Online Garage Sales..

My name is Danielle and I haven't Online Garage Sale'd for the past 2 hours..

Online Garage Sales have been my latest addiction. In the past on a Friday night I always 'plan' to get up early on Saturday and hit the local garage sales to find some much unneeded  needed BARGAINS!! However alas I rarely ever make it before people start pulling their wheelie bins in and any I do attend post 11am have more trash than treasure. 

Enter, the online garage sale.. Now I can browse at my own leisure, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day (no, I'm not quite that addicted!) and only go and pick up things that I actually want need.  I must say I have bought some gorgeous bargains along the way, from baby toys, to home wares and even clothing. 

Another advantage of the online garage sales is being able to sell unwanted clutter of one's own, for FREE. I just take a piccy with my iPhone and upload it from there, its very easy and is a great way to move your unwanted items fast.. rather than the more traditional methods such as EBay which can result in lengthy auctions and at times ridiculous seller's fee's.  Although I think whatever I have sold, I have spent.. but at least I'm not out of pocket so it's a win/win situation! 

Some of the sites can get pretty 'catty' so if your willing to put up with odd whiner or two you are bound to find something that tickles your fancy.  Here are my hints and tips;

• Join multiple sites, but only sell on one or two popular ones or else you will forget where your listings are!  Ask people to 'tag' you in their response to your ad, this will ensure you get a Facebook notification.  If you don't have luck with your ad on those pages, try some different ones in a few days time to see where your items sell best.
• Be accurate and honest in your listings.. don't say the item is in good condition, if it isn't or don't say it's new, if it's not. it will come back to bite you on the bum. 
• Ask questions! If you are buying an item, don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to.. but to help you secure the item, write SOLD - pending the following questions;  that way, if your first to write SOLD it is usually the pages policy that you have won that item.  
• Don't complain publicly on the page.. it will only make you look like a whiner and no one wants to buy from a whinger. Explain your grievances to your Admin in a rational fashion, they often have a system by which 'problem' users are banned from the site after a series of warnings.. so don't just sit and stew on it, if you have been wronged, speak up.
• Arrange to meet buyers and sellers in a neutral location for your safety.
• Have fun! buy some bargains, offload some items you no longer need to give others the opportunity of a bargain and enjoy! 

So yes, there you have it some tips I hope you find helpful when tackling the world of Online Garage Sales..