Consignment Sale Secrets: Ask to Sell Your Grandma’s Stuff

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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We have had a lot of stories over the years of people selling on eBay or Facebook Marketplace or similar networks. I kind of have a soft spot for them because, you know, that's how I got my start more than 20 years ago. We have also had a few stories of consignment sellers who acquire items for sale from other people and then they manage the selling process and divide the proceeds somehow. So this story fits into that second category, consignment sales, but with a bit of a unique twist, okay? Consignment sales secrets, we're gonna call it, asked to sell your grandma's stuff.

That's because the seller here utilizes his existing relationships, especially with friends and family to source his inventory. I know there's some people out there who are interested in getting into this, who are just trying to find their way to their first side hustle. This is something very simple everyone can do. And if you have the inventory problem, which is, okay, well, what exactly do I sell? Well, this might be your answer, okay?

So consignment sales secrets, asked to sell your grandma's stuff. That's the episode coming up after this brief. Shout out to our sponsor. [Music]

Jeremy Van Der Slice and his wife were both in grad school and money was tight. Not only that, but there was also debt to pay.

Jeremy sold off all his unwanted belongings on Facebook Marketplace and eBay to raise some quick cash. He was reading the $100 startup at the time and looking for a way to keep making extra money on the side. But just as I discovered long ago, he soon ran out of unused household items to sell. Growing up, his brothers had teased him because he was always looking to make a buck. But Jeremy says he was actually risk adverse and didn't wanna start any kind of business where he wasn't certain he could recoup his costs.

Now he casually began to tell his friends and family about the money he had made selling online. And he said they could do it too. But everyone told him the same thing. They didn't have the time or the patience. That was his point of inspiration.

What do you do when you wanna have your own business but you hate taking risks? Well, you sell other people's stuff for them and you split the profits. Before long, at least twice a month, people were dropping off carloads of stuff for him to sell. Now Jeremy typically splits the money 50/50 with the owner. But he'll sometimes lower his fee to 30% for more expensive items.

Now at this point of the business, he doesn't say no to selling an item, even if it will only give him three or $4. He figures it will just take a minute or two to shoot some pictures and post the ad online. Those dollars add up and even better, after he's established a relationship with an owner, they'll often bring him a higher ticket item to sell that will make him $100 or more in no time. It's all about building trust. Now, if you'd like to try out this kind of business, what do you need to know?

First things first, since this is a relationship-based business, it's important to manage expectations. The owner of the item needs to have a realistic understanding of what it can sell for. Always discuss what they want to get for it. You might have to bring them back down to earth if their pricing is way off. And make sure you know the lowest they're willing to accept.

Buyers go to Facebook Marketplace and eBay and other channels to get a deal on something. So you have to be willing to price the item accordingly. Remember, in this situation, you're the middleman and your customer is the real seller. So any amount of money you make is a deal for you since you didn't have to pay for the inventory. Next, you'll likely be selling multiple items at a time, which means keeping good records is important, as is using a variety of financial tools like Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal.

So you can send the seller their money as soon as the item sells. Which one is best? Well, the one your customer uses or the one your client prefers. Jeremy typically works for three or four sellers at a time because he has only so much storage space in his basement. Using this strategy, he's earned as much as $1,500 in a month, all in a small amount of spare time.

And this business also gives you the freedom to grow. So if you have more space or if you want to earn more money, you can sell for more people. He recommends starting out by going through your own house, selling stuff you don't need, then moving on to friends and family who are moving or trying to declutter, especially parents or grandparents who've collected a lot of stuff over the years. Tell them how well you've done selling your own things. When they say they don't have time for it, which they will say, offer to sell their items for them and split the money.

The extra income has minimized Jeremy's financial fears. It's allowed him to take a few more chances in life. For example, it's given him the financial confidence to invest in stocks, something that seemed risky before. Also, his wife wanted to leave her job and start a private practice as a speech language therapist. Jeremy's new revenue stream has helped them take the leap and get her business off the ground as well.

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Jeremy is now branching out, helping others start their own no inventory business as one does. He's now got a Kindle book. It's called "No Overhead," a side hustle guide for turning free inventory into real money. You can find that, of course, on Amazon. We will link it up.

That book has turned into its own separate side hustle, right? All while Jeremy continues to sell for his own customers. So very easy model. I love the twist of, you know, going to your friends and family because everybody's got stuff they don't want. I mean, I've got stuff I don't want right now in my closet and I know how to sell on eBay and other platforms, but I just don't have the time or patience, just like so many other people say.

So if I had a Jeremy in my life, I would totally say, you know, take this stuff, go and do it. I think a lot of people feel that way and know people who feel that way as well. Okay, inspiration is good, inspiration with action is so much better. I hope this gets somebody out there taking action. The show notes for today, including links to everything I mentioned in the episode and more, will be at sidehustleschool.com/1774, 1-7-7-4.

Thank you so much for tuning in today. I'm here every day, so I hope you will subscribe, follow, come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You are listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the "Onward Project."