Ideas for Things to Sell

[asthemusicplays]

Hello!

DF and I are getting ready to potentially pack up and move to another city (Boston ) for a new job for him, so we're looking at ways to save more money and not have as much to move! I've been looking around our home and trying to think of everything we could possibly sell, so my question is this:

What are some items that you've sold, or seen being sold, that aren't the first things you think of? (i.e. beyond furniture, books, DVDs)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and I hope this can help out some other DISers, too!

 

[pklein09]

My initial instinct is to sell anything of which you have duplicates. Really consider the new space...will everything fit? If not, as hard as it is to purge, get rid of what won't fit. Go through your clothing and donate whatever you haven't worn. There's no sense in moving it if you don't wear it. If you have something sentimental, like your Nana's china, ask a family member to hold it for you until you have the space for it.

If you're really headed to Boston, consider going down to one car if you have two. A friend's daughter recently moved to Boston with her boyfriend. Because parking is so hard to find in Boston (and expensive!), they ditched both cars and use public transportation.

Best of luck!

 

[Pesky]

I've seen everything under the sun sold. Heck we sold silverware when our combined households created duplicate sets. It is honestly as you go through your house, what do you REALLY want to lug with you? That put a lot of stuff in the garage sale/donate pile.

 

[StephMK]

Ha, I'm going through this right now and just had a yard sale this morning! Our neighborhood does a 3 day semi-annual sale. We sold most of our stuff this am so we'll be looking for more to sell on Saturday.

It's so hard to say what sells & what doesn't because the 2 sales I've had, very different things went each time. I can tell you that we're getting rid of anything heavy, bulky, extras, books, etc. Our stuff will probably go into storage for a few months between states so I'm not paying to keep stuff I don't love.

Bookcases, computer desks, older TVs, end tables, lamps, board games we don't play, etc. are all going. Lamps did not sell well this am but some of my wall pictures and extra frames were bought. One guy bought a box of 8x10 frames because he likes to frame sports mag covers.

Shoes sold like hot cakes last time but didn't go quickly today. Extra towels & sheets are going to be donated to a shelter. I'm not keeping more than 2 sets per bed plus one flannel set each.

Good luck! I hope to get to the point of only packing the well loved, well used items.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Women's Clothes. Anything current. Bring it all to a resale shop. Drop it off and walk out. They will call you with what they want, donate the rest, and send you a check when it sells.

Can you find a local furniture resale shop?

Yes books. You may only make a small amount, but you don't want to haul them to the new place unless they are very special.

A garage sale is a must. Go through every single cabinet, drawer and closet. I am always shocked when things like two wine glasses sell, but they always do. Kitchen stuff sells.

Schedule a truck to pick up what does not sell. Otherwise you will be tempted to haul it back in the house.

Collectiions that are not sentimental. Call a local antique store to come over for an appraisal. Now is a great time to clear it out.

Donate old towels to a local animal shelter.

 

[ajh88]

This may not apply to your situation, but anytime we are purging "stuff", we make 3 boxes...keep, donate, and sell. As we go through boxes, anything I think might be selling, I check out completed listings on ebay to see if the item has been selling and at what price on there. If it has been selling, I stick it in the sell box. If it hasn't been selling well or at all, it goes to donate (or yard sale if there is one planned).

We have sold some completely random stuff (an antenna topper for over $30 and a Tommy Boy bobblehead doll for around $40 come to mind), just because I took the time to look it up.

My other rule for yard sales (if I participate - I really dislike holding them!) is that anything that doesn't sell goes directly to a donation center - NOT back into the house.

And if you are doing a moving sale anyway, I'd just stick anything and everything out there that you don't want to keep - you never know what someone might be looking for! The last sale my mom had did very well with tools, toys, and clothing, but not so great with baby items.

 

[kkmcan]

Not sure if you have kids but my go to things to sell are toys, games, kids book lots, video games and systems, and sports equipment.

Other stuff I like to sell: Pampered Chef stuff I don't use. Cookbooks, designer purses I don't carry anymore, old electronics (old cell phones, cameras, etc).

I bought one of those Instyler rotating curling irons and used it once. Decided I didn't like it and sold it on ebay for $50.

At the moment I really need to get my kids to release some of those xbox games that they got for xmas last year that they don't play anymore. Ones that just weren't that exciting to them.

 

[4GoofyCrew]

LOVE Boston but housing is smaller, and more expensive, there!

Collectibles, purses/bags, yard tools you may no longer need, wall art, anything that you would like to buy new of at some point anyway (couch, patio furniture, etc. - why pay to move it if you could put the money towards purchasing something new that will fit/match better - most of that stuff you can buy as you get settled, you can live without it for a while).

How exciting! Good luck!

 

[SueInBoston]

I had a new AP Euro History exam book on CL for 2 weeks with no taker so I sold it back to Amazon for $9. Not a lot but it's out of my house and a $9 credit on Amazon

on CL...sold my old IPAD smart cover because I switched to a smartcase. Didn't really think anyone would want it but it went within hours for $20

listed my broken Canon DSLR as broken for parts on ebay figuring with no listing fee, even $5 would be ok....well....it sold for $31!!!!!!

 

[asthemusicplays]

Thanks so much everyone! My post is now kind of moot because we live in NY (Long Island) and had flooding that got rid of most of our "extra stuff." We're looking at it as a purge! I'll definitely come back to this next time we're looking to sell our items though