Is there a single word (or a short expression) for selling something (usually online, like on craigslist etc., also possibly garage sales) that you don't use anymore?
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2Depending on whether you're interested in any money you might get from the process, you could either say you're monetising or recycling your unwanted possessions. If all you care about is freeing up some space in your garage / attic, you might say you're having a clear-out. Personally, I often refer to Freecycling my old tat (one man's garbage is another man's treasure trove).– FumbleFingersCommented Jun 4, 2018 at 13:40
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A good word is divest, but it doesn't apply only to items that are no longer used.– Jason BassfordCommented Jun 4, 2018 at 19:49
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3 Answers
You haven't provided sufficient context to give you much of an answer beyond generic phrases like selling used or pre-owned or second-hand items.
You could be getting rid of junk you don't want. You could be selling items that some people would consider rare finds. You could be selling items that still have lots of life and use left that shouldn't go to waste.
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"Getting rid of..." Sometimes you trash it. Sometimes you sell it. Sometimes you tell it to leave and not come back.– EllieKCommented Jun 4, 2018 at 20:46
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I don't know of any one specific word for selling a single item. Something close to what you are thinking of might be the phrase 'declutter.' If a family was going to hold a garage sale to get rid of things they really don't need anymore they might say they are going to 'declutter' the house. As in "get rid of the unneeded clutter."
I have updated my answer.
For the actual act of selling, and using as few words as possible:
"Selling your cast-offs."
The noun cast-off (as opposed to the adjective obsolete):
Something, especially a garment, that is no longer wanted.
‘I'm not going out in her cast-offs!’
While the act of selling something can have different descriptions (and you would need to clarify the intent behind it), the thing itself could be considered obsolete:
a : no longer in use or no longer useful · an obsolete word
b : of a kind or style no longer current : old-fashioned · an obsolete technology · farming methods that are now obsolete
This is not to say that if something is obsolete for you it is necessarily obsolete for somebody else. (Hence the saying "one person's junk is another person's treasure.")
answered Jun 4, 2018 at 19:23
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When I clicked on this question I thought of the same word, but I don't think it's really used with things you can hold in your hands (unless they are a piece of technology). Would you describe an old shirt as obsolete?– user3395Commented Jun 4, 2018 at 19:29
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1@userr2684291 Yes. As in "no longer useful" or "it's outlived its usefulness," as per the first sense. That's what garage sales are for—to get rid of obsolete (and now unwanted) items. Commented Jun 4, 2018 at 19:46