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Selling your sofa (and other household goods)
Gone are the days of placing an ad in the local shop window or trailing down to the auction house. Caroline Cooke discovers the best ways to sell your wares
EBay
EBay is still the most popular way to advertise your goods online and furniture selling is no exception. Buyers can search local listings for bulky items such as furniture and the choice is generally vast.
Why? Sellers fix the auction length, so if you want rid of your sofa in a few days, put it up for a three-day auction, stating that the winner must collect by a certain date. Expect to fetch around £100 for a sofa in good second-hand condition.
Why not? The sheer vastness of the site can mean hot competition for more common goods, so if you set a reserve price, keep it realistic.
How to: Registering is easy on www.ebay.co.uk. All you need is a digital photo of your item and list the details as you are taken through a series of questions. Then sit back and let the bidding begin.
Loot
The famous yellow paper has made its way online, and the site is definitely worth a look. It offers a smaller selection of items (22 items come up for a search for sofas), which could mean good news for a seller as there's less competition.
Why? The site has a handy mileage counter, so your buyers can see what's available for sale from one mile through to 25 miles from home.
Why not? The biggest downside is time wasters. If you are not honest in your description you could find buyers turning you down on collection. Most ads lack information compared with eBay and only three of the 22 sofas listed had a picture.
How to: Register online at www.loot.com or call 08700 43 43 43. Take a good photo so the sofa looks its best and set a realistic price - remember a bargain will get snapped up immediately. Include a thorough description of history, price when new, and anything else about condition, colour, care labels and delivery.
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