Time to Get your House Clean and Ready to Sell

What to Sell and Where to Sell It

I love Ebay. I love shopping on Ebay and I love selling on Ebay. The trick with Ebay, though, is that you can’t just sell anything (MANY people will disagree with me on this). The truth is, it’s basically a search engine for stuff, and if nobody’s looking for your stuff it’s just not going to sell. I know there are a million exceptions to this…but I’m just talking in generalities here.

Personally, I only try to sell items on Ebay that are marketable and have a monetary value. What I mean by this is, a Pottery Barn pillow cover that’s in good condition will usually sell pretty easily on Ebay. A stuffed playboy bunny that your son won at the State Fair…not so much. The bunny could fetch $0.50 at a garage sale, but I wouldn’t waste my time or money trying to sell it on Ebay or Craigslist.

Here’s a quick summary of how I see the difference in marketable items on Ebay vs. Garage Sale/Craigslist items.

Items to Sell on Ebay

• Name Brand Items (Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, brands sold at Target, Banana Republic, Gap Kids, etc)
• Antiques
• Collectibles
• Books that are “In Demand”

Items to Sell at Garage Sales or on Craigslist

• Furniture
• Misc or Large Home Decor (Lamps, Art, Greenery, etc.)
• Tools
• Kitchen and Dining Appliances and Accessories
• Seasonal Items (Christmas Decor, Patio Accessories)

These lists are by no means extensive, and I’m sure you’ll have your own additions or deletions (uh oh…the “work speak” is creeping in…watch me start prattling off “disclaimers” and sounding like Spock).

What to Donate

What do I donate? This one’s kind of tricky, and it’s definitely up to your own personal preference. I do donate some items that could make money at a garage sale such as household goods, electronics and clothing. Why?

A) I don’t always get around to having a garage sale and I really like parking my car in the garage, and

B) Most thrift stores are charitable organizations and I like giving things that can help them earn some money…and possibly help people that might not be able to afford items elsewhere. But that’s just me.

You can call Habit for Humanity, Salvation Army, Veterans, all have pick up points to donate. The Caring Place, The Courtyard, and LA Grange Community Nursing Center all will take household decorating item and furniture.

What don’t I donate? Anything that’s broken beyond repair or generally “junk”. I always feel so bad when I basically see garbage in donation bins. Again, that’s just me.