6 Common Household Items Worth Selling Rather Than Giving Away
If you’re planning to move, downsize or just need to clear the clutter, some of the most common advice from organization experts is to make three piles: keep, donate or sell. But how do you decide between donating or selling?
Often, the answer lies in the matter of profit versus effort, and essentially boils down to whether one outweighs the other. However, there are some items you should almost always sell instead of donate. We spoke to several experts to get their takes on which household finds are simply too valuable not to put on the market.
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1. Outdoor Equipment
Anything you use for outdoor recreation can be pricey if bought new. If you have some of these items, they are great to sell instead of donate, especially during warmer months when people are looking to enjoy time outside.
"I am an outdoor enthusiast and my kids grow up spending a lot of quality time outside," said Thomas Sorheim, founder of Leisure Hiking. "As the kids grow older, we tend to store away lots of great outdoor equipment in the back of the garage [...] We decided to put our old outdoor equipment for sale and, in less than two weeks, we had an extra $340 in our pockets. All for stuff we even forgot we had lying around."
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2. Exercise Equipment
There’s always someone who wants to get fit but doesn’t want to buy full-price exercise equipment. If you have pieces of exercise equipment you no longer use, sell instead of donating.
"Our rule of thumb is if it’s worth more than $50 it’s worth selling over simply donating or trashing," said Kelan Kline, co-owner of The Savvy Couple. "[We] sold an old Nordic Track machine for over $450 on eBay that was just collecting dust in our basement."
3. Furniture
"Used furniture is a great sell," said Olivia Tan, co-founder of CocoFax. "There is always someone needing furniture but can’t afford to buy it brand new. Both older furniture and newer furniture will sell well if priced right. Older items are very popular with people looking for a DIY project (old oak pieces are perfect for this!) and bargain shoppers will buy the newer furniture."
4. Trading Cards
"Pokemon cards, baseball cards, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards — tons of people will toss these out or sell them for cheap when there’s actually a huge market out there for them," said Chloe Choe of Off Hour Hustle. "Many of these cards are worth in the hundreds, if not thousands. [...] If you have these and they’re in good condition, make sure you go to a local professional sports authenticator and get them graded to see how much they’re worth. You might be pleasantly surprised!"
5. Books
Some books can be resold for a profit, rather than just donating them. Here are some good ideas. For instance, vintage hardcovers are often in demand to use for decorative purposes, as their covers and spines can feature shiny print that looks great in someone's personal library. Old encyclopedia sets can also turn profits in the $100s.
However, don't sell more recently published works short, either. “If you have books that are bestsellers and relatively [new], sell them on Facebook groups for booklovers,” said Rebecca Danko of Rebi Simple Living.
6. Baby Items
“We’ve found used baby items to have a very active market on Facebook Marketplace,” said R.J. Weiss, CFP and founder of The Ways to Wealth. “This includes cribs, nursing chairs, bassinets, strollers and even in-demand toys. Furthermore, the donation centers often don’t take anything baby-related due to the liability. So selling or giving away free to a friend is the only way to avoid throwing these items away in the trash.”
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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