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My Tips for a No-hassle Selling Experience on UsedEverywhere.com #UsedHelps

Sure, we all love to sell things and put a few dollars back into our pocket. But time is money, right? And sometimes selling something takes a lot of time.

But you might recall when I took the UsedEverywhere “BIG DEAL Personality” quiz, I was the “Savvy Spender.”So how about I dish out some of this so-called savvy with you? After some trial and error, I have a pretty good system down and I haven’t forgotten that I promised to share it with you!

To show these tips in action, let’s use the example of this dining table that a member of our Coffee with Julie community sent in to me. Here is the table that she is selling (it’s gorgeous, isn’t it?):

dining table

And here is her listing title and descriptor:

Dining Room and 6 Matching Chairs – $400

Modern yet classic wood dining room table and matching 6 chairs for sale. Excellent condition. Non-smoking and pet-free home. 

This is an excellent set for entertaining guests, hosting a poker game, playing any game, etc. 

This set has “WOW” factor since it’s not traditional but loved by everyone. 

Height: 36″ inches Width: 54″x 54″ inches (including the leaf) Leaf: 18″ inches 

We are selling this set since we renovated and will soon be receiving our new dining room set. We are motivated sellers. 
$400 or best offer. No reasonable offer will be refused.

I think that it’s a beautiful set and well-priced, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone scooped it up right away. But, since she asked for an opinion on how she could perhaps sell it more quickly, here’s what I would recommend.

#1:  Make Your Title Count (think “search bar” users)

  • If I was searching for a dining room table, I’d likely enter “dining table” or “dining room table” into the search bar. You’ll notice, however, that this title doesn’t include the word “table” in it. That means that if someone is using the search bar, rather than the category, they might miss this listing.
  • The other thing that’s missing is the type of wood. Some people (myself included) already have an idea in mind for what type of wood they would like in a particular room. So, I’d suggest adding the wood type, such as “solid oak.” This gets really important for something popular like mid-century modern pieces. Those will sell in an instant but you’ll likely need to include the wood type “teak.”
  • You can include “OBO” for “or best offer” to your title to quickly let a searcher know you’re willing to negotiate.
  • One last thing … while she is currently using it as a dining table, someone else might see this as a perfect kitchen table. In that case, you could modify your listing to read as follows: “Dining Room Table/Kitchen Table, Solid Oak, 6 chairs, $400 OBO”

#2:  Pictures Tell 1,000 Words (but only if you let them)

  • The listing notes six chairs, but only four are shown in the photo. I’d opt to include two photos: one with the leaf in and six chairs around it, and one with the leaf out and four chairs around it.
  • Bright lights or bright daylight helps show the wood’s true colours.
  • A close-up of the table top would show the excellent condition. This is important for someone who doesn’t want to do any refinishing (and will avoid you having to answer this question over and over again)

#3:  Strategically Price Your Listing

  • If your local online classifieds happens to be flooded with dining table listings, price yours differently than if it was less common.
  • In this case, when I go to UsedOttawa.com today, I see a number of listings for the search phrase “dining table” but only two are directly comparable to what is being offered in the photo above. One is priced at $250 and includes eight chairs, while the other is priced at $450 and comes with only four chairs. This means that if you want yours to be the absolutely most competitive listing, a price match to $250 will be required. However, you don’t need to go to the rock bottom right away. I’d suggest listing it at $380 (rather than $400) and try that price for a week first. If no bites are coming in, then lower the price to $340.

#4:  Avoiding the Hassles

  • Yes, you will have to invest some time to make some money selling online. But you can certainly limit it considerably by ensuring every detail someone might want to know is included in your listing. You may still receive inquiries asking you something you already included in the listing, but at least you’ll cut down on the number!
  • I opt to only include my email address and not my phone number. In doing so, I can respond when it works best for me. (And ignore any inquiries that are clearly not serious buyers.)
  • I always expect to be asked for a lower price than the one I’ve listed. It just goes with the territory. So be prepared in your head for that game and know what your absolute lowest price.
  • Clearly specify that it is “pick up only” otherwise you will have many people asking if you can delivery the item to them at no charge. Also, “cash only” — for obvious reasons.
  • Only provide your specific address once you have a serious buyer and a price that you’ve both agreed upon. This really limits the face time involved in selling. In fact, I have never had someone arrive and not agree to the sale. That’s because I’m really clear about the condition of the piece and share a ton of photos before someone gets in their car to come and take a look.

So, those are my top tips for you! What did I miss?

P.S. Don’t forget to take the UsedEverywhere.com‘s “BIG DEAL personality” quiz for a chance to win $500 cash or a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3!!

This post is sponsored by UsedEverything.com. It’s been so fun — thanks!

Comments

  1. We have had great success with selling things online – most recently our car. You gave some great tips – always outline what you are expecting, if you want pick up only, and what forms of payment you will accept.

  2. OMG these are great tips, they seem so obvious once you point them out. I’m going to pin this for a reminder, I have some baby items I am still trying to get rid of

  3. My in-laws have an entire garage packed with stuff that they want to sell. These tips are amazing and I will refer back to them when the time comes! Thanks

    • You can earn so much more for your stuff by selling them individually online, rather than a garage sale. I find garage sales to be SO MUCH WORK (and for so little money at the end of it). I hope your in-laws have great success!

  4. Great tips! I suck at selling things. I have no negotiation skills and always cave! lol!!

    • LOL! me too, actually! That’s why I know my “rock bottom” price in advance and always agree on price via email before having anyone over to pick something up. (Plus, you can always note “Firm price” and avoid the haggling.)

  5. It’s important to be very strategic with your pricing, I agree with that part a lot; you want to make sure that it’s not too expensive and the other way around.

  6. I go into a near-catatonic fear state at the thought of trying to sell anything online – even the thought of GIVING stuff away online freaks me out – so this is very, very helpful.

  7. These are all amazing tips! Used Everywhere? I have never used it… anywhere. LOL I will have to check it out!

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