With eBay increasing its fees all the time, I’ve been looking for other ways to sell my surplus items, and at the same time feel a little more involved in my community. If you’re looking for ways to get rid of all the baby things you’ve acquired, or just lusting after a more minimalistic household, try these techniques to avoid fees and squeeze in some much-needed socialising.

Boot sale

A good old-fashioned boot sale is great if you can handle the early start. Selling in person means you can be more flexible with your pricing, offer bundle discounts and you might even be able to arrange a swap with something you like the look of, too!

If you’re having trouble convincing the kids to depart from their items, you might be able to persuade them by offering that they get to keep the profits from the sales of their old toys, or reassure them that the money will go to something else for them to enjoy.

Arrange a swap event

This could be for anything: clothes, children’s toys, books etc. Arranging a girls get together to swap clothes is perfect for if you’ve got an event coming up like a wedding or summer party, where you can give away those clothes you’ve only worn once to a new home. If there are parents with different aged children, a toy swap could be a cheap way of getting rid of the toys your child has grown out of in exchange for something more appropriate for their age.

Use free, local selling sites

Sites like Gumtree and Shpock are free to sell items and you can set your location so you know you can potentially avoid having to sort out postage or couriers. These are perfect for selling large items like appliances or furniture, or high value products where the selling fees could be high like on eBay. If large items will be a problem either at your end or the buyer’s, refer them to Shiply and they can sort out their own delivery – just make sure you keep in touch and are available to be around when they come to take it away.

I hope this has given you a few ideas. What’s you favourite way to pass on pre-loved things?

Disclosure – this is a sponsored post