Decluttering and the guilt of not eBaying

[BabCNesbitt]

I'm pretty good at figuring out what things I want to get rid of and piling up the unwanted stuff. HOWEVER, I do have an annoying tendency to think "oh, I can sell that on eBay, I'll definitely get a few quid for that!" for the nicer things (we're not well off, so that money could help) then never bloody listing them because there's never time for all the faff!

Can someone give me a stern talking to? There's stuff I've carried through a couple of house moves lying around here! Promise me I'll not feel agonised about not selling them if I just add them to the charity box! (I haven't been able to find a FB local selling group that isn't all nail salon and car ads, so that's out.)

[Masterblaster3000]

Put them in the charity box, the time it would take you to list, respond to questions, deal with time wasters, go to the post office is worth more than the few quid you would get.
Also stuff that can be sold is what the charity shop needs - they get so much rubbish you could give them something useful

[Masterblaster3000]

Forgot to say i never eBay anything as I am too lazy

[BabCNesbitt]

See, this is the kind of common sense I need! Do you ever feel guilty or regretful about not selling, Masterblaster?

[gluteustothemaximus]

We're like this. And I do feel guilty. But eBay really isn't the place it used to be.

Every so often I spend ages listing things, all nearly new/excellent condition items, and they never sell

Recently tried to sell baby DS's swing, play mat, bouncer all top brands, all excellent as new, and started them off really cheap....really wanted them to go to a good home for mum to be, but nothing.

Plus selling fees, listing fees, posting fees etc etc if they do sell. Better just to charity it sometimes. At least someone will benefit, and you'll feel better for a good declutter!

[BabCNesbitt]

Right! I am going to DO THIS!

[Deux]

I know what you mean but since reading Marie Kondo a few years ago my focus now is just getting it out of the house. Make that your focus.

I've never given it a second thought once it's gone to the charity shop. If you sign up for Gift Aid with them then some will send you a statement telling you how much your goods have raised for the charity.

Just get rid via a charity shop or offer free on facebook or similar. I gave a storage unit away free and the lovely couple who collected it brought me a pot plant to say thank you which was a kind gesture.

[BobbinThreadbare123]

Ebay is a load of rubbish now. I do the same thing, especially if I know I spent a bit on the item in the first place. Things don't sell; I couldn't get rid of designer stuff set at 99p start price, or even a sofa for a tenner! My adverts are great, but eBay is flooded with junk and 'shops'. Charity is the way forward. I'm always happy to wash the stuff and fold it up for charity.

[Sugarcoma]

So I am terrible for keeping stuff to eBay - currently have a giant pile and first DC coming in about 3 weeks. So I finally made a push to list everything in the pile. It will go on for 2 x 7 day periods and after that I am making myself give it to charity.

In terms of motivation to eBay, I find taking pics and uploading straight from my phone much easier. Also search completed listings to a) see how much the items are actually going for and are they worth obeying and b) copying their descriptions (tweaking a few words here and there). I also try and set myself a minimum of about 3 a day. But the giant eBay pile in our living room is depressing as hell and Im not adding anything more to it (i.e. sorting out my cupboards properly) until it's gone.

In terms of not eBaying, I find it really hard, not just because of the money but because if it's on eBay I know it's not going to a landfill (and a lot of stuff charities get does end up in a landfill). BUT after selling a couple of items recently that I lost money on (they went for 99p and because they were an awkward shape I got charged 3.90 to post them and had charged less than that for postage) it finally made me realise this is ridiculous and I have to be more ruthless about binning and charity-ing. And as pp said, once you factor in time wasters and scammers (I got scammed for the first time earlier this year) it can be a real time vampire.

My advice would be go through completed listings (while you're watching TV or something) for the items you want to sell to get an idea of price and try listing 3-5 starting with the most valuable in your pile. Then just get rid of a few of the least valuable via charity shops/bin. Once you've started obeying a few things it might encourage you to list more and the ones that are a waste of time just write off mentally (google Sunken Cost Fallacy to help you with that).

