How to price used items so they actually sell

Most used items that never sell fail at the price, not the product. Here is a method that takes five minutes and survives contact with lowballers.

Start from sold, not listed

Listed prices tell you what other sellers hope. Sold prices tell you what buyers pay. A search of your item will show plenty of both — the listings that have sat for six weeks at a fantasy price are data about what doesn't work. Weight anything that sold recently far above anything that's merely listed.

The percentage-of-retail baseline

When you can't find good comps, anchor on what the item costs new today (not what you paid):

• Like new, in demand: 60–80% of current retail
• Good condition, normal wear: 40–60%
• Visible wear, fully functional: 25–40%
• IKEA-tier or heavily worn: 10–25%, and price to move

Electronics depreciate faster than furniture; anything with a battery loses value by the month. Solid wood and name-brand tools hold value better than almost anything else.

Leave room to negotiate — a little

Local buyers offer under asking on principle. Price about 10% above the number you actually want, and no more: inflated prices filter out the serious buyers who sort by price, leaving only the lowballers you padded against.

Signals you priced it wrong

• No messages in 48 hours: too high, or bad photos. Drop 10–15% — a visible price cut also re-ranks you in many feeds.
• Five “is this available?” in an hour: too low. You can't raise the price on people mid-conversation, but you can hold firm and let them compete.

Or let the data do it

Openmarket's Price Check runs this method automatically: describe the item or snap a photo, and it reads similar listings and recent sales near you, then recommends an asking price — with a ready-to-paste title and description. It shows how many nearby and sold listings the number came from, so you know it's grounded, not guessed.