Declutter and Make Money (I've made OVER $4K so far!)
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I know Marie Kondo’s philosophy is to donate or discard…but when you have a nice, never used Burberry bag, can you REALLY just give it away for free?!
Also, for those of us who are working professionals, who has time to do a garage sale? Read on to see how to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to selling your “discarded/donation” items.
So below is my running tally of what I’ve sold so far since March 2019!
TOTAL $$ MADE TO DATE:
$4,165.61
My favorite places to sell my items (plus pros & cons):
BEST FOR:
Things you wouldn’t sell on Poshmark i.e. a Bose headset case, Halloween costumes
Things you would find at a garage sale but online instead.
Usually shipping costs are more reasonable here vs. Ebay so buyers like to go here.
PROS: ONLY 10%-15% commission
CONS: I find that a lot of items sold here are usually “lower priced” than Ebay or Poshmark. But if you see that it’s comparable to Ebay selling prices, I’d list here instead!
WHAT DOESN’T WORK HERE: You can pretty much sell anything here!
BEST FOR:
Luxury goods (Brand name purses, shoes, accessories)
PROS: I probably get the most “bites” on this platform for my Burberry purse or Tory Burch shoes. I get a better ROI here than I would Ebay for such goods (and customers who actually ask for details before buying).
CONS: 20% commission
WHAT DOESN’T WORK HERE: Clothing. I have found even new, brand items doesn’t sell well UNLESS you have HUGE following.
Facebook Marketplace
BEST FOR:
Rare items like my Johnnie Walker Blue Leather bag .
PROS: EBAY has a “wider” net to cast to get interested buyers nationally and internationally (if you choose to ship Int’l).
CONS: On average, I have found they take the LARGEST commission of all the platforms: 25%. Don’t let the initial listing price fool you. They take off % for listing fees AND % for PayPal to accept payment. BUT they have a higher likelihood to sell for items I wouldn’t be able to sell locally or via Poshmark/Mercari.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK HERE: Selling things here that would make you LOSE money with the high commission. Try this site to figure out your profit after all the fees: LINK
BEST FOR:
FBMKT is trying to compete with Mercari and Ebay. You can basically sell ANYTHING on FB with a 5% commission fee for local or include shipping charges.
Heavy/builky items you don’t want to ship but can sell well.
Common items like Apple keyboard, normal looking bookcase, snow boots during Skiing Season.
Also I use FB Marketplace for items I’m willing to sell $5-$25 that people will come by to pick up.
PROS: I get 100% profit of whatever I sell. Can sell items that are HEAVY or BULKY.
CONS: Lots of folks who ping you they’re interested but then “ghost” on you.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK HERE: Luxury items. People REALLY wheel and deal you sometimes here.
BEST FOR:
Use this referral link to sign up please. You get $10, I get $10. Win win!
Clothes or handbags/accessories that still have tags or new looking and “resellable” but you don’t want to deal with going to a consignment store
AND you don’t have the heart to just donate to Goodwill/Salvation Army.
PROS: In less than 5 MINUTES, you can use my referral link (you get $10 off 1st purchase, I get $10 to use, too. WIN WIN!) and they’ll send you up to THREE bags to stuff your clothes. Just drop off at any UPS store or schedule USPS to pick up from your home and VOILA! They will pick items they want to resell and give you a small % of the profits!
CONS: Commission is STEEP. YMWV. Some items I got PENNIEs on the dollar whereas others I got 25% of the sales. But since these are items I would have donated to Goodwill anyways, any profit is nice :).
WHAT DOESN’T WORK HERE: Don’t sell anything here unless you are okay it being donated for $0 profit. That’s my litmus test!
DONATIONS
OKAY. So you’ve tried to sell your stuff that’s “sellable” and the rest you are happy to donate to a good cause.
DID YOU KNOW? With most homes, you can schedule a “pick up” of your donations at your front porch! It’s so awesome. Two of my fave places to donate that does this is The Salvation Army and Vietnam Veterans of america. See below for more ideas/locations.
Donation locations in SF/Peninsula:
TaskRabbit- for a small fee they’ll pick up maybe same day!
GoodWill- up to 7 days for processing pick up
Open Mon-Sun 9 am to 6 pm; closed for lunch 1 pm - 2 pm
They DON’T take large furniture, so you’ll need to do that yourself or pay a company to pick it up (at a cost).
Donation locations in East Bay:
https://www.wardrobe.org/
Donating your professional clothes to Wardrobe for Opportunities
They DON’T take large furniture, so you’ll need to do that yourself or pay a company to pick it up (at a cost).
