Help and Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? We have answers! 99% of your questions are answered here. If you can't find the answer to your question here, contact us for a response within 48 hours.

About Garage Fairy

Where do you accept orders from?

We accept orders from anywhere in the US. We are a national consignment shop.

How does it work?

1. Decide what you want to sell. Don’t worry about pictures, we’ll take them for you!
2. Ship your items! Go to our website, schedule a pickup, and print out a shipping label.
3. Receive a check in the mail few weeks later!

What is Garage Fairy?

Garage Fairy is a national online consignment service. We sell items online for you, so you don't have to deal with the hassle of selling your stuff online. We provide convenience and peace of mind at competitive rates. We are the only national online consignment service that will accept any category of item.

Do I have to pay for a Garage Fairy account?

No, your Garage Fairy account is free. You don’t have to pay to sign up.

Are you a legitimate business?

Garage Fairy is a real business, headquarted in Austin, TX. We have been featured on several credible online publications, including McCombs Today and Texas Enterprise. Please see our about us page for more information on the history of our company.

How do I know I can trust you?

This business model requires significant mutual trust and cooperation between us and our sellers. Because we split the proceeds of the sales, we act as partners in the sale of your items. In the end we all benefit from your stuff selling for as much as possible, so it is in our best interest to make you happy with our services, and for you to be as upfront as possible about the nature of your items.

Contact

What is your phone number?

Please keep in mind that issues are usually more effectively and accurately resolved by email through our contact form. If you need to talk to a live support operator, please contact us first through the web form and we will arrange a phone appointment.

What if nobody answers the phone when I call?

We may be busy assisting other customers when you call. We don’t want you hanging on the phone, so please leave us a voice mail or submit our contact form. We will respond within 48 hours.

How long does it take to get a response?

Our estimated maximum response time is 48 hours, but we do try to be faster, often times you will hear from us within minutes.

Items we resell

What items to do you consign?

We consign a wide variety of items, basically anything people will buy. To get the highest value on your consignment, we strongly recommend only sending items with an estimated resale value of at least $50, and with a total shipment value of at least $200. We specialize in higher value items and will be able to provide you the best value for high quality brands. We accept anything from designer items, collectibles, your old iPhone, Xbox, anything. Check out our hottest selling items for tips on what sells and what doesn’t .

What items do you not accept?

We accept most items in good condition, but make sure to check out our list of things that don’t sell or that sell for pennies on the dollar. Always remember that you will get the best returns for high value items. Check out our pricing structure and examples for details.

We cannot accept any dangerous or illegal items. We reserve the right to refuse dirty items, broken items, or items that do not meet our recommended resale value guidelines. If you are not sure about your item, please contact us before sending it.

What about designer items?

Designer items have a high resale value, but we strongly recommend including a receipt or other proof of purchase. We have very strict guidelines about counterfeit designer products in order to protect our reputation as a seller of quality items.

Can I send you a box full of lower priced items?

You may, however we have to cover our cost associated with shipping, storing, photographing, handling, so you will not receive as much money for lower priced items. For the best Garage Fairy experience, we recommend that each item you send us have an estimated resale value of at least $50, and your total order has an estimated resale value of at least $200. Check out our pricing structure and examples for details.

What is the minimum value of an item?

We recommend a minimum value of $50 per item. You can send us less expensive items, but your profit will be much better if you send us several high quality items to cover the overhead cost of selling. Our traders specialize in luxury, high-end brands, rare and out of print books, collectibles, and many other high quality categories.

What is the minimum value of an entire shipment?

We recommend the total estimated resale value of the items in your order should be at least $200 dollars. There is no maximum value. The Garage Fairy experience is best when you send several high quality items in one shipment.

How much detail should I provide about each item?

Try to fill in as much information as you can, and include all defects and signs of use. We need your sincere cooperation to avoid returns and penalty fees. Don't worry about photographing – we take care of that for you.

What if my item may not be authentic or original?

If you have any doubts about the authenticity of your item, please do not send it to us. We take counterfeit items very seriously because any counterfeit hurts our ability to sell actual name brand items for top prices. If you do send us a counterfeit item, we will most likely detect it during inspection at our warehouse. If a counterfeit item is sold to a buyer and then returned, we charge the seller a $30 fee on top of whatever other fees apply to the order, and we may ban the seller from doing any further business with Garage Fairy.

Do I need to include photos of my items?

You do not need to include photos your items. We take care of photographing your items for you. It's part of the service we provide. We use specialized lighting equipment and backgrounds to take clear, high resolution photos of your items, then we edit those photos to maximize clarity and make them more attractive to buyers.

What if I am a business owner with a high volume of items?

If you are a business with a high volume of items, please contact us using our contact form.

Shipment

What if I forgot to include something that I filled out in the form?

Please use our contact form and put ‘shipping – forgotten item’ in the subject line to let us know.

Can I send an order from outside the US?

Sorry, not at the moment. We hope to provide international services at some point in the future.

What if I have a lot of stuff to ship?

Great! For best results, be sure you are sending valuable items with an estimated resale value of about $50 per item. You only get one shipping label per order, so if you think your items won’t all fit in one box, limit your items to only the ones you think will sell best for now. After your first order sells, you can submit a second order with the rest of your items. If you are a business with a high volume of items, please contact us using our contact form.

