Spring Cleaning {My Favorite Places to Sell Unwanted Items}

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sellunwanteditems

It’s that time of year when I start getting the itch to purge all of the extra stuff in our house: spring cleaning.

I want to purge and organize and clean out closets for the purpose of simplifying, but it’s fun to make a little side money in the process. In fact, I’ve become slightly obsessed with selling our extra stuff. I look around my house at night trying to figure out what I can get rid of. I was so antsy to reorganize our pantry recently, so I sold a few unwanted items, made some extra cash, and purchased cute baskets to start the pantry project. I broke even: it’s a win-win!

If you’re getting the same itch, here are a few of my favorite places to sell our unwanted items.

1. Facebook

I have joined several “swap and sell” Facebook groups. You simply post an item with the price, and people comment to claim.

Best items: Furniture

Pros: Items can sell quick! I once sold a bookshelf in 30 seconds and had 25 people interested. (It looks like I should have priced it higher!)

Cons: People aren’t always reliable at picking up the items, and if it doesn’t sell quick, it can get lost in the shuffle of the other wall postings.

2. OfferUp

OfferUp is a phone app (and website) where you can sell your unwanted items. It’s similar to a CraigsList, but a lot less sketchy. You can see the people you are selling to and it includes an embedded messaging system within the app. It’s similar to a Pinterest set up where you can scroll through the pictures of items.

Best items: Furniture, home decor, baby items

Pros: It’s easy to keep up with what you are selling and buying. You have a profile page and can mark items as sold, or change your mind and delete them.

Cons: It seems to take a while to sell items, so use it for items you don’t need to get rid of right away, but still want to sell to make some cash.

3. eBay

I’ve been successful selling brand name clothes, accessories and bags on eBay. You just want to make sure you get your money’s worth once you factor in shipping.

Best items: Brand name clothes, bags and accessories

Pros: You can post it and eBay will do the rest: monitor bidding, send you the shipping address, and even let you buy postage on the site if preferred.

Cons: It can be posted for up to a week, and you might not get the bid you want. You also have to handle shipping in a reasonable amount of time.

4. TurnStyle

I’ve turned in a ton of clothing items and home goods to TurnStyle. It’s a consignment shop, so you can either get cash or store credit once an item sells.

Best items: Gently used clothes, home goods, and home decor

Pros: Once you drop off the items, you just sit back and wait for them to sell. There’s nothing to do on your end except to remember to pick up the check.

Cons: They can be particular about what they take (such as styles no older than 2 years), and you can only bring in 25 items at a time. You also have to bring in clothes unwrinkled and on hangers, so it can take some time to “prep” the clothes.

5. Goodwill

If a sale doesn’t work out, my last resort is to drop it off at Goodwill. After all, the ultimate goal is to get rid of the items!

Do you sell your unwanted items? If so, where do you go or what do you do that has been successful?

Happy spring cleaning!

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