Decluttering is a great way to clear your head as well as your house, and many people say that it can be a liberating experience. It’s amazing how much simpler life becomes once you remove all the stuff you no longer want or need from your life.
The trickier bit can be deciding how to get rid of your clutter, especially if you paid good money for some of it. However, there’s a lot of truth to be found in the saying, “One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure” because there’s nearly always someone out there who will pay to take it off your hands.
Decluttering is a fantastic way to boost your bank balance and give a new lease of life to items that you no longer use. We’ve handpicked five effective tools that you can use to make money from your clutter – why not give it a try?
Ebay – Best for electronics
When we upgrade things like laptops and mobile phones, it’s easy to stash away old versions, often thinking that you paid too much money for it to simply throw it away. But the good news is, you don’t have to!
Buying brand new electronic devices can be pretty pricey, which is why so many people are happy to settle for a second hand device instead. eBay is a great way to shift electronics that are in all sorts of conditions – from not working through to brand new just so long as you’re completely honest about it.
You can choose to auction your items if you’re feeling adventurous, or use the ‘Buy it Now’ option to set a fixed price – it’s worth having a look on site at items similar to the ones you want to sell. This will give you a better idea about which of these is more likely to lead to a successful sale.
Cost: It’s free to list up to 1,000 items a month and the site will take a ten per cent cut of each item you sell.
Amazon Marketplace – Best for books and DVDs
With Kindles and online movie streaming becoming increasingly popular, it’s understandable that you may no longer want or need to keep huge book or DVD collections.
Things like textbooks and higher quality DVDs (4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray) will often sell extremely well on Amazon. Many people don’t feel the need to pay the full price for a brand new copy, especially if they plan to watch/read it a few times and then pass it on themselves. So before you assume that your books and DVDs aren’t worth anything, try looking them up on Amazon to see how much second hand copies are being sold for – you might be surprised!
Cost: Amazon charges 75p per item sold, plus a small cut of each item sold – for books and DVDs this is 15.3%.
Gumtree – Best for furniture
Gumtree is the perfect place to sell large furniture items to people in your area. There are plenty of people out there who only buy second-hand furniture – either to use as it is, or to fix up if it’s looking a little shabby. So whatever the condition of your furniture, your chances of making a sale are pretty good.
It’s up to you to decide how you want the buyer to pay – cash, paypal, cheque, etc. – and how the item will be delivered. Usually the buyer comes to collect the furniture from you at an agreed location, or the seller delivers it themselves in exchange for a fee. However, when arranging to meet up with a buyer, you should always make sure someone else is with you and never give out your bank details, as you can never be too careful!
Cost: Free
Facebook Marketplace – Best for beauty products
If you’ve got unopened beauty products that you know you’ll never use, then consider listing them on Facebook Marketplace. It’s a great tool for selling to people in your local community, as buyers can search for the products being sold nearby and offer to collect them in person.
With many of us now spending so much time on social media, Facebook has become a hotspot for impulse buying – which means it’s a great place to shift your clutter quickly. As long as the items you want to sell are unopened, there’s no reason why someone won’t want to bag their favourite beauty products at a discounted price.
Cost: Free
Car boot sales – Best for unusual bits and bobs
People usually head to car boot sales in search of hidden treasure – and to be honest at a car boot sale, anything goes! Whether
you’ve got an old service uniform, miscellaneous ornaments or an old tea set – there’s often someone out there who will buy your bits and bobs out of nostalgia, or even just for fun.
Clothes are also a big hit at car boot sales – no matter what decade your clothes are from, they’ll often sell, especially with
vintage clothes being so on trend at the moment. So if you don’t fancy selling online and you’d rather get out in the fresh air amongst other sellers, then why not get yourself to a car boot sale?
Cost: There is sometimes a fee for your pitch – prices will vary depending on which car boot sale you decide to sell at.
SellMyMobile.com – Best for mobile phones
The market for second hand phones has boomed in recent years as people are looking to save money whilst protecting the environment and re-using more. But how many old phones do you have stashed away as a backup? With new models being released all the time, the old handsets in your drawer lose value the longer you hold on to them.
Only allow yourself to keep one spare mobile phone if you feel you need to and trade in anything extra for cash – you’ll be glad you did when you find yourself with more space and more money. If you’re looking for somewhere to start then SellMyMobile.com offers a fast and easy comparison service to ensure you’re getting the best deal on your old handset.
(Article source: Rest Less)
