Your guide to Charlotte’s Facebook yard sales

Most of the time, we either throw away or donate our old stuff. Other times, objects don’t fall neatly into those categories — maybe you start some boxes for a future yard sale. But it can take quite some time to accumulate enough for a successful sale.

That’s where Facebook yard sale groups come in handy.

Charlotte has a number of good ones (most are based on geography). The groups essentially allow you to post free ads for your couch, tumbler glasses, video games or anything you deem worth at least a few bucks. The upside versus Craigslist is there is generally less anonymity.

It’s a good time of year to sell, but it’s also a great time to look for gently used items you might need yourself. I’ve scored everything from a kitchen table and buffet to Lego games and seriously discounted Pottery Barn hardware knobs. I also sold my son’s old changing table this way.

What do I need to know to get started?

Generally speaking, you need to be approved by another user to join Facebook yard sale groups. Don’t worry, as long as you seem like a normal human, you’ll get the OK. (Keep scrolling down for a list of the best Charlotte yard sale groups.)

Each group has its own set of rules, which include what types of items you can post, who has a right to the item (usually the person who comments first) and any other guidelines. These groups are generally trying to avoid spam from small business owners or people trying to make a buck by selling services.

You determine the price and whether you prefer to meet at home or a central location. Most group administrators encourage you to message them if someone is a no-show. Multiple infractions could get them kicked out of the group.

What are the downsides?

Like Craigslist, people can be flaky. The Facebook process takes a little of the risk out of that since people’s profiles usually show who they really are. Still, use common sense like meeting in a public place and being courteous to those you’re buying from.

You’ll also want to specify on your Facebook settings how often you want to hear from these groups since too many posts can get pretty annoying quickly if you’re not in active “buy” mode.

What groups should I join?

Here are some of my favorite Charlotte yard sale groups on Facebook. I recommend finding the ones closest to where you live since you would really have to love something to travel from Ballantyne to Huntersville to pick it up.

Upscale Yardsale in Charlotte: With nearly 18,000 members, new posts are always coming in. Items generally seem to follow what you would expect from the “upscale” name.

Charlotte, NC Online Yard Sales: The granddaddy of Charlotte’s Facebook yard sales with 42,000 members. This one is more all-encompassing in terms of geography if you’re willing to travel.

SouthPark Yardsale: About 6,200 members, and sellers and buyers must be willing to meet in South Park, Dilworth, Cotswold or Myers Park.

Charlotte Area Marketplace: This group with about 3,400 members is devoted solely to furniture and home décor. Your favorite vendors from stores like Blacklion will post what they have available here as well as nonbusiness types.

SW Charlotte, Steele Creek & Lake Wylie Online Yard Sale: This group is growing with 2,600 members.

One Man’s Junk Mecklenburg County: This one is an offshoot of the One Man’s Junk social selling site. It has about 8,700 members.

Huntersville No Rules Online Yardsale: Sick of rules about what you can and can’t post? This group with about 15,400 members is for you.

Matthews/Stallings/Indian Trail/Wesley Chapel Yard Sales: About 2,000 members, and buyers and sellers should be willing to meet in one of these listed towns.

Don’t see something you like? There are more groups for just about every interest. Go to Facebook’s Sale Groups page to search by topic or location.