These days, it’s easier than ever to sell stuff online. With so many great websites and apps for you to post your goods, you can make some serious cash.
However, before you post anything for sale, it’s important to understand where to sell your items and how to get the most money.
Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of the 15 best websites and apps to help you maximize your profits.
So, whether you’re looking to sell your unwanted stuff, or start your own simple ecommerce side business, keep reading!
1. Amazon
Hands down, the most popular online retailer is Amazon.
While there are lots of brand-new items available on the site, Amazon also allows people to sell used or lightly used items.
However, you should review the site’s seller guidelines to understand what items are permitted and which are not.
For example, items such as clothing, toys, and shoes must be brand new.
One catch with Amazon is that they are cracking down on stolen and counterfeit items.
So, there are some stipulations that require sellers to maintain documentation such as a manufacturer invoice or receipt from a major retailer to validate that the item is legitimate.
Unless you are a person who likes to keep the receipts for all their major purchases, you might want to find another platform. In addition, Amazon charges a small fee to list and sell the item.
On the other hand, if you’d like to start selling “new” items online, Amazon should be one of your top prospects.
2. eBay
eBay is a great option for people looking to get top dollar for their items–especially if you have an item that is rare or in high demand.
In some cases, you might get more than you were expecting if a bidding war starts.
One of the downsides to eBay is saturation in the market.
Since it’s an extremely popular site, so it may be difficult to stand out from the crowd of sellers with similar items.
To stand out, take good quality photos and put extra effort into your product description.
You need to also be sure to respond quickly to messages and questions. Buyers who receive a slow response are more likely to lose confidence and decide not to participate in the auction.
Some people have concerns about an auction-style sale because they don’t want to get stuck with a low price in the event you get only one bidder.
Fortunately, eBay allows sellers to set a reserve price. If this price isn’t met, the auction won’t go through.
You also have the ability to set a Buy It Now option for buyers that don’t want to deal with the uncertainty of an auction.
Plain and simple, if you want to sell stuff online, eBay is one of the best places to get started.
3. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is a great option if you want to sell your stuff to people in your community.
The settings default to show your listing to people within a 100-mile radius of your location, but you can adjust this.
Listing an item is free and is easy to set up. Since most people already have a Facebook account, you don’t have to worry about setting up a new account with another platform.
Once your listing is created, you can easily share it with your friends and family on your wall.
Unlike platforms like Amazon and eBay, you will need to make arrangements to meet your buyer and make the transaction in person.
You also don’t have the option to create an alias. Therefore, buyers will be able to see and possibly find your account or personal information.
For this reason, some people are hesitant to use Facebook Marketplace for selling items.
Facebook also doesn’t offer seller protection like some of the other marketplaces on this list.
4. Craigslist
Craigslist is another great alternative to target your local community.
The site is set up like a typical classified section of a newspaper. Buyers can select their area and then the service or product that they are looking for.
Craigslist also charges no fee to post most items for sale (only a select few larger items like cars or trucks have a listing fee).
One of the things that people like about Craigslist (as opposed to Facebook Marketplace) is anonymity.
The site allows buyers and sellers to communicate with each other through an alias email address instead of revealing their personal email addresses. The downside to this is that you are more likely to encounter a scammer, so, as a seller, you need to remain vigilant.
Listings are posted in order by listing date; in other words, newer listings will be placed at the top of the search results.
As more items are listed, your item will be buried in the list.
To be successful on Craigslist, you should include good quality photos and relist your item if it needs to be bumped up on the search results.
5. Offer Up
Offer Up was created as a direct competitor to Craigslist.
While it is also targeted at selling to people in your local community, Offer Up’s primary selling point is its user-friendly mobile app. This allows buyers and sellers to post and view listings from their mobile devices.
The other great feature of Offer Up is the rating system for users.
This helps both buyers and sellers feel confident that they are working with someone who has a good reputation on the site.
One of the downsides of Offer Up is the number of lowballers.
Don’t be surprised if you receive messages from buyers who want to offer 10 to 20 percent less than the listing price. Plan ahead by marking your item up a little to give yourself some negotiating room.
6. Letgo
Letgo is another great place to sell stuff online.
In fact, it is extremely similar to Offer Up (probably because Offer Up is the parent company over Letgo).
They also have a user-friendly mobile app, no listing fees, and allow buyers and sellers to negotiate anonymously. The only real difference between the two is that Letgo is more popular based on the number of app users.
