An Easy Way to Sell Your Stuff When Redecorating…

There inevitably comes a time in a girl’s life when she has to redecorate.

For me, that time comes around every three years. One day I’ll wake up and that piece of art I said I’d never get rid of suddenly offends me. Like, literally, I get angry when I walk past it.

But because I like to be mindful of my money and my things, I generally try to repurpose what I already have. And if I can’t repurpose it, I try to sell it. Furniture gets posted to Craigslist, and specialty items, like antiques, go up on eBay.

However, there’s that middle ground of stuff that I have nowhere to sell – nice things, like gently used bed linens, or decorative pillows, or candelabras, or table lamps.

Housewares such as these have a tendency to get lost in the fray on Craigslist, and never seem to pick up steam on eBay. I could sell them at a yard sale, but I’d have to discount them a lot to do so. I could also sell them at a consignment store, but I’d have to give up my control over them.

So you can imagine my excitement when Apartment Therapy, one of the largest online communities for home enthusiasts, recently opened their own classifieds market.

Now redecorators like myself can post their pieces of art (that aren’t really that offensive), in hopes that another local Apartment Therapy reader will fall head over heels and want to take it home.

I just posted my first item, and I have to say the interface is really user friendly. And not only am I posting to a targeted  audience, but I’m also not competing with thousands of listings since these classifieds are relatively new to the scene.  Right now there are only 11 other listings for my town, so that gives my item some pretty good odds.

Another benefit is that posts never expire. So if I wanted to, I could keep mine up until the right eyes happened upon them. Speaking of eyes, there’s also a chance someone who lives outside of my town could see my listing. The editors of the classifieds promote featured items to their front page that are visible to everyone.

Now, there are a few drawbacks. For one, there’s no telling if these classifieds will catch on and have enough of an audience to be profitable. Though I think it’s a great idea, it may take a while for others to follow suit.

Another drawback is that it isn’t totally free to use. The site works on a credit system. By signing up for an account, you automatically get  10 credits. Each listing costs 1 credit, so theoretically your first ten listings are free. They also offer other ways for you to get free credits, like by referring a friend, or uploading a picture of yourself. But beyond that, you’ll have to buy more credits for around $1 apiece.

One more thing, these classifieds are specifically only for home goods. So if you try to post other stuff to sell, like your car or CD collection, there’s a chance it will be removed by the moderators.

I’m excited to see how things turn out. If all goes well, I may need to start redecorating every two years instead.

Just kidding.

Good luck, Penny Hoarders!