Best Practices To Sell Your Items Online

Posted by Caring Transitions on August 1, 2022 at 9:30 AM

You started your journey to declutter your home but the question remains; what to do with all the stuff you want to get rid of now? While donating is a great option, you might feel that you've spent time and money over the years acquiring it all. So you've decided to sell your items online. Maybe you're not familiar with how to go about it or what customers expect going forward. That's okay—we've put together a few best practices for selling your items online!

1. Take Good Photos

A great photo will draw buyers in but most scroll right past an item online that has bad photos, or worse, none at all. Thai could be a combination of bad angles, messy backgrounds and bad lighting. Check out Esty's guide for taking a great product photo.

2. Write a Great Description

If the photo draws customers in, the description is the key to whether they'll click, Buy. It's important to write an enticing and full description including the age, dimensions, color, purchase history(if applicable), etc. The more you can include, the better. Think about what you'd want to know if you were buying a car or a house. On another note, if you're unsure what your item is or its history, take a swing by your local appraiser, pawn dealer or jewelry store. They'll be able to help you accurately price your items.

3. Honesty Matters

Honesty Matters Having an honest description is vital when selling online. The last thing you want is someone demanding their money back. For example, you wouldn't list a gold plated necklace with cubic zirconia crystals as 24k with real diamonds. This also means including defects and damage. Keep in mind, most online sellers allow buyers to rate you and leave reviews.

4. Find the Right Category

You've written your description, and taken the nicest photos. But where does your item fit online? Make sure to pick the right category to list your item under. For example, you wouldn't list a used bicycle as a motorcycle, or a vehicle under furniture. Most online platforms offer various categories to choose from and even sub-categories to narrow down the field even further.

5. Expect Haggling

As previously mentioned, having an item appraised will come in handy when dealing with online buyers because many will try to negotiate the price. If you price too high, many will keep scrolling, too low is also suspicious. Make sure you are clear in your description whether you want to negotiate the price or not.

6. Safety First

You found a buyer and now it's time for them to pick up the item. Unless the item is a large piece of furniture, a buyer meetup can go wrong in various ways. We recommend always meeting in a public space with great lighting. Also make sure someone else accompanies you or knows where and with whom you're meeting.

7. Hire an Expert!

Another option to be considered is let someone else deal with the hassle of selling your items for you! At Caring Transitions, we help people needing to get rid of personal belongings due to the lack of need, space, time or value. To maximize our clients' returns and minimize their stress and involvement, we seek the best solutions to their personal situations. They may involve a combination of approaches from selling items locally through an estate sale, over the internet through online auctions services or through specialized brokers. We also handle charitable donations and/or the disposal of items that have little value or may require a disposal specialist when the condition is not appropriate for sale.

Contact your local Caring Transitions franchise to learn how they can help you sell your unwanted items today!

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