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While Australians do more than their fair share of waste generation, our rates of reuse and recycling are also trending upwards. If you’re looking to get in on the act and help the planet alongside your hip pocket, then selling secondhand is the way forward.

We’ve put together a bunch of ways you can join the circular economy this year- so whether it’s through hosting a garage sale IRL or posting your wares online, we’ve got you sorted.

Your First Ports of Call

Gumtree, eBay and Facebook Marketplace are the old faithfuls of the virtual secondhand selling world.

Facebook Marketplace has the advantage of being specific to your local area, as well as free to list. If a brand you’re selling is big enough, there may even be a label specific Facebook page that you can search for and advertise on. Facebook’s Nike aficionados for instance have an Aussie resell group dedicated to just Dunks sneakers. 

eBay has long been a mainstay, but 2023’s ‘Certified by Brand’ program has ensured it offers quality goods whose authenticity can be verified. The reseller now works alongside brands to offer ‘Limited Edition’ and certified merchandise that is found only on eBay. 

Gumtree is also free to use and is now associated with PayPal for that added degree of security when collecting or making payments.

Pick a Lane

Clearing out and cashing in is easy when you’re tailoring your stuff to your audience. 

Seek out sites that are well suited for your products- Etsy is perfect for creative types with its emphasis on crafts and homemade, and Discogs is the one-stop shop for environmentally mindful musos with its catalogue of used vinyl, CDs and cassettes. You can now offload your copy of ABBA’s Arrival and know that it’s going to another dancing queen across the nation while you pocket the 🎶 Money Money Money 🎶 (I’ll stop now).

For the more sartorially inclined, Vestiaire Collective is lauded for its focus on designer and luxury secondhand, while Depop is best for the fashion-forward. 

Lastly, Melbourne based secondhand clothing site Reluv embraces its sustainability ethos with textile recycling and carbon neutral shipping so you can feel good about the size of your fashion footprint.

Get up in people’s business

Have a mosey around the site first to get your bearings and see how the successful sellers market their items. You can take note of some of the key words the best sellers use and customise your listings accordingly. If you’re using commonly searched terms, your page is likely to get more hits.

Like, share and engage with the community on your platform to drive traffic to your page and see what works. If potential buyers get in contact, try to reply promptly. It also helps to provide detailed descriptions of your products too- every bit of info you provide is one less detail you’ll be messaged about; time is money too! 

Make an impact

Of course, any coverage of the secondhand selling scene would be incomplete without mentioning Garage Sale Trail and its two big weekends of garage sales in November. 

You can list your garage sale (for free!) on the Garage Sale website and drum up interest on your socials to have a successful sale day. Once you’ve registered, you’ll have access to free promo materials like posters, bunting and letterbox slips to get the word out about your sale in your local community. 

There’s no better time to clear out your closets and shift what’s in the shed when Australia is decluttering along with you in the nation’s largest treasure hunt.

Garage Sale Trail, Australia's biggest festival of pre-loved stuff, returns on 9-10 & 16-17 November 2024.

Join the waitlist to get exclusive early bird access.