Okay, full confession, I have become a bit addicted to selling furniture online. There is a thrill involved in selling a piece. Let’s be honest, furniture is expensive and a depreciating asset. When you find you don’t need the piece anymore, selling it online is a great way to recoup some of the money. In the last few weeks, I have sold dressers, couches, mirrors, dining room tables, chairs, console tables and more online and here are a few of my tips.

Big Items are a hard sell. It makes sense since they are difficult to move. Things like couches, wardrobes and dining room tables are a hard sell. There are a number of services that can help – both Lugg and Dolly are on demand movers. You can input the pickup address and the drop-off address and how many movers you will need and you receive an estimate and can book right there. As a seller of furniture, this is a service you can add if you wanted to include delivery.

Post to all the of sites. Craigslist, Nextdoor, Facebook Marketplace, etc. You want everyone to see the item(s) and you never know which platform will reach the buyer.

Take decent pictures. Clean off the piece of furniture and put it in decent light for the picture. Just like real estate, you want it to look it’s best.

Provide Dimensions. Be sure to measure the length, width and height. This will help you and the buyer save time and energy.

Pickup. We had really great luck while selling furniture and only had one person not show up to pick up a piece of furniture. People can be fickle and flaky when it comes to picking up furniture and I find it easiest to set up pickup times through the week. Typically at least one evening night and a weekend morning or afternoon is best.

Cash only. Protect yourself and accept only cash. No credit card or PayPal or Venmo.

No Holds. A lot of people will ask for you to hold the item. I, personally, don’t. My goal was to sell the furniture for the highest amount and in the quickest amount of time. Holds could waste my time and delay getting paid (if they don’t show up or decide they don’t like the piece).

Some items have a high demand. Usually smaller items under $100 have a lot of demand and it can be overwhelming. My advice would be to post these items while you are home and can have someone buy it that day, otherwise your Facebook Messenger and email will be going off with inquiries until it is sold.

While it has been sad to see some things go, it has been fun selling items online. I have found this experience to be similar to real estate in a lot of ways – marketing, pricing and negotiation skills are needed for both. Also, it is always. a blast meeting new people!

Liz is  broker and owner of Liz Daigle Realty.

I will let you in on a little secret, I am a bookworm. Truth be told, I am more like a full-time nerd. As a kid, I used to carry multiple hardcover books to the beach on vacation. To say the least, my parents were excited to buy me a Kindle when they came out. My recent goal is to read at least one book a month and I wanted to share some of my favorites recently.

Habit. I became interested in habits recently, especially after seeing how successful people seem to have a high level of self discipline and committment. When I saw this book I was incredibly intrigued. This book creates a framework of how habits function and how to create a habit. A habit consists of a loop that contains a cue, a routine and a reward. By manipulating that loop, you can work to stop bad habits or create new good habits. Threaded in the book are useful sorties of how people have changed their own habits, ultimately, changing their life.

The War of Art. This book is one of my favorites. It is a quick but powerful read. This book works to break your internal resistance and barriers. It makes the case that the only way to success is by breaking down these mental barriers. It gives tips on how to channel your creative energy and work towards your goals to reach your fullest potential. Currently, I am reading this for a second time. It is a great book to read when in a lull or as the seasons change.

Mindshift. This book is about pushing past your mental obstacles to discover your hidden potential. At first glance, it looks a lot like The War of Art, although, it contains a lot more science and real life examples. My biggest takeaway from this book was a powerful technique called pomodoro, it is a useful way to process tasks. The concept is easy, work hard at one particular tasks for 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes, take a 3 to 5 minute break, allowing your brain to relax. This relaxation state is helpful for your brain to absorb the information. This technique has helped me stay on track and concentrate better.

Tell to Win. This book changed my marketing and conversations in my business. This book works to show how crucial it is to tell emotionally charged stories. If you are able to move others, they will be more apt to remember you and like you. The goal to storytelling is to elicit an emotional response allowing people to connect. Real estate agents are constantly marketing both themselves and their listings and have plenty of opportunities to tell a story. After reading this book, I take every opportunity to tell a story, whether about myself or the homes I am trying to sell.

There you have it, some of my favorite books that I have recently read. All four have a underlying personal and/or professional development because that is what interests me as we approach a new year. What books have you read recently?

Liz works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with LUX. Denver.