How long should I keep inventory before getting rid of it?

[owli-37]

I have a lot of old dress shirts and polos (Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger) and I have them listed for sale on my eBay account. At what point (in days, months, or years) do I decide they won’t sell and I just donate them? I want make a smart educated decision however I am limited on space since I live with my parents and all of the items, packing and shipping supplies, and boxes take up a lot of space in the basement.

I also want to stop selling on eBay so I can do things that matter to me more. These items I have up are just for beer money. I really want to get rid of them but want to give them some time for the open market to decide for me. Maybe get through 4 seasons of listing and then donate if they don’t sell? I am already pricing them competitively.

I really just want to get items out of the house that I’ve had for awhile, but need to give myself a time table for getting rid of them so it actually gets done. I can’t accurately judge if someone will buy my items but I value my space. What should I do?

[mtgraves7984]

@owli-37 

I just checked my last 3 sales. One was listed on 5/29/22, one on 5/28/19 and one on 5/24/22. To me, it's a matter of waiting until the right buyer sits down to my item.

If I had storage problems and no desire to sell here anymore, I'd already have donated a lot of it, though. Good luck to you.

[frecklesfinery88]

Send them to a homeless shelter, donate to the VA, or another organization. Maybe a business college or something.  If you want to be done with it. Then you know it went to a good place.

Of course you could send them to Thread up or something and recoup a small amount.  That way you can be done and not look back.

Just my opinion.

Have a beautiful day!

[chapeau-noir]

For most items I have a two year span. Special items I have a longer span. I also have storage problems. You might try lots.

[murph1727]

Selling clothing is a tough market. For example-your Tommy Hilfiger shirt is up against about 3000 other listings. So unless it is something unique, these items will take a long time to sell. Also, the pictures of your shirts on the floor need work. The shirts are too far away (small) in the photo and it is difficult to see any detail.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Some items will sell if you wait long enough.

Some items will sell faster if you lower the price.

Some items will never sell.

Depends on what they are.

There is no universal time to wait. You decide based on your space available and mental state.

I give my used clothes to Goodwill and do not list them on the internet. When I decide they should be gone, I will not wait to see if some Ebay buyer wants them.

[legalbeagle52]

I think the answer to this will vary from person to person.  Depending on the items being sold, the storage space &  tolerance at keeping 'stuff' around.   I sell books & I have a lot of them!  Having downsized I have a much smaller place now & am really out of space to store things.  And I would like to clear some of it out ASAP. 

So what I do is this... I list my book at least 3 times, then I donate it.   Unless it's a more specialized book that I think will sell at a later date (some celebrity books are like that) ... then I'll put it back on the bookshelf.   If it's a book lot, then I'll mix it up once or twice, put different books together & then same thing, if it doesn't sell after a few listings, it goes as well.

If I were you and you're only doing this for 'beer' money and Ebay really isn't your thing & as you said you value your space ... then I would list it the same way I do it ... 2, 3 times  and then out the door, donate so someone else can get some good use out of it.   And you can get some of your space back. 

~Good luck!~

[oaklandmaryland]

if you have any free listings available it doesn't hurt to keep listing them. Sell items sometimes 15 years listed - just wait for the right buyer

[dbfolks166mt]

     As others noted it's a personal decision. I never list clothing items since it is an oversaturated market and the return rate tends to be very high. I do have dead stock on occasion and since I use the auction format almost exclusively I may lower the starting price on an item to a few dollars to where it is way under any similar items listed. If I sell the item and take a loss I simply write it off on the taxes. If it still doesn't sell after 3-4 times then I either pull it for awhile or I donate it to charity and take the tax write-off. 

     You could also try a yard sale or a couple of local forums like CL, even list or sell as one big lot. 

[dhbookds]

If you want to quit............just do it........don't try to drag it out to make a few bucks and having to put up with the aggravation.  Just my opinion......  haul the stuff to the nearest charity........

[mam98031]

If you want to stop selling on Ebay, then just close your listing and move onto those things you mentioned that you would prefer to be doing.  It isn't complicated.  You can close all your listings at one time in the Seller Hub and it would take literally only a few seconds to do that.

Yes, donating is an excellent option and can be a tax write off.

I hope you have fun doing your other activities and that it brings you satisfaction.

[luckythewinner]

 At what point (in days, months, or years) do I decide they won’t sell and I just donate them?

This is a bit like saying you need a vehicle and then asking whether you should get a bicycle or a dump truck. It all depends upon what your personal needs and goals are (and perhaps whether you have enough room to store it.)

I have items that sold after an hour of being listed, and items that have been listed for a decade before they sold. So personally, I tend to leave them up forever because it costs me nothing to do so. 

[deltilogical]

If you really want to move them along and are just looking for beer money, why not just run them as auctions at a ridiculously low starting price.  

***Just make sure you capture all the fees and shipping in your start price or broken out shipping cost.****

After a couple of run throughs you'll realize if no one wants them.   

[fashunu4eeuh]

You sound like you are ready for a change. 

I agree with @dbfolks166mt ‘s suggestion.  Having a yard sale is a good option, if your community allows them.. It’s one way to dispose of your goods quickly, while still making a little money.

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @owli-37 

-Get rid of HALF your inventory, do a yard sale in early MAY and what doesn't sell put in your car and take it to donate.  

-Next, thin out your packing supplies since you won't need as many with the reduced inventory

-Try to keep what you think has a better chance of Selling on eBay

-Don't drink beer, then you don't have to sell as much OR you will have more money to spend on other things

-Consider trying to sell smaller items that don't take up as much space compared to clothing.

-Pick a specific date to stop Selling and work towards that