I remember after my father had died and my mom was getting ready to sell the house and remarry. My two sisters and I went through her cupboards with her, to declutter. We honestly didn’t get rid of enough stuff, but at the time I’m sure mom thought we had taken away too much. A lot was sold at a garage sale. Some items were donated and a lot went in the garbage. We girls went home with a bit of it ourselves. Everyone saves too much stuff. A lot of it has sentimental value only. While it meant something to my mom, I don’t think it will mean much to me after she dies, at least not more than looking at it and then deciding what to do with it next. The same applies to my stuff.
After realizing that I was building my own pile of too much stuff, I decided to start reducing it. Facebook sites became my new way of getting rid of stuff. Yes, I have donated certain items and trashed others, but I figured I could use the money to pay for my obsession of purchasing used books and toys for my grandchildren. So basically all those toys that my grandkids play with were free. And I hate putting on garage sales due to the work involved.
Facebook group sites.
Wonderful people set up group sites on Facebook to sell and buy things. I would never do this myself because there are rules to follow and enforce, which takes time away from my buying and selling and life in general. I am extremely grateful to those out there, mostly women, who have set up these sites for our use. If you search Facebook groups by your city name, you should find a large number of sites, depending, of course, on the size of your city. I joined as many as I could in my city (which was small) and also in neighboring cities. These sites usually include “Garage Sale,” “Online Garage Sale,” “Trash and Treasures,” etc. in their name.
Also, look at the size of the group. If there are only 20 members, a group with several thousand members may be more beneficial to you. Follow these for a while to see what kind of items the group members sell and the prices they ask. If you don’t like the quality of items or the group member’s vibe, feel free to unfollow the group. Try selling items on several groups to test the waters. After a while, you will see where you should be posting most of your stuff. Also, there is the Market Place on Facebook which provides a larger audience. Be aware that you may be having someone from 100 miles away that is interested in purchasing. They may want you to ship it. There are pluses and minuses with every site.
Pricing your items takes practice.
If you posted an item before you went to bed and have 40 people trying to buy it by the time you wake up in the morning, you may have underpriced it. I’ve done this. If you can’t seem to sell an item, maybe it’s because the price is too high. I’d rather sell an item, than refuse to lower my price because I want $1 more than they are willing to pay.
If I have told a person they can have it and then someone else offers to pay me more if they can have it, I say no. I don’t do that. I once had someone adamant that they would pay me more if they could pick it up that night. Someone was already on their way to pick it up. The original person picked up the item as scheduled. If you would be unhappy if someone did it to you, don’t do it to a buyer. I would rather the original buyer be happy that they bought it from me. You don’t want to anger a buyer that had every right to expect it was sold to them.
A picture is essential.
When you are ready to post something, you should always include a picture of the real item. You will find some people posting pictures of a new item on Amazon, which doesn’t give you the true picture or the quality, or lack thereof, of the item. Most site admins will request that you put a relevant picture. They will also ask you to state where you are located. That doesn’t mean your street address. It can be something like “in the downtown area,” “near the mall,” “in the Coffee Rd/Maple St area.” If you are in a small town you can usually get by with the name of the town.
If you are in a specific Facebook group but don’t live in that group area, you usually are required to state that you are willing to deliver the item to that area. That may not be worth it to you. On a large item, it might be. Or if it’s on your way to work or your sister’s house, it might not be a big deal. You can also meet at a public place. Mention in the post that you will meet at the Target parking lot on J Street, or the gas station on Elm and Oak.
Your post.
In each post, you should have a picture, your price, and your general location. The hardest part is coming up with a truthful description that will sell the item. If it’s a desk with some stains or scratches, include pictures of that. Don’t say it’s in excellent condition unless it is. Otherwise, when they show up, they will see that you weren’t exactly honest. That will not help your sales. Keep in mind that if you have a lot of items to sell, you want to impress your potential buyers, not deceive them. I have looked up items on Amazon or another site to help me come up with details that I might have forgotten to mention.
Also, if you post on more than one site you should let the buyers know. That way if they think they are the first person to want it, they will realize they might not be. They might have lost it to someone on another site, that requested it 10 minutes earlier. Here are some examples of a post:
- Used girl’s pink Schwinn bicycle with a basket on the front. Some scratches here and there – see pictures. I will meet in the IHOP parking lot on Orange Street. Asking $20.
- Used paperback books for sale. Please see pictures for titles available. 50 cents each or 10 for $3.00. Located near the mall. Posted on multiple sites.
- Several miscellaneous items. See Photos. $5 each. Must haul yourself. Carmichael and 21st area.
Connecting with your buyer.
When I was selling items in the previous town I lived in, I always had my customers pick up their purchases at my house. After a while, I had customers that knew where I lived and didn’t need to ask for my address. Be sure to private message your address to them. A private message on Facebook is found on the buyer’s Facebook page. Tap on their name on their comment to purchase. On their page to the left will be a blue Message rectangle. That message will go to them, but not the general public. I would write to them, in your response to buying the item, that you have sent a private message. That way they will look for it. Some people aren’ signed up for Messenger. You may need to send them a regular message and ask them to private message (PM) you.
I was comfortable leaving items in a bag/box on my porch, with an envelope attached. In my PM, I instructed the buyer to put their money in the envelope, under my door mat. That’s not to say no one ever taped the envelope to my front door or set it on top of my mat. In the years that I was selling a large number of items, I might have 5 bags/boxes on my porch at a time, and never did anyone take something that wasn’t theirs, or leave without leaving the money.
If you feel more comfortable, you can schedule a window of time that you will be available for pick up. Example: from 2-7. If I was selling a big item like a bed frame, desk with hutch, or something expensive I never left it on my porch. If it was something my non-Facebook husband wanted to sell, I always had the buyer come by when he was around. That way they wouldn’t ask me a question that I couldn’t answer.
Money, money, money.
I made money selling my stuff, plus selling stuff for family. My daughter did not feel comfortable letting people come to her home. She was usually alone with her children, or they might be napping, etc. So I was given bags and boxes of stuff from her. I sorted it out, priced it, cleaned it up, if needed and posted it.
I dealt with the buyers and she received 50% of what I sold it for. This gave me an incentive to sell it high, but also price it right, so that I wasn’t stuck with it in my house for weeks. This gave her a bit of extra spending money and reduced the amount of stuff she really didn’t need. I did the same thing for my mother. There were times they might have thought I could get more money for the item, but never did they ask for everything back because they were going to sell it themselves. I sold an expensive item for my mom, but I didn’t take 50% of that. She is family, after all.
New friends in my neighborhood.
I have met some really nice people doing this. Some of my buyers became my friends. There have been others that inquire about things and never show up, even when I gave them several opportunities to pick up the item. Some people are so difficult to deal with that I hope they never attempt to buy from me again. But I focus on the friends I’ve made and the money that I’ve made and turned into toys for my grandkids.
Be aware that you may find things that you like on the sites you frequent, and become both a seller and a buyer. I know I have purchased non-toy items for myself and home. And yes, that does kind of defeat the purpose of getting rid of my stuff when I replace it with someone else’s stuff.
By the way, never tell my mother that I am the one that took her first wedding dress. We, three girls, were afraid she would ask for it down the road, so since I had the most room to store it, it became my stuff. After years of her never asking for it again, I threw it out. Honestly, what would she ever do with it? Wouldn’t you know it, she asked where it went, within a year. I had to tell a lie. “Mom, don’t you remember, we threw that out when you moved.” Sorry, mom.
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