Sign went for $115
When I came home from Hawaii this past summer, while the holiday blues didn’t hit, one thing sure did. I noticed I flat out had too. much. stuff.
I knew this of course before the trip. You know how you keep replaying the same thing in your head, “I need to get rid of ___!” “I’m so tired of this ____!” “One day I’ll get to Ikea and replace that ____!”
So I started things off by cleaning. But honestly, that just resulted in a bunch of shuffling, so I gave up.
Until… I started paying more attention to a private Facebook site, local to my area that was all about bidding on stuff.
Local was the key. That meant that I didn’t have to send or deliver a thing, with the winner picking up said item up direct from ME! Plus, there was potential to actually earn what the item was truly worth, rather than always giving stuff away like at a garage sale.
Tramp went for $50, included dismantle
So I tried my first bidding item. We had a giant trampoline in our back yard that I’ve had to move each time I mow. With no one using it, and hurting myself every time it needed positioning, it was a no brainer. This would be my first try.
I was so nervous! I find it hard to relinquish a memory thing. The tramp was a mother’s day present, that my son and I used together for so many years. My fondest memories are from laying on it at night, filled with cozy blankets and pillows, to just stare up at the night sky filled with stars.
But teen years have my son bolting out the door with friends instead these days, so there the thing sat. Waiting for me to take it for mini walks each time the lawn needed a haircut.
So I took pictures, then uploaded them to the site.
Crate trunk went for $13
24 hours later, it was purchased for $50, with the winner fully aware he’d be taking it apart! Cool!
White trash bedroom
Gate went for $67
And then I was hooked. Every big thing I couldn’t stand looking at any longer went on that site. Big. Small. Things I didn’t use or want any longer. I have lost track of all the stuff I have let go. So while I haven’t been blogging much lately, I have been relinquishing a LOT.
But unlike a garage sale, you don’t always lose money… you can make money too! I’ve been surprised a couple of times, but I guess that all levels out with the things you literally give away too.
And you get to meet cool people! Sometimes it’s a 2 second exchange, but one time it was at least a 30 minute visit, where I took a buyer for a tour of my home because we locked into the topic of repurposing.
Antique headboard dresser
3 antique headboards went for $65
While the funds are super nice, the biggest comeback for me personally is gaining more space. Rooms that have been jammed are slowly opening up. Turning your home from storage space to useable space changes everything.
I realize not everyone of you will have a bidding site in your home town. You may want to try and find one regardless… I mean, there may be one already! But here’s how it works in case you’re interested or wish to start one…
Chippy fence went for $40
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How a 24 hour bidding site works:
A seller adds one picture to the group, with description, pickup location, starting bid. (pricing it low or FREE gains more attention as more get involved… and makes it easy to get rid of your item!) More photos can be in comments. But one picture to start is mandatory. If you upload more than one, it creates more than one place to bid.
People can bid on the item for 24 hours, but ultimately, the last, highest bid within that 24 hours is the winner.
ie: if I post Sunday 12:05 pm, last bid can be anything before that time stamp, 24 hours later. (Monday 12:04:59 pm)
During the last minute your item is up for grabs, a bidding war of sorts fires up. Those that really want your item sync their bid with a clock, trying to be the last one standing. It’s rather exiting to watch!
Once the time has past, the seller deems the winner via the timestamp (that shows up on desktop computers only). Then you PM each other for pick up instructions.
It’s like magic!
I generally have about 2-4 items up for bid at one time, so time spent online along with pickups can sort of be coordinated together.
If you want to see if your own town has one, try a few keywords in your Facebook search browser… 24 hour bidding or auction, with your local town name. You never know!
My little dream of changing all those eyesores or stagnant storage corners into usable space is slowly becoming a reality. I think a big garage sale is a quicker way of course, but this works for those where time is a little tighter, choosing my sale and pickup days. Pretty cool!
Now, this post wasn’t meant to taunt you with cool, old stuff you can’t have. We ALL have stuff we have sitting around, and I’m sure I want yours too! 🙂 This post was meant to entice you to be a little more creative with solutions that get your home back the way you desire it to be. Have that big garage sale if enticed! But this was a solution that is working well for me. And it’s fun!
So excuse me while I go hunt down the next big thing to see exit this place… because the more I toss, the more I can… collect?
And that’s really the best part of all, isn’t it? 🙂
I’m filing this one under From Crap to Clean. I think it’s time we fired up these cleaning posts again! Are you up for the challenge again too?
The site you came across on Facebook was awesome! It’s a fantastic way to go when you want to purge. And making more room for more creative endeavors in the future is a win/win. Good for you Donna!
Wow! Congrats on your sale success :). I forgot to chime in on your other post, but please know you and your family remain in my thoughts and prayers ❤️?
