Best Practices for Being an Awesome Online Seller | Clutter to Cash

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From EBay and LetGo to the plethora of Facebook Garage Sale Groups, opportunities to resell your outgrown or unused items are abundant.

However, in order to succeed in turning your unwanted items into cash, it’s more than just slapping a vague description and hasty picture on a selling platform and hoping for the best. Being a good online seller involves a combination of being a decent, truthful human being and a savvy entrepreneur.

Choosing Where to Sell

Where you choose to resell your usable excess clutter will also dictate how much time and effort are involved. Sites like eBay have a very specific (and effective) listing process that can take extra time, whereas Facebook’s selling groups tend to be much easier.

Either way, your ultimate goal is to attract prospective buyers and increase sales while also building relationships and trust.

As an online seller for over 10 years, I (Becky) am always looking for ways to build trust around my online profile, in order to attract more buyers and make sales. I want my sellers to feel confident and satisfied, and not hesitate to buy from me again and again.

In my mind, the key is always a good buying experience from start to finish. I spend time taking good pictures, (check out Laura’s article about how to do just that!) I accurately describe my items down to the smallest details, price them reasonably, and get them into the buyer’s hands in a fast, respectful way.

Selling FAQs for an Awesome Online Seller

#1-To Bulk, Or Not to Bulk…that is the Question:

The discussion comes up from time to time about selling items as groups (lots) or individual pieces.

Which is better?

There’s no magic formula, but here are some tips and ideas to help with that determination:

1. Designer clothing may sell for more when sold individually. Bigger ticket/value items justify selling separately because you can take time and extra effort to really showcase the item with multiple pictures and a detailed description.

2. A quantity of low-dollar items will do better as a group. For example, baby onesies. Multiple low-dollar items will do better together, especially if those items are all similar.

3. When selling adult clothing, selling individually is a good idea because some buyers are hunting for one specific item (ex: black pants for a family picture). They are less likely to want to commit to a big batch of unwanted items.

4. For adult and kids’ clothes, outfits are best to sell together. Shoppers like to be able to buy an adorable top and not have to worry about hunting down the bottoms to go with it.

5. Toys are best sold individually, mainly because shipping costs are more reasonable. If you do have large lots of similar toys that will result in a heavy shipping package (Thomas the Train Sets, Legos, etc.), check into Priority Mail’s Flat Rate boxes that allow you to ship extremely heavy boxes for one flat rate.

#2-Wouldn’t it just be easier to donate my items?

The answer is yes…and no.

My personal online-seller belief is that if an item has a value under $10.00, it’s not worth it when you figure the cost of your time and gas to ship it or arrange for pickup after a sale. If it’s less than $10, I donate it.

However, there are many instances such as selling sports gear, higher value items or large lots of kids’ clothes, where it’s a smart move to turn it all into some extra $$ for family fun time, summer travel, or a purchase you’re saving up for.

Ultimately, you need to be the judge of what your time is worth.

However, I have found that when selling online on sites like eBay or via Facebook Groups, higher valued items are more worth your time and effort to resell.

For smaller items, donating them and blessing someone else might be just the perfect plan to get them out of your home where they are no longer needed or wanted.