Make money from hidden treasures – in your wardrobe

If you are considering a big clear-out at home, do not be tempted to fling unwanted items into landfill. 

There could be money to be made from the things you no longer need. As the saying goes ‘one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure’. 

Passing on, recycling or selling your old clothes, furniture and books is not only better for the environment – it could also boost your bank balance.

Clothing 

The wardrobe is probably the best place to begin decluttering. Taking a bag or two of unwanted clothes, shoes and coats to a local charity shop is often a good way to start. Alternatively, a car boot or local table-top sale can reap rewards. Group similar items together to shift more and boost the price.

If you have higher value items – designer labels, vintage clothing or accessories – it might be worth investigating the second-hand market.

Ebay can be successful for those with clothing and accessories with a recognisable and coveted high street brand or label. Compare other similar items on sale on the website to get an idea of what your item might fetch in the online auction. Sellers are charged 10 per cent of the sale price by eBay as commission.

If you have a particularly valuable piece of clothing or a luxury label it may be preferable to use a specialist website such as Rebelle, Hardlyeverwornit, Vestiaire Collective and Vinted.

What you could get for your unloved items 

A used Mulberry Small Bayswater handbag could fetch up to £341

• Mulberry Small Bayswater handbag – £341 (Vestiaire Collective – based on estimate and after commission taken off). Approximately £895 new. (Vestiaire Collective – based on estimate and after commission taken off). Approximately £895 new.
• Laura Ashley lined curtains – approx. £80 to £100 after commission – Curtain Emporium
• 12kg bag of old but clean clothing and accessories – £6 (Return to Earn) 
• 25 CDs – £5 to £6 on Zapper
• 5 books (mix of fiction and non-fiction, hard and paperback – £7.75 on Ziffit
• 1kg of Lego – £5 on Zapper

These help you target the right buyers – meaning you can achieve a higher price.

Fanny Moizant, co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, says designer bags always sell well with labels including Chanel, Hermes, Saint Laurent and Celine being among the current best sellers. Moizant adds that Balenciaga and Gucci are also ‘having a moment’ and have seen increased success on the website in recent months.

Savvy: Pre-owned retailer Fanny Moizant says shoes can recoup much of their price

Moizant says: ‘Bags tend to recoup about 75 per cent, on average, of their original retail value. Shoes fetch about 57 per cent, depending on the brand’s popularity. About three in ten of our items sell within the first week. We had a record sale of an item selling in 17 seconds – but that was a rare Hermes Birkin bag.’

But even if you do not have the top luxury labels, a genuine designer bag, coat or pair of shoes – and even sunglasses – could prove lucrative. Presentation is key – photograph your item from the best angle and in the best light. Think seasonal – Moizant says now is a good time for selling pieces suitable for spring – leather jackets, sweaters and ankle boots.

Be transparent and honest as a seller – this is true whatever you are selling online. There is no point in hiding any imperfections with an item as this will just cause problems later on.

Be up front with your description and declare any issues with the piece and reflect them in the pricing. Vestiaire Collective has a calculator on its website which can give an estimate of the potential sale value of your items. 

CASE STUDY: We’ve had a clearout – and ‘zapped’ all our old DVDs, books and computer games

Primary school teacher Helen Simpson, 40, started 2018 with a clearout at her home in Charlton, South East London.

As well as selling and giving away to charity old toys and clothes which her four-year-old son Noah had outgrown, Helen sorted through her own clothes. As a result, she sold a dress, leather bag and two tops on eBay for a total of £30. She then sorted the family’s book collection, DVDs, computer games and CDs with the aim of selling many online.

Box set: Helen Simpson boxed up 51 items after using Zapper

After researching the market, Helen, who is married to Dan, 42, an art dealer, chose website Zapper. She says: ‘It seemed to offer more cash per DVD than others – but I think the prices change all the time. I downloaded the app on to my phone so I could easily scan the barcodes using my phone camera.’

Helen has boxed up 51 items and will drop it at one of Zapper’s many collection points – typically local shops and newsagents. There is no charge to send items and she will receive £14.71 back. Helen says the best prices were for the Play Station games and two recent box set DVDs – at around £1.40 each. The lowest price for an old CD was 3p.

Remember, if you sell through a website, such as Rebelle or Vestiaire Collective, the company will take a cut – or commission – from your sale, typically between about 20 and 30 per cent depending on the sale value.

Bedding and curtains 

Some clothing and other textiles, such as bedding and curtains, will not be good enough to sell through an auction website such as eBay, or even for charity shops – but that does not mean they are worthless. As long as clothing and accessories are clean, and without holes or damage, the website Return to Earn pays 50p per kilogram. You need to have at least 12kg of textiles in bags before the company will collect it – although there is no charge for collection.

Smart Recycling has collection points throughout the country (see the website for your nearest). It pays for clothing and other textiles by weight and typically pays 40p per kilogram. For sheets and duvet covers it pays 10p.

Some companies will only collect from their local area, such as cashclothes.co.uk (Kent) and cash4clothes.co.uk (West Midlands) so look out for any providers operating in your area.

If you have good quality curtains you no longer need, particularly if they are a recognised brand such as Sanderson, Laura Ashley or Colefax and Fowler, there are a number of websites which will sell them on.

The Curtain Exchange based in Coggeshall, Essex, lists hundreds of pairs of second-hand curtains for sale. It takes 50 per cent of the sale price after VAT. The Curtain Emporium takes the same commission. If this seems steep it may be preferable to try eBay or Preloved.

Books and more 

There is a plethora of websites offering to buy old, good quality books, CDs, DVDs, computer games – and even old Lego. Try Ziffit, musicMagpie, Zapper and WeBuyBooks.

Enter the barcode for CDs, games and DVDS or the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) on the back of your books and the website will give you an instant valuation for your items. There is usually a minimum trading amount (£5 in the case of Ziffit and musicMagpie or £10 with Zapper). You will have to box up your items but postage is typically free.

You will usually need large volumes of books and CDs to make much money as the resale value can be just pennies per item. One CD may only be worth 20p for example. Recent book and music best-sellers are likely to fetch the highest price