To think the reality of online selling is far worse than people suggest on here...

I genuinely did recoup most of what I paid for lots of baby items albeit about ten years ago. It depends on where you live, and crucially the brand name.
Before I even bought certain items I would check their resale value and if they had no resale value, I wouldn’t buy them. A few things I bought on eBay and sold for the same price 1-2 years later.

Cots have hopeless resale value. However baby carriers and certain types of baby chair held their value really well, as did some baby gyms.

Clothes are mostly hopeless except for some top end brand names eg Bonpoint, Barbour.

Frog bikes have good resale where I am.

Pushchairs: bought second hand for not a lot and sold on for similar. I think people are only willing to pay £50 for a pushchair. You don’t really know that it’s in great condition until you use it for a while and nothing breaks.

Gumtree: excellent, it's UK only which for UK people is a big advantage over Facebook Marketplace which attracts a global audience of mainly scammers and weirdos

other benefits of Gumtree, the ads are free for a basic one and you can pay a bit extra to bump it up, or as a Premium 'sticky' advert for businesses.

A very useful feature which I think adds to the reliability of users is that they ask you to rate the people you interact with, so if they're time wasters or give you any issues including giving you the runaround on your sale, their card is marked!

I put two items on there this morning and they were collected by lunchtime. No messing about, the people were local to us and very friendly and punctual.

I tend to find:

Ebay - things sell well as long as they are reasonably priced. I have always thought that one-third of new was the mark, for a very good condition item.

Vinted - I decided not to get into Vinted as I knew what I was doing with Ebay and couldn’t be bothered to learn a whole new system.

Mum2Mum sales - tabletop - as above, but keep clothes at £1 max. Don’t take too much stuff and actively try to engage with people to find out what they want, rather than sitting slumped behind your table! I also give freebies if someone has bought something then I might give them something else in the same size.

Car boot sales - did my first one last summer. It’s a bit daunting when you arrive and being directed into position but fun once you’re set up and some surprising items (random household items) sell quite well.

Has anyone done an NCT sale lately - the ticket style - what are selling prices like for toddler clothing, toys etc?

Obviously I know you only get a percentage but it might be useful for hard-to-shift stuff.

I rarely buy online, as there are too many scammers. I wonder if you were pricing things too cheaply? £125 for a Frog bike is a bargain - I wonder if people assumed it was a scam?

Do you still have the uppababy? Is it the vista? I'm in the SE and ours is about to die!

We've sold loads on eBay recently. SE commuter town and always offer postage. Even on big items. Highest postage was 22 quid for the STOKKE Flexi Bath which sold for £60. I think people would rather pay for delivery than collect. It also does really depend on search area and when you list it. Best time to list items is between 6 and 9 pm.

Ive noticed this and I think it’s demographics. In my rougher local area there is no little interest unless stuff is dirt cheap, even if it’s in immaculate condition. Brand doesn’t seem to factor. Friends can’t seem to give Silver Cross prams away.

In BILs naice area, there’s more active selling groups and people are willing to pay more for quality branded second hand stuff in good condition.

So for me I wouldn't spend over £100 on something used.

The frog bike for example I would just buy a cheaper bike new.

I've had a lot of success selling but I've sold dresses that cost me £60 for £10. Nike hoodies that cost £40 for £8

I've made a few hundred pounds I wouldn't have otherwise.

I buy and sell bits online.
I think it depends on finding the right place to sell, for example gumtree is dead in my area but facebook marketplace is popular as are local groups.
Also vinted is very popular atm but most things sell very cheap on there.

Also, depends on the item. I had an expensive baby swing, around £200. Didn’t end up getting used much. Had it on sale for ages, reduced to £40. Finally I just wanted to get rid so I put it up for free and it went the same day.

I don’t think it is realistic to expect 80-90% if you bought it new. If it was that much, I would rather buy new and have the option for refund and customer service that comes with it.
Yes, if you buy secondhand, then you can still recover most of that cost if it’s in good condition.

I'd say it must be regional - stuff round me flies off FB marketplace if it's half decent and priced sensibly. The stuff that sits for months tends to be overpriced - saw a sideboard and mirror from Next (veneer, not solid wood) yesterday with a massive stain on the top priced at £200. They've no chance. Be lucky to get £50 for it.

