How to sell your stuff
Christmas comes but once a year, and when it comes it frequently brings with it a load of tat that you wouldn't be seen dead with. Here's how to off-load it.
Whether they're well-meant gifts from friends and family that miss the mark or hastily grabbed goods foisted on you as part of an office secret Santa or by an irritating in-law, almost everyone gets something they don't want for Christmas.In fact, even the perfect gift can still result in spare goods in the house, if an old games console or other item is replaced by the shiny new version.
Selling the undesirable or redundant items means you can use the cash to get what you wanted all along - or make a dent in the Christmas debt - so where do you go to get the most cash?
Here are the sites I use and what I think of them.
This is the daddy of the online auction sites, achieving that pinnacle of internet success: becoming a verb: "I eBayed it." This is a great place to sell as the auction system encourages buyers to compete which can drive up your price.
For example, I received a popular promotional toy with my car insurance recently and put it on eBay. To my surprise (and delight) it turned out to be a collector's item and I got £50, less my fees. Simples.
But, while eBay is simple to use and popular, it can be an expensive way to your stuff. You pay insertion fees which are based on your starting price (free for a starting price of up to 99p, up to £1.30 if it's more than £100); final value fees of 10% (up to a maximum of £40); and there are extra fees if you want to use special features like international visibility.
If you don't expect a bit of a bidding war, it can be better to go elsewhere.
Preloved
It's free to place a basic advert on Preloved, so it's a popular site. Most of the items for sale are, as the name suggests, second hand. So you're advertising at customers that are happy to buy something that's already been used.
Another perk is that it shows members local adverts, so it's easier to arrange delivery.
But this is where I failed to sell my wedding dress and I think that's because I haven't paid. Sellers who pay for premium membership (£25 for 12 months), are given priority, receiving twice as many views as free customers. That can make it hard to sell in the more popular categories.
Amazon
This is one of the most popular sites on the internet, meaning you have the chance to sell to millions of shoppers. It's not just an outlet for professional retailers, casual sellers can use it too.
While Amazon is no longer a website for simply selling books, it is one of the first places many people turn for literature. That makes it a great place to sell off old university books, unwanted Christmas bestsellers, that kind of thing.
But you can also sell DVDs, computer games, musical instruments, baby equipment — pretty much anything as long as it's already listed on the site. If it isn't, you have to provide its EAN, UPC, or ISBN code, so you can't sell anything you've made yourself.
When a customer buys it, you have to deliver the item before receiving payment from the website. You also have to despatch it within a set number of days.
Fees are quite high for individual sellers, at 86p to list an item plus a closing fee of 17.25% of the sale price.
musicMagpie
If you want to sell off old CDs, DVDs or computer games then musicMagpie has made it as easy as possible.
Rather than selling to a human and facing the hassle of haggling and arranging collection or delivery, you key in the barcodes from each of your CDs (or you can scan them if you have a smartphone and the right app).
Then the site tells you what it's prepared to pay and, if you're happy, you post your stuff off for free. The website tells me that one customer recently sold his collection of 3,000 CDs for £2,000.
Most CDs sell for less than £1, so this isn't necessarily the place to sell rare copies. But you don't have to agree to the website's prices, so it's definitely worth checking out.
It's definitely a hassle-free way to clear some shelf space, but you do risk selling your stuff for less than it's worth. It's also worth noting that the site can pay you less than it promised if it decides your discs are in less-than-perfect condition — and the Ts&Cs mean you can't do anything about it.
CeX
Like many avid gamers, my husband will buy the latest first-person shooter and play it solidly for three days. Then, when he's finished the plot and beaten/been beaten by his online friends, he'll trade it in for the next game.
He can go into town and swap it at a retailer but he won't know what price he's offered until he gets there.
So instead, he exchanges them on the CeX website, which gives you either cash or credit for your old games and consoles. It's fairly transparent — each item has a "buy for", "sell for" and "exchange" price beneath it, so you can see if you're losing out by selling it this way.
Obviously CeX, and websites like it, need to make money, so you will earn less than you could probably make selling your item independently. But it does let you see the mark-up and make an informed choice about whether to sell elsewhere.
Carboot
Don't discount an old-fashioned car-boot sale, especially if you've had a major clear-out and want to sell a lot of varied stuff in one go.
My sister paid for a holiday by selling unwanted possessions at different car-boot sales. In fact, she was so enthusiastic that she sold some possessions she still wanted by people after they were accidentally left in her home; for several months nothing was safe.
She found that clothes sold very quickly, while people were a bit more hesitant about buying second-hand electrical goods like hairdryers.
Her top tip is to have a clear price in mind for each item but be prepared to drop it rather than cart loads of stuff home. She was also surprised at the number of thieves operating at these sales, so make sure you watch your table closely.
Safe selling
Lots of penny pinchers will be buying and selling through second-hand websites, to get the best deals out there. The trouble with arranging sales online is that you are more at risk of being targeted by fraudsters.
Take great care when making or receiving payments, and never hand over an item until you have the money. Some crooks can reverse payments after they've appeared in your bank account, so ask to be paid in cash wherever possible.
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