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Couperwife

ebay or charity shop

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ok, heres the thing

 

I've spent the week shovellying out - or rather clearing clutter :D

 

I now have 5 bags of "stuff" including 8 pairs of shoes (Kev are you listening to this - I need new ones now!!! :D ) and several items that have never been worn :oops: nothing is "rubbish" but most of it came from the likes of Matalan, New Look or George in Asda.

 

so, do I :

1. take it down to the charity shop and be done and tidy :D

 

2. try to sell it on ebay, to make some money, but have it hanging around until it sells.

 

what does anyone think?

 

cathy

x

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Hm, I'd probably do a bit of both Cathy. If stuff is likely to sell on ebay then go for it, send the remainder to the charity shops! Cheaper clothes may go better as a bundle. The one thing to avoid with ebay is things that don't sell first time so they hang around, collecting dust and fees. Good luck whatever you decide! :D

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I've never used Ebay :oops: , I take old clothes to our local hospice shop, or if they're really scruffy, put them in the textile recyling bin.

 

But if you think the time spent on ebay would be worth the money that you might get I would say try ebay for selling some of your better stuff.

 

It is great having a clear out though isn't it? It really clears your head.

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I agree with the above ... but I am in the same position, just had a mega clear-out.

 

I want to get rid of it, and while some of it is almost brand-new, I just don't have the energy to list, sell, pack and post it. As it is, I have not been able to get to the charity shop for the last three weekends, nor will it happen tomorrow (I can only get there on a Saturday) - my spare bed has three bulging bin-liners full of stuff on it right now and I am fed up with it.

 

So I think it depends - if you've got the time, sell the good stuff, but if not then at least the charity shop will benefit.

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I usually just send clothes to the charity shop unless it's something new that I haven't worn or any Long Tall Sally stuff, as I know that will be snapped up usually.

 

You could try a few items on e-bay to see how you go and if they do well, put more on. Try and get really good photos of the items, displayed on a tailors dummy if you have one or can borrow one? If not get someone to take a photo of you wearing them, you can always doctor the pic to take your head out. Failing that, the best photo of the items as you can.

 

Also, include as much info as possible; skirt length, sleeve length, leg length etc. It annoys me intensely when I see things like "knee length" or "calf length" grrrrrrrrrrrrr, I'm 6 foot 1" so what might be knee length on them might be a mini skirt on me! It really helps to see things like "skirt length 41 inches from waistband to hem" (perfect length for me :lol: )

 

This will give you a better chance of selling your items.

 

Got anything for the taller lady? PM me ;)

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Small world - I have just done the same & have a bag of 'tat' for the clothes bank, & have just listed about a dozen items on eBay.

 

I sell a lot on eBay & if anyone is interested I have a tips sheet I can email out,which I once made up for a friend who was starting out. Just pm me your email address.

 

I agree with Poet - have as much info on there as possible. Its also worth downloading a tool like Turbo Lister if you have a lot of items to list. That way you can write up your listings as & when you have time,then list then all at once with the touch of a buttone.

 

Personally I prefer not too see garments displayed on a human body, & its so simple to get a decent photo of something positioned properly on the floor,that I tend to do that.

Never put them on your bed - a nice clean flat surface is best. I have Oak floorbords,which work a treat.

 

You can also write up a basic listing with your terms & conditions on Word,then just paste it into the eBay selling frame - saves a lot of time 8):P

 

Good luck!

 

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i have done the same thing and got rid of loads of stuff on e-bay. i had alot of buggy bits and toys so they make good money and clothes i find dont sell so well and i am always worried that people expect new items for 99p!! even though i list them as worn. i am trying to clear the spare room at the moment. the only thing is, i see another bargain on e-bay and buy more :roll: .

i have decided to try and stay off e-bay once everything has sold so i dont clutter the house up anymore. i am also worried about the people doing the paypal scam, buying things and claiming they havent arrived (even if they have left positive feedback in e-bay) and then claiming through paypal and if the item hasnt been sent recorded they claim is settled in the buyers favor, meaning the seller has lost the goods and the money and can only claim £34 from the post office. even things sent with parcelforce can be scammed as the buyer can wait 6 months as parcelforce only keep tracking numbers that long, then even if you have a tracking no. you cant prove it has been signed for. and the claim is automatically awarded to the buyer. if its a small amount its not so bad but if its for a couple of hundred pounds, its a big loss.

i tend to give my clothes charity or friends (gt ormand st had 8 bags last time they came around) and i still have three bags of childrens clothes for my friend upstairs. i do buy most clothes secondhand or in the sales so its not like i spent alot of money on them and its nice to help someone. sometimes by the time i have paid e-bay fees etc its not worth waisting the time on small bits.

