2021 Frugal Living Challenge

florianatwobob

It’s definitely a case of working out who your target market is. Last year I was selling a lot of collectors items (70s & 80s toys mostly so eBay was excellent for that as it gave me a wider audience. eBay is also good for branded items or good high street labels. I usually list my items to end around 7pm on a Sunday as more people are around to bid. Items that end midweek tend to go for a lower price. 

Facebook Marketplace  is good for the big and bulky and household stuff but you do tend to get more time wasters. 

Depending on what you’re selling it might be worth looking for Facebook Fan or buy and sell pages. 

kazwookie

Have a front garden or yard sale, advertise it on your local Face book pages. Around here all the neighbours have them on the same days over one weekend it seems to work.

Scottiedog_3

@willow_loulou Facebook Marketplace is free for sellers to list  but buyers usually have to pay for the items

Siebrie

If you have any special items: catawiki. My Father is selling his model train collection there, and is only positive about it.

Frugaldom

Good morning from a very wet Frugaldom. Sorry to have fallen behind again but I'm going to try to take the time to catch up tonight after work, dinner & tidying up etc  it's been a busy week.

Saw mention of FB marketplace - I just got an old upright freezer free from there so there are still some good bits and pieces available for pick up if you keep watching or set notifications.

Bluegreen143

Am creeping back to the fold after a few months away 😬

Have posted on my own diary to the effect that I’m feeling grumpy and jaded and that we seem to have spent most of the money I’ve made since stopping being a SAHM (a lot of it on childcare, but still) and just inflated our lifestyle which wasn’t the plan. Hoping to catch myself now and learn from you lovely ladies again!

AnimalTribe

Marghirl said:

Having to totally change my life now. I was a carer for my dad for over ten years despite also suffering from M.E. Sadly he passed away in May and I miss him so much. I now have hardly anything coming into house. Powers that be decided that although I have M.E. I am fit for work so I don’t get any benefits. I have to pace myself very carefully so could only work for an hour or two at a time and there are no jobs offering that! Thankfully , thanks to my dad I have a lot of savings but I have to use that to live on. I have turned the heating right down and use blankets to keep warm. I did a shop yesterday in Aldi’s and hopefully it will last me a few weeks (£48) . I am also turning off anything electrical that I don’t need to use. 

I am a couple of pages behind, but just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your loss.

I'm not caught up with other posts yet, so I might have duplicated stuff - have you considered things like letting out a room, renting out a drive for a parking space to a local worker, offering to store things for people for a small fee, allowing advertising on a car, airbnb. There might be insurance implications though, and obviously having someone in your home may not appeal to you. 

AnimalTribe

I've sold a lot of stuff on Ebay very successfully and without problems. The most important thing is to weigh and measure your item, and work out what the postage cost will be before listing. I use either the Post Office or Hermes depending on size and weight. Good photographs and an honest description are really important - I've even listed slightly damaged things where I've photographed the damage and the buyer knew what they were getting and were very pleased. Some things aren't worth selling as single items, but can be sold as job lots eg James Patterson books. As someone has already said time listings to finish on a Sunday for best results.

willow_loulou

I just collected a bedside drawer unit, it’s a lovely compact one but it still has good deep drawer. I really wanted to expand my bedroom storage a bit. I just don’t have enough space in the winter particularly. It also means I have somewhere to put my medication at night so it’s to hand rather than on the floor. 

Second hand is such a viable option right now I love it. 

Pooped in to supermarket for 1 thing and was shocked at the empty shelves I passed. Lots of lines not there. I ended up with own brand gravy granules so fingers crossed they’re  not too salty! 

Effician

willow_loulou said:

Pooped in to supermarket

That made me smile.

Second hand is great,  just picked up a mint le creuset 2.1l kettle for a tenner because it didn't fit the sellers new decor.