Counteracting the clutter in 2023

[Squirrel]

Yes I don’t know if Vinted is as good as eBay for comparing sold prices, I haven’t used eBay for ages but it’s excellent for realistic price research!

[Dutchie]

I use Vinted loads and if I compare it to eBay, I think there isn't much difference in how much money you make. I find Vinted a lot easier to use though. Also, I never hear people talk about eBay any more but I know loads of people that do a lot of buying and selling on Vinted.

[bramblerose]

Do not use InPost locker for sending parcels. So many complaints about lost parcels. I've lost one that I bought.

I've not had issues selling but like Squizz, the money is a bonus as I just want things gone.

[Princess Morripov]

I’m using Vinted for clothes for the first time, and sticking with FB marketplace for everything else. I’ve sold loads on FB and always done well on there. I price low as my primary aim is to get rid and any money made is a bonus. I don’t want things hanging around for ages once I’ve decided they can go.

Yes! I do the same, I list most things really cheap and they usually fly off, so before you know it 10 x £10 on things that were just sitting around and you've done well.

I did a major sort on the loft yesterday but I feel much better knowing that there isn't loads of things up there that need to be sold/given away. I've got 5 massive bags of clothes and toys for the kids bank that I'm dropping off on Friday, some other bits and bobs I put on the recycle page for our village that are being collected today and some other bits to sort through and list. I feel much clearer knowing that task isn't looming over me anymore!

I sorted out all the boxes in the kids playroom last week, and Tupac's bedroom so it feels all pleasingly decluttered. I've also sorted my make up area, just need to sort through the drawers underneath. I am quite good at being ruthless with that stuff as I usually just go with the label advice (e.g. 12m) and bin if I think it's been longer than that.

[Morganna]

You are so much more efficient than I am, Pov!

I took 17 balls of wool to my knitting group this morning, in week 2 of my pledge to take in a bag every Wednesday. There is a charity shop on the way home, so if nobody takes something I can drop it off there. All of it was snapped up though, which is great, as I wasn't going to use it, and there are a few pensioners there who love knitting, but don't have a lot of money to spend on wool. It was just one carrier bag though.

Never mind, I've booked a collection for 15th, and got a fair amount done yesterday. I cleared the whole sideboard, which now has two large shallow pans in it, making some space in the kitchen. I might manage a box or two of books tonight, which will clear the kitchen a bit more. Small steps, but I'm getting there.

[ParisGal]

I don't know whether to post here or on the Roast Idiot thread. We've had literally hours of discussion and research about getting a new bank of "cupboards" with all the criteria necessary to be a TV stand that can take our large amplifier, consoles etc and be extra storage. Both of us adamantly agree that our current CD / game / DVD collection should no longer be visible and that any visible storage of that sort of media is both visually tiring and a terrible dust trap.

At lunch MrPG announces that he's been thinking about where we can store our two tall CD / DVD storage towers once we've emptied them An object has to be literally unusable for him to accept getting rid of it.

[Morganna]

Does he fancy a flat share with M?

We did exactly as you describe, and I thought that all the books and what he's for years called 'your stuff' would be able to be stored. Then he wanted a TV, so there is a huge gap in the middle waiting for him to get his arse in gear and buy one. Then he wanted his vinyl collection and CDs to go in the cupboard underneath (fair enough, but mine have all been digitised and are in boxes where I can't get at them :mad: ), there are boxes of things that are suddenly recognised as not being 'my stuff' that he hasn't sorted, but will need to go somewhere, and he still hasn't decided what he's doing with his ancient stacking music system. It is too old for Bluetooth speakers (no usb for a dongle, either) and if he thinks I'm having the MASSIVE ones he had before attached by wires draping over my new bookcases he can think again. :fee:

Oh, and I'm shopping around for a lamp stand exactly so the fucker can have a DVD storage thing so he can hang onto those and keep them near to him (mine are also in boxes out of the way), as well as having a million streaming channels :ella:

[Princess Morripov]

I am so pleased A is not permitted to have any stuff that doesn't live either in the garage or his wardrobe :lol: :kind:

That's really good about the wool though Morgs. I am so pleased about our local reuse group as it makes it so much easier to get rid of stuff that I probably would have hung onto as it's too nice for the bin, but I'm never going to use it, and there aren't any charity shops near here that aren't an absolute mission to get to, with crap parking, so it often puts me off.

