Selling vs. Gifting.
Getting rid of unwanted stuff is the biggest roadblock to being clutter-free. There are whole list of issues that make it hard. Let’s start with addressing the I-was-going-to-sell-that pile.
I’m terrible at selling used stuff. I tried to get better for the sake of my business. I talked to experts. I tested out their advice on various platforms. Two weeks later I wasn’t surprised to find I still sucked at it. But I put myself in a seller’s shoes to better understand how to help them.
Selling is great—if there’s demand.
Capitalism operates on supply and demand. With very little supply and a high demand you can sell something quickly and for a good money. Think toilet paper and hand sanitizer in March.
Supply and demand are constantly changing. Remember how collectible beanie babies were? Today? Garbage.
I learned this lesson first hand when I tried to sell vintage Corningware. Once upon a time it sold for $5000 a dish. Well, Corningware caught on and reissued an anniversary line.
Here’s a photo of a client’s Vintage Corningware staged for posting on Offer Up for $125. After a month, I had to drop the price to $20 to finally get someone to come and take it from me. Was it worth my time? Nope.
Do you find this exhausting? I do. Making a profit selling used goods requires research. How much did something sell for in the last month. Ignore what people are asking for it. Research eats up time.
Is your time is more valuable than your stuff?
Supply and demand applies to time as well. If you have tons of time and need money (i.e. you are unemployed with no kids) maybe selling your belongings is a great idea. If you are a full-time working mother of three? The demands on your time drive up the value.
There are some exceptions. You have a car to sell worth $20,000. Who doesn’t want to make that nice chunk of cash in a week? Or a nice bike and you can make $50 in an hour on a Saturday where you might otherwise be watching Netflix. Sure! But think twice about spending 10 hours trying to sell a fancy vase for $50. You’re making less than minimum wage. So what do you do with the vase? Give it away. For free.
Gifting can give you what money can’t.
Gifting a great way to magically get rid of stuff. I’m not talking about wrapping it up in the next secret Santa exchange. And I’m not talking about dropping it at Goodwill. According to Secondhand by Adam Minter, Goodwill only sells 1/3 of donated items —the rest gets dumped.
Let your community know what you have. You’ll find people who would be psyched to be given your used stuff instead of buying something new. And they will come to your house and take things away when and how you tell them to. With MUCH gratitude.
Thirty totally random items gifted in 24 hours!
Why is gifting best?
Quickly rid your home of clutter without throwing it in the trash.
Get a feeling of joy. Times two! You’re happy. They’re happy.
Prevent something from being bought new. Happy planet.
Be an expert giver.
Choose a highly active gifting group in your community. I love the West Seattle Giving Tree. But my local Buy Nothing is a back up. If that doesn't exist isn’t in your area (yet) try Freecycle or the free sections of Craig’s List or Offer Up. OR find someone in your neighborhood or church to start an online giving group—maybe that someone can be you!
Keep a medium sized bin in your closet or garage for items to gift and pick one day a month where you make this your main activity. You’ll be taking photos and writing captions for the morning. Picking recipients and bagging up items by lunch. All the items will be picked up by dinner (or the following day if you’re feeling kind).
Set your gifting terms clearly in black and white. When you post the photos of your items, tell them when you will choose the recipients. Let everyone know the time window items are to be picked up. And say you will move on to the next interested person if they flake.
Have paper grocery bags handy. Write the recipients names on them so you can leave them on your porch in a clear way so you don’t have to answer your door all day long. The best case scenario is that people choose more than one of your items so you can put it all in one bag.
Gift bags ready for pickup with pre-made tags promoting Rejoy
Still want to sell?
If you insist that you can make a handy profit from your used goods but don’t want a giant I-was-going-to-sell-that pile, try imposing these constraints.
Set a time limit. Don’t let things languish online for more than a week. If it didn’t sell this week, it’s not likely to sell this year at the price you think.
Set a space limit. Set aside one bin or shelf that is dedicated to items you are selling. If it gets full, then you need to gift the item or items of the lowest value to make room.
Pick a category. My husband is a musician and does really well selling his used gear. A fashion hound will clean up on Poshmark. A silkscreen poster collector could make a killing with a focused Etsy shop. Any parent of small children save thousands by buying and selling kids stuff exclusively through Just Between Friends. Pick a category and gift the rest.
Try consignment. Take your item to a thrift shop and ask what they’re willing to pay you for it. If they’re not interested, you probably won’t to be able to sell it on your own.
Are you an expert gifter or seller? We’d love to hear what you think. Share your tips on the social platform of your choice and tag @rejoyseattle.
