So you lived in Colombia for a while, hoping to get a Migrant Visa and settle down. To that optimistic end, you dumped some of your hard-earned money into the Colombian economy by purchasing some furniture and other household items. However, harsh reality eventually slapped you in the face, leaving you no viable path forward: you have to leave the country for the time-being.

Which means you want to sell a bunch of your belongings, hoping to recoup at least half of what you paid originally.

Yeah, good luck with that 😄

1. 4 Challenges You Will Encounter When Selling Your Belongings in Colombia.
   1. Colombians With Money Likely Won’t See Your Listings
   2. Most Shoppers Want Things Free (or Almost Free)
   3. Most Shoppers Don’t Fucking Read
   4. Some Shoppers Are Timewasters
2. 4 Ways to Decrease Frustration and Increase Success
   1. Start Early
   2. Market To Other Foreigners
   3. Try MercadoLibre
   4. Prepare to Donate Some Items
3. Key Takeaway

I mean, you didn’t think it’d be straightforward, did you? But I got you, though! Here are…

4 Challenges You Will Encounter When Selling Your Belongings in Colombia.

Here are some things you MUST keep in mind when attempting to sell your stuff in Colombia.

Colombians With Money Likely Won’t See Your Listings

Upper-class Colombians (or at least those who consider themselves to be upper-class) almost never buy second-hand products. They prefer buying New. This has nothing to do with prices or quality of your items, it’s pure status-signaling, which is a core part of this shallow culture.

What does this mean for your sales, especially on Facebook Marketplace? It means that the people who CAN easily afford your low prices, won’t contact you. Instead, you’ll be swamped with poor or stingy shoppers. Speaking of which…

Most Shoppers Want Things Free (or Almost Free)

Try this drinking game: every time a shopper hits you with “Cuánto es lo mínimo?”, you take a shot. I guarantee you that within 10 inquiries, you’ll need a liver transplant 😵

You could list an item that normally sells for 100,000 COP for 50,000 COP, then reduce it further to the bare minimum of 25,000 COP (and publish “This is the bare minimum price, no less”), and they’ll still keep asking, “Cuánto es lo mínimo?”, because, well, in addition to being poor or stingy…

Most Shoppers Don’t Fucking Read

Even if you provide all the necessary details, most shoppers will NOT read them. They won’t even read the listing title or price. Instead, they’ll message you with questions about information that you already put IN THE TITLE OF THE LISTING.

This should come as no surprise, however, as the “everyday” Colombians have little education, even less Critical Thinking skills, and a tendency to be intellectually lazy (yeah, I said what I said, fucking sue me). For example, if you write “10 mil cada uno”, they cannot or will not do the simple math… they’ll still message you asking how much for TWO of those items 😠

Some Shoppers Are Timewasters

There are those shoppers who will either message you with a thousand questions and requests for more photos (even though the listing already has a dozen photos AND a link to a video showing the product completely). There are also some (worse) shoppers, who might ask you to hold the product, that they are coming to examine it and buy it… but they don’t. You might proactively message them to coordinate the visit and pick-up, and they’ll tell you they’re coming, but they won’t put down a deposit… and they still ghost. Both groups of “shoppers” are fucking timewasters.

Of course, there’s no use in complaining or issuing warnings, without offering solutions. So, here are…

4 Ways to Decrease Frustration and Increase Success

When selling your belongings in Colombia, you should:

Start Early

Due to all the above reasons, in addition to all the freakin’ public holidays in this country, it’s best to start selling your stuff EARLY. Not just a week or two early, but MONTHS early. I suggest a minimum of 3 months lead time, but 4 or 5 months would increase your chances of success.

Market To Other Foreigners

Generally speaking, your fellow foreigners have more money, therefore they are more likely to recognize your low prices, how valuable, and how well-maintained your items are. Foreigners are more direct and FAAAAR less likely to waste your time. So be sure to share your Facebook Marketplace link with as many of them as possible. Also post your link on as many Facebook Groups as possible.

Try MercadoLibre

List your belongings on MercadoLibre, where shoppers tend to be a little more serious and intentional. However, note that you’ll need a valid (unexpired) cedula to be a seller on that site.

Prepare to Donate Some Items

While your items are listed and you’re dealing with all the inquiries, go ahead and set up your Plan B: donating the items. That is, if you still can’t sell your stuff before the week of your exit from Colombia, then you’ll have to consider donating them to one of the millions of struggling families in your city. There’s no guarantee that they’ll be grateful – many Colombians, especially the pre-wall women, are entitled and ungrateful – but donating your unsold belongings beats discarding them or just destroying them out of spite!

Key Takeaway

Selling your well-maintained belongings for pennies on the dollar hurts like a motherfucker, but you should consider it a life lesson… and you should do your best to NEVER be in this position again: until you have a very good reason to put down financial roots in your host country (by doing a bunch of shopping, investing in their economy, etc.), it’s better to RENT don’t BUY. This approach will help you avoid the stress, frustration, and financial loss of trying to sell your belongings later on your way out.

Remember: I suffered, so that YOU don’t HAVE to 😅

Safe travels, folks!