Sorry this post is so long but tbh it's been therapeutic to write because I have been exactly the same!!

[Sugarcoma]

Argh eBaying not "obeying"!!

[MargotLovedTom1]

Is a shame the FB selling pages aren't more productive for you. There are loads in my locality, and stuff seems to shift briskly on them.

eBay is a pain in the bum though, so I couldn't be bothered with it either.

[Collymollypuff]

Oh, great thread. Such a relief to get it all off to the charity shop. I find it helpful to put the bags in the boot of the car, and tell dh it's for charity. Otherwise I might bring them back in. He just takes 'em.

[TupperwareTat]

I'm a Kondo follower myself but the large items I ditched went on Gumtree.

I got £50 for a bed, £40 for a chest of drawers etc. People turned up her they said & went 5 minutes later.

[TupperwareTat]

*People turned up WHEN they said

[Ratbagcatbag]

I've had this. I'm a lot more ruthless now. Unless clothes are designer, I drop them straight in the charity shop bag. I put big stuff on gumtree and give it a week.
eBay is only for slightly more collectible stuff, and it gets 2 x 7 day runs and if not sold then it joins the other charity bag stuff.
I also use the quick list function on eBay; so takes around 5 mins. My rule is to do a minimum of 5 listings per weekend day.
Using this method I got rid of about 15 bin liners of stuff last year.

[alcin]

I've recently started selling my bits on the app Shpock, fee free & buyer picks up & pays cash.

[Newmanwannabe]

Not what you want to hear. But I have found gumtree to be better than eBay lately. You could always use it for one or two things that are worth a bit and give away the rest? Gumtree is mainly local and pick up.. it might not be in your area though

[Tigerstar123]

We too have started to use shpock and sold some stuff, although I'm amazed at the number of people who really don't 'get' how shpock works..!

[Frouby]

Stick it on your local selling pages. It doesn't matter what everyone else is selling. Set a time limit of 1 week. If it doesn't sell charity shop it.

Bundle stuff up. Buyer to collect.

I have sold a few things this way. A couple of baby slings, a jumperoo. They fought over the jumperoo.

If it doesn't sell that way it probably doesn't have a resale value so either charity shop or bin.

[Somehowsomewhere]

I send everything to charity. Not sitting around with 2 young children waiting for people to collect stuff for the sake of a couple of £.
DH has piles off stuff 'to sell' that have been carted around with us for the past 8 years.

[Weebleswobbles]

I was like this and it was Marie Kondo that got me past it. Have got got her book OP?

[BarchesterFlowers]

I have sold a few things on eBay, not many, but I have found it a complete pita. A few things went ok, two expensive things that didn't spring to mind.

An unused Mulberry handbag that I bought in Mulberry's main store in London with my best friend who is a DI in the Met Police. The person who bought it accused me of it being a fake - long drawn out grief process.

DH had a new swish backpack with a water bladder that was given to him as a gift - tags attached. The listing included photos of the detail on the tag. Listing said UK only postage but because he is a kindly sort he agreed to post it to Spain. Received by buyer who claimed it was not as advertised (remember close ups of tags!). DH was working away for two months in a place where he didn't have reliable internet. Couldn't respond to the mad guy's claims in the required time and had to refund his money, mad guy kept the (£190 backpack) and we paid the postage to Spain.

Charity shop all the way here - we save the swisher stuff for local Charity auctions.

We no longer sell anythng on eBay. I do buy on there though occasionally.

[Sundaysmumisfullofwine]

I used to end up with bags and bags of stuff listed on eBay and while I did make a bit of cash it still hindered the decluttering process. Now, I'll list the odd bits that I know will sell well and the rest goes straight to the charity shop. I take the mindset that I'm not in a position to be donating financially to charity so im donating things that should make them some money instead.

[Yeahfine]

I find gumtree brilliant for selling and easy to use. I sold lots of things when I was clearing out my house. I was left with some children's furniture and really wanted it gone so let it go for free to someone who turned up 8 months pregnant with a van and man. The only things I was left with were children's toys and my local charity shop has decided they don't want toys and games any more either.