I gave up selling anything as nobody wanted it or wanted it for free
Lots of people manage to sell things , but I'm clearly bad at it

Is it a wrong location issue? I’m in the SE and been looking for a 16 inch Frog bike but none of them have been within a reasonable distance to collect.

ebay fees are 15% which isn't too bad. They have offers almost weekly for listing things for lower fees. They've recently made it free to sell used clothing - makes me thing they're being squeezed by Vinted.

It is very area dependent. I think it also depends on the socioeconomic makeup of the area and attitudes to buying second hand.

In our area fb marketplace, mum's local selling group, Gumtree are all about bargains. Some people have put bugaboo, yoyos, uppa baby pushchairs on for over £100 and they are there for months and months. No-one will pay more than £50 for a pushchair regardless of brand and condition. Same with kids bikes, no-one pays more than £20 for a kids bike on them. There have been quite a few frog bikes and isla bikes and they have been listed for months and months. I have a friend who sells exclusively on the FB page of the "posh" large village 15 minutes drive away. It's a completely different demographic and attitude to second hand there and people are willing to pay more money for quality second hand. She sold her double bugaboo donkey on there for £200 whereas on our local FB pages she was getting offers for £20 and they wanted free delivery.

Gumtree is a much more reliable site. I've just advertised a few items and getting interest already.

Maybe it's a timing thing - Sunday is a good day as people have time to collect items. By Monday the ad has disappeared 😊

@theresapossuminthekitchen

I do think, however, that people mainly want new stuff and will only buy it second hand if it’s an absolute bargain

My experience is that if the stuff you're selling is in excellent or "as new" condition, then you're probably going to get pretty decent money for it.

What people don't want to pay good money for are things that are broken, stained/marked, incomplete, etc. You're definitely down into bargain basement territory if what you're selling isn't top notch, missing instructions, missing boxes where applicable, etc.

People want everything for free. I remember years ago on a local free page a member breating people who sold stuff as they should just give it away for free, that's the mindset you are dealing with.

I recently tried to sell a full junior drum kit, no takers. In the end I did give it away for free with the stipulation it was to go to a school/ group etc. It went on the group to a friend, and I am pleased where it went to. Had it been offered as a free for all I would have been inundated.

It really depends on lots of factors.

We've found Facebook to be useless and full of time wasters.

Ebay and Preloved are still pretty good.

As are car boot sales.

Just sold a car cycle carrier for more than we paid for it about a decade ago. But it was in immaculate condition, with original spanner/lock/key and instruction booklet etc. Also sold a car roof box for pretty much what we paid for it a few years ago.

Sold plenty of our son's Lego for more or near to original purchase price. Not generic stuff, but things like the Indiana Jones, Minecraft, Atlantis, all complete, original boxes and instructions etc,

We sold all our son's baby stuff, i.e. pram, cot, mobile, clothes, baby toys, etc., all for pretty good money, but again, all in immaculate condition, boxed where applicable, etc.

I think you need the items to be popular respected brands, excellent condition, boxed/instructions, etc., to get the serious money.

Pushchairs always go for cheap as chips where I am, unless it's a yoyo. I've sold frog, Isla and squish bikes at the same quite high price as I bought them second hand. Oak table would sell quick if it wasn't dated looking. I don't bother with marketplace, the local 'mums buy and sell' Facebook page is where I sell and buy from generally. I now can't be bothered to try and sell some bits eg jojo maman Bebe snowsuit in excellent condition - I tried local sites and Vinted and they just sit there forever at £5 so I now take that kind of stuff to the charity shop. Free stuff always gets snapped up.

I have mostly given up trying to sell stuff and I just give it to the charity shops and gift aid it or sell it to CEX

I’m a bit surprised you’re having such bad luck - we’re in a south east commuter town too and have always managed to sell on our Frog / Isla bikes pretty easily for a decent price (we just sold one last weekend). We also buy our kids’ bikes second hand, and pay ~60% rrp usually for bikes that are barely used. Higher end stuff does tend to have a smaller market but will sell for a good price, typically. Perhaps it’s about how you list it/the photos, etc.?

I do think, however, that people mainly want new stuff and will only buy it second hand if it’s an absolute bargain.

Around 25% of the new price seems to be average in my area and most stuff sells well. Otherwise people buy new if it's higher.

I’ve had a good experience selling postable things e.g. clothes, have done about £150 so far this year on Vinted and sold a lot on eBay in the past. Furniture and bulky items people have to collect have never done well so I have generally ended up passing on to charities instead. Things like prams I think a lot of people want to buy new even if they could get a real bargain. I feel like for most families I know it was still a bit of a tradition for one of the sets of grandparents to want to buy it.