GARBAGE FOR SALE?

I know you’ve seen them.  There are tons of groups and pages on Facebook for people wanting to sell and trade all sorts of stuff.  If you aren’t familiar with them (what, do you live under a rock?), it’s a virtual yard sale chock full of new and used furniture, phones, cars, houses, guns, clothes, jewelry, lawn mowers, and everything else under the sun.  The seller posts a picture of what is for sale or trade and lists a description, price, and any other details necessary.  Easy enough.

But when I scroll through the various posts and pictures of what people are selling, I’m amazed at what I   What I see is that people are trashy.  Sorry, no sugar coating it here.  People are dirty and they live in filth. Image after image shows the item for sale sitting amidst clutter and with garbage in the background.  And often, the item for sale/trade is still dusty and dirty.  For that person thinking of selling/trading online, here are a few tips that come to mind:
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Tip #1:  before you snap that picture of the bed you have for sale, clear off the bed and fix the sheets, pillows and bedspread.  I can see that you sleep under a pile of clothes, toys, and candy wrappers at the edge of your bed.  Yuck!  And if you are selling a fabric chair or sofa, do not bring it out in the yard to snap a picture.  Where the ants and bugaboos can crawl all over it and a nice layer of dust/dirt can get into the fabric.  Makes me think of that hoarders show on TV.

Bonus tip:  pick up your dirty underwear off of the floor or make sure not to include that area in the picture.  Seriously, please do this.

Tip #2:  If you plan on selling any baby items, please do not lay them on your floor to snap pictures.  This tells me that the only place in your house that is clean/clear enough to take a picture is your floor.  Also, these are baby items.  Even though I’m going to sterilize any second hand stuff I purchase, I still want my baby’s items to be as clean and sterile as possible.  Snapping photos of them on the floor hinders the sale to people like me who like clean stuff.

Bonus tip:  make sure that any shots of baby stuff do not include a dog, cat, or any other pet in the background.  Pets = germs = no sale.

Tip #3:  When selling your dining table, clear it off first so that we can see the surface.  This means removing plates left over from dinner, mail with your name and address on it, and assorted pens, scissors, etc.  Sometimes, I can’t tell what’s for sale until I read the description.

Tip #4:  Price your stuff appropriately and don’t lie about the description.  I can tell that the white laminate press wood bookshelf that you have listed as “barely used” (uh, huh) for $50 is in fact, a cheap laminate bookshelf that I can buy brand spanking new for $30.  And you wonder why your stuff doesn’t sell.

Tip #4:  “Asking $50, but will go as low as $40”.  Really?  You’re just going to put that right out there from the start?  And people are going to offer you $35.  Just saying.

Tip #5:  Please learn the difference between the word “sell” and “sale.”  It is beyond irritating to see someone post “I need to sale this item.”  Ugh!

So to sum it all up, clean your house, clean your stuff, and check your spelling and math.  You might just sell more and make more money!