VarageSale: If You Don’t Know, You’re Missing Out {Sponsored}

Disclosure :: This post is sponsored by VarageSale; however, I stand behind their platform 100% and will continue using VarageSale well after this post is published. Any outlet where I can earn $187 with minimal effort is a winner in my book!

Hey, VarageSale. I think I love you.

I am a shopaholic. I am not afraid to admit it. When I was working full-time, this was not a problem. Now we are a single-income family, and I have to be more conscious about what I’m spending. Last year, I started selling some of my son Ben’s gently worn items on eBay to earn Square VS logo(1)extra money so that I could feed my shopping addiction without being lectured on responsible spending. Listing the items on eBay worked for a while, but once Ben became more mobile it was a HUGE inconvenience.The listing process on eBay is time-consuming and taking a toddler to the post-office multiple times a week was more trouble than it was worth.

That is why I was excited to hear about VarageSale. I have spent the past three weeks buying and selling items through the Kenner/Metairie VarageSale Community. From the start I’ve told friends and family about what a fabulous platform it is for busy moms to make supplemental income and find great items at even greater prices.

So, what is VarageSale?

VarageSale_Nomb copyVarageSale is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell items locally. It was founded in 2012 by a mom who was having difficulties buying and selling items on another website. Luckily for her (and us), her husband is a developer, so she was able to work with him to build a more efficient platform. VarageSale is now active in over 300 communities across the United States and around the world. It can be accessed at www.varagesale.com, and is available on iOS, Android and Kindle devices.

How does VarageSale Work?

Getting Started :: Create an account. Then join your local community or communities. Currently, the Kenner/Metairie Community and the Westbank Online Garage Sale are the most local communities in the New Orleans area.

Selling :: Post items that you want to sell to the feed to make extra cash. It can be anything from clothing to decor to homemade crafts. You can even post a picture of something that you are in search of to buy used.

Buying :: Browse the feed for items being sold by other members. There is a wide range of categories (baby items, clothing, camping gear, event tickets, tools, furniture, crafting supplies, etc.). If you are interested in an item, leave a comment under the item’s picture.

VarageSale_NOMB2 copyThe Transaction :: Send a message to the user to confirm a pick up time and location. You can meet at the seller’s house or in a public place. The Kenner/Metairie Community also hosts a Swap Soiree. Every Sunday at 4:00 PM, members who are selling items line their cars in a row in the Clearview Mall parking lot by Sears. They place a sign with their names on the back of their cars. The space in front of each car is numbered in chalk so that members can easily find each other to complete transactions.

Review Your Transaction :: After you have bought/sold an item, you can leave “Praise” for a user. This lets the community know which buyers/sellers are reliable and honest.

Are there any fees associated with VarageSale?

There are ZERO fees associated with selling items on VarageSale. Compare that to the 10-50% per transaction charged by other selling outlets and you can understand why items are often sold at a lower price point on VarageSale. The sellers make the same profit (if not more) per transaction when they don’t have to pay fees, and the buyers get more for their money.  I was asked to suss out VarageSale – to examine how it works and see just how much I could get for my money. So far, I have spent $48.50. With that $48.50, I purchased 2 new outfits with tags still attached and 4 smocked outfits in excellent used condition with no signs of wear and tear. We all know how NOLA mamas love their smocking. Almost as much as we love a good deal. Spending $48.50 for clothing that could have easily cost $300 new or $120 used from other sellers is what I consider quite a deal!  Plus, with minimal effort, I EARNED $187 by selling items I no longer needed!

Why choose VarageSale?

Here are 3 reasons why this New Orleans Mom chooses VarageSale:

  1. I think it is more convenient than eBay. Listing items on VarageSale takes a fraction of the time it takes on eBay. You can easily snap a picture of an item and have it listed in under 30 seconds. Since VarageSale is local, you don’t need to buy packaging and calculate shipping. {Most sellers use recycled grocery bags for the swap.} Finally, you can control when the transaction takes place. If you only want to attend one Swap Soiree a month, you can just state in your listing that your items will only be available for pick up on a specific date.
  2. It is more streamlined than Facebook. If you are like me, then you have dozens of friends buying and selling items through Facebook groups. The items aren’t categorized well, it is hard to search for specific items, private messages get lost, and your news feed gets cluttered with questions and transactions. VarageSale is clutter-free and user-friendly. While your VarageSale account is linked to Facebook, it is a completely separate site. Personally, I appreciate this separation; my entire social circle doesn’t need to read about the john johns I’m selling over their morning coffee.
  3. I consider it more trustworthy than Craig’s List. Since you create your VarageSale account through your Facebook page, members are logging in with their real identities. You can see how you are connected to other members. In the weeks since I joined VarageSale, I have reconnected with friends from high school and college, and I even met people like my nephew’s preschool teacher! Additionally the fact that the Kenner/Metairie Community offers a group Swap Soiree in public makes me feel safe even meeting those with whom I do not have a personal connection.

VarageSale is an excellent way to earn and save money. And, best of all, it is EASY. As moms we often spend our days doing things that are hard, which makes the things in life that are easy seem so much sweeter.

If you ask me, I’d say that VarageSale is pretty darn sweet.

Marie
Marie is the owner of Little Hometown, a company specializing in locally themed baby swaddles and apparel. Prior to opening her business, Marie was a professional event planner turned stay-at-home mom. She spent nearly a decade living in New York City, where she met her husband, Jeff (a New England native). Early in their relationship, Marie told Jeff that New Orleans is the only place where she would want to raise her children. As soon as she got pregnant, they started shopping for houses. They moved back in December of 2012, welcomed their son in 2013 and their daughter in 2015. Marie now spends her days entertaining her kids with silly songs, desperately attempting to stay organized, and balance her life as a work-at-home mom.

7 COMMENTS

    • Hi Andie,

      Why not try it out? You could start by selling your jon jons and see how it goes. Maybe you’ll start finding more things to sell, little by little ending with some supplemental income that you can spend on other things!

  1. Hi Marie!
    This is Chelsea with WWL. Is the varage this Sunday as well? We are interested in covering the story this Sunday, the 22nd.

  2. Hi Chelsea!
    My name is Jessica and I am the Admin for the Kenner/Metairie Community Swap. We will be out there this Sunday and we would absolutely love for you to come check it out!
    If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me through personal messages on VarageSale!
    Hope to see you there 🙂

    • Hi Linda, nothing shows up on your facebook account. And on the VarageSale app it only shows a small thumbnail of your FB profile picture so you don’t have to worry about your privacy being invaded. 🙂

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