Declutter

Vinted, Ebay or Facebook Marketplace – Which one is best for selling on?

The Money Wise Mum6 Comments

In January 2021, I decided it was time to declutter my life and get rid of all the ‘stuff’ I’d been holding onto for years. I needed not just a physical declutter but an emotional one too. There has been points over the last ten years where I’ve had so much stuff, my bedroom looked like something from the program ‘Hoarders’. It got so bad that I only had the space to sleep on my side of the bed as the other side was full of so much stuff and I couldn’t even get to the window to open the curtains so they just stayed drawn. Not a healthy way to live at all.

Decluttering has not only improved my mental health but I also have less to clean now – bonus! I have also made some much needed extra cash to put towards my debt. Even now, in November I am still decluttering (although at a slightly less intense pace) and the house feels so much better. The bed is clear, I can move around my room and the curtains and windows get opened daily. Read about how to get the most money from selling your clutter here.

Over the year, I have mainly used Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Market place to sell my unwanted things but I have found over the years that I use each one for different items. Here I talk about each platform in more detail, including how to get started and all their pros and cons. Let me know if I miss any out!

Vinted

Vinted is an app that is downloaded onto a mobile phone (Android or Apple). It is easy to set up and even easier to get started. I don’t like apps that are too techy so this was perfect for me. When you’re ready to sell, take clear pictures of the items, making sure you highlight any imperfections, chose a price, a parcel size and upload. It really is that simple!

Pros:-

  • It is easy to set up, easy to use and has NO SELLING FEES.
  • The buyer buys the postage so all you do is print a label. If you have no printer at home, you can go to the store they recommend for posting and they will print one for you. It is great to get rid of clothes and small toys.
  • What I absolutely love about Vinted is the item is paid for before you post so there is no being messed around by sellers. Vinted keep your money until the parcel arrives at the Inpost locker/UPS shop so unless the buyer has a problem, the money is transferred across.
  • You can sell to anywhere in the UK as the item is posted.
  • Parcels are tracked for free through Hermes or Inpost so there are less chance of the buyer saying the parcel never arrived. You do need to remove the Royal Mail option from the settings though.
  • If you use Hermes or Inpost to post the parcels then you can deposit your parcel in the machines outside the supermarkets meaning you can do this any time you like as your not restricted to the post office or supermarket opening hours. If you want to post a parcel at 3am – you can!

Cons:-

  • I find things that are listed on Vinted tend to be cheaper than I would list on Ebay or FB Marketplace.
  • You don’t receive the money straight away for the items that you have sold and it can take up to 7 days for the whole transaction.
  • You drop the parcel off, the customer does not collect from your home.

Ebay

Ebay has been around years and you can have an account that you operate through your email address and laptop/computer or you can now download the app. I would download the app as it will be easier to upload the photos of your items from your phone instead of emailing them across so they are stored on your computer. Very similar to Vinted, take clear pictures of the items, making sure you highlight any imperfections, chose a price and a parcel size and upload.

Pros:-

  • It’s easy to use, but not as easy as Vinted. There are more categories to complete probably down to there being so many different items for sale on Ebay
  • You have the choice to auction your item for a set period of time (usually a week), making sure you end it at a time you know people will be awake and free to watch it. There’s no point having the auction finish at 3 am in the morning when everyone is in bed. I usually plan for auctions to end on a Sunday night around 8pm or weeknights between 8 and 9pm.
  • You also have the option to bid on items or offer bidding on your items to see if you can tempt anyone to make you an offer.
  • You can sell more expensive items and the variety of items you can sell is much greater than Vinted. From electricals to clothes. For example, I sold a camera for £300 on EBAY which was a signed for delivery using Royal Mail.
  • You can sell anywhere in the world as items are posted

