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Online Yard Sale: A Simple Guide to Sell Stuff Online

By Author Chhavi Agarwal

Online Yard Sale

In this post, we will talk about online yard sale (or online garage sales) in detail.

Now tell me,

Do you have some stuff at home that you want to get rid of? Stuff you want to sell of?

But you don’t want to waste your time and energy organizing a yard/garage sale when you are not sure if the people will show up or not…

Well, I have good news for you!

Thanks to technology, you can declutter and get rid of your old stuff online nowadays instead of organizing a traditional yard sale.

Post the pictures of items you want to sell, quote a price, and connect with the buyers online to make some extra cash easily.

The post includes affiliate links.

Want to make money quickly? Here are a few platforms to earn up to $25 – $50 in a few minutes!

Why should you host an online yard sale v/s a traditional yard sale?

You must be wondering why to have an online garage sale instead of an in-person?

Here are few benefits of hosting an online garage sale:

Saves a lot of time

For a traditional yard sale, you need a LOT of time to organize all your stuff to display, price tag everything, be physically present on the day of sale, and then take everything down after the sale.

Whereas in case of an online garage sale, you can take pictures of the things you want to sell and post them online.

So there are no efforts required to set up the display, waiting for buyers and then taking it down. 

Hands down, this is one of my favorite benefits of having an online garage sale.

More potential buyers

When you organize an online garage sale at home, only people from the neighborhood are more likely to stop by. 

With the online sale, more people from the neighboring areas will see your things in the sale.

This increases the chances of getting rid of more stuff than an in-person sale.

No bad weather hues for an online garage sale

There is always a fear of no people showing up at a garage sale due to sudden rain or hot weather.

Unexpected weather changes can jeopardize your efforts put in towards org anizing the garage sale.

With online yard sales, you don’t have to worry about that and you can meet the buyer that works best for both of you.

Increased chances of stuff getting sold

Once you have listed your item online, you can let it be posted until your item is sold. 

Whereas in the case of a traditional sale, there is only a window of a day or two to display your stuff and sell it.

What platforms to use for an online yard sale?

There are many platforms that you can use to sell your stuff online and having an online garage sale.

Few of them are:

Of all the platforms listed above, Facebook groups and marketplace is my favorite.

Almost everyone is using Facebook nowadays. Hence, it’s easier to sell stuff on Facebook than any other platform. 

You can find many local buys and sell Facebook groups in your area. You can find groups to sell in by searching for things like “your town” + “online yard sale”, “online garage sale”, “classifieds” etc.

Also, you can list your item on the Facebook marketplace that automatically sorts the items based on the zip codes.

What items sell best in an online yard sale?

You can sell almost anything in an online garage sale.

You can find buyers for:

  • Video games
  • DVDs
  • Baby gears like cribs, car seats, strollers, etc.
  • Books
  • Furniture
  • Appliances
  • Electronics like tablets, mobile phones, etc.
  • Toys
  • Clothing and accessories
  • Shoes
  • Tools
  • Cars and other vehicles
  • And much more

I see that a lot of people list the clothes for sales as well. But, I did not have any luck selling the old clothes or shoes in local Facebook groups.

Also, some items like DVDs and baby gears can sell faster than bigger items like furniture or appliances. 

Be patient when you list an item online.

It will get sold eventually based on the demand in your area.

How to Sell Things that Didn’t Sell in the Online Yard Sale

While online yard sales are amazing and successful, there are times you won’t be able to sell them.

In such cases, where online garage sales fail, you can find a buyer on these platforms

Decluttr

We have talked about Decluttr, in brief, in lot of my other posts on making money online fast.

It is one of the best apps that pay to sell unwanted stuff on their platform.

Decluttr will buy a lot of things including DVDs, electronics, and video games. They also buy books, but if that is the time you want to sell, try Bookscouter.

It is an easy to use app. All you have to do is to use the app to scan the barcode and it gives you the price they will pay.

Once you scan the items, they will be added to the cart and it will show the total amount you will be paid.

Then, they will send you a free pre-paid label to print out and all you have to do is ship your items to be paid.

You can also look at places to sell old clothes and apps to sell photos – if that is what you are interested in selling online.

