How to sell your hair

So today I cut a foot of hair off--mostly scraggly ends, but it still feels weird. I mean, yeah, still hair to my waist, but it feels so short!

Anyway, I've been lazy and failing at life with meeting with Keith over how to sell his hair, so I'm gonna write it up here so that I can just point people at it from now on. :D





1.      Check out buyandsellhair.com. I know, I know, you're not ready to sell RIGHT THIS MOMENT, but you have to do your research first. Check out what your hair colour and length and gender sells for. It's nice to get an idea. For example, my hair as it currently stands (for the sake of this example, and with that foot gone, I'll say I'm selling 16" of virgin red hair that's 4" inches thick) would go for around $1000, based on others with similar length and such.

That means I shouldn't try and get $5000 for it, though there are always people who will go for the high end. I'm not saying don't try and get more for your hair, but ... don't be unreasonable.

2.      Do your measurements. How long is what you're willing to sell? How many inches of that would need to be cut to make it useable (nobody likes split ends!)? How much does it weigh? How thick around is it?

Potential buyers will want to know this sort of thing. They don't care if you have 7 feet of hair attached to your head if you're only selling 10 inches, you know? So bust out the measuring tape and use it! If the ends need to be trimmed, there's two ways to deal with that: you can cut them now and drop the amount you're selling, or you can disclose that in your advert and be willing to lower your price if people ask you to. It's up to you, really.

But while you've busted out that tape and are seeing how much you're selling ... take a picture. Take a few, in fact.

For weighing your hair ... get a kitchen scale. Like for herbs and stuff? Yeah. Lay down plastic on it first, but then rest just the weight of your hair on it. It's a bit hard to manage, but it is possible. Again, weight is important. Especially if you can take a picture of it. Apparently there are some shady sellers out there who will add horsehair to theirs to make it weigh more, and that's not cool. If people wanted to buy horsehair wigs, they would.

For the thickness, put it in a ponytail as tight as you can, and measure around it. My hair's about 4 inches around, which is pretty average. Again, take a picture of this.

3.      Take pictures. No, really. Take pictures. Take pictures of your hair up, take pictures of your hair down, take pictures of your hair braided, in a bun, out in the sunshine, on a cloudy day ... whatever. Take lots and lots of pictures. Potential buyers may ask for more than what you provide in your advert, and that's cool. You'll have them ready to go.

One tip, though? Never, never, never show your face in your photos. There are some really creepy hair fetish people out there who will do some really inappropriate things with your pictures if you give them that kind of ammo.

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Now, you think you're ready to sell, huh? You've reconciled the idea of cutting your hair and mailing it off to parts unknown?

Great!

Now you'll need your advert.

4.      Make an email just for the advert. No, trust me. Do it. Just ... do it, okay? Remember those creepy fetish people I mentioned above? Do you really want them knowing your personal email address?

Didn't think so.

5.      Write your ad. Include things like your hair's colour and length and thickness, sure, but that's not all. People are interested in its quality, too.

Is your hair virgin? Well, that depends--do you dye it? Blow dry it? Use a curling iron? Use a straightener? Sorry, buddy, that ain't virgin anymore. Do you smoke? Drink? Do any sort of recreational drugs? Ooh, you're out of the running, too. That's not virgin, either.

So just keep that in mind--virgin hair sells for more, because it's better quality. Disclose what makes your hair non-virgin--if it's just blow drying, or you had your hair straightened for a wedding two years ago where you also had champagne, and you've not cut your hair in that time ... just mention it. Better safe than sorry.

How often do you wash your hair? What sort of shampoo and conditioner and other products do you use? Do you exercise? Eat healthy? How often do you trim the ends? Let the people know!

6.      Put up your ad on Buyandsellhair.com. It does cost to list, so have some money handy--I'd recommend upgrading your ad so it gets featured a bit. That'll run you $24 for a 3-month ad if you do. So, not that much, really.

7.      Wait. This is the hard part. People will try to undercut your price, so know the lowest you'll go and stick by it. Know the most you'll cut, and stick by it. "It's only one more inch" can turn into shaving your head if you're not careful!

Note: people have had that happen. There's apparently a whole subculture to hair fetishism that deals with watching girls cry as their heads are shaved. DON'T BE A STATISTIC.

8.      Sell your hair! Once you and your buyer have agreed to the price and length, things get a little iffy. Some buyers will want video or photographic proof of your hair being cut--that's fine, and that's normal. They're protecting your investment, as you've protected your hair for so long.

But there's a trick to this: WAIT UNTIL YOU GET PAID. I'm not saying wait till the money's in Paypal, either--wait until it's fully cleared. There are escrow sites that can do this for you, if you both want more security than Paypal, too. A legitimate buyer will be okay with the waiting. And never accept money orders. You know the drill. It's like the Nigerian Prince if he wanted to pay you extra for hair instead of half his millions that are stuck in limbo. I actually had a lady say she was a flight attendant who would mail me the money order--her IP address pinged back to Nigeria. So ... yeah. Don't be stupid.

9.      Once that payment's cleared, cut your hair. Some buyers will have specific ways they want your hair to be cut--salons, for example. Others aren't so picky, and you can do it at home or whatever. Some, who aren't always disreputable, will have specific people they want to cut your hair. I'd still recommend going to a salon you trust, but keep in mind that people might ask for other things. Like the guy who wanted me to cut it on webcam. That's creepy. And a no.

Keep it bundled as you get it cut--ponytail, braid, whatever.  Just so it's not all over in the padded, insured, tracked envelope you're shipping it with. Give the tracking number to the buyer.

10.     Be happy! You just sold your hair for a tidy profit, and now you've got some foldin' money. Use it to take me out to dinner for giving you this awesome guide of what to do. ;)

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Questions? Ask away! That's what I'm here for!