Listing items on we all reuse is easy, deciding what to list and how to list it is much harder.
Perhaps you are having a household clearout? Maybe you have a craft hobby and want to sell what you have made?
Set aside an area for storing your we all reuse items, maybe a cupboard or shelf will be big enough.
You will need a book, word prcessing or spreadsheet program to keep your sales records in, and perhaps boxes or bags to keep the items safe and separate.

Make sure that you have checked the items for faults and that they are in a good condition and ready for sale. Be careful here as some items are better cleaned and polished before they are sold, whereas others will be ruined and worthless if cleaned - if you are not sure, check first.

The more research you can do to find out about your item the better, your local library may be a good place to start, you could search online for similar items, or even post a question on our forum.

Now you have to decide if you will sell your items singly or in one lot. If you sell the items in one lot, they may sell faster but you may get a lower price. This can be useful if you have one or two really nice items, and other bits that you just want to be rid of.

If on the other hand you have all good items, then sell them singly, and really go to town on the presentation.

It will really help to think about how your items would be presented if they were in a shop: exclusive boutique, or bargain basement?

Now you have decided how to present your items, it will be a good idea to divide the items according to how they will be sold, and photograph them.

A good small clear image is far more effective than a large fuzzy one, and will be quicker to view.

You may also find it useful to include an object in each image that gives an idea of scale, a coin or tape measure for example. This can save time when writing listings and avoid confusion.

If you need help with photographing your items, have a look at our How do I take good photographs? section.

Once you have taken the photograph, pack each item or lot into a separate bag or box, marking it clearly with a title for the item, the date, and a unique number.

If the bag or box will be the one in which you will post the item, all the better. Perhaps you could even use peel off labels, and the bag or box can then be used as a gift box or reused.

The number marked on the bag or box will be will be your personal way of identifying items, and will make record keeping easy.

Now you will need to transfer or scan your images onto your computer. Create a folder with the date in the title. This will make images easy to find and identify in the future.

Once on your computer, these will need editing, please refer to our How do I make my item images look good? section, if you need assistance with this.

Now you have all your edited images in one folder, perhaps you should rename the files? You don't have to do this, but just think how less confusing it will be if you name the images with the same number as you wrote on the box or bag.

Once you have your images in order, you can now write your item listing.

Stuck? please look at our other suggestions on this page, or use our trading guide as a reminder.

If you write your listings in a word processing program (identifying each section of text with your item number!) you won't need to be online and y6ou'll also have a permanet record of your trades. You can then copy and paste them into our listing forms as you need them.

When you are ready you can go to the sellers area and list your item. Read more about the listing process here

If you need more help, or details of how trading on we all reuse works, please check our help section.

First things first, do any of the items have makers marks, labels or patent numbers?
Are they obviously broken? How much would you pay for them?

A bit of research could go a long way here, or you could take pot luck, and list them for auction and see what happens. Remember you can always place a reserve price on an item.

The more research you can do to find out about your item the better, your local library may be a good place to start, you could search online for similar items, or even post a question on a forum.

As time progresses, we all reuse will be compiling a database of items and prices, drawn from both our auctions, and those elsewhere, which will be fully searchable by you.

If you would like to be notified about these and other developments at we all reuse why not join our mailing list?

How you use we all reuse will depend on how you use your own website.

Do you have an online store, or is your site more of an online advertisement and information centre?

Even if you have an existing catalogue or shop, you can still use we all reuse for disposing of slower moving stock or selling special lines. Never underestimate how effective auctions can be in helping you set a market price, test out new pricing and in driving sales.

Integrating we all reuse items into your website is easy, and can be done in several ways:

• Linking individual item listings into your site by copying and pasting the URL of the page into your HTML pages. Remember to remove links to your items after the sales have finished!

• Linking to your members page or store from your site.
  

We have also provided code and logos for you to use to link to us.

If you use frames or make the links open in a new window, users will not have to leave your site to view your items.

For more assitance in HTML editing, please visit the excellent webmonkey.com.

Why should I sell on we all reuse if I already have a shop?

This is a great way to sell goods that your shop would not normally stock, as well as one off items, samples and seconds..

You may well have existing customers who cannot visit your shop as often as they would like, or have asked if you have a mail order catalogue. Before you go to the considerable expense of producing a catalogue, try creating your own at we all reuse.

At your members page, your own catalogue is built automatically from your item listings. We are working on improvements to members pages, and would love your suggestions.

We are more than happy for you to advertise your shop in your item listings, all we would ask in exchange is that you mention we all reuse to your customers. We are more than happy to provide sales materials on request to lucy@weallreuse.com

Link to we all reuse by inserting the following code into your HTML.

For more assitance in HTML editing, please visit the excellent webmonkey.com.

To link to thetrade @ weallreuse homepage using this image the code will look like this:

<a href="http://trade.weallreuse.com><img src="http://trade.weallreuse.com/link.gif" width="119" height="48"></a>

To link to thetrade @ weallreuse homepage using this image the code will look like this:

<a href="http://trade.weallreuse.com><img src="http://trade.weallreuse.com/link_yellow.gif" width="119" height="48"></a>

To link to your store page using this image the code will look like this:

<a href="http://trade.weallreuse.com/aboutme.php?userid=custn"><img src="http://trade.weallreuse.com/link2.gif" width="119" height="68"></a>

Please change the custn to your we all reuse user ID.