Ebay

Ebay is, hands down, the best platform to flip items for money.

Sign up for this free course to learn about flipping items for money.

While there are some best items to flip on ebay, you can sell literally anything on the platform – ski, boats, vintage etc.

You can also auction your items and set a better price for your items than you would in a regular online garage sale.

Just keep in mind to account for shipping costs and/or add that cost on for the buyer so you don’t end up losing out on that money.

Bookscouter

Bookscouter is the best app to sell old books especially textbooks.

All you do is enter the ISBN number, and it searches the buyback price from 42 different vendors so you get the best price for your books.

Best practices for selling stuff online on Facebook groups or local listings

Here are a few tips and tricks to sell your stuff online successfully:

Be aware of rules

Most of the buy and sell Facebook groups and online selling communities have certain rules. 

Before posting for sale, make sure to go through the rules of that platform and follow them. 

Most of the rules are general and are usually relating to:

  • The buying or selling area to make sure the items from the close by areas within reasonable driving limits are only posted.

    No one wants to drive far away to pick up or drop off things.

  • There can be rules regarding the nature of items that can only be posted.

    Especially in the case of Facebook groups, there can be different local groups to sell furniture, baby items, electronics, and so on.

  • There can be rules regarding photos.

    There can be a limit on the number of photos that can be posted and you might have to post pictures in any particular way only.

  • There can be a ban for local businesses to post or self-promote in these groups or listings.

    This makes sure that the individual gets a fair chance to sell their used products.

Post only good quality pictures

You don’t want to post dark and blurry pictures of your items for your online listing.

Make sure you take good quality pictures in natural light with multiple angles so that the potential buyers can understand the condition of products fairly looking at those pictures.

Also, good quality pictures increase trust and make it easier to sell.

Post all pictures together

You don’t want to spam people by posting multiple pictures of each item individually.

Be respectful to others and post all your pictures of one single item together under one post or listing. 

It also makes it easier for the buyer to look at them instead of going through 10 random pictures posted individually.

Write a detailed description

Good detailed descriptions are as important as a good picture.

You should describe the product you are selling in detail for buyers to know what they are getting. You may want to include details like:

  • Brand
  • Size
  • Color 
  • Condition
  • Smoke-free and pet-free or not
  • Make and model
  • If there is something wrong with the product
  • Any other key detail

Set a fair price for your items for an Online garage sale

To decide on a fair and reasonable price for your item, look online, and check how much other sellers are asking for a similar product.

Once you have an idea of the price range, decide a price based on the quality and condition of your item.

If you have a piece of furniture with no scratches or stains you can ask for a higher price but be open about lowering the prices if your item is not in good condition.

Meet ONLY at a public place

Once you have decided to sell an item to a particular person, make sure you meet the buyer only at a public place.

You don’t want to risk it and invite strangers at home to pick up the item.For safety reasons, try to meet in the daytime at a public location where many people are present at the time of exchange.

Agree on the payment terms before meeting

Make sure you clear the payment terms before meeting the buyer.

Communicate clearly to avoid any confusion before meetings. You need to make sure that you agree with the buyer that you are selling him/her this item at this price. 

It is always good to have it in writing rather than oral communications. You can use email or Facebook chat to do so.

Also, discuss the payment mode with the buyer. Cash is the best way of payment in such arrangements and make sure that you communicate to the buyer that you will accept only cash to avoid any last-minute confusion.

Be respectful

Be it an online or in-person yard sale, you need to be courteous and respectful to others.

There can be times, you may disagree with the other person, Try no to enter into any kind of arguments or altercations in such situations.

If you see any wrong doings, make sure to report it to the admin of the group instead of taking the matter into your own hands.

The bottom line for hosting an online yard sale (or online garage sale):

An online yard sale is a convenient way to sell your stuff online and earn money when you are in need of quick cash.

But be aware of your safety since you are dealing with people who you don’t know about.

Trust your sixth senses and if you feel uncomfortable with any particular deal, just back off because your safety is of utmost importance.

***** This is a guest blog post by Anika Jain at WhatAnikaSays – a personal finance blog that helps you overcome financial overwhelm.

Online garage sale to make money