Planning: Preparing to sell Part 1

We had made a decision to rent our house which meant, all the things in the house had to go.

Deciding what to sell vs keep (to take back home)

What we sold
1) Cars
2) Kitchen appliances (mixie, magic bullet, toaster, grill etc etc)
3) Our beds (we had ikea beds so it was a no-brainer)
4) Old couch
5) hutch china
6) Kids toys
7) Car seats
8) Some decorations etc

What we kept
1) All kitchen utensils + Jars + tupperware
2) Electronics (TV, DVD player, Game consoles)
3) Selected kid toys
4) Clothes
5) Footwear
6) Selected furniture (Study shelfs, some ikea dressers)
7) Washer, Dryer and refrigerator (for the next lessee)

Selling Process:

Cars:
This was the high dollar item, i had a sedan and a SUV to sell. I couldn't sell them too early because i needed the cars till the last day. This is what i did

Checked the blue book value then ...

1) Went to CARMAX to get an appraisal ( usually a lower value)

Advantages: you dont have to repair the dings and scratches or fix anything with the car they take it as is but it is also valued as is. Usually they are the lowest estimate

2) Ad in autotrader (did not work for me ...)

3) Ad in Craigslist (Got more scammers than real folks)

4) Sulekha.com and EkNazar.com (Got some good response)
I got detailing done on the car for pictures to post.

You may not get what you want for the car ... so be MENTALLY PREPARED. Depending on your situation and time you can hold off for the best price but time is never on your side.

I finally sold both the cars to desi folks one was through sulekha and another was through friends.

I did not try E-BAY but have heard it is a great avenue as well.

Rest of the items: Craigslist
Post them early it takes time, when my friend told me this i did not take it seriously. It DOES TAKE TIME.

Things i have observed on Craigslist:
1) There is a buyer for everything provided the price is right (read low price)
2) Weekends were when most sales happened (for obvious reasons ... so post on Friday afternoon that way your post ranks high ...)
3) High dollar items face price resistance (especially above $1000.00 check competition ...)

In the end i did give ways stuff like Bread-maker, mas sager, Christmas decorations etc to my friends.