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To link to your store page using this image the code will look like this:

<a href="http://trade.weallreuse.com/aboutme.php?userid=custn"><img src="http://trade.weallreuse.com/images/link2.gif" width="119" height="68"></a>

Please change the custn to your we all reuse user ID.

You may like to bear the following in mind:

• Be honest! If you don't know much about the item, say so!
  You can always ask other users on our forums to help you.
• Be comprehensive, and think about what information a potential buyer would want.
• Research your items! Have a look in your local library, bookshop or search the web.
• Be definite about what your terms and conditions of sale are.
• Include a clear photograph of your item.

The most important thing to remember is this:
the more informative your listings, the more users will trust you, and the more they will buy. Easy!

There are two main considerations here, the quality and ease of use of the equipment you are using,
and how much effort you are willing to put into preparing to take the photographs.

First things first, you will need a camera that can take good close up photographs if necessary.
You don't have to buy one - you can always borrow.

A blurry image is worse than no image at all, it can look like you have something to hide.

If you have a digital camera, then transferring images to your computer is easy. If you are using a print camera, then you will also need a scanner, a cheap one will do.

With smaller objects and a better scanner, you can even scan them directly. Place them on the scanner and experiment with placing different coloured paper or cloth in the background. Magazine and book covers may pick up a moire pattern when you scan them, try scanning at an angle of 45 degrees and then rotating - it usually works.

Whether you are using a digital or print camera, the most important thing is to learn how to use it effectively.
Many cameras have zoom settings, and you can always buy or borrow zoom or close-up lenses for SLR cameras.

In many cases, a good way to photograph is on a plain background in daylight.
This ensures an accurate rendition of colours, and pleasing lighting. Flash photography can cause nasty shadows and bleach out details.

You may also find it useful to include an object in each image that gives an idea of scale, a coin or tape measure for example. This can save time when writing listings and avoid confusion.

Try placing the item on a stand or table, if you have to prop up an item to photograph it, cover the rough supports (books, tin cans, whatever) with a draped cloth.

This is your chance to be a window dresser, so be creative! Have a look at how shops arrange items, and have a go yourself. Collect a range of props and display items, its great fun.

Once you have taken your photographs and transferred them to your computer, you now have to edit them.

Many scanners and digital cameras come with image editing software 'bundled', or you can buy your software.

Prices range from £29 to £600, so shop around and think about what features you will need.

An image management tool may also come in handy, ACDSee comes very highly recomended and is cheap.

You should now have all your item images in one folder, and can start to edit them. Before you do this, you may like to create a back up folder in case you make mistakes.

Look at each image carefully. Are there any parts of the image that you do not need? Trim them away using a crop tool, or cut and paste the part you want to keep into a new document. Next, look at the colour balance. Is the image too light or too dark? Do the colours look the same as the item itself?

Perhaps you might like to think about putting your name or your company's name and a copyright symbol at the bottom of the image. You took the photograph, so be proud of it.

If you keep your images less than 600 pixels wide then everyone will be able to see the whole image without scrolling back and forth.

It is recommended that you save your images in the jpg format, ensuring that you add the '.jpg' extension and avoid using spaces in the file names, as otherwise users may have difficulty viewing them.

On we all reuse we have a single image file size limit of 100k, so experiment with the compression settings. If your image has a lot of large clear shapes or is some kind of graphic, it may be better to use a '.gif' image.
Experiment to see which one is smaller whilst keeping the image quality.

Remember you can have more than one image for your listing.

There are no hard and fast rules on how much an item is worth. Even auction valuations are only what a buyer will pay on good day, and these can rise and fall dramatically. At the end of the day, it is what you are willing to pay that counts.

• Ask questions. The seller may be able to help you find out more about the item.
  
• Ask other users on our forums to help you.
• Research! Have a look in your local library, bookshop or search the web.
• Be definite about what you can afford to spend, and stick to it.
• Ask to see a photograph of the item if one has not been incuded.
• Ask the seller if the item is genuine.
• Ask if you can return the item if you change your mind.
• Tactical bidding (waiting until the last minute) may mean you pay less,
  although the highest bid will always win, and you may lose the item.

A good seller will be more than happy to answer questions, although they may not always know the answer.

There is no sure-fire way to tell if an item is genuine without examining it closely.
If you are concerned, a polite request to the seller may put your mind at rest.

You could ask the following:

• Where did they find or buy the item?
• Do they know where it came from?
• Do they have the original packaging?
• Is the item 'sold as seen' or do they have a returns policy if the item proves to be not as described?
• For newer items do they have a receipt or the original packaging?

If the the seller does not know, do not panic! Half the fun of auctions is buying an item because you like it, and then finding out afterwards whether you have the bargain of a lifetime, or just an interesting item.
Remember that reproduction items if well made can have a value too.

Atlthough we encourage the sale of all goods we will not tolerate copyright violation, pirated software or other media, and counterfeight, illegal, embargoed or stolen goods. Please see our terms and conditions for clarification.

Please report the sale or listing of such goods to feedback@weallreuse.com.

Searching we all reuse is easy, from our search page you can look in certain categories, select auction or store items, or even choose a geographic or postcode search for items in your area.

There are other ways to improve your searches.

• Perhaps you should try to be less specific? A broad search may be more effective.
• Not everyone's spelling is perfect - you may find a bargain by searching for a miss-spelled word!
• If there is an alternative way of spelling a word, try it!
• Are you searching for a brand or tradename that someone listing an item may not have used?