Cons:-

  • List fees. Although they do have special weekends where you can sell items that are fee to list and you can now list up to 999 items free of charge.
  • Selling fees. These depend on what you sell and how much it sells for and are taken automatically from your sale proceeds.
  • Money is held by Ebay until the item is delivered or confirmed as delivered and then sent to you. So you’re not paid straight away.
  • You have to sort the postage yourself. You need to make sure you weigh the item properly and then put the correct postage on the item. If you find you haven’t worked out the right postage and the buyer has paid too little – it’s tough!! I was caught out by this when I first started, I sold 3 books for £7.00 and put the postage as £3.20 when at the post office they said it was £8.00! This resulted in in only making £2.20 and then EBAY took fees off me too. I was so sad ☹
  • You also need to take the parcel to the post office, so potentially huge queues and your limited by their opening hours.

Facebook Market Place

This is an element within Facebook so you do need a Facebook account to use it. You can use it on the computer or as an app so its easy to use like Vinted and Ebay. When your ready to sell, take clear pictures, highlight any imperfections, chose a price and upload. I always make sure I put ‘collection only’ and the first 3 letters of my postcode and I share to as many local groups as I can. I also only post at key times like from dinner time to latest 9pm, that way I know my post will be seen by lots of people.

Pros:-

  • You get paid straight away in cash or can ask the buyer to do a bank transfer. This is what I did during covid
  • Great for selling large items that can’t be posted. I sold a huge 2-meter length veg truck last year and various other bigger sized items
  • If you want to give things away to the local community instead of taking it yourself to the charity shop, then FB Marketplace is brilliant as the buyer collects.
  • No postage to sort out and no trips to the post office or Inpost unit

Cons:-

  • Messed around by buyers, no shows. People message, you agree to hold it and they don’t turn up. It’s infuriating and unfortunately is a regular occurrence
  • Money is paid generally on collection of the item. Sometimes before if you have lots of interest and ask someone to pay before they collect so you don’t sell it to someone else.
  • Limited to sell to the local area as people may not want to travel too far.
  • You must be a member of the groups you advertise the item on, so make sure you switch off notifications to those groups else your feed will just be people selling things!

What I’ve made on Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Marketplace this year so far:

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
13531.20 448.57 371.01 12105.98 4938.5 11261138.26

March and April saw me sell lots of big-ticket items on Ebay and FB Marketplace, like the camera and the veg truck. May onwards is mostly clothes on Vinted. Great littler earner though for just selling our unwanted things.

Which one do I like the best?

For me it’s Vinted. Every time my daughter grows out of her age of clothes, I list them all on Vinted straight away and then put them in a box which is kept on the wardrobe. When they sell, I can easily get them down and post them. And with Vinted there are no hidden fees and no let down by buyers which is a huge plus for me as I hate it when people waste my time.

I’d still use FB Marketplace if I had bigger items to sell but as I have been on this declutter journey for a year most of the bigger items I wanted to sell have been sold.

What I love now as well, is I get at least 2 sales a week from Vinted. It’s not earning me massive amounts of money but every little helps and I feel I am still decluttering even though I haven’t got the huge focus that I had at the start of the year. As long as more is going out of the house than coming in, that’s fine by me!

Vinted have a referral scheme in place so if you haven’t already downloaded it, you can do so using my referral link below.

https://www.Vinted.fr/invite/hmm1234

(If my referral link is used, I will receive £5.00 when a friend lists their first 3 things within 7 days and £10.00 when they sell within 30 days. The money I receive can be used to buy items from Vinted only)

Or you could just check out some of the things I sell to or even get an idea of what to sell yourself. My username is hmm1234

Good luck and happy decluttering!

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How to Get the Most Money from selling your Clutter

The Money Wise Mum7 Comments

Since lock down and trends like minimalism and gorgeous clutter free pictures of perfect homes on Pinterest, people are now more than ever getting stuck in with the decluttering, sorting and selling of their preloved items. Millions of items are being sold every day world-wide and its become a bargain hunters paradise.

