Hair Selling Information for Mom

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#                           Hair Selling Information:                          #
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Katu's Note: A lot of this isn't exactly groundbreaking information, but I'm being thorough.

# ------------------- Things to note in your descriptions: ------------------- #

- Hair curl level, thickness, texture etc.
- Hair color and color distribution. (As a note, one comment I read said that fully grey hair is quite valuable, but "salt and pepper" is still good. You're obviously somewhere in between, so don't discount yourself for something that might be an asset!)
- Presence of any layers vs same length throughout.
- Split ends or not.
- Disclose smoker status.

# --------------------------- Cutting-related Tips: -------------------------- #

- Don't cut before you receive payment (and it's cleared the bank).
- Take pictures of your hair looking its best, both down and in a ponytail. They suggest including a tape measure in at least one photo.
- Use mild shampoo without sulfates, two weeks or so before cutting. I can get you some product recommendations that won't break your bank, just let me know.
- Hair must be completely dry when cut. Avoid smoking during the time between your last shower and your haircut.
- You might want to separate your hair into 2-3 ponytails to ensure a mostly-even length throughout.
- Use rubber bands instead of hair ties. It's possible they meant this colloquially, and intended a hair tie. However, maybe rubber bands are grippier and therefore better? idk.
- Cut hair approximately 1 1/2" above rubber band.
- Put hair in tissue or baggie.
- Any hair that is loose (not rubberbanded), is scooped up off of the floor or was not included in the original rubberbanded ponytail and is then added to your ponytail disqualifies the ENTIRE bundle of hair for selling. (according to one website)

# ---------------------------------- Money: ---------------------------------- #

- "The average person" can earn $50-$400, depending on factors like color, length, health etc. One article stated she sold her own hair on ebay for $82 plus shipping (and mentions two others who got $100-150ish). Most articles mention a nebulous "some people" as able to sell for over $900, but I suspect they're all referring to the same one or two unusual cases.
- Timing and market saturation matters. Apparently sites get more ads just before or during holidays, so there will be more competition. Also, if there's oversaturation of similar hair colors, you'll have a harder time selling.
- At least one article suggests only accepting Paypal as payment, as they have fraud protections in place as long as the transaction is marked as payment for goods or services. Make sure to keep records of your listing/s (like screenshots) and all correspondence in case some whacko decides to try to file a dispute against you.

# ------------------------------ Other Articles: ----------------------------- #

- The WikiHow page on this is surprisingly informative, although it repeats a lot of what I've said here. Still, I highly recommend reading it. [https://www.wikihow.com/Sell-Your-Hair]
- Through one of the other pages, I found this guide, which has some good info in it. Again, somewhat repetitive of what I've said here, but in greater detail. [http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=63331]
- One of the pages I source to find this information, you probably don't need to read it as well, but you can. [https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money/side-gigs/sell-your-hair-on-ebay/]


# ------------------------- Potential places to sell: ------------------------ #

- Facebook marketplace/garage sale groups. I'm not so sure about the garage sale thing, but fb is a decent supplemental option because it's free. And you're unlikely to get people who only casually inquire, since it's pretty niche. Also, since you can demand payment up-front, you don't need to worry about organizing a meetup until you already have the money (and thus they're unlikely to stand you up).

- Craigslist. Kind of similar to facebook in terms of likelihood to sell, but with the additional bonus of being able to check the "in search of" ads, in case someone is specifically looking to buy. They suggest posting in the sections of multiple local cities.

- eBay. You can list it for free, and set it to auto-renew forever. However, without paying for extras to boost your listing, I'm not sure how likely it is to sell. However, it's a totally viable backup option as long as you remember to cancel it if it sells elsewhere. This article recommends beginning bidding at 99 cents (or as low as you're willing to go) and suggests putting your listing in "whatever categories other people are listing their hair in" [http://poorerthanyou.com/2014/02/05/i-sold-my-hair-on-ebay/]. This article has an example description you could take inspiration from [https://budgetboost.co/financial-confession-i-sold-my-hair/].

- Hair Sellon (https://hairsellon.com/). A 2-month ad costs $15, and it's $29 for a lifetime listing.

- Buy And Sell Hair (https://buyandsellhair.com/). A 3-month ad costs $14.50.

- Online Hair Affair (https://onlinehairaffair.com/). A 1-month ad costs $10, and for $15 you can get a 2-month listing.

- Direct sale to wigmaker or salon. Personally, this seems like a ton of work for a lower (albeit guaranteed) payout. However, if you do decide to look into this, here's a list of local places that I've contacted about buying, so you can cross them off your list:

https://naturallyyouwigs.com/
http://www.wigs4utessbeautysupply.com/
http://sharonswigsalon.com/

There may have been another, I forget. I have received two "regret" responses however, and none particularly helpful.