The Great ‘What to Sell Where’ Hunt

When flogging your old gear, you won’t always get the most cash on eBay. There are dozens of other ways to shift your stuff, including Amazon, Play, Gumtree, mobile recyclers and boot sales.

So we want to tap MoneySavers for the most profitable place to shift different wares, from dvds and mobile phones, to furniture and clothes.

For more tips on maximising your profits, read the eBay Selling Tricks guide.

Please click reply to share your top tips.

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  • snottyotty
    snottyotty Posts: 20 Forumite
    Friday Free Ads on line local area are free with up to 4 photos also free.
    follow the link. In my local area(Peterborough) readership in excess of 100,000!

    https://www.friday-ad.co.uk
  • Hi! I find selling stuff on Preloved is a good site and if you pay £5.00 (yearly fee), you can list as many adverts as you want.:j You are then able to respond to an advert immediately on something you want (if not a member, you have to wait so many days to get the sellers full details. Otherwise, it's a watching game, bit like Ebay!):confused: Be very wary if you get something off Tazbar.com (auction site) and pay via PayPal. You haven't got a leg to stand on regarding getting your money back if it all goes "Pete Tong"! (a voice of experience) I got "sold" a pup (ipod touch) for £103.00 and paid for it through PayPal:cool: thinking I was safe (how wrong I was:eek:). To cut a long story short, PayPal will only refund in full if you made the purchase through Ebay and you will only get back whats in the sellers PayPal account if bought elsewhere, i.e. Tazbar.com. I ended up with a refund of 30p!:mad::mad::mad: Contacted Tazbar about the seller and basically got a response of a Catherine Tate-stylee employee " Am I Bovverred??"
    This now to be a Police matter, so be careful out there!!:eek:
  • I've done a lot of "small scale" selling over the past year. I'venever had any designer or collectible stuff to sell, so haven't made huge amounts anywhere, but this is what I've learnt:

    Amazon: Despite virtually everyone warning me otherwise, I've found this by far the best for selling CD's. Semi-well-known indie and rock bands make more than mainstream pop stuff (Which you can buy cheaply new) - most stuff I've put up has sold within a month. It's also good for paperback reference books and text books - that kind of thing. Novels virtually never sell unless they're really obscure or on a university reading list. Hardbacks may sell, but the postage on them always wipes out the profit.

    Greenmetropolis: Much better bet for novels as you get a guaranteed £3 (to include postage) for anything you sell. You also don't have the hassle of relisting. Stuff can take ages to sell, so no use if you need cash in a hurry.

    Ebay: I made a surprising amount on a pair of secondhand dance shoes, and a burlesque training video - specialist equipment and clothing like that seems to be very profitable. Non-designer shoes and handbags generally make between £2 - £15, more if they're more unusual (if you bought something abroad, or from a boutique, or it's original 1960's always mention it - people like to think they're getting something none of their friends will have and it pushes the bids up).
    If you're sure you have something unusual or something like the dancing shoes, be prepared to relist a few times - you sometimes have to wait for the right buyer. And don't be scared of setting your starting bid at a reasoanble level - for something specialist you may only have one potential buyer and you don't want them to end up getting it for 99p when they would have happily paid more. If you're the only person selling a pair of size 5 flamenco shoes then the dancer with the size 5 feet is probably going to go quite high.

    Unusual dresses and jackets sell OK - stuff like blouses, t-shirts, trousers, jeans etc don't really sell for much, if at all. If you have a whole jobload of clothes to get rid of it may be more productive to put them on as a lot (labelled something like "various shirts, size 19" with a few photo's)

    Car boot sales - Very variable - first one I went to I sold nothing. I'd recommend tagging along with a friend or relative at first and sharing the cost of a table so you don't risk losing too much if you don't sell as much as you'd like. Ask for recommendations from experienced people about the most profitable sales in your area. And don't over-estimate people's appetite for bric-a-brac - old records, DVDs etc, even books - sell much better than dodgy ornaments. In student areas things like pans and cutlery, and other "homeware" can make you a nice profit.

    Secondhand shops - flipping rubbish! Tried to give a bunch of old CD's to several record shops. First guy flicked through them with a smug smirk on his face then handed them back telling me he "didn't need" them. Second shop had no room, third shop said the very light scratching on some of the cases meant they weren't in good enough condition.

