shipped. That’s when it makes sense to try to sell on Craigslist or OfferUp. These sites are great for sellers, but they’re also huge time suckers.
You will have to answer a lot of buyer questions, and coordinate pick-ups. You will have no-shows. You will have buyers who have an incredible amount of drama in their life, yet they still would like to make yet another appointment to pick up a used beer stein from you in the Wal-Mart parking lot after three no-shows. True story.
Sometimes it’s not worth it. Sometimes it is.
Trade-In Programs can be a nice way to earn quick cash.
Amazon’s Trade-In Program is really easy to use, and you don’t have to pay to ship your items. The payout is typically lower than if you sold the item yourself, but it’s truly hassle-free
If you have old electronics items to get rid of, Gazelle is a great option. They take all kinds of used cell phones, computers, and tablets. We had an old iPhone that was water-damaged and completely not functioning. Gazelle paid us $5 to send it to them. It saved us from trying out how to recycle it, and we made a little bit of money off of our old phone. Functioning phones have a much higher payout, of course. It’s worth checking out the Gazelle site to see how much you could make off of some of your old devices.
Yard Sales
If you have a lot of stuff that hasn’t sold online or on a Craigslist-type site, you can always have a garage sale. This is also a lot of work, but it’s a nice way to make some extra cash and meet some interesting people.
Facebook Selling Groups
Another option for selling items is Facebook groups in your community. Many communities have Facebook pages set up that allow people to buy and sell from each other. It’s nice because you can see who you’re selling to/buying from. In my experience, I’ve found buyers on these sites to be a little more demanding of my time. I try to look at the Facebook groups as a way to sell some stuff and meet some neighbors at the same time.
But, really. If you want to cut down on the drama and the time, online selling and shipping is the way to go. Only use Craigslist-type sites if you absolutely have to, or you don’t mind putting the extra time in to make a sale.
How about you? How do you prefer to sell your stuff?
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