Admit it: You’ve snuck into your kid’s bedroom or playroom and discretely placed toys in a garbage bag or box, ready to haul them out of your house without your child knowing. We’ve all done it, some more than others. Although it might give you a sense of excitement to use your stealth like tip toeing skills, the fact of the matter is that if your child saw you you’d probably ditch that bag and run away mumbling something about getting carried away in your cleaning.
One one hand, if you never threw anything away you’d be one of those people featured on an episode of hoarders. You’d be that crazy lady who, instead of scooping up cat litter from every surface for possible reuse, is instead grabbing little tiny bits of Lego and cackling because all of the mess has caused you to fracture with reality.
If you do manage to grab a bag of stuff out of your kid’s room, whether that be clothes, toys, or even the coveted Lego, you don’t have to just throw it all away. No, no, you can actually sell some of this stuff for cold, hard cash. Note that I said ‘some.’ In my years of experience selling kid’s stuff, I have long since known the golden rule: Not everything is worth selling.
No matter if you are new to the world of selling items you no longer need or a jaded professional, here are a few tips to help you sell your kid’s crap for fun and profit:
- Know where to sell it: There are many places to sell online, including eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, and various classified platforms. All of these places will allow you to sell your kid’s stuff fairly quickly and easily. When I was big into selling my kid’s stuff, I started a website dedicated to it called Kidswap.ca (no longer online). Luckily, there are many, many other websites out there that do the same thing Kidswap did, but if I were you I’d stick to the large sites with a lot of traffic.
- Know how to price it: Yes, you might have paid $50 for that pretty Gap dress, but you aren’t going to get that back. Try $5 or $10. Generally it works out to be the same as if you would have taken it to a consignment store.
- Know that people are going to try to get it for less: Even when you are priced fairly, someone will still ask you to give it to them for less. I find dickering over what I feel are fair prices to be really repellent. For example, I listed a $100 exersaucer and a $50 walker on Craigslist recently. Thinking that a fair price for each was $15 (these things are in mint condition), I listed them. Low and behold, I began getting emails asking me if I would sell them both for $10! As in, $5 each. This strikes me as unbelievable, and I am still staring at both of these baby items as the stubborn mule in me refuses to just hand them off for nothing.
- Know that sometimes, it’s better to just give it away: There are so many charities out there that accept second hand items. You might find that the difficulty level of selling certain things (boxes of clothes, etc.) means you don’t have time to go through the process. I find that I give away more than I sell, and you have the added bonus of feeling good about helping others. It’s also a nice way to part ways with toys that are no longer played with, as you can tell your kid you are giving it to someone else who will love and play with it.
If you have any buying or selling (or just giving away) tips for your kid’s stuff, share in the comments below.
