How to Sell Your Stuff

Before we ever went to our first auction we began exploring the whole re-sale issue.  Because I had already figured out that selling our stuff would be at least twice as hard as finding and buying it. (Yep, figured that out all by myself!)  We are by nature cautious, planning-ahead kind of people.  Either that or super lazy, pessimistic, don't want to get out there and try and fail kind of people. Whichever.  Either way, we knew we had to learn the ropes of selling before we started buying.  And since we are the proud descendants of pack rats, this was not a problem.

1.  Yard Sales.  Being both curious and lazy, when I want to find the best way to do something, I usually ask as many people as possible how they do it.  Especially the people who seem to be doing it right. (Translate that to mean they are actually making money at it.)  So during our first few storage


auctions I asked more than a dozen people how they sell the stuff they buy.  (Using almost that exact sentence.)  All of the people that we asked that question gave us the same answer.  Not a single one of them stopped to think it over first.  Yard sales.

So we bit the proverbial bullet and devoted our energies into putting together a yard sale.  We didn't have a clue where to start.  What kinds of things are people looking  for?  What are they expecting to pay?  How do we decide on prices?  How do we place an ad?  And besides all that, how in the world do we come up with the space in our garage?  I have addressed most of the issues I encountered on the PROJECT page. For an inside look at what it really takes to plan, prepare, host, and survive a yard sale, read the FEATURED PROJECT titled, "Hosting a Yard Sale".

2.  A Boutique or Second-Hand Store.  We had thought that we would need a storefront, which means a lease.  Rent and utilities are the problem right now.  Doubling them doesn't seem like a good solution.  And don’t forget licensing.  It costs a minimum of $125.00 in business entity filings, just to exist as a business here in Nevada.  That's if you never earn or spend a single dime.  When a business entity is brand new and has no financial record of its own, credit checks are run against the owner(s) instead.  We quickly discovered that the hits we have taken recently to our credit rating would make it impossible to get into a commercial property.  I thought that was it for us.  Failure from the get-go, as my Dad likes to say.  So I was more than pleasantly surprised when only one of the people we met actually owned and operated a second-hand store. 

3.  Internet Sales.  When we first got into this whole auction thing I had suspected that we would have to do a lot of business on-line; e-commerce, eBay, Internet sales, drop-shippers, a web-site.  But none of the people we have talked to claim to make a lot of money on eBay or on their websites.  Some list on craigslist or Amazon, mostly because it is free.  Many of the bidders we have met don't even have a web-site.  A few of them don't even use computers (much). 

In view of the literally hundreds of people out there trying to sell their secrets for Internet wealth, I was surprised by this.  The truth is that we have all see then the "dot-com" billionaires rise from meager beginnings with nothing but good ideas and youth in their arsenals, so we do know it can be done. And we are bombarded from all sides with books, programs, guides and even on-line training so we can join the ranks of the wealthy people working only a few hours a day/week/month or whatever. I personally don't think jumping on board with someone else's get rich quick idea is the way to make it happen, for all of the obvious reasons. Apparently, no one we've met seems to have had any success doing that either.

But since we were totally clueless, we paid our dues and listened to the propaganda until I could stand no more, watched as much video as it took to figure out they weren't going to tell us anything except how much money we could make if we just shelled out another $39.00, $59.00, $100.00, etc. But since Larry is always willing to put his money on the line for me, I actually cracked some of the books and tried to follow their suggestions. The various materials I scanned or reviewed all shared a central theme for how to get started, though of course each of them wanted us to purchase their products or memberships.

4.  On-line Auctions.  First step, open an eBay account, and a PayPal account, and sell something.  Anything.  Pick any item you think someone else might want, and list it.  (But not something you think might be valuable. Save those things for later. You'll figure out why; trust me on this.)  We hemmed and hawed and finally decided on an item and listed it.  And guess what?  They were right.  There is no other way to learn, and no better way to get started.  So we sold a few items from around the house. With some significant success.   But we knew (or quickly found out!) that we needed more than just eBay sales to make this work.

5.  Live Auctions.  Once we'd gotten beat up pretty bad on our first storage unit, and we thought it might be safer to buy things we could actually see, we decided to try our luck at other kinds of auctions. This was not really a very good idea, as I've discussed in a separate post.  [Read the post titled "Live Public Auctions" for more on this topic.]   I do have to say that we enjoyed ourselves at the Public Auction.  We got there too late for the preview, but the bidding was lively and there was lots of great stuff. We even bought a few things. And I saw a few things that I would have loved to buy, but I knew Larry would have killed me. Like the old foot-powered sewing machine. I lusted for it.

