How to Price Used Items in Nigeria So They Actually Sell

Ask ten sellers how they set their price and most will say some version of "what I paid, minus a bit". That is why so many listings never sell. The buyer does not care what you paid in 2023. They care what the item costs new today, what other used ones are going for, and how much risk they are taking by buying yours.

Pricing well is not complicated, but it does take ten minutes of checking before you type a number. Here is how to do it.

The three numbers

Before you set a price, find these three figures.

1. The new price today

Not the price you paid. The price a buyer would pay for the same item, new, this week, from a shop in Abeokuta or an online store. For electronics this changes with the exchange rate, so check it on the day. If the item is no longer sold new, use the price of the closest current model.

2. The used price others are asking

Search for the same item on Cluttapp and elsewhere. Look at three or four listings in similar condition. Note the lowest, the highest and the one that looks most like yours. Under electronics and gadgets you will usually find several to compare.

3. The price the item is actually worth to a buyer

This is the number the first two point to, adjusted for your item's condition, age and what comes with it. It is usually between 40 and 70 percent of the new price for something that works well, and it is the price you should list.

How condition changes the value

The same item, at different points on its life, is worth very different amounts. A rough guide for items that work:

Condition	Description	Share of new price
Like new	Under a year old, no marks, with box and accessories	65 to 80%
Good	Normal use, small marks, everything works	50 to 65%
Fair	Visible wear, may have a replaced part, works	35 to 50%
Poor	Works but with a fault or heavy wear	20 to 35%

Two things push an item up the table: the original box and accessories, and a receipt. Two things push it down: any fault you have to disclose, and age, because buyers know a five-year-old fridge is closer to the end of its life than a two-year-old one.

For phones, battery health is the biggest single factor after the model. A phone at 90% battery health is worth noticeably more than the same phone at 78%. Our used phone checklist explains what buyers look for, which is exactly what you should mention.

Why the cheapest listing is not always the one that sells

Buyers are suspicious of prices that are too low. A phone listed far below every comparable listing reads as stolen, faulty or fake, and cautious buyers skip it. A price slightly below the middle of the market, with honest photos and a complete description, sells faster than the cheapest listing with two blurry photos.

On Cluttapp, every listing is reviewed before it goes live, and the buyer pays Cluttapp rather than the seller. That removes most of the buyer's fear, which means you do not have to underprice to overcome it.

Items that need a different approach

• Furniture and large appliances. Transport is part of the price in the buyer's mind. Cluttapp does not deliver, so the buyer has to carry the item home from the handover. Price heavy items a little lower to cover that, and say in the description if the item is upstairs or needs two people to lift.
• Clothing and shoes. The brand matters more than the condition. Unbranded clothes sell only when very cheap; branded pieces in good condition can fetch half their price. Photograph the label.
• Generators. Buyers pay for proof. A video of the generator starting on the first pull and running a load is worth a real premium. See what buyers check on a used generator.
• Textbooks. Price by edition. The current edition of a set text sells at about half price near resumption; older editions sell for much less.

Timing

Prices for student items drop at the end of every semester, when everyone is selling, and recover in the weeks before resumption, when everyone is buying. If you can, list a few weeks before the rush. The end-of-semester declutter guide covers how to plan it.

Generators and rechargeable fans sell for more during long stretches of poor power supply. Fridges and fans sell for more in the hot months. There is nothing wrong with listing when demand is high.

A worked example

You are selling a Samsung phone you bought two years ago. It works perfectly, battery health is 86%, there is a small scratch on the back, and you have the box but not the charger.

1. New price of the same model today: check a shop, say ₦300,000.
2. Used listings in good condition: ₦140,000 to ₦190,000, with the ones with boxes at the top.
3. Yours is "good", with a box, missing the charger. Around 55 percent of new: ₦165,000.

List it at ₦165,000 with the scratch photographed, the battery health stated and the box shown. It will sell before the one listed at ₦140,000 with no photos of the back.

Before you list

Set your price, then re-read the description and look at your photos as a buyer would. If the price is fair but the presentation is weak, fix the presentation first. When both are right, list the item and let the buyers compare. For the full walk-through, from cleaning to handover, read how to sell used items in Abeokuta.