Ways to sell household items (new or little used) (Atlanta: for sale, apartment complex)

[shania]

Looking for advice in how to sell quite a few household items that I no longer need, most of them are new or hardly used, in the Atlanta area. Out here, in Southern California, garage/yard sales are very popular and usually work well as a way to get rid of stuff, because the weather usually cooperates and houses/people are close together so you don't even need to advertise that much. (People walk by, see the sale, and come over to check it out.)

But don't see how that would work in Georgia, where houses are more spread out (at least OTP they seem to be) and weather can be unpredictable. And if end up in an apartment or condo complex initially, then doubtful could have a garage sale anyway. Are their flea markets where people sell their stuff? Or any other suggestions?

[mmenomen]

You could try Craigslist - http://atlanta.craigslist.org/

[billl]

Craigslist. We have neighborhood garage sales about twice a year, those in the neighborhood who want to participate do so and publicity is handled collectively. We had some success with those, but not great. Why wait until the next one? We just used Craigslist to sell off a whole bunch of stuff.

Furniture, kids games, clothing all sold well, but our artwork didn't move.

Bill

[sweettea1]

You'd be surprised how many people scour the local papers to seek out garage sales. It's a whole sub culture. If you have enough stuff and it's bargain priced, try that first so you don't have to field all of the Craiglist calls (and weirdos!). On a nice day you'll get tons of people.

[atlantagreg30127]

Metro Atlanta is a big yard sale area. People will show up at your house at 7am to see if your stuff is already out and ready to sell.

Since I've done a number of yard sales for myself and other people when I get bored (or need the money), here's a few strong points (from my experience) I'll pass along if you go the yard sale route:


1) A lot of people make the HUGE mistake of having a yard sale that ends incredibly early - as early as 2pm in some cases. BIG mistake. I typically make up to 30% or more of my sales after 4pm, even on weekends. Stragglers will drive around looking for last minute sales, and I unload tons of stuff after 2pm. Do your sale for two days - a Friday and a Saturday. Do it from 7am to 5pm (hey, you actually want to make money, right?? Get off your butts and work for it).

2) If all you're going to have are a couple of boxes of baby clothes and some drinking glasses, go the Craig's List route for the clothes, and donate the glasses to Goodwill. Honestly, even though you paid money for everything you own, you do need to realistically separate real stuff people would actually want, with JUNK that needs to be tossed out or donated. Likewise, people do royally get ticked when they follow "huge sale - this way" signs for 3 miles, only to find someone with one fold-out table with baby clothes on it at the end of the drive. Um. No. If you don't have enough junk for a "real" yard sale - sell it on Craigs.

3) Have good signs. Not signs with skinny Sharpee marker scribble on it. Legible, easy-to-read from the road signs. Put them up in strategic areas, making sure you obey your local community's sign ordinances. After your sale is done, TAKE YOUR SIGNS DOWN.

4) Have a good variety of stuff. Clothing, furniture, electronics in order to draw in people, even if it means having to get in with a neighbor (or two) in order to have enough good stuff to make people stop. Springtime here is volatile with weather, so unless you're going to have it under a covered garage, plan ahead or just wait until Summer or Late fall when the weather is more predictable.

5) For geez sakes, have CHANGE for people. Someone starts up their sale.... I get there.... pay with a $20 bill and need $5 back - poof... they have NO change. Nothing. Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Go to the bank the day before and stock up on $1, $5, and some $10 bills and quarters. Don't leave it laying out in the open. Be ready to make change. People WILL walk away from a sale if you can't make change for them. Have some grocery store bags ready to bag stuff up for them as well, and paper to wrap glass items in. It makes a difference.


For "a few household items" to sell (which you didn't specify if those were small or large household items), it might be best to team up with a neighbor or coworker.

[shania]

I can't have a garage sale since I won't have a garage/yard in an apartment complex. I guess I could try Craigslist except it would take a long time, I imagine, since I have probably over one hundred items that have either never been or hardly used. Mostly small goods, like dishes, china, glassware, linens, clothing, etc. Maybe I could rent a garage for a weekend?

I'll keep trying to puzzle it out. Thanks for the advice, though.

[brook2ga]

I sold several sets of dishes and glasses on ebay.

[billl]

Originally Posted by seodonna

Craigslist is one, you can advertise there, i'm just not sure if it still for free or you need to pay a minimal fee.

Craigs list has no fee and no commision, unlike eBay. It is entirely free. There are certain types of postings that cost money, but not any of the types being talked about here.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by shania

I can't have a garage sale since I won't have a garage/yard in an apartment complex. I guess I could try Craigslist except it would take a long time, I imagine, since I have probably over one hundred items that have either never been or hardly used. Mostly small goods, like dishes, china, glassware, linens, clothing, etc. Maybe I could rent a garage for a weekend?

I'll keep trying to puzzle it out. Thanks for the advice, though.

You can try to get in on a group or community yard sale...you don't necessarily have to live in the neighborhood to participate in their yard sale. You might be able to find a collective sale advertisement that you can get in on.

[pellur]

eBay has a Craigslist like application called kijiji. You could try Free Atlanta Classified Ads - Kijiji Atlanta Classifieds Atlantain Georgia

Also put it on Atlanta's FREE Classifieds. Buy and Sell your used stuff. , atlanta classifieds for apts, jobs, for sale, personals - backpage.com

If you are giving them for free and dont want to drive to Goodwill you could use Yahoo's freecycle. Link for them is The Freecycle Network (http://www.freecycle.org/group/United%20States/Georgia/Atlanta - broken link)


HTH