Deciding what is worth selling

Almost everything in a house sells for less than the owner expects, and a fair amount of it doesn't sell at all. The useful question isn't what an item is worth, it's whether it will sell for more than the time and hassle it takes to move it. Get that straight before you take a single photo.

Do the math on your own time

One small item needs a photo, a listing, four messages and a porch pickup. That's an hour, easy. If a whole box of that stuff would bring less than an hour of your pay, it isn't a selling job, it's a donation.

Bundling changes the math. Six mismatched garden tools are one listing. Six separate listings are six hours and six no-shows. When you're tired, group things by type and sell the group.

What tends to move

• Solid wood furniture in decent shape, especially dressers and small tables.
• Brand-name tools, and anything that still uses a battery line you can buy today.
• Bikes, strollers and clean kids' gear.
• Working appliances that are recent and common.
• Instruments that still play and have a case.
• Yard and garden equipment, best listed in spring.

What sits for weeks

Upright pianos, old boxy televisions, stained upholstery, mismatched glassware and particleboard furniture that's already sagging. Exercise equipment is the classic: heavy, cheap when it was new and awkward to move. If you can't lift it alone, the pool of buyers shrinks to almost nobody.

Anything that needs explaining is a hard sell. Buyers scroll past listings that require a question, so write the flaw into the first line of the description instead of hiding it.

Price it to move on day one

Look up what the same thing has actually sold for, not what people are asking. Then price under that and say why — the scratch, the missing piece, the fact that it needs a truck. A low price on the first day gets three people messaging; a high price gets you a month of silence and a relisting.

Put a date on every item

Write a date on the tag when you list it. If it hasn't sold by that date, it goes to the donate pile without another round of debate. Without a date, the maybe pile quietly becomes the stuff you pay a mover to carry.

Sell the pile, not the pieces

On the last day, list what's left as one lot, cheap, described honestly. Somebody with a booth or a trailer will take a mixed load of household goods if the price makes the trip worth it. It's a worse price and a much better week.

That also beats paying to haul it. A bulky item you can't sell for much is still cheaper to sell than to dispose of, as long as you're honest about what it is.

The mistake is keeping a maybe pile in the garage to deal with later. Later never comes, and the pile ends up in the truck. If you wouldn't spend an hour selling it today, you won't spend one next month either.