But I am not allowed to buy sewing machines. Or even touch them. Well, I can touch them, and I have used them with great success in the past.  But if I so much as breathe on the tension control it's all over. Throw it away. It's broken. Forever after it will kink, snap threads, tangle, bind up inside, break needles and damage fabrics. I have no idea why this is.  Dials and knobs are meant to be adjusted and fiddled with, aren't they?

Anyway, I can't show you any pictures of the wonderful old sewing machine I bought real cheap. But I can say that I had fun and I'm sure we'll do it again.

6.  Networking.  Networking, the old fashioned way, can include everything from asking the other people at the auctions for advice to going to a trade show or meeting people at related functions.  Selling your gloves and bats at the baseball park on Saturday morning is a no-brainer.  Contacting clubs is a great way to find a buyer for certain items, but they have to be the top quality stuff to start with and be in really good condition.  These kinds of enthusiasts are often serious buyers.  Let your friends know what you're trying to sell.  You'd be surprised at who just happens to know someone who wants one of those.

Once we had actually begun bidding on units, and we had gotten to know a few people (or at least had given  them a chance to recognize us when they saw us) my questions got more specific, and a little more personal.  They changed from, "How do you sell your stuff?" to things like:

What did you do with that computer in the unit you bought last week?

(The wife handles everything computer.)

You always seem to bid on the units with bikes in them.  I guess you're really into bikes? 

(No.  Not at all.  But some of them are worth money.)

How do you sell them?

(I took the last one out to the BMX park at Red Rock.  Just left it in the back of the truck and hung out for a while.  Talked to a few people.  Had in sold in a couple of hours.)  [Yeah, I'm impressed.]

How do you clean up the couches and stuff to re-sell?  Those white ones you bought this morning looked pretty bad on the armrests.

(I don't even try to clean them.  I just have my guys replace the fabric.)

I noticed that those cabinets you bought had some broken glass. You must be friends with the glass guy?

(Well, yes.  And no.  I am friends with the glass guy, but little pieces like that we just do ourselves.)

What do you do if you end up with a whole lot of something?  Like, say...guns?  Or art frames?  Or fishing poles?

(I'd go to a trade show.  Meet some people.  Hook up with a dealer.  Find a collectors' club.)  [Awesome piece of advice!]

7.  Collectors/Clubs.  Turns out there are collectors for almost every thing, so those specific things that certain collectors want should be sold in those circles.  And there are clubs for nearly every sport or hobby imaginable.  Finding your market is half the battle. Getting your item in front of that market requires a little creative thinking.  But beware of serious collectors; those guys know exactly what they are looking at, and they are very specific about what they want. (You wouldn't put a Chevy fender on a Ford, right?)  Collectors are avid experts. Literally. They know brand names, production methods and materials, desired details, acceptable flaws, availability, replacement parts, reproductions, all that stuff.  If you don't, you could walk away feeling really stupid and still be in possession of that item you wanted to sell. 

8.  Trade Shows.  Trade shows can be an awesome solution.  Those guys are collectors, too.  (Though usually not as intensely focused as the club guys.)  Trade show folks love to talk, and they are pleased to share information that will help the casual shopper or new collector.  They are by definition very social people.  They love to make friends.  The bad news at the trade shows is that all the vendors know each other.  The good news at the trade shows is that all the vendors know each other.  They will shepard you to the guy most suited to your needs, and tell you who's honest and who ain't.  Treat these guys good.  They'll do the same for you!

* * * * *

So the verdict is in.  The hands-down favorite standby method for selling stuff is yard sales.  It's cheap, and the buyers come to you.  But you've got to be willing to accept the lowest amount imaginable for the things you sell that way.  Yard sales are easy outlets for all the tons of just plain stuff that come along with the good stuff in every storage unit you buy.

eBay is great for specific types of things, especially things that are popular or in demand in other countries (like our vintage Levi's and film-roll cameras).  Good eBay items include things that are small, lightweight, and none too fragile (like hunting knives and fishing lures).  Shipping is an issue: an expensive issue.  For larger items there's always Craig's list, which has the advantage of being local.  And the local want-ads are good places to find buyers.  The public sign boards at places like grocery stores and colleges are okay, but they involve at lot more effort and the kinds of things you can sell are limited. 

For just about everything worthwhile there is a niche or a trick that works uniquely for that person or that item, and networking seems to be the best way to find the niche and the buyers within that niche.  Considering the price difference between a yard sale and a trade show, the trade shows can really be worth the time and trouble. 

It seems you need to know everything about everything before you start bidding on storage units.  Once you see something you know you can sell, everything else in the unit is just gravy.  More than anything, for the big profit items anyway, you just have to get out there and meet the person most likely to be your next buyer.