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We've just had a lovely new loft hatch fitted and so we've been busy insulating further (with a 100% recycled insulation, naturally) and boarding out our loft for storage (only of items we do use, but infrequently).

 

This has led to a big "clear out". I have sent loads of clothes to the charity shops, but have kept back a few "vintage" items which I will try to sell on ebay when I get around to taking pics. Thanks for the tip, Cinnamon, as I was wondering how to photograph them to their best advantage.

 

I will also be selling "shed" items such as an electric lawnmower, which is no longer needed since the girls destroyed the lawn :lol: , my eglu run converter and summer shades as I no longer need them, now I have my walk-in run.

 

I feel a massive ebay session coming on, so will pm Cinnamon for tips too. :)

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I have never used E.bay have heard so many scary stories it puts me off. I have a load of very old Rupert annuals which I think would go well there and DH has a huge collection of old Meccano which he would like to sell somewhere. Will PM Cinnamon for the tips thingy. I take all good stuff to the charity shop and put electrical or big items on Freecycle. We used to do a big boot sale once a year but sadly they no longer exist in my part of London due to the havoc with parking they caused.

 

Cathy I would weigh up the amount of effort you would have to put into selling on E.bay and whether the return would be worth it.

 

Tessa

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I tend to put only things on ebay that I think will sell at a good price and either are not too much hassle to post, or are the sort of thing that you can get the buyer to collect. For example, when I wanted to get rid of the china dinner service my ex and I got as a wedding present, it went on ebay and a lady from Norfolk came and picked it up - the design had been discontinued, and she was delighted to have extra plates for her Christmas dinner guests that would match her existing set!

 

On the other hand our sofa bed ended up on Freecycle because we needed the space and I hadn't been able to get rid of it via our campus "for sale" list (my usual outlet for non-specialist items). Most clothes, and miscellaneous bric-a-brac, go to the charity shops...

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I find shoes of any brand if they are new or nearly new, sell well on eBay, but clothes only seem to shift if you have a certain brand.

 

I agree with Sarah, I always photograph clothes on the floor, and with shoes have one facing forwards and one side on.

 

I love ebay, I don't make much but last month covered the cost of one 'extravagant' new item I bought for myself :D This month I am trying to recoup the cost of a pair of new work shoes :wink:

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I buy far too much on eBay, and sell far too little, because it seems like hard work. My son is much more professional: he only sells one kind of item (so the blurb stays the same) and uses the Turbo lister, and doesn't fuss like I do.

 

The charity shops in my area are getting very snooty, and they throw away anything that isn't near enough perfect. As a result, poor people are going through their rubbish and making an awful mess.

 

The charity shops could at least give the stuff they don't want to jumble sales instead of sending it to landfill.

 

The other thing about our local charity shops that annoys me is that most people leave goods outside them on a Sunday, and they are either soaked with rain or pilfered by Monday morning. I see this happening every week. I know that people should not be leaving stuff when the shop is closed; but I still think that it is the shop's duty to do something about it.

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The other thing about our local charity shops that annoys me is that most people leave goods outside them on a Sunday, and they are either soaked with rain or pilfered by Monday morning. I see this happening every week. I know that people should not be leaving stuff when the shop is closed; but I still think that it is the shop's duty to do something about it.

 

This happens where I live too. I don't really see what the shop could do to stop this, they all have big signs telling people not to dump stuff when the shop is closed. They could have big lock up bins I suppose but they would probably be classed as obstructions on the Highway, 'Elf and Safety again :evil:

 

Tessa

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As the others have said, eBay is a faf and you could be stung for the fees if your items don't sell. If the majority of your stuff is from Matalan etc then I don't think it will be particularly in demand unless it is unusual, an in demand size or style.

 

I tend to put all old clothes in the charity bags that come through the door.

 

Jo

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We only tend to sell stuff on ebay that has a possible value of £5 or more because it has gor to be worth the time involved in listing packaging and posting not to mention the fees for listing and paypal.

 

We usually have a big clear out in November which makes us some money to help with Christmas. I like to make about £500 a year if I can but in the past with kids toys like Brio, sylvanian families and electric trains we have made upto £1000 which makes such a difference but it is a lot of work.

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