To HATE selling secondhand stuff??!!

[monkeymamma]

ARGHH!!! I have to admit I usually drop stuff off at the charity shop or give to friends instead (only if they want/need it obvs) but for the one or two items we really splashed out I know it's the right thing to do to sell them and try and recoup a bit of money. But OMG I hate it so much.
First you post the stuff online. Nice photos, write a good description. Flag up any scratches or bits missing. All good.
Then a few people are interested. Hurray! Then the questions start. Is it in good condition? Well it's been used. So look at the photos (always very clear and candid) and decide!!! Can I send more photos. Can they come and look at it. No-one ever gives an exact time so you're hovering around at home for hours wondering when they'll show. Will you take less money. Hmmm I wasn't expecting it to have any marks on it (WTF? It's been used by two toddlers!). Can I deliver the item to [insert name of location on the other side of town]. The number of people who message saying "is this available", "can I come and look" then NEVER MESSAGE YOU AGAIN. Why why why?
And endless questions about accessories and manuals and then you're searching your attic for bits of stuff that go with it. Only for them to go quiet/turn up and not want it/try and knock the price down to the point it's really not worth the time you've now put into selling the sodding thing.
Aaaand breathe. Perhaps I'm just not good with people?!

FB is shite - the marketplace function pops stuff up for people miles and miles away so you get the timewaster messages that way, and it's just more hassle than it's worth. Shpock and Gumtree I've had better success with.

I hate it too, I leave it to DH as he is pretty good at it. He normally uses Facebook or Uncle Henry’s or Craigslist. He either sells stuff or does a trade.

He traided a pickup truck bed for a hand gun at the weekend......at least it takes up less space

I sold a very good condition (hardly used) but old McClaren pushchair on my local FB selling page. The ad said something like "This pushchair was purchased in 2004 but not used much and is in excellent condition. Would make a perfect lightweight pushchair for holidays or travelling on buses etc" added 4 photos from all angles plus wheels etc. Asking price £20. First person who came to see it said she didn't want it because it didn't have the new style handles!!! wtf??? Sold it to a very appreciative, sane person eventually.

GrimSqueaker "FB is shite - the marketplace function pops stuff up for people miles and miles away so you get the timewaster messages that way"

I find FB excellent, but only post on local selling sites not marketplace - got rid of 2 bulky items this weekend, advertised on Saturday, one collected Saturday, one Sunday. Less hassle than ebay and free!

Mind you, one stupid man asked if we could deliver something I'd specified was collection only, then said he'd pay fuel (no, it still won't fit in my car no matter how much you pay me!), then asked if I knew anyone else who could deliver! Yes I know 2 people who could have fitted it in their vehicle but wasn't going to ask either of them to give up a couple of hours of their weekend. Was glad to tell him someone else had collected.

mrjoepike - are you in the US? yeah, I remember yard sales/garage sales. We got rid of most of our household stuff via one of those before we moved to the UK. It was great. You just set out a sign, make sure to be up early (or late, depending on your plans) to catch/avoid the bargain-hunters, and away stuff goes.

UKers - is there anything similar here? Is this what a 'car boot' sale is? (I'm thinking it might be what I'd call in the US a 'flea market' - where people bring things to sell, instead of just setting up shop in their drive - but you often needed to pay a fee to secure your spot) How does one find local ones of these?

I no longer trust ebay for selling (and very rarely for buying) but for those who do, remember you can set it up to block certain types of bidder: those with too many negs, strikes against their account, too many cancelled bids, outside the area you post to and much more

I once stumbled across a list of those who'd been prevented from bidding on my items in this way and there were hundreds ... which might partly explain why there are so many problems

Is it in good condition? Well it's been used. So look at the photos (always very clear and candid) and decide!!! Can I send more photos

I think you're being U about the above. It's good etiquette to state the condition of used clothes and doesn't take long (Excellent= used but looks new, VGUC= lightly used but no fade perhaps a tiny bit of bobbling, GUC= no holes or stains but some washwear, Playwear= stains or holes which should be photographed). You can't see bobbling/washwear very well in photos. I buy most of my toddler's clothes secondhand and prefer EUC or VGUC. When I sell I take close ups of any marks. People don't want to waste their money which is understandable. It's disappointing when something is described as good used condition and arrives with an undeclared mark or hole! As a seller I'd be mortified. As a buyer I'd expect a refund.

I agree with previous poster who said nearly new sales.
The NCT ones sell all baby and child related stuff from 0-8 years, providing it's in good condition. And it's great for buyers too as they get a bargain, but get to see what they are purchasing.
eBay I find works, but only if everything is described in minute detail with photos. But as a purchaser i've stopped doing eBay or anything online.

Also I'm shocked by how many people send clothes unwashed! I've received things that smell like they've been stored in a damp garage for years.

