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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023 Page 11 Decluttering? BBB Tips for Selling Your Used Items Online he start of a new year is a great time to clean out your home and organize your living spaces. But what should you do with the gently used clothing, furniture, home items or electronics that you aren’t using anymore? Fortunately, online marketplaces, such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Poshmark, make it easy to sell without even leaving your home. That said, there are a few perils to selling used items online. To avoid the dangers and to successfully make sales, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) recommends the following tips. How to stay safe when making online sales • Choose an appropriate platform. Nerdwallet recommends that “before you sell stuff online to make extra money, determine the ideal venue for your goods.” There are dozens of online marketplaces to choose from, but many of them focus on a specifi c kind of used goods, such as electronics or designer clothing. Before you create an account with a marketplace, make sure it is a good fit for the kind of goods you want to sell. • Know the worth of your items and price appropriately. To determine the value of an item you want to sell, Consumer Reports suggests, search for similar items on the site where you plan to list. On auction sites, look at completed sales and pay attention to the selling price rather than the minimum bid price. If you are selling an item that was never used and is still in its original packaging, remember that technically it is still coming to the buyer secondhand, so you’ll need to charge a little less than the original retail value if you want to make a sale. • Get appraisals for high value items. If you are selling jewelry made with precious metals or stones, get an offi cial appraisal before you list or sell the items. Keep in mind that jewelers might give you a lower price quote as they intend to make profi t on a resale. If you are in possession of an antique or artwork that is worth over a thousand dollars, consider getting a written opinion on the item’s worth from a professional appraiser. This will give you a better idea of the price you should set and how much insurance you need to cover the sale. • Make a quality listing. Without a good listing, you may not sell your item. NBC News advisT es putting care into the photos you take of an item. Make sure the images are clear and accurately show the item’s color, form and other key details. You’ll also want to include specific measurements and detailed written descriptions that inform buyers of any fl aws the item might have, no matter how small. Make it clear that the price you set takes the fl aws into account. Finally, use search engine words in your item description that accurately describe the item, its aesthetic and its use to attract buyers who are actively looking for what you are selling. • Prepare items for sale. Before you pack your item for shipping, clean it thoroughly. If you are planning on selling multiple items online and want to keep buyers coming back, put some love into your packaging as well. Wrapping the item in tissue paper and including a thank you note can go a long way towards creating a returning customer. • Understand the fees. Each online marketplace has its own set of fees, which can vary quite a bit from platform to platform. Before you sign up, take some time to read the fi ne print and understand whether you’ll pay a percentage of your sale, a fl at rate or both and how the fees are collected. In addition, fi nd out how many sales each platform allows you to make each month. • Consider swapping or donating used items. If you decide not to sell an item, consider donating it or giving it away to someone who needs it. Several online sites allow you to give things away to someone who needs them for free, to lend and borrow items from others in your community and to even trade items instead of selling them for cash. Check out this list of ways to swap used items from nonprofit Green America: https://www.greenamerica. org/green-living/fi nding-useditems-online • Watch out for shady buyers. Con artists often pose as buyers in scams. Sometimes they off er to overpay for an item, but that’s not their only tactic. Beware of buyers who ask you to make transactions outside of the selling platform or those who ask for personal information, such as your banking information. • Be extra cautious when making local sales. Some platforms allow you to meet up with people in your local area to exchange your item for cash in person. While this can be an eff ective way to sell big items ~ LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR ~ Revere’s Senior Center and the Cobra effect Dear Mayor Arrigo, Is (Councillor-at-Large) Marc Silvestri’s plan likely to pass? Wondering if you’ve ever heard of “the Cobra eff ect”? Basically, it’s a tale of perverse incentive. In India under the British, there were too many cobras on the streets so they off ered to pay people to bring in cobras. This initially lowered the number of cobras but then of course people started growing them to get the payouts. They were left with more cobras than ever before. That’s not specifi cally to equate the homeless to that situation, but you will be incentivizing that lifestyle for those potentially on the edge who might otherwise have to work out garnering and gaining premises. That becomes less of a factor if there’s always a place to rest one’s head at night, respective of having gainfully accrued the work and eff ort and fi - nance to do same. Signed, Randall Bock, MD Revere, MA BBB TIPS: Five Resolutions for a Fraud-Free New Year T he loss of money and personal information, and perseverance of scammers continue with online purchase scams as the riskiest of scams. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recommends adding a few precautionary steps to the New Year's resolution list, along with the weight loss and fi nancial goals, to help make the upcoming days and months fraud-free. • I resolve to be cautious with email. Be wary of unsolicited emails from a person or a company. Remember, scammers can make emails look like they are from a legitimate business, government agency or reputable organization (even BBB!). Never click on links or open attachments in unsolicited emails. • I resolve to never send money to strangers. If you haven’t met a person face-to-face, don’t send them money. This is especially true if the person asks you to transfer funds using a prepaid debit card or CashApp. Monand avoid marketplace fees, use caution when meeting up with strangers. Don’t be quick to give them your home address; instead ask buyers to meet you in a safe place, such as outside your local police department. Never meet up alone with a buyer you don’t know. Always bring your partner or a friend to make the transaction. • Always protect your personal information. As you sell items online, keep your sensitive personal information under lock and key. Avoid communicating with buyers outside of the online platform you are using to make the sale and don’t give out your home address, phone number or email address. For more information see BBB’s New Year’s guide: https:// www.bbb.org/all/new-year-sguide ey sent to strangers in this way is untraceable, and once it is sent, there’s no getting it back. Scammers will try to trick you into panicking – so before making a move, think the situation through. Don’t fall for it! • I resolve to do research before making online payments and purchases. When shopping online, or if asked to make a payment online, research the retailer before entering payment information. Ask: Is this a person or business I know and trust? Do they have a working customer service number? Where is the company physically located? Would I be making payments through a secure server (https://....com)? Have I checked to see if others have complained? • I resolve to use my best judgment when sharing my personal information. Sharing sensitive personal information with scammers opens the door to identity theft. Never share fi nancial information, birthdate, address, Social Security/Social Insurance number or Medicare number with an unsolicited caller. • I resolve to be social media smart. Make use of privacy settings on social media and only connect with people you actually know. Be careful about including personal information in your profi le and never reveal your address and other sensitive information – even in a “fun” quiz. Scammers might use this information to make themselves pass as a friend or a relative and earn your trust. Also, be careful when buying products that you saw on social media. BBB Scam Tracker has received thousands of complaints about misleading Facebook and Instagram ads. To learn more about scams, go to BBB.org/ScamTips. For more info about avoiding scams, check out BBB.org/AvoidScams. If you’ve been targeted by this scam, help others avoid the same problem by reporting your experience at BBB.org/ScamTracker. CRAFT FAIR and FLEA MARKET Indoor Craft Fair and Flea Market Knights of Columbus Council 1829 57 Appleton Street, Saugus MA, 01906 Saturday, February 18, 2023 9AM - 3PM Snow date, February 25 Vendors / Table $25 Refreshments * Cash Bar * Raffles To reserve a table or more info please call Paul Giannetta 978-239-1392 Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma

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