Selling 2nd-Hand Furniture Online

allencat3

Registered User
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Hi, we're in the early stages of selling our house, and there are large items needing selling online - sofa, armchairs, kitchen dresser, etc. I'm aware of the websites: DoneDeal, Adverts.ie, GumTree, and FreeTrade. As I'm quite anxious of getting rid of the items as quickly as possible, which websites would be most effective and user-friendly? Many thanks, Allencat.
 
Hi,

I've used donedeal quite a lot & find it very effective. Just price the items to sell & give good quality photos, but the more sites the items are on, the more exposure they get... so if under pressure to get rid of them, advertise in a few places...
 
I have used Facebook pages for selling things, try buy and sell (your area) and see what comes up, if you have a facebook account of course
 
They are all good, although with DoneDeal you can say you want €x and someone will say I'll give you €y, which complicates things a bit. You can of course put your items on all of these sites, they are all free (but do remember to take the items down from all sites once they are sold off one).

But if you want to get rid of things quickly the 2 most important things are

(1) Good photographs - well lit, of the entire item. If it would be helpful to a prospective buyer then take a second or third picture from a different angle or as a close-up (if it wouldn't be helpful then don't bother)

(2) Accurate measurements - meaning height, width and depth.

Of course you should also give an accurate description with a bit of detail, so "Kitchen table and 4 chairs" rather than "Table and chairs", or "Three-seater sofa" rather than "Sofa". And be honest about the condition of the item too (it will be a huge waste of your time if people keep ringing you for details you could easily have put in the ad itself, or keep coming out to look at the item and then decide it wasn't what they thought it was and don't take it).

I got rid of a kitchen sink unit, a radiator, a bathroom suite, a back door and a window all in a few days while other similar items languished on the same site for weeks and I'm sure it was because I did the above. (In case you're wondering, the way to take a photograph of a window is to close the curtains and then photograph it from the outside).
 
I find Adverts.ie really good. i've always used that site for buying and selling things. I would personally avoid Gumtree as I get a lot of spam whenever i use it. I don't have much experience with DoneDeal.
 
I prefer adverts.ie too. Find it more transparent than donedeal as users have feedback ratings and reputation.
Also you can allow people to bid for an item, so if there are multiple interested parties you could get higher bids for your stuff.

Rather than taking a phone call to haggle a price you can let it happen in the comments. Alternatively you can set a fixed price.
Then you private message to arrange the sale.

With any of them, be cautious, because you can never know who's at the other end of the line...
 
Many thanks for your responses - will take on board your ideas/suggestions. Very much appreciated! ;-)
 
Be aware that plenty of people will agree a price, even ring you to arrange collection. And then never show. They will spend days negotiating prices on the website, you will agree a price, then you never hear from them again. Prepare to be amazed at this behaviour. So if someone says they are calling to collect items, get them to ring you just beforehand to confirm, or you confirm with them on the day.
 
Selling things like this online can be a pain, in particular if you have to give out your contact details or people have to call to your home to view or collect. That means they know where you live and could come back if they find any little fault. Most people are decent but not everyone.

Have you thought about using a house clearing auctioneer? I've used the one in the Royal Oak in Bagnalstown in the past. No guarantee of what you will get and you have to pay commission but once you deliver ( and some collect), your work is donw
 
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