Don’t Ruin Your Reputation by Selling Stinky Stuff
Written by Kelley Hopper on January 10th, 2010Going to live auctions and estate sales really gives us a view into the habits of others, sometimes good, sometimes bad. You find out what their hobbies are or were, whether or not they smoked and in many cases, what kind of pets they had. This is history at it’s best but what do you do when you purchase an item to resell then find out it is covered in pet hair or smells like 30 years of cigarette smoke?
First and foremost, if you are selling used items online, you need to let your potential buyers know everything about the item. You need to tell them if the item smells like smoke or may smell like smoke because you smoke. Let your buyers know you have pets if your keep your inventory in an area where pets are allowed. Many people these days have severe allergies and receiving an item with pet dander can set them off.
The best thing you can do when buying items that have odors is to pass them by and find another sale.
Odors can be incredibly difficult to remove from books and non-washable fabrics. Unless the item is truly valuable, you can bet you will eat up your profit in time and cleaning products getting the smell out.
I remember buying a comforter set at a live auction that had white cat hair on it. This was an extremely expensive comforter that sold retail for over $750 but I had to have it. The lady at the auction said it was almost brand new and had been on a bed in the guest room that no one had ever used. I wasn’t able to stay at the auction so I left my absentee bid with the auctioneer.
That afternoon I received a call that I had won it for $125. I brought it home and got a pet hair roller and started to clean off the hair. As I was cleaning I noticed a faint odor which my dogs were highly attracted to. I thought it just needed to be aired out so I hung it over the deck railing. Wouldn’t you know it, my male dog decided to mark his territory and wet on my expensive comforter. I ended up having to get it dry cleaned which cost $50 because they now had to get the dog odor out as well as the cat odor.
The amount of time I spent on this item plus the cost to buy it and have it cleaned was really expensive. Had I waited, several weeks later, the same auction house had six brand new bedding sets that all sold for less than $50. They were all in the original packaging and very similar to the one I bought.
Sometimes it isn’t worth buying items that have an odor. It’s is kind of gross smelling items when you are out shopping but it sure beats getting it ready to list and finding out that it smells like stale cigar smoke.
Smoke, mothballs and mildew are very difficult smells to remove. Be sure the items are odor free before you buy them to resell.
Sellers who smoke or have pets in their inventory area should disclose this to prospective buyers. Keep your inventory and packing materials in a pet and smoke free zone whenever possible. You don’t want unhappy buyers because the jacket you sold them smells like an ashtray.
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Tags: describing your item, pet hair on items, selling online, smoke smell
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