I will admit to becoming one of these ‘Sorters of Stuff’ and have become a little obsessed with clearing, sorting and selling. I have loved raising some much-needed cash towards my debt free journey and have been happy that my preloved items have found a new home. Unexpectedly, I have felt a weight lifted every time something is sold and leaves my home which encourages me even more. Not only that but I have started to feel free and much happier with less clutter in my life.

Decluttering and selling preloved items isn’t a new trend, it has been around for years but social media platforms and places like Facebook Marketplace have enabled people to reach far and wide in the attempt to sell their unused items. Previously, if people didn’t drive they were limited to buying unused items online from places like FB Marketplace as they wouldn’t be able to collect, but collection is not the only one way you can get your items now as postage is an option. Thank goodness other delivery companies are competing with Royal Mail and offering cheaper postage.

The market is being saturated with new sellers, so it’s important now more than ever to make sure your items look their best, are listed at the right price and are listed at the right time. I have made more money in selling preloved items in the last month than any of my other side hustles so it’s important to get it right. You can see how much I have made over on my Instagram page. And to help you, I have made a handy list of TEN key things to do to maximise your selling success!

1) Clean your items

If they are dirty or need washing make sure you clean them first. This will give you the chance of inspecting the item to make sure there’s no damage and can help you to get the maximum price. I know I would be put off from seeing a dirty item.

2) Take photos of the items in the daylight but post at night

This is so important because natural light will show your item in its best light and could maximise the price you get. Even bright lights like spotlights will not do your item justice. Make sure you put your item up for sale around 6pm and no later than 10pm in the week as this is when most people are at home chilling with their phones out scrolling. At weekends, you could also post in the day from 11am. Include pictures of instructions, leads and anything else that goes with the item.

3) Take clear photos

Make sure your photo is in focus, its clear, crop out the background and take the picture in a room which is tidy so not to distract the viewer away from your item.

4) Bulk sell or sell individually?

Decide whether you will get more money from selling your items as a bulk lot or as an individual sale. If I have items that I do not think will sell on their own or are out of season, I pair them up with other things and sell them as a total price. I lay all items out on the bed so you can see them all and then take the picture whilst standing above the bed so it’s a downward shot. This way you can see all the items clearly. I also list every single item so buyers know exactly what they are going to get.

For items I know will sell on their own or items that are in season, I hang them individually so you can see them more clearly. It takes more time to do but you can get a better price.

5) Brands

If it’s a branded item like Next or Adidas make sure you say so in the Title and in the Description. People like branded items and will pay more for them so don’t forget to mention it!

6) Damaged Item

You must mention if an item is damaged and be prepared to knock a little off the price. People will still buy damaged so don’t be put off from listing it. I find if items are worn especially kids clothes I still list them but make sure I put worn and put them a little cheaper. For kids clothes, they aren’t in them longer than a few months anyway so what’s the point in paying top price?

7) Title and Description

List the size, colour and a short description of the item in the title and then in the description list the same again but add the items condition, collection postcode and whether you would be happy to post.

8) Collection and post

Put you would be happy for the item to be collected or posted. When I started to offer to post the item, I had a lot more interest and sold more things. Most buyers always ask how much more an item will be, so weigh the item and give them a price. I always give them a Royal Mail and Hermes price and ask them whether they want to pay for First or Second Class. If I am posting an item, I always ask for the buyer to pay using PayPal first before I post. Also, ask for them to pay through PayPal under ‘Friends and Family’ as it saves you being charged by PayPal for using their service.

9) Post it quickly

Post the item as quickly as you can, same day or next day if sold at night and message the buyer with a screen shot of the tracking number or reference number so they can track the item.

10) Feedback

After your amazing service, ask for feedback! Why not?! Especially for FB marketplace and Ebay where everyone can see what type of seller you are. It will stop anyone being put off from doing business with you if they see you have great feedback from previous customers.

I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that this whole process takes time, practice and patience but as the sales start rolling in you will know how worth it will be.

Let me know if there is anything on this list I may have forgotten and HAPPY SELLING!