If you’re not careful, you might undercut yourself and lose money.

Unless you bought it used, in which case asking more than you paid for it is outrageous.

There is a concept in economics aptly named “willingness to pay.”

Put simply, it’s the highest amount a person is willing to exchange for a good or service.

For every trade, everyone has this amount.

For example, some may not be willing to spend a dime on a smartwatch.

Others may be willing topay up to 10,000.

The only thing that matters is that you find enough buyers to cover your costs.

you’ve got the option to always re-list later.

Let’s use Craigslist as an example.

Say I want to get rid of an old black leather futon.

I can search my area forsimilar futons.

I can see that similar listings are going for $150-250, depending on the features and condition.

Those listings may not sell at all.

They may be negotiated down.

However, it can give me an idea of where to pricemyfuton.

Price isn’t the only thing you should compare, though.

As financial advice blog G Margin explains,the condition of your items matter.

G Margin explains with a simple example about selling socks:

Be realistic about the condition of your item.

I ended up losing almost all of my investment after only about 12 pairs were salable.

The demand for new socks was there, the demand for used socks wasn’t.

Of course, you probably won’t be selling your used socks on eBay.

But the condition of your stuff still matters.

you’re free to sell to more people at a lower price point.

A completed listing doesn’t just say what a seller thinks something might be worth.

It says what a person actually paid money for.

WorthMonkeyprovides a similar service, but it looks beyond eBay listings.

Scanning eBay is great because you know when a particular listing is sold.

WorthMonkey, on the other hand, compares listings from Amazon, eBay, and Google search results.

It’s more likely to give you a broad view of the market as a whole.

This is also an opportunity.

Now, you have the option of choosing not to deliver, which can save you money and time.

Don’t be afraid to charge a fair fee for your time/gas.

Include the delivery option in the title itself.

If your customer chooses to pay for delivery, you’ve made a bit of extra cash.

If they’d rather pick it up themselves, they feel like they’re getting a deal.

In any situation where you might monetize your shipping, it’s a good idea to consider it.

Just be sure you’re not charging so much for deliver that you price yourself out of the market.

Of course, determining your price is only onepiece of the puzzle.

However, setting a price for your stuff is just likeany other negotiation.

Photos byKevin DooleyandBeck Gusler.