I’ve just been giving everything away.. I may have to look at an auction site for the rest. Years ago I used Ebay and had great luck with that even as pick up bidding.
Congrats on cleaning out- feels great doesn’t it?
Oh this post was just for me today. I have so many things I need to sell and I have been a bit afraid to start it but I think I will start looking into what I can do here. Thanks for the idea.
Thanks for the motivation! Yes, I have stuff that needs to find another home, and I have been thinking about selling on line vs. a yard sale. And because I live far away from you – I can’t bid on your stuff!! Ha!
p.s. Still keeping you in prayer 🙂
Thanks sweets, you inspire more then you will ever know. Hang in there my friend, we all have ” stuff” in life we need to go through?
What a great idea! Unfortunately I’m in the “collecting mode”. Our church’s huge (and I mean HUGE) rummage sale is in a couple weeks. I’m one of the co-chairs of the sale (that’s a loooong story – lol) and I always seem to see treasures on the last day that I just can’t bear to see no one buy. I’m going to have to search FB and see if there’s a similar site around me. My mantra should be: Keep the Memories, Dump the Junk! Have a great day!!!!
WOW!! GREAT PRICES and Stuff! I wanna live close to You!:-)
What a great way to unload some of your fabulous treasures you no longer need. I’d be in trouble if I lived closer. I’m going through the same “need to purge” process and it feels SO good to let it go!!! I hear ya.
I get so excited when I start to declutter. It makes the thoughts in my brain settle down and I get such a feeling of peace. It’s also a way of at least having control in one area of your life. I love open spaces in my house. I have some cabinets with NOTHING in them. What you are doing sounds like a neighborhood Ebay! I love it!
I’ve been “cleaning up” since November of last year! :O Slowly but firmly, I’ve been keeping only what’s necessary, and been giving out what we no longer use. There isn’t such bidding site here in Guatemala, nor anything close to it, so one gives out to those needing it (or sell it if you have the courage and attitude… in comes mother, ’cause I just can’t). It has taken time, since there are certain family members that find purging just too difficult, but they have slowly found the fun of it, and the advantages. And it is true… it is great to have more room and things more organized. Regular cleaning is much, much easier.
Good luck! and keep up the selling fun 🙂
We have a facebook auction in our area and it is ran similar to yours. You post as many pics as you want and it runs min. of 3 days to a max of 7 days. Highest bidder wins. That’s how I got rid of two storage sheds full of stuff. Made over a $1000 in 4 weeks. Good for you, these auctions are great and FREE and no Shipping, which is the best part!! Have a wonderful week!!
Love this idea, I am going to look into this now. Thanks so much for this post.
I had a bit of a sale going this past summer when I was clearing out some commercial property of my moms. Most of it was on FB sale pages. Didn’t want to do the garage sale/liquidation sale because I didn’t want to deal with crowds and having to tag stuff. So, I simply posted medium to large items for sale and then had small items set up around the store. When customers would come in to pick things up…..and then see all the other I was selling at great discounted prices….they would end up browsing and buying more….at better prices than a garage sale. I even dragged things from home and got a lot of that sold off too. I stayed at it for about 3 weeks and it really worked for me and I made good money from it. Now I’m hooked….and actually have to remind myself….hold up…..are you sure you want to sell that?
That’s a great site, and I’m glad that you can make money out of your treasures!
I couldn’t find a bidding site, but before we left the UK for the US I listed everything we were getting rid of on Gumtree (like Craigslist) and was pleasantly surprised at how much money we made. My husband uses Ebay for electrical items and novelty items (anyone interested in train sets from the UK from 50 years ago?) but would be pleased to find such a site here in Houston. I’ll have to ‘encourage’ him to take a look for a local bidding site as taking heavy items to the postal store gets old!
I didn’t have the energy to sell the multiple furniture items that came out of storage and wouldn’t in our new house. Goodwill and Habitat Restore collected, I got a tax receipt and hopefully someone else gets to enjoy what we donated.
That is great, i need to do this, thanks Donna.
A grand idea. I’ll check to see if we have a bidding site in Santa Rosa, CA, but I doubt it.
I have discovered lately that if I can get half-way decent money for my stuff that I love, I will sell it.
I appreciate the info and incentive!
Interesting. I’m going to see if my area does this, I’ve got lots to get rid of. What does it mean with the part about uploading more than one photo creates more than one place to bid? I don’t follow that part.
If you upload multiple photos at the same time at the start of a new facebook post, each photo comes with yet another place to comment to when you click to view said picture.
This creates confusion, as any one of these photos can host a conversation, or bid.
If you upload just one photo at the beginning of a post, there’s only one photo to bid on.
It would be best if you visited a private facebook group where pictures are uploaded. I’ll try and find a working example and tag you on it so you can check it out.