Where Should You Resell your Storage units It
There many online marketplaces, and it can be difficult to decide which one to use in order to sell your stuff. Services like Craigslist are largely ad space and messaging; the actual process of the sale is up to you. eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and other “e-commerce” style services provide more assistance through the process, but depending on what you’re selling, people may not want to buy something used without having a chance to look at it personally.
Craigslist
Craigslist is the quintessential site for selling your unwanted things online. You should approach Craigslist with a degree of caution since you’re frequently dealing with strangers both online and face-to-face to make a sale. However, Craigslist is so ubiquitous and popular that the chances of finding a legitimate buyer are quite high. In order to maximize your Craigslist experience, be sure that you follow the points below:
Do not meet anyone over Craigslist at your residence, even for furniture. Store the furniture elsewhere, like in an appropriately sized storage unit, while you’re selling it.
Do not meet anyone over Craigslist alone.
Stay up to date on current scams going around on Craigslist and follow the site’s best practices.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace has become extremely popular because its advanced location algorithms connect people locally. When you load the page, it populates local sales automatically.
As Facebook Marketplace is still local, many of the same safety measures should be taken as Craigslist. It is not anonymous, like Craigslist, however, so you have the opportunity to evaluate an individual’s profile before pursuing business with them.
E-Commerce Platforms and Mobile Apps
The popularity of mobile has given rise to a number of mobile-exclusive apps that can be used to buy and sell things. Whenever you use an app to perform commerce, always check the privacy, and what measures the developers are taking to protect people from scams.
PoshMark: This is an app specifically for clothes. As a seller, you can make use of prepaid shipping labels to avoid the dangers of face-to-face selling.
Etsy: Etsy is an e-commerce platform that allows you to ship to customers and receive online payments. Remember that Etsy’s target audience is buyers interested in vintage, handmade, unique items, so it’s not the best place for everything.
Amazon: Amazon is an e-commerce retailer. Their services are designed for people who are running businesses, but anyone can become a seller and list items for sale. The security features, payment features, and shipping features make Amazon an attractive choice, but it’s such a heavily used platform that it can be hard to get noticed.
eBay: eBay is an online auction service. As such, it’s designed for items that are valuable in some way. To succeed on eBay, an item should have some sort of value that would make people want to ‘bid” on it. Either an antique, a collector’s item, a limited edition, or something else that gives it additional value.
These are just a few of the apps and e-commerce services you can use to sell things. Always read about privacy and security when using a new service to sell something.
How to Sell Your Things Online
Once you’ve picked your service, it’s time to actually list and sell the item. Here are a few tips for success when selling used items online.
Store Them Safely
If you have a lot to sell, it’s a good idea to store items in a location away from home. That helps ensure that things don’t get lost, that your items are on hand when you need them, and that they remain in a controlled environment. Personal storage unitswork extremely well for these purposes, and they double as a safe location to meet with buyers when you’re doing face to face transactions. If you’re shipping items, they can double as a place to store shipping supplies.
Make sure to keep your storage unit organized if you’re using one to store an inventory of things you want to sell. Especially if you have a variety of items or multiples of a type of item, it’s easy to forget what you’ve gotten rid of and what still needs to find a new home.
Take Amazing Pictures
Take multiple detailed, clear photographs to accompany the listing. The more clearly someone can see what you’re selling, the more likely they are to get in touch. Look up guides to photographing products and consider borrowing a good camera. Your phone may not cut it.
Photos should display the item from multiple angles, the lighting should be even so that it’s easy to see in detail. The more thorough you can be, the more trust a user has that you’re not trying to scam them or sell them something that’s fake. It’s also a good idea to take photos from multiple viewing angles and to use a simple background that makes the item “pop” out in a list of similar products.
Write Attractive, but Honest, Descriptions
Your item descriptions should strike a balance of convincing people that the item is a good buy, and honesty about its level of use, wear, and damage. Try not to use pretty euphemisms like “gently loved” — be a little more helpfully descriptive about exactly how “used” it is and what condition it’s in. “Some scratches,” “worn around the edges,” as examples.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use language to try and sell it. If it’s in good condition, say so! Feel free to talk up the advantages of the item and explain clearly why it’s a good deal.
Whether or not selling something is worth your while depends a great deal upon the specifics of the item itself. It’s often not the general type of item, but the condition, age, and potential interest to a buyer that makes something worth selling. For something that’s obviously antique, it might be a good idea to get it appraised before trying to sell it, to know exactly how much it’s worth. Be smart, and get as much information as possible before you sell something online