NBAR COMMUNITY-wide online "GARAGE" SALE
happening Now - august 31
Click to visit online sales happening all over your neighborhood:
Shannon's Sale
COVID-19 has changed how we do things, so we've adapted as best we can. It's also made us realize how much the community wants to help and support us, so we're giving you some more tools to do so.
We're asking our supporters to create their own "Online Garage Sale!"
Selling items online is easy and gives you the opportunity to sell things you maybe wouldn't be able to at our garage sale normally. The garage sale typically brings in over $1,500 for us, and we're hoping to raise that much again this year through everyone's sales. We all have that "one thing" that's collecting dust, get it online and help raise some money for our kitties!
We're asking our supporters to create their own "Online Garage Sale!"
Selling items online is easy and gives you the opportunity to sell things you maybe wouldn't be able to at our garage sale normally. The garage sale typically brings in over $1,500 for us, and we're hoping to raise that much again this year through everyone's sales. We all have that "one thing" that's collecting dust, get it online and help raise some money for our kitties!
How to sell items online
List your itemsCommonly used online selling platforms: |
why have an online garage sale?
An online garage sale will save you TONS of time. In order to prepare for a traditional garage sale, you have to organize everything, put individual price tags on each item, set it up, and take everything down. And so help me if it rains the weekend you planned to host your garage sale!
With an online garage sale, you don’t have to do any setup, take down, or placing individual prices on each item. Just decide what you want to sell, how much you want to sell it for, list your ad online, and wait for someone to be interested.
Another reason an online garage sale is better than an in-person sale is because you have more than just one weekend to sell things. You can leave your items listed for sale for as long as it takes to sell them. This means the possibility of more money in your pocket. Keep in mind you may want to re-list posts every so often. Relisting will increase your chances of making a sale.
With an online garage sale, you don’t have to do any setup, take down, or placing individual prices on each item. Just decide what you want to sell, how much you want to sell it for, list your ad online, and wait for someone to be interested.
Another reason an online garage sale is better than an in-person sale is because you have more than just one weekend to sell things. You can leave your items listed for sale for as long as it takes to sell them. This means the possibility of more money in your pocket. Keep in mind you may want to re-list posts every so often. Relisting will increase your chances of making a sale.
tips for selling items
Pricing items
Take good, well-lit photos
Write detailed descriptions of the items
Exchanging goods
- A good way to find out how much to sell something for is by looking back through other posts. You can then see what similar items have sold for. This is another reason selling items online can be beneficial. Online sales make it easy to get a better idea of a good price to sell items for - you can then see what people asked for and whether or not it is actually marked as “sold”.
- You don’t want to price them so high that you don’t sell them. But, you also don’t want to price them below what you could be making and leave money on the table. Keep in mind though, people will almost always ask for a lower price than what you list. You may want to set the sale price a little higher than what you want to make for the item. That way, you have a bit of wiggle room.
Take good, well-lit photos
- You should avoid taking grainy, blurry, or dark photos of the item. Make sure it looks clean, and if possible, place it against a backdrop that makes it pop. If there are any cosmetic flaws in the item (like a small dent or area where paint is coming off), make sure you take a picture of that spot so buyers know exactly what they’re getting.
- You don’t have to be a professional photographer, but taking a high-quality photo can help sell your items much faster.
Write detailed descriptions of the items
- The more detailed you can be, the better chance you have of selling.
- Let them know it's for a charity! Often people will be more inclined to purchase an item if they know they're helping to support a non-profit.
- You should provide some detail about the items you’re selling. It doesn’t have to be a novel, but telling potential buyers about the item and why you’re selling it can be helpful. Prospective buyers may want to know measurements, whether the item is from a smoke-free and/or pet-free home, and why you’re getting rid of it. If you’ve hardly used the item and it’s basically like new, you should include that in your description. That barely touched gift from your aunt might be clutter to you, but it could be the perfect piece for someone else.
Exchanging goods
- Search for "Internet Purchase Exchange" sites in your city for safe, public locations is a great option
why can't nbar just sell my items like before
COVID-19 has forced us all to adapt to how we "used to" do things. Our traditional set-up didn't meet our expectations to ensure a safe social distance for everyone involved in the sale. Your online sale still allows you to de-clutter unneeded items and help us at the same time.
Ugh, I don't want to sell my stuff
We totally understand! If you'd rather just donate to us directly, that works too!