How much must something be worth before trying to sell it in the first place?

elsmandino

Hi there.

I am a non-commercial occasional seller and am trying to declutter my house at the moment - not only to free up some space but because I could do with the extra money at the moment.

From a non-commercial point of view, are there any general guides as to considering whether something is worth selling or not?

E.g. Do you use the Ebay app to look at sold items and if it is not worth more than, say £20.00, you just don't bother.

As I said, the extra income would be very welcome at the moment but it has to be worth it in the first place.

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Mark_d

I'd just chuck items less than £20 or give them away to a charity.  I don't think many people would buy sub-£20 items privately on ebay because the postage costs would, in my opinion, be disproportionate.

swingaloo

Mark_d said:

I'd just chuck items less than £20 or give them away to a charity.  I don't think many people would buy sub-£20 items privately on ebay because the postage costs would, in my opinion, be disproportionate.

I would disagree, but it depends on how much you need the money and how much you consider worth having. 
I sell used ladies clothing, some mine and some my sisters, daughter-in-laws and friends have given me.  I do it to raise money which I donate to a local charity. 
I start my items around the £2.50 to £4 mark which does not seem a lot but the odd item may go for a tenner whilst some go for the starting price.  It amazing how quickly it adds up and I probably sell 10 or 15 items a week at the moment which does not seem much but I raised £77 last week and this week looks to  be heading the same way. The pain in the backside is photographing and listing as it takes time to do it properly. If you dont have patience to do good photos you may as well give your items away.

Exodi

Personally I stick anything worth less than £25 on Facebook Marketplace. Items less than £10 I generally donate or bin.

I always feel trying to sell something for a fiver on eBay would be off-putting to buyers when it comes coupled with a virtually equal postage cost.

TimeLord1

On eBay the more obscure things will do better but mainstream items you have competition and some things you could list for a year but nobody wants it.

What are the type of items are you looking to sell. Remember also to have adequate packing supplies and understand how the system works better before going live with anything. YouTube videos is a good source of seeing what sells and if it's worth the time fees and effort.

soolin

I don’t have any hard and fast rules, it depends on the thing I am looking to sell. Something small and easily stored I’d be happy to list for £3- £5 , but something bulky would probably not be worth my time and effort for storing unless the sale history showed it was a quick sale.

However, I freely admit my house is not minimalist by any stretch of the imagination so I’m used to living with ‘stuff’. I also have the luxury of some out buildings where I can store some things (it used to be all business storage but I’m running down my eBay business quite a bit) but I do also get lazy, list things and then leave them running for ages. 

I also do regular purges of stuff, I had paid for storage lockers until fairly recently so have more stuff than I can handle, and I get bored and just box up loads and take it to the charity shop. U til a few years back I sold a lot of china , the market absolutely crashed for that, I can’t be bothered to do a car boot so just go to storage and box up a load every now and then for the charity shop. The odd tea set, or part dinner service might sell on FB marketplace near Easter or Christmas where people want extra plates and stuff, but it sells for peanuts.

I’ve also started lotting stuff up at a local auction house, larger bulkier but more high end business stock and selling there. I don’t achieve the same prices I would on eBay , and I do occasionally spot o them on eBay after a sale, but I’m at a stage where I’m happy to get my money sent to me and walk away without worrying about boxing, wrapping, getting something posted and dealing with buyer remourse when a buyer buys that beloved childhood toy they remember, and then realise how much they spent on it and want to return it. 

strawb_shortcake

We've gone back to selling on Ebay some of its been pretty good, old 80's toys. We've also put larger lots on suitable for a carboot and We've got £10-15 for stuff that we just wanted to get rid of. 
Some stuff we make a judgement call and put it an a charity shop, anything that get few views and no bids goes to a charity shop. 
Unless we know something like the old 80's toys is worth something it all goes on with a starting bid of 99p.

We've made nearly £800 with what's been in our attic so it all adds up

Spoonie_Turtle

It really just depends on what's worth it to you.  Some things you might want to be sure of them going to a new home, whereas things that go to charity shops ultimately may or may not be rehomed.

For things that you just want to go to someone else and you're not fussed about the money, depending on where you are and what the items are you could consider donating to a shelter, or putting on something like the Olio app (which is a bit like Facebook marketplace but a bit more tightly run - it's all collection-only and there are mechanisms to report people if they don't turn up as arranged or if the item is not in the advertised condition).

Ultimately what's worth putting on eBay depends on what's worth it to you and what the items are.  There is certainly no hard and fast rule that cheap items aren't worth it, although I have to say Simple Postage not letting people combine postage any more is almost certainly going to change the judgement call for a lot of things for a lot of people, sadly.

For items in certain categories there is Vinted, which looks like less work for sellers, although there have been complaints on here is people not being able to access their money so I guess if you do try it, test it with a few cheap things first to be safe.

Pollycat

How much is your time worth?

Taking photos, listing, packaging and getting the parcel to the carrier all takes time.

As I'm retired, I'm happy to do all this to sell small value items.

I'm a private seller and refresh my wardrobe with charity shop, eBay & Vinted purchases. 
I call it my 'operating capital' and buy & sell happily without any impact on our joint finances.

I don't bother listing anything below £3.00 + postage.
It can sound better if you list a say Weird Fish dress for £7.00 with free postage instead of £3.00 plus £3.39 postage.

Although I've sold some reasonable value items (Dr Martens, silver bangles/necklaces, bric-a-brac) a lot of my sales are below £10.00.
My total for this year (3 months) is a tad over £1k.

I list for 5 or 6 weeks and then end the listing and donate to charity.

RedImp_2

Pollycat said:

How much is your time worth?

Taking photos, listing, packaging and getting the parcel to the carrier all takes time.

As I'm retired, I'm happy to do all this to sell small value items.

I'm a private seller and refresh my wardrobe with charity shop, eBay & Vinted purchases. 
I call it my 'operating capital' and buy & sell happily without any impact on our joint finances.

I don't bother listing anything below £3.00 + postage.
It can sound better if you list a say Weird Fish dress for £7.00 with free postage instead of £3.00 plus £3.39 postage.

Although I've sold some reasonable value items (Dr Martens, silver bangles/necklaces, bric-a-brac) a lot of my sales are below £10.00.
My total for this year (3 months) is a tad over £1k.

I list for 5 or 6 weeks and then end the listing and donate to charity.

Beware doing free postage from April 15
Even doing it now you’re adding cost to the buyer as the protection fee will be higher (not by much admittedly )

rollingmoon

Given that eBay has turned pretty much to rat s*** for private sellers in the last few weeks, I have diverted my de-cluttering energies into taking stuff to the charity shop or the tip. Meanwhile, the Oxfam shop will be gleefully pricing up my cast-offs between £10-£50 because VINYL INNIT.