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Totally agree that ebay has become nothing but a giant pain for sellers. Not only are the shipping costs prohibitive, the buyers are very catered to now and can do just about anything they want, including not pay. Or, win your auction and back out after it closes. Taking photos, measurements, figuring shipping costs is only worth it for a hard-to-find or pretty valuable as it's a lot of work. Back in 2000 when I started, I sold tons of collectibles for good prices. Those days are gone.
A lot of times on Craig's list if you go under "wanted" there are thrift shop dealers looking to buy vintage and collectibles. I check periodically to see if anyone is looking for something I want to get rid of.
One woman in my town gave away tchachkes to trick or treaters one year. My kids were delighted! I remember one came home with a fist-sized blown glass kiwi bird, that must have been someone's souvenir.
thrift shop is quickest and easiest - just box it up and drop it off.
garage sale - but more work and time.
craig's list or ebay - WAY more work and time and hassle.
I'd rather get rid of stuff than mess with trying to get money for it.
Downsizing is a joy, and a big part of that joy is the lightness and freedom of getting rid of all that STUFF.
That means WAY more to men than the time and energy and hassle of trying to sell stuff piece by piece.
you will be amazed how good it feels to fill a car or truck with boxes of junk, er stuff, and drop it off. AMAZING.
oh, another fun thing to do with furniture items is set them out on the sidewalk with big FREE paper stuck to it, and watch them disappear. I love that. For big stuff like furniture it saves me from having to load it and haul it to good will.
for small fun things like toys I put them in the laundry room at the apartment with big FREE paper stuck on it, and the kids love picking stuff out.
1. Put the stuff in your alley with a sign: Free, It Works. Gone.
2. Put it on NextDoor under free. I leave it on my doorstep. Gone.
3, Rent a Bagster. Toss. Gone.
yup, I love that. I've done the alley. one place I lived, the alley was frequented by the homeless and they LOVED the things I set out. I saw several items around town. It was fun.
Just starting to downsize in preparation for a move that is a couple years off and I'm at a loss as to what to do with items that aren't appropriate for the community thrift shops such as wine glasses, pottery collection, Christmas display items, etc.
Has anyone here sold such items on Ebay? If so, any suggestions for getting started?
I've had a few garage sales over the years, and I find them to be ok and actually fun. I guess some people hate them, but I enjoy putting stuff out and BS ing with the people who stop to shop.
I've dumped a lot of unwanted stuff over the years and always did pretty well because as more than one shopper has said " You have really good stuff here !"
I sold some things on Craigs List. That was pretty easy and you get local people who will come pick up the items. I always brought the items to my front hallway on pickup day so they wouldn't traipse through my house.
Ebay can be a hassle to get set up as a vendor and then you have shipping (you have to be able to tell them the shipping cost ahead of time).
If you have items that truly have value, try one or more consignment shops in your area. They will take a percentage of what they sell for you. They can also tell you what kinds of items will sell and what kind of items don't sell.
If you have antiques, call or email a couple of antique dealers to see if they are interested in what you have. And remember, lots of things you consider to be just old are now classified as antiques.
I remember back in the 70s and 80s going to garage sales was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Where I lived there would usually be 10-20 listed in the paper every week, and I found a lot of things for my first few apartments that way.
Boy, those days are long gone. Now I rarely see garage sales, and friends have told me they're a waste of time. Very few people stop to buy, and those that do really want to haggle with you. It takes a long time to bring every thing out and set it up. Then you sit around all day, waiting for the 2-3 people who might stop by. Then you have to lug it all back in.
I agree with the other posters, easier to just give it to charity.
I think garage sales vary depending on the area. Where I live now, there is one town that does a community-wide sale once a year in the college parking lot. That's a good one.
The quality of items at garage sales at people's houses depends a lot on the neighborhood. They are very popular where I live now but there are some neighborhoods that we just don't bother going to because it is guaranteed to be junk.
I have sold on Ebay since 1999. The things that used to sell, nowadays, forget it. For example, at the "re-usable" shelf at the local transfer station, are some figural Avon bottles, been sitting there for weeks. Anything that could be described as 'collectible', forget it. Every week at the thrift shops I see complete sets of fine china, going for a song.
Also flea markets in the area seem to have taken a nose dive. There is one we used to sell at, on a good day they might have had 70-80 vendors. Last time I stopped by, there were 8, not counting someone selling food. Another one, a bunch of old people sitting around with dusty stuff that I would not take if it were free. Still trying to get what they think it is worth.
I happen to like old things, I eat off a set of 1950 dishes and use vintage silver flatware. I do not have any collections. When we sold our house and went to living in furnished condos for a while, we got rid of everything that wouldn't fit in the van. It really was a very freeing feeling.
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