The coronavirus pandemic has everyone staying home a lot more than they used to. People are spending their days differently based on their situations. Some parents have become full-time teachers for their children even while working from home. Some folks are drinking fine wines and craft brews and others are enjoying baking bread or learning to cook. Almost everyone is doing some form of organizing. Maybe you watched Marie Kondo and found a lot of things that no longer spark joy so now you have a pile of stuff you need to get rid of. The question is, “now what am I going to do with it?” Why not make some money while organizing your unwanted items? This is especially important for people that are currently out of work during the pandemic and are struggling to find ways to pay their bills. Personally, I have spent some time organizing my family’s clothes.  I have a ton of clothes my daughter has outgrown and as much as I would like her to be a tiny baby again, it’s not happening. Now that I work remotely for IGG Software, I no longer have a need for the many suits I own and hope to never have to wear again. Besides burning them, I thought it may be a good idea to try to sell the suits to someone that could use them. I also had some household things that I was holding on to for some reason. Who needs two irons? Definitely not someone that no longer has to wear suits! There are a couple of great ways to make money while reducing your clutter.

Sell on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is one of my favorite ways to sell items I no longer need or want. Many people already have a Facebook account so it’s just a matter of taking pictures, writing a description, and posting the item. Then your listing is live and ready for people to buy. I like to add larger items on Facebook. I just sold my daughter’s old play kitchen here (don’t bring it up, she’s still upset about it even though she still has one). I had messages within five minutes and at least eight buyers, made me think I should have asked for more! I set it outside and they put money under my doormat and it was gone!

Sell on Craigslist

Craigslist is a great venue for selling your items to people in your area. It works much the same as Facebook Marketplace — take a picture, add a description and you are ready to go! Ian from IGG Software told me about a great way he recently made some money on Craigslist. He said he has been getting into mountain biking since the lockdown. Apparently, so is everyone else and all of the bike shops are sold out of mountain bikes, for adults and kids. It is one business that has been impacted positively. He remembered he had a kids bike that wasn’t being ridden anymore so he decided to sell it on Craigslist. It sold in two days for the full asking price. It might be a good time to take inventory of your garage or attic to see if there’s something someone else might need in trade for some cash!

Sell on eBay/Mercari

These are two of my other favorite ways to sell items I’d like to get rid of. I like both eBay and Mercari because they reach a larger pool of customers that may be looking for what you are selling as opposed to only people in your area. They both require that you create an account, but once you do that, they behave similarly to the other marketplaces in that you take pictures of your items and add a description. It’s up to the seller to offer free shipping or add the cost to the item’s purchase price. I find these sites to be better for specific brand named items you have to sell. For instance, I like See Kai Run sandals for my daughter. Being “Frugal Allison,” I do not like to buy new shoes because they can run $50 plus for a pair that she will probably grow out of in three weeks. I don’t often find them used in my area so chances are much better that I will find them on eBay. And once she grows out of them, I can clean them and resell them on eBay!

Yard Sale

I love yard sales! I love treasure hunting and putting together a pile of things I want to buy and negotiating myself a better price. Where else can you get a piece of clothing for $.25? Yard sales are a great way to get rid of a large number of things at once. Keep in mind that you will probably have to let things go for less than you would by listing them separately elsewhere but the clutter and outgrown clothing will be gone. In order for your yard sale to be successful, you will need to have a lot of people stopping by so make sure you are advertising with signs. To reach a wider audience, you could list the sale on social media, Craigslist, and local newspapers. Be responsible when planning your yard sale and keep in mind your area’s current regulations as far as social distancing and large crowds. Can you arrange your items in a way to give people space and wear a mask yourself? Don’t forget to have change so you can accept people’s larger bills!

Consign

Consigning your stuff is another great way to make some extra cash. Let someone else do the selling for you! Consignment stores work in two ways, either you get paid upfront with cash or store credit or you get a portion of the sale price when your item sells. Check out the stores in your area and find out what your options are. Consignment stores are easy since you just drop off your clothes or furniture so you don’t have to deal with communicating with potential buyers or setting up times to meet them. I like to sell my daughter’s outgrown clothes to the consignment store and receive store credit instead of cash because I get about 20% more. I then buy the next size of clothes for her.

Donate

Need to get rid of your stuff and don’t want to deal with selling things or having to take the time to go into a store to consign? Think about donating the items you no longer want or need. Many charitable organizations are opening back up to accept donations. Take a look at the donation centers in your area and decide which one you would like to help. Depending on the organization, they usually redistribute items back to people in need in the community or sell the donated items for a profit to help organizations in the community. Donating and helping your community may not result in a monetary benefit, but it feels good to help others in need. If you do decide to donate to a qualified organization, don’t forget to get a receipt so you can deduct your donations at tax time.

We love hearing from you. Please share your story about selling used items in the comments below.

From all of us at IGG Software, be safe and be well!