Moving out of Malta? How to sell your furniture in two weeks

If you are leaving Malta at the end of a contract or a term, the things that are hardest to move, such as tables, wardrobes, sofas and a washing machine, are also the ones worth selling rather than leaving behind. This guide is the order we would do it in.

1. Start two weeks before you go

List the big pieces first: they need a van or two people to collect, so give buyers time to arrange it. Keep the bed and the kettle until the last days, and say so in the listing: “available from the 28th”.

2. Price it from what is listed, not from what you paid

Look at what similar things nearby are listed for, and price yours a little under the ones that have been up for weeks. A price on every listing means buyers can decide before they write, so you answer fewer “how much?” messages.

3. Photos that sell

Daylight, the whole item, then the details, and one photo of any mark or scratch. Listings with clear photos are more likely to sell [6]. A buyer who has seen the scratch in the photo will not be surprised when they come to collect.

4. Meet where people are

For anything you can carry, meet at a café or a parish square in daylight rather than at your flat [1]. Let them look at the item first. Hand it over only once you have been paid [1]. Tell someone where you are going.

For a wardrobe or a washing machine the buyer has to come to you, so have someone with you when they do.

5. What to do with what does not sell

Lower the price once, a week before you go. What is still left in the last days can be given away to someone who collects it.

Whatever nobody takes still has somewhere to go in Malta:

• Furniture, mattresses and white goods like a fridge or a cooker can go to a Civic Amenity Site [3]. You can only go in with a vehicle that has a WasteServ permit, which you can apply for online or by calling their freephone, 80072200 [3].
• Furniture in good condition can be left in the reuse containers at any Civic Amenity Site; it is sold on at the Reuse Centres in Luqa, Ħal Far, Mrieħel and Xewkija [2]. Electrical or electronic items are not taken.
• Most local councils collect bulky items from your door: phone yours with what you have, and they tell you when to put it out [4]. Our guide to bulky refuse in Malta has the details.

How we write these: every guide is checked against the sources above and updated when something changes.