It happens to the best of us. Even if you have the largest self-storage unit available at Affordable Storage in Fall River, you might still need more space. If you don’t want to rent another space and if you absolutely don’t have any room at home, it’s time to start looking at what you’ve got in storage to see if you are willing to part with it and how much it might be worth to sell it.
Selling your belongings can be difficult. The reason why most people save things is because the items have some kind of financial, historical or sentimental value. That’s why it can be hard to part with them unless you absolutely, positively have to do it. However, if your storage space, closets, garage and attic are all filled to overflowing, it’s time to look over your belongings and do what has to be done.
Organize and Sort Your Things
The best way to get started is by organizing and sorting your things. If possible, make a couple of piles or use cardboard boxes to make sorting easier. Separate your items by the things you want to keep at home, the things you want to put in your self-storage unit for safe keeping, the things you want to throw away, things you want to donate to a local church or charity and things you want to sell. Learning how to compartmentalize things like this can help you with organization in the future as well.
Once you have everything organized, start putting things away and moving the items to “staging areas” where they can be stored, given away or sold to get them out of your house. Plan a day to take unwanted items to your local Goodwill, church or charity and try to do it all in one trip. The things that need to be thrown away can either go straight in the bin, be recycled (if they are made of recyclable materials) or taken off to the local dump.
For the items that will be going into your self-storage unit, make sure to box up the things that are fragile or need protection, using sealed plastic boxes and bins or other specialty storage items. If you will be storing furniture, consider using old quilts, packing blankets or other materials to keep items covered and safe from boxes and other items that might get stored on top of or next to them. Shelving units can be brought into your self-storage unit to help organize your items for easy retrieval in the future.
Selling Your Stuff
Experts believe that the average American household has somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000 worth of things that they could sell that they don’t even use. Thanks to websites like eBay.com and Craigslist.org, it is easy to sell the things you don’t want or need without having to take out an ad in the local paper, sell it to a pawn store at a discounted rate or spend your weekend hosting garage sales to unload your stuff.
Before you can sell your things you need to find out just how much they are worth. You might have paid $100 for that stereo system back in 1986 and think that you’re getting a good deal by selling it for $125, but it might be a collectible or rare item that could fetch hundreds of dollars more to the right buyer. Take your time. Do the research. Compare prices that things are listed at online and the prices that people actually paid for them. Just because somebody is asking $200 for the same china tea set that you have in your storage space, doesn’t meaning anyone is actually going to pay that much – especially if it’s only worth about $20 retail.
Tips for Selling Online
Some people have better luck selling things online than others. If your goal is to make more room in your storage space, then you need to learn the tips and tricks for selling stuff online. Think about what would get you to make a purchase. Studies show that a listing that includes two or more photos of an item will sell 20 percent better than a listing that only has one photo, and by as much as 70 percent better than a listing that doesn’t contain any photos.
Describe your items well. Look them up on the manufacturer’s website or visit other collector’s websites for ideas that help the item sell. This is particularly helpful with electronics where the details will really matter to the potential buyer. Also include details about the condition of the item, how it has been kept in your storage space, whether it’s been in sealed plastic boxes or a smoke-free home.
Read other ads posted by other people who are selling similar items. You will get a lot of great ideas on what to do – and what not to do – based on what you see there. Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer. Would you want to buy your items? Why or why not? Ask friends or family members to look at your listing and give you an honest opinion. Sometimes having a second set of eyes on your listing can be very beneficial.
Store Your Items Safely Until They Sell
Until you sell your items, make sure to keep them in your self-storage unit at Affordable Storage in Fall River for safe keeping. If possible, keep them in sealed plastic boxes and use packing materials when necessary to ensure that nothing gets broken or damaged when you transport them to and from your home or to the prospective buyer. If you end up needing more room, speak with a representative at Affordable Storage in Fall River for information on additional storage opportunities. They have many years experience working with customers in the Southeastern Massachusetts area and can help you find a solution to your storage space problem.