Sell or give away: what to do with what won't move

The signal: three weeks without a message

A decent listing — sharp photos, full description, price shown — that gets no messages in three weeks does not have a presentation problem. It has a price problem, or there is no market for it.

Two options: cut the price properly, or give it away.

Cut the price, but properly

A reduction of a few francs revives nothing. What does is dropping below a psychological threshold, or coming down to the level of comparable active listings — not those that have been sitting there for months at the same price as yours.

Reposting or bumping the listing without changing the price achieves nothing: the people who saw it have seen it.

When giving away is better

Give it away when:

• the item is bulky and storing it costs you space;
• its residual value is lower than the cost of getting rid of it — a paid bulky-waste collection, a trip to the recycling centre;
• it is working but out of fashion: there is no market, but there is a use;
• you are moving house and short of time.

An item given away often goes the same day. An item at twenty francs can sit there for months.

It is not a failure

Giving away an item that works means avoiding waste, doing someone a good turn, and getting your space back. The value of something you no longer use is not its price: it is the space it takes up.

How to give things away well

A “free” listing is written like any other, with one addition: be precise about the condition. An item given away is not an item whose flaws you can hide — and a disappointed buyer who has travelled twenty kilometres for nothing stays disappointed.

Also say:

• whether the item works or needs repairing;
• the dimensions, so that people come with the right vehicle;
• when people can come. It is the main cause of missed appointments.

What shouldn't be given away

An item that is broken, dangerous or so incomplete that it is unusable is not a gift: it is waste moved to someone else's home. Items that may not be sold may not be given away either.

The honest calculation

Before leaving a listing online for three months, ask yourself: what is the space the item takes up worth, and what is the time spent answering messages worth? Often, giving it away is the best price.