I have been thinking of ways to de-clutter my space. There are the usual routes of spending hours going through my stuff and either bagging/boxing it up and sending to to the Goodwill or to some other charitable organization for a tax deduction (which I rarely take).

Then I found out about a few places on the web that I could sell or give away my stuff to those who really wanted it, for FREE! The first one is Listia.com where you can give your stuff away for points that others accumulate and they pay you shipping and handling. The site offers a wide range of interesting things and allows you to post pictures of your items. It is great for those little things that are just lying around that you don’t want and know aren’t worth a whole lot  but someone else might.

The second one is Yardsellr.com where you can actually ask a price for your items. This week I listed an OtterBox cell phone case that I spent 50.00 for and don’t want to just ‘give away’. We will see how the sale goes and I will keep you updated.

After visiting my friend Donna and her daughter yesterday, they introduced me to Bartlesville Area Classifieds; a group on Facebook in which you could sell your items locally (you may check Facebook to see if your area has something similar and if not, start one!) This little gem was a great find because you don’t have to worry about shipping and handling and you can actually go get the item or at least look at it personally or have folks meet you where you are comfortable to buy or look at your stuff. I noticed a lot of strollers, furniture, baby clothes, kids clothes, and books on there. Networking with a whole new twist!

So I think the age of taking all of my possessions I no longer need or want to Goodwill has ceased. It may take a little more time to list my items in these locations, but at least I am getting some return on my investments or gifts that others have given me.

So this brings up a question – What makes for a good listing?

• Photos! Photos! Photos! – All three of these sites and others such as Ebay, etc. allow pictures. This is the best way to showcase your item. If at all possible, take your pictures in natural light (in front of a window, out on the porch, etc.) to get the best shots. Take pictures in a “clutter-free” environment and from all angles. Also, keep a file on your desktop with subfiles for pictures of each item. For instance, I have a file named “Yardsellr” and in that I have subfiles for each item I am looking to sell (phone cover, bed skirt, sham, etc.). In those, I have all my snapshots of that item that have been edited through my photo editing software. If you don’t have any editing software, there are many free ones on the internet or Microsoft has some great alternatives as well.
• Description – Come up with some pretty descriptive descriptions. Saying “this is a cell phone cover” may sell your item in say, 100 years or so when they are antiques, but saying something like “This hot pink OtterBox (insert a trademark symbol here if you can, since the items name is trademarked) for an iPhone 3GS is less than __ old and has no scratches, dings, or marks on it…. and so on, will sell your item much faster. Be honest but be creative! Yesterday I read a complaint on one of these sites where the buyer was disappointed that the seller said that his doghouse was an Igloo. The buyer assumed that this meant “Igloo” brand and bought the dog house sight unseen. The problem was two fold, one the buyer didn’t go and look at the item (it was local) and when the seller delivered it, the item was already paid for and also sported several chew marks. The seller did not clarify that this was an Igloo TYPE dog house but an off brand with bite/chew marks. So both were at fault and both went away sorely disappointed – except the seller DID keep his money. Descriptive descriptions is the best way to go.
• Pricing- I always have difficulty with this and since I see myself as a giving person and I want to just give things away to those who will really appreciate them. Finding a price for my Otterbox phone cover was not all that hard but since I had paid a lot for it, I wasn’t about to give it away – unless you want it! In which I will stop the sale and send it to you. 🙂     So, to find the going used price, I went to Amazon.com and Ebay.com to find out what the going rate for a new but used phone cover was and looked at the auctions that were ending soonest. This gave me a rough idea of what I could ask for my phone cover and be fair.  The cheapest one I found was $19.00 dollars for a knock off brand and $29.00 for the real deal. The new one in plastic was still going for 49.95 so I posted mine at $20.00. Sure I am probably taking a 9 dollar loss but the alternative may be to wait endlessly for someone to want it bad enough to pay more, in which it is still in my house cluttering up my space. Besides,  I want to make just enough for lunch money and the local Mexican restaurant! 🙂

So there you have it. I am sure that there are many more things that you need to know about listing but I listed my items this morning for the very first time and these were the three things that popped out at me.

Have fun decluttering your space and tell me how you did in your “selling” of items in your own virtual yard sale.
The Gingham Cottage