    Small ads - in newspaper. I admit I've never had any interest through these personally. Tried to sell a bike this way and had no response after a month of ad's - then put an ad in my living room window and had someone knock on the door within days. I know people who swear by them though, particularly for things like vacuum cleaners, blenders etc. I bought a fridge and a sofa after an ad in the paper once, so people do look at them! I'd definetly recommend for larger items that may not sell easily on ebay.

    Cash converters etc - You won't get what your stuff is probably worth. but if you need some extra cash, and to get rid of things in a hurry (for example, if you're going travelling, or moving house) they can be useful. As a guide, a typical ex-chart Cd by a popular artist would give you maybe 1-5p

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  • Tallullah
    Tallullah Posts: 39 Forumite
    I used to do quite well on ebay selling clothes (having a clearout every six months). But second hand stuff really doesn't sell at all well anymore on ebay - you'd be lucky to get 3 or 4 quid for a jumper, fleece etc. When you add in the fees and the effort of wrapping and posting, it's just not worth it. I am thinking of going back to just bagging the stuff I clear out and giving them to charity shops. Anyone else have this experience with ebay? And is there any possible alternative to it? None of the other auction sites (ebid, tazbar) seem to have much traffic nor even anything much to buy!

    I also have loads of books and clear those out every so often via ebay. You won't get anything near what you paid for them, but you can get a couple of quid on top of postage per book -- if they are recent ones. I also used green metropolis, but the problem with it was that if you sold a book somewhere else, it was hard to remember to take it off green metropolis, mainly because I only sold a book every couple of months there.
  • J400uk
    J400uk Posts: 107 Forumite
    Just a quick tip from me, forum classifieds are very good for selling computer equipment and components etc. Usually get above eBay value and no fees or scammers to worry about.
  • Just wondering if anyone can advise on the best way to sell a china tea service I have - an unwanted inheritance forced on me a few years ago and just taking up cupboard space. It's nothing special, and certainly not a named brand like Royal Doulton or anything.

    I didn't really want to list it on Ebay because I don't want to post it due to the exceptionally high risk of breakage, and last time I sold something as collect only I was bombarded by requests to post, but I would do if this was the best option

    Any suggestions?
  • Oakie
    Oakie Posts: 88
    First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    hello
    How about trying your local auction house.I sold a clock that we discovered in a house we had brought,and was pleasantly surprised,considering the thing looked a bit battered.
  • To J400UK Please can you help, I have an HP lazerjet printer which I have not used for a couple of years because it had a paper jam and have subsequently bought another one. It has 2 cartridges which are nearly full. How should I sell this please, considering it will weigh heavy. Thank you, Bacardi
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 71,978
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Ambassador
    Bacardi wrote: »
    To J400UK Please can you help, I have an HP lazerjet printer which I have not used for a couple of years because it had a paper jam and have subsequently bought another one. It has 2 cartridges which are nearly full. How should I sell this please, considering it will weigh heavy. Thank you, Bacardi

    You really need to work out if this is going to be worth selling at all, real costs for these consumables have come down over the years, you also need to consider whether the ink will still be perfect after being opened for a couple of years. Personally I would not even consider ebaying it as you'll just end up with an SNAD claim, if you really want to sell then maybe go down the small ads route where someone can come and see for themselves and pay cash.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing [email protected] views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 71,978
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Ambassador
    Just wondering if anyone can advise on the best way to sell a china tea service I have - an unwanted inheritance forced on me a few years ago and just taking up cupboard space. It's nothing special, and certainly not a named brand like Royal Doulton or anything.

    I didn't really want to list it on Ebay because I don't want to post it due to the exceptionally high risk of breakage, and last time I sold something as collect only I was bombarded by requests to post, but I would do if this was the best option

    Any suggestions?

    If it doesn't have a 'name' then it might be difficult to sell, china especially tea sets has been a dying market for a while now. I know I used to dabble in it and now you can barely give the stuff away.

    I agree with the earlier response, take it to a local auction house and see if they will give you a rough valuation. If you ar ehappy with their valuation get them to sell it but expect to pay around 25% in commission and selling fees.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing [email protected] views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
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