Like Offer Up, you have to make arrangements to meet the buyer and complete the transaction in person.
7. Etsy
Most people think of arts and crafts when they think of Etsy.
However, depending on the items that you are looking to sell, you might be able to leverage the Etsy customer base.
The Etsy platform restricts the types of items that people can sell to homemade goods, raw crafting materials, and vintage items. This can be a great option if it’s time to let go of the old coin collection you inherited from Uncle Earl.
The only downside to Esty is that you can’t just list items. You have to set up a storefront and your traffic will depend on site ranking. You also have to pay a tiny fee to list your items.
The thing we like most about Etsy is that if you stick with it, you can make some serious money! Honestly, it’s more than possible for your Etsy store to generate a full-time income.
Interested in starting your own side hustle? Check out some of these other helpful posts:
- 10 Best Online Store Platforms In 2021
- 25 Proven Ways To Make Extra Money On The Side
- 15 Best Digital Side Hustles For 2021
- 5 Ways To Make Money Online (For Beginners)
- 18 Proven Ways To Make Money With A WordPress Blog
- How To Make Money On Fiverr (The Beginner’s Guide)
- How To Make Money With A Laser Engraver
8. Poshmark
Poshmark is a platform that specializes in the sale of pre-owned (or as they like to say “pre-loved”) clothing, accessories, and makeup items.
If you are cleaning out your closet, you will likely find items that are a perfect fit for this site, as the site gets millions of visitors looking for fashion-related items.
Poshmark also allows you to promote your listings through popular social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest.
One of the downsides of Poshmark is the high fees. The site charges a 20 percent commission for all sales over $15 (a flat fee of $2.95 is charged for items under $15).
9. Nextdoor
Nextdoor is a social media platform that is specifically designed to allow users within the same neighborhood to interact and share information.
However, the site also allows users to list items for sale, as a lot of people might feel more comfortable selling to people who live in their same community.
The downside is that your target audience will be a lot fewer people than using another site like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
10. 5miles
5miles is another alternative to Offer Up in the sense that it’s a mobile-based selling platform.
From a security standpoint, 5miles does a pretty good job verifying users’ identities, which can help both buyers and sellers feel a lot more comfortable with each transaction.
One of the downsides is that they don’t have a very good website which limits most people to the mobile app.
5miles also charges a 10% fee for items after they are sold.
11. Decluttr
Decluttr takes an entirely different approach to sell your items.
Instead of selling to another person like most apps and websites, you sell directly to Decluttr.
The site specializes in books, CDs, DVDs, video game consoles, and technology such as cell phones and laptops. They also buy LEGOs by the pound.
Once you provide information about your item, you are instantly quoted a price.
After that, all you have to do is ship the item directly to Decluttr. Their team validates that the item is in the condition that you described and releases payment.
Keep in mind that Decluttr resells these items, so you likely won’t get an extremely high price.
However, electronic items can be notoriously difficult items to sell to individuals, so the lower price may actually be worth it.
12. eBid
Like eBay, eBid features a platform that is focused on selling items at auction.
The thing about eBid is that it is lesser known, which can be a pro or con, depending on how you look at it.
On one hand, you might not get as much customer traffic, but you also will face less competition from other sellers than on eBay.
The other perk is that seller fees are significantly lower than other auction sites. You can expect to pay 10 to 12 percent on most sites. eBid has a cap on seller fees at 5 percent and offers no fees in some cases.
The site also encourages interaction and good performance from sellers with its Buddy Point system.
Certain interactions on the site like winning a bid or receiving positive feedback gain points that can be used as discounts later.
13. Thredup
Thredup specializes in clothing and handbags and is a good alternative to Poshmark.
Like Decluttr, you send your items directly to Thredup for resale, however, the process is a little bit different.
With Thredup, you receive a prepaid bag that you fill with unwanted clothing items. Thredup evaluates the clothing items and resells them. Sellers can be paid upon evaluation or when the item sells.
Thredup recommends that only good quality items be sent. However, whenever they can’t sell an item, they give it to charity. So, this is a great way to donate your clothes as well.
14. Ruby Lane
Ruby Land is the world’s largest curated marketplace for antiques, vintage items, dolls, fine art, and jewelry.
The site is set up similar to Etsy in the way that sellers utilize digital storefronts.
The site has strict, detailed requirements for each item type to ensure that only the best quality items make it onto the site.
For example, antique silver must be at least 100 years old and priced