[Lily]

I think Vinted is much better than eBay. I feel safer on it as a seller and am moving further away from eBay.

I take all my used make up products to Boots as they have a recycling bin.

I need to look at these videos, as I am stuck in a rut when it comes to uncluttering and have 'doom boxes' and 'doom drawers' agogo. I will tackle my granny's bureau drawers this week as I keep flinging things in them and forgetting about them.

[Princess Morripov]

I put a few of the boy's bits on Vinted yesterday and was amazed at how quickly things have sold, and the interest in other items! It also seems MUCH smoother with the postage aspect. I am definitely preferring this to eBay so far.

[Squirrel]

That’s great Pov. Was it toys or clothes? I’ve just donated a load of stuff but will try it next time.

The BHF charity collector picked ups the chest of drawers this morning so that’s another thing gone.

[FiveO'Clock]

I've just had a look at Vinted and some things are going for $1 / $5 - how do the sellers make any money?

[bramblerose]

I've just had a look at Vinted and some things are going for $1 / $5 - how do the sellers make any money?

The buyer pays the postage. So if I sell an item at £1, I make £1.

[Princess Morripov]

That’s great Pov. Was it toys or clothes? I’ve just donated a load of stuff but will try it next time.

The BHF charity collector picked ups the chest of drawers this morning so that’s another thing gone.

It was clothes, but I only bothered with the more expensive stuff to make it worth the effort, I don't think I could be arsed listing stuff for £1. Someone snapped up some really well worn Hunter wellies for £10, I was surprised they were going for that much but they went in minutes!

[Lily]

I like the fact that a buyer pays for return postage if a return is allowed - it is a lot more 'this is a secondhand marketplace, deal with it'. I do my best to avoid using eBay for clothing now: people can be sooooo quibbly about sizes and the fees eBay charge are ridiculous.

I had someone on Vinted try it on claiming jeans I sold her were 'scruffy', cheeky cow. It was clear she was trying it on because they didn't fit (despite the measurements being clear!) so I asked her for photos to confirm what she meant and she went silent. On eBay I would have been forced to accept a return and pay for the buyer's return postage.

If a secondhand clothing item doesn't fit me I just sell it on or donate to charity (unless returns are accepted). I accept that that's a risk you take.

[Texaco Shirley]

Thanks to this thread I have listed a few things on vinted (not clothes). :fc:

[Luna]

No fees and the buyer pays postage makes me use Vinted now.

[Morganna]

Postage is the drawback of buying from private sellers, I think. I am (unreasonably, I know) resentful of postage at the best of times; but when people hike up postage and claim that they have to pay for the packaging and the trip to the PO it really irritates me (you are getting rid of your old tat, so yeah, it will be a bit inconvenient) and if they then state that they will pass a receipt to the buyer so that they can follow up non-delivery I just don't bother, as it's such a red flag for unreasonable behaviour. The contract with the courier is with the person posting, not the recipient, and I just don't want that risk.

It's hilarious on Ravelry when people are selling yarn and expect to get more than they paid for it, as it is discontinued and 'has scarcity value'. Yeah, you might hit lucky if someone happens to be short of a ball of wool for something they're knitting, but the odds are against it if it's been unavailable for years. A buyer is taking the risk of there being moths, fading, smells of smoke pets or perfume, and really, nobody is going to pay over the odds to help you destash. One seller was trying to get rid of a set of needles that was available from everywhere for far less than she wanted, and when people pointed this out (nicely) she get really cross and said that they were much more expensive where she lived (in Greece, I think) and she needed to get her money back. I remained untempted at the thought of paying way over the odds, plus postage from abroad so that a stranger could break even on an ill-considered purchase.

[Squirrel]

I think the postage issue is exactly why people are saying that Vinted has got it right. The buyer selects and pays for the postage, as a seller you just have to drop the package off.

Five - as I understand it there are no fees for sellers on Vinted, the buyer pays the fee.

[Dutchie]

The postage thing is also what I love about Vinted - also, they seem to have negotiated really good deals with the various couriers, so also as a buyer you're not paying much for postage.