It’s been about three months since we moved from one house to another. We got rid of a lot of things in that move. A few things went to our nearest donation spot, while I piled up many others so I could resell them. Since then, I’ve been planning to have a garage sale “one of these weekends.” But, of course, one thing or another always happens that prevents me from preparing for a garage sale. Now, the holidays are coming, so there will be even less time for me to prepare for a garage sale.

This all got me thinking that maybe it would just be better if I took a whole day to sit down with my phone by my stacks of things to sell and used the eBay app to take pics and get the items listed. It would take a while with the amount of items I have, but at least it would only be the time spent getting them listed. I wouldn’t have to prepare AND host a garage sale, which would take a whole day (or two) out of my time. There are some other benefits I thought about that would make selling on eBay better than having a garage sale.

One plus is that with eBay, I get more privacy. I don’t have to worry about listing my home address as I would need to on a classified ad for a garage sale. Nor is there a need to provide my home address via email after being contacted with interest for an item listed on Craigslist. There’s a lot of anonymity with selling online, which I think is great since you can never be too sure these days. I can list items, answer questions, and sell, all through the eBay platform. When I ship an item, I can write my address in the return address spot, but I certainly won’t have to if I choose not to.

Another benefit is that I can reach more people by selling on eBay than through a garage sale. I’ll also be able to market my sale items by sharing them via social media. Chances are that my items would sell for more than I’d get at a garage sale too. Garage sales are known for being able to find great deals and for negotiation.

So, while I’ll probably still have a garage sale for some of the larger items that would make shipping them cumbersome, I think I’ll invest some time to list the smaller items on eBay. It’s definitely worth a try!

What has been your experience in hosting garage sales? Do you find there’s a benefit to selling on eBay in comparison?

Disclosure: ModernMami.com is a member of the eBay Parent Panel, a compensated program.

Photo: marya (emdot)