Can I send more than one box per order?

No. We currently only support one box per order. We want to be sure we deliver the best experience for each customer and that means limiting the amount of items each person can send in. This policy may change in the future. For now, just send us whatever you think will sell the best, and when that order is done you can send us another order. If you believe your order is an exceptional case, please contact us and we can work something out.

Do I have to provide my own box?

Yes. At this time you need to provide your own box. We are working on easier alternatives for the future.

How big should the box be?

The box should be no larger than 20" on any side. If you have an oversized item you would like to sell, please contact us for help.

What is the status of my order?

If you have any questions about the status of your order and the items being sold, please submit our contact form and put ‘status of my items’ in the subject line for a speedy answer. Include your registration email address and order number and we’ll let you know what your status is.

Do I have to go to the post office to ship my item?

You don’t have to go anywhere, as long as you have an empty box and some packaging materials at home. We arrange for a pickup right from your door. You can schedule the time and place of the pickup when you place your order.

How should I pack my items?

Pack them well. We mean – really well. Please use bubble wrap and plenty of cushioning. If you have the original packaging – please use it and then wrap it up. We are not responsible for any damage that happens during shipping.

Do I need a label pouch for my shipping label?

No, you can just use clear tape over the label. Make sure the label is completely covered by tape before shipping.

What shipping services do you use?

We use UPS ground for shipping. We pay for your cost of shipping if your order sells over a certain amount! Please see our pricing page for more details.

Can I send many items in one box?

Absolutely! In fact, for the most profit and best experience, we recommend that your items add up to value of at least $200 dollars and at least $50 per each individual item. Customers who send us several high value items can make hundreds of dollars or more on their order.

My label has a weight on it which is far from the real weight. What should I do?

Don’t worry. UPS will charge us for the difference.

Selling your items

What is my stuff worth?

It's really hard to say what your items will sell for. Our traders do their best to present your items in their best light, but in the end your items are worth whatever other people will pay for them. Please see our pricing page to see how our fee structure determines your share of the item sales. If you want to get an estimate of what a particular item is worth, use our contact form to tell us about your item, and put 'price estimate' in the subject line.

What do you do with my items?

After your items arrive to our warehouse, we inspect your order, professionally photograph your items, enter your items into our inventory, and begin selling your items on different marketplaces to get the highest value for your items. The more detailed descriptions you provide, the better results you will receive from the service.

What happens if my items don’t get sold?

We employ professional traders with years of experience in online sales and they work very effectively to sell your items. However, on average, about 25 - 30% of items will not sell immediately – depending on what items you sent to us and how detailed and realistic your descriptions are.

If your items don’t sell within 30 days, you will be notified by email. You then have two options:

• A) You can request your items returned back. We do ask that you pay for the costs of shipping and warehouse labor in this case. Shipping, photographing, cataloging, and packing is not free. Read more about having your items shipped back to you below.
• B) You can choose to leave your items with Garage Fairy. We will find a new home for your unsellable items, donate them to a deserving charity, or recycle them for you.

For tips on what items sell best, check out our hottest selling items page.

What if I provide an inaccurate description of my item?

The vast majority of our customers are realistic and objective when describing their items to us. Please be as objective and as thorough as possible in your descriptions of your items.

If we sell your item and receive negative feedback from a buyer because the description did not match the item, it very seriously hurts our reputation as a seller of high quality items. In order to get the best prices for your items, we absolutely must stand behind the quality of our items and the accuracy of the descriptions. We may charge a fee of $30 to your account for every item which is returned or receives a negative feedback due to inaccurate description.

What if somebody buys my item and wants to return it?

We only allow returns when the description that you provided does not match the true state of the item. In such case, we will refund money to the buyer and you will not get paid for the item. Because these incidents hurt our ability to do business, we deduct a $30 restocking fee from your order and in some cases may not allow you to do any further business with Garage Fairy. That being said, we are reasonable and always try to look at both sides and treat our customers in the best possible manner, so as long as your descriptions are accurate and thorough, you have nothing to worry about!

I changed my mind! Can I have my items back?

We understand that circumstances change and we will make every effort to accomodate your request to have your items returned. To have your items shipped back to you, contact us using our contact form. Of course, we cannot ship your items back to you if we have already sold them. Any listing fees, operations fees, etc. that have already been incurred from processing your items still apply to your order, even if the items are shipped back before they are sold. Additionally, any costs for return shipping/handling will be deducted from your order. If your order doesn't have enough sales to cover the cost of return shipping, we may ask you to pay separately for the return shipping costs.

Payment

How do you calculate the price?

Please go to our online consignment pricing page for information on pricing.

How do I get paid?

We’ll send a check to your address after all your items are sold. Check our pricing page for details.

How long does it take to get paid?

It takes approximately 30– 40 days to process, sell your items, and send you a payment. You may have to wait up to a week or so for the check to reach your address after that.

What if I don’t receive the check?

If you don't receive your check within 40 days, please submit a contact form with ‘status of my item’ in subject line and we will look into it immediately.

Can I change the mailing address for the payment?

If you moved and didn’t set up a forwarding service for your mail, please contact us with your order number, old address, and new address, and we will take care of it!