Selling your stuff before moving house and arriving lighter

When Matteo was offered a new job in Bari, he and Giulia said yes in a single evening. The next morning they looked around the small flat in Bologna where they had lived for six years and wondered how all that stuff had ever fitted in. The place in Bari came furnished, the removal van was priced by the cubic metre, and half the boxes they had started filling held things they hadn't touched in years. So they decided to sell their stuff before moving, keep only what they really needed, and use the money for the few things the new flat was missing.

Giulia and Matteo are made-up characters, but anyone who has moved house at least once will know the feeling. On Lendmates you can sell anywhere in Italy and ship to the buyer, so you don't have to find someone in your own neighbourhood during the busiest weeks of the year.

When to start selling before a move

The advice Giulia would give anyone is to start early. They began six weeks before the van was booked, and looking back they would have liked a few more. Some listings sell in two days, others take three weeks, and in the meantime you also have bills to close and boxes to pack.

Before photographing anything they went through the flat room by room with a notebook and split everything into three groups:

• things to take to Bari, the ones they used every day or cared about
• things to sell, in good shape but useless in the new flat, or not worth paying to put on the van
• things to give away to friends and colleagues, because they were worth too little for a listing

The second group ended up much bigger than they expected. And the longer they stared at the removal quote, the bigger it got.

What they sold and for how much

The flat in Bari already had a fully equipped kitchen, so the stand mixer Giulia used twice a year, mostly for Christmas baking, could go. The same was true of Matteo's 27 inch monitor, since he would have his own desk at the new office, of the floor lamp from the living room, which had no corner to live in at the new place, and of the air fryer the in-laws had given them and that never really became part of their routine.

Before setting prices Matteo looked at listings for similar items. These are the prices they usually change hands at, as long as they work and have been looked after. They are estimates, and a recent or very popular model can be worth more.

For each item they asked a little more than they really wanted, which left room for some friendly haggling without feeling short-changed.

Listing everything in one evening

One Sunday evening, with the sofa still free of boxes, Giulia photographed each item with her phone. She uploaded the photos to Lendmates and the listings practically filled themselves in. She checked them and added the details only someone who has used an item for years would know (a few marks on the air fryer basket, a stuck pixel in the corner of the monitor that only shows on a black background), then published. Four listings in just over an hour. If you want to go through every step at your own pace, there's a guide on how to sell used items online.

In every description they wrote that they would ship before the end of the month, ahead of the move. Buyers like knowing the timing, and it saved them packing the lamp twice.

Chatting with buyers and getting paid safely

Questions came in through the chat over the following days. A young man in Padua wanted to know if the monitor still had its original stand, and a woman in Naples asked how old the mixer was and whether the whisks came with it. Giulia and Matteo answered from the in-app chat without handing out their phone numbers, and a couple of times they sent an extra photo.

The woman in Naples bought the mixer. The monitor went to the young man in Padua, the lamp to a couple in Trento and the air fryer to a student in Pisa. Each time the buyer paid in the app, and the money would reach Giulia and Matteo once the purchase had gone through. They knew the people on the other side had a verified identity, and the buyers knew the same about them. In weeks that were already full of things to sort out, not chasing bank transfers or counting cash on the doorstep was a real relief.

Shipping while you pack

With tape and bubble wrap already in the house for the move, preparing the parcels was easier than they expected. The mixer went out in its original box, which Giulia had kept in the cellar, with the bowl wrapped separately. For the monitor Matteo got two polystyrene inserts from the electronics shop downstairs and protected the screen with a sheet of stiff cardboard. The courier picked the parcels up from home, one or two at a time, in the weeks before they left. For more on packing, have a look at our article on how to ship an item you sold.

Within three weeks all four sales had been confirmed, reviews included, and there was a good deal less space to pay for on the van.

Buying second hand what the new flat was missing

The flat in Bari was furnished, but not quite complete. Giulia needed a desk, since she works from home three days a week, and the tiled floors in every room made a robot vacuum very tempting. With €390 set aside they started searching on Lendmates. They found a light wood desk, 120 centimetres wide, sold by a young woman in Lecce for €70 and shipped flat packed, and a two year old robot vacuum with its charging dock for €130 from a man in Verona.

Before buying the robot Matteo asked in the chat how long the battery lasted, whether the brushes had ever been replaced, and for a photo of the robot switched on at its dock. When the parcels arrived in Bari they checked everything matched the photos, confirmed the purchases and left two reviews of their own. If it's your first time buying from someone you don't know, you'll find more tips in our guide on how to buy second hand online safely.

A drill rented for the first weekend

The last part of the story is about shelves. Giulia wanted to put up two shelves in the kitchen and a curtain rod in the bedroom, but Matteo's drill had gone in the give away pile, to a colleague back in Bologna. Buying a new one to drill six holes made little sense.

On Lendmates they found a drill driver offered for rent by a young man two blocks away. They booked it for the Saturday using the availability calendar and walked over to collect it. At handover they confirmed with the QR code, on Sunday evening they brought it back and the deposit was returned. A weekend of DIY cost them €8.

After all the selling and buying Giulia and Matteo were left with just over €180, which went on a seafood dinner by the waterfront with Matteo's new colleagues. The new flat holds only what they actually use, and for the first time in years the wardrobe closes without a shove.

Frequently asked questions

How long before a move should I start selling?

At least a month, ideally six weeks. Some items sell in a few days, others take longer, and in the final weeks there's little time left for photos, replies and parcels.

What is worth selling before moving house?

Things in good condition that you won't use in the new home, and anything that would cost more to move than to buy again. Small kitchen appliances, monitors, lamps, sports gear and kids' items usually find buyers easily.

Can I sell something now and ship it after the move?

Yes, just say so clearly in the listing and give the date from which you can ship, so the buyer knows what to expect. Often, though, it's easier to ship before you leave so you don't pack everything twice.

How do I get paid safely by a buyer?

On Lendmates the buyer pays in the app and the seller receives the money once the purchase goes through. No cash and no bank transfers to strangers, and both sellers and buyers have a verified identity.

Illustrative story. People and figures are fictional, but they reflect a typical way to use Lendmates.

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