Anyone have any luck selling items to raise quick cash?

I looked at eBay and it seems quite cumbersome and likely to drown out any little players.

What avenues have you tried and what have you had the most luck with?

Being the dead of winter, a garage sale is out of the question, though last time I tried that, people practically wanted you to pay them to take things.

Things I would be interested in selling would be clothing, books/mags and assorted household items and decorations.

Suggestions welcome.

Did you find you moved items quickly? Did you let people just e-mail you or allow calls? Did you meet people for transactions or have them come to your home?

I noticed that you can post pics. What do you use for a pic server.?

I sold a love seat and some misc. baby furniture (a crib and changing table), and they were gone within a day of posting the ads. With the sale items, I posted my phone number to let them call. They came over to pick the items up. If you wanted to just do everything by email and meet them somewhere to show the item, you can arrange it however you want.

It was just like selling anything else through a classified ad. I sold the baby furniture to the first people to call for each. I had one person no-show on the couch, but the second person to call came over, looked at it, and bought it that night. Very painless.

I think I used picasa for the pictures, but it might have been photobucket. Posting an ad on craigslist is very simple and straightforward. My only advice would be to make sure to keep the confirmation email they send you so that you can delete the ad after the item is sold.

I also posted a big stack of moving boxes for free, with my address in the ad and an offer to just come take the boxes off the porch and not bother me. No one emailed or knocked on the door, and the boxes were gone within hours.

That thing was GONE within hours of posting the ad.

Burning it would have taken longer and been more of a hassle. :crazy:

...like hours after they post.

We ourselves only go after stuff listed within 24-hours, anything older is usually gone or not worth it.

Got a quick $500 for it. :-)

I got $2 a piece for them. That was back in the 90s though. I'm not sure what you could sell CDs for nowadays. I also made bird houses from scrap lumber and sold them at the flea market for anywhere between $3 and $5.

:rimshot:

Personally I haven't done a garage sale in over a decade. I prefer to simply give my stuff away to Goodwill or some other organization and get the tax writeoff. As I'm in the 28% tax bracket, it's not a bad deal for me and the profits go to those who really need it for the most part.

When I did garage sales, I had pretty good luck with them. You definitely will get the people who want to make a game out of it. I took the attitude that I simply weren't going to play their game. I set what I thought were fair prices and I stuck to them. I posted at sign that said at X time all listed prices are 25% off. At X time all listed prices are 50% off. At X time all listed prices are 75% off. 10% discounts for multiple purchases of $5 or higher. For anyone who wanted to haggle I simply pointed at the sign. It drove the game players absolutely nuts. They knew if they really wanted something and wanted it for less, they had to gamble that someone else wouldn't buy it first. For some of them it was really more about the psychological game rather than saving money. When the tables were turned they went ape shit.

If they argued I told them, my sale, my rules, if you don't like it, get the hell off my lawn before I turn the dogs loose on you.

Make any exchange of money and property at a neutral location...for safety's sake.

If your item is good and the price is right, you can often turn it in less than 24 hours.

Ebay's good, but you're talking about a week and packing and shipping. A PITA most of the time, although I have used it many times.

Just a PSA.

in my opinion, since you cut down on the potential bidder list so much with a "pickup only"

I'm probably going to be selling a few things on craigslist in the next couple of weeks myself.

I'm moving in with a roomie and I think I'll have some extra stuff.

Hopefully it will work.

Any tips for properly pricing items?

similar items. It varies a lot from place to place.

consignment shop and so far...2 1/2 years later I've made $10.00. I tried selling a fancy film camera but they would only pay me about $40 for it so I sold it to a neighbour instead. Both times I needed cash and didn't get much. Go for the yard sale if you have enough stuff. And if you live somewhere hot.

Lots of things can be sold if they are new.

And this is for medical bills, not the rent.

...any household could make a thousand bucks in just several days by clearing things out and selling on eBay.

Those days are gone. Unless you have something special, your best bet is a sale advertised on craigslist.

Could you use one room by the front door, shut off from other rooms by cord or doors? I've seen that done. Have someone else there with you. Maybe you could combine your stuff with another pal's stuff, to get more potential buyers out.

Good luck. Used things are going very cheap these days.

Lots of people selling stuff to pay the bills and the market is flooded. I live just outside a major metro area, so it's a pretty big market and maybe that will help.

and advertising at local stores/places of business, and people would call...plus, when I was in this mood, I was in for selling, for whatever price, I didn't care if I sold my tv for a dollar....

I've done this a few times, when I'd move from one state to another....

not just shedding things. Generally, what is the loan-to-value ratio at pawn shops?