Where should I destash yarn?

February 3, 2012 6:44 AM

Destashing high quality yarn. Where's the best place to sell it online?

I have a lot of unused yarn (mostly Rowan) from when I used to knit a lot and I'd like to sell it. There's 15 balls of one variety (same dyelot/colourway), and 2-8 of other varieties.

Where should I destash to get a decent price? I'm on Ravelry, Etsy and eBay, but open to other suggestions. If you've sold yarn on Ravelry or Etsy, I'd really love to hear how long it took.

Criteria:
- It needn't be instant, but within, say, a month would be good)
- I don't mind taking decent photos or writing a good description
- I'm in Ireland
- I don't expect the full price or a profit

(I'll donate what I can't sell but it won't be my first course of action, just to preempt those suggestions. Thanks!)

posted by carbide to sports, hobbies, & recreation (11 answers total)

the message board at Knitty has a swap sub-board....
posted by Lucinda at 6:52 AM on February 3, 2012

I've only ever "sold" through Ravelry, and it took a long time. But I was unloading stuff like Knitpicks, so the demand may not have been high.

I also don't think most people on Ravelry are specifically looking to buy; the two times I got a request for something I had available, it was from someone who was "I'm one ball away from finishing and this line is discontinued HELP ME PLEEEEZE" rather than "I wanted to do a little yarn shopping to bulk up my stash". Unless you have something that's been discontinued, Ravelry may not be what you want if you want to get rid of things quickly.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:53 AM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's a destashing group on ravelry with 14k members, where you can post a new topic with a list of the stuff you're getting rid of or link to your stash page with sale items marked. I haven't sold anything there but have bought quite a bit of stuff from other users, so it does work! I see there's also a smaller group for destashes located in Europe, but it seems to be less active than the other.
posted by bewilderbeast at 6:54 AM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Came in to suggest the destashing group on Ravelery that bewilderbeast linked to. Rowan will go fast.
posted by runningwithscissors at 6:55 AM on February 3, 2012

After belated preview, I should add that my slow-sale experience with Ravelry was NOT done through the destashing group, of which I was unaware (I was just doing the usual mark-this-part-of-your-stash-available-for-trade).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:57 AM on February 3, 2012

If you haven't already, you might also check to see if there's a local (or local enough) to you group on Ravelry that allows destash posts. I mod a group for my area and we got enough requests for that sort of thing that we started a sister group solely for destash/ISO stuff.
posted by camyram at 7:09 AM on February 3, 2012

I've done the destashing group, and the usual, mark this stuff available on Ravelry, and had quite a few bites. You should be good to go with Rowan, especially in project-sized amounts.
posted by pixiecrinkle at 7:11 AM on February 3, 2012

So quick! Thank you. Advice still very welcome, of course, but I'm definitely going to start with listing my stash on Ravelry and posting in the DS group early next week.
posted by carbide at 7:14 AM on February 3, 2012

Mefi messaged you, from a fellow Paddy :P
posted by Chorus at 7:43 AM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've destashed a lot on Ravelry and bought a lot of stuff from destashes. Sometimes I just mark items in my stash as for sale, and it might take a month or two but most of them move eventually. Posting in a destash thread (brand-specific forums almost always have an ISO/DS thread) makes things move faster usually.

Sweater quantities (of sweater-appropriate yarn) seem to go quickly. Sock yarn/fingering weight seems to go faster than other stuff.

You shouldn't have trouble unloading Rowan. If any of your yarns or colorways are discontinued, you might include that fact in your stash notes. I have trouble selling stuff that can still be easily obtained elsewhere (even if my price is lower), but hard-to-find colors move much more quickly.
posted by katieinshoes at 8:58 AM on February 3, 2012

An update in case anyone's curious:

I listed it all on Ravelry initially, priced $1-2 lower per skein than online stores, and a few things moved but I decided I wanted it all off my desk sooner. They all went up on eBay at $0.99 and, nearing the end now, all of auctions are gone well over the Ravelry prices and are still rising. It's also a relief to know I can pack all of them up and make one trip to the post office, a factor I hadn't been considering.

Thanks again for the advice.
posted by carbide at 5:51 AM on February 20, 2012