I take pride in the clothes I sell. Clearly described, freshly washed and ironed, posted quickly. I hate it when you pay for something then have to wait over a week for it to arrive, with no word from the seller when they intend to post

A few years ago I listed an almost new mattress on gumtree. Lots of enquiries, most of which expected it to be delivered. Erm no, I’m not a shop and I don’t have a transit van. Eventually sold to a bloke who cane around with a Vauxhall Astra and very surprised when it wouldn’t fit!! Nice bloke tho, came back with van the following evening.

I mostly sell via BIN on eBay. Works most of the time. DS2 sold about £200 quids worth of toys that way on the run up to Christmas. eBay does piss me off tho. When I list on BIN I ensure there is no best offer option set. Somehow, eBay manages to include this at some stage, the first I usually know about it is when the pisstaking best offers start coming in. Grrr.

Everything else goes to the local homeless shelter, who are usually grateful.

That's one of the worst things about being skint - having to sell stuff at car boots et al for the reasons many of you specify.

I'd never barter. For me the price is the price. A lot of the time the poor sod selling really needs the money!

There is a charity local to me that does all the advertising and dealing with questions for you and take a percentage of what the item makes after costs. Local businesses donate packaging etc.
It's well worth paying a bit of money out so I don't have the hassle!

chesn - woah, is that national? are there more of them? That would be ideal - combining the giving to charity bit with getting rid of stuff and making some cash.

Our local FB selling site is moderated and they don't take any crap from anyone. If you report someone for time wasting they get a warning then are kicked off the site for a second offence. It means the site works well.

People are a pain, to be honest it doesn’t just stop at private selling - I used to volunteer in a charity shop and people would try and haggle pennies off stuff then get arsey it when I explained I couldn’t. Demand to speak to manager who would only reiterate the same thing..and i know some charity shops can be pricey but we were one of the lower end ones, nothing cost more than a fiver. I remember very vividly someone trying to haggle 10p off a brand new smelliest set..

Haha smellies set not smelliest!

It's an amazing idea and I'm surprised more charities, or even a business, doesn't do It!

I bloody love the place...

I feel the same. I’ve all but given up on eBay because after selling and PayPal fees, you come away with very little. I know the buyer covers postage but sometimes you underestimate what it actually costs. And I had a few people returning items which left me out of pocket because of things I HAD mentioned in the listing, they just hadn’t read it correctly. Once I sold some beautiful Mexican pine wardrobes that I wanted but they wouldn’t go up the stairs in our new house and we waited around all day for the buyers to collect, when they turned up they said they didn’t want them. I was fuming.

Oh and I did have a couple of eBay buyers putting it on that the item either hadn’t arrived or was damaged in some way I know it definitely was not. eBay ALWAYS side with the buyer so it left me massively out of pocket.

I hated selling dcs stuff so gave all their books, toys, crafty stuff, some bits of furniture to our local children’s centre (checked with them that they wanted it first) then the clothes etc to the local children’s hospice charity shop felt much better than trying to flog it to cfs

Completely agree. I only sell big ticket items now.

I see people on selling sites listing clothes for 50p each and I know some people are skint but I just don’t know how they can be bothered!!

I hate it when you pay for something then have to wait over a week for it to arrive

Or even worse, to have it not arrive at all and then find out the seller entered a fake tracking number. That happened to me twice in ten days and needless to say ebay are still allowing them to sell on there

I must live in a lovely area, as I've experienced the opposite. I rarely sell second hand but have given away lots of toys, clothes, baby stuff for free. One lady who came to pick up a bundle of dressing up clothes (in immaculate condition but I couldn't be arsed to go through the hassle of selling) forced a fiver on me and when I refused, asked me to 'spend it on my children' (bless her).

Another lady picked up some baby stuff I put on Freecycle and I left them outside my door at an agreed time, put a thank you card through my mailbox.

Yet another lady came to buy some baby clothes and paid me more than the amount I asked for.

I feel so lucky to have come across such wonderful people and not the CF type that's mentioned in this thread. 😊

All second hand selling methods are just different worlds of pain. Facebook selling with rude people trolling that you should take your item to the tip instead (when it’s decent stuff!), I hate them turning up to my house and me having to tell them when I’m in, they never bother to arrive when they say they will either or come expecting change.

eBay with buyers who lie about items not being as described, I’ve only had one in years but she blatantly wanted to keep the item and get a refund too. She never did return it but did get her refund in the end as I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle over a £1 item. It made me see how vulnerable sellers are on eBay.

Car boots are best, I might get low prices per item but they are sold and gone within a few hours. No customer service provision required!

Ironic thing is I sell really nice decent stuff (branded kitchenwear like new etc) and no one is interested!

I lost the will to live with FB selling when a lady turned up in a Fiat 500 to collect a 6-seater dining table and chairs.

I have no idea how she thought it was ever going to work or what she thought I could do about it. She just stood and looked at it all for 5 mins, declared it a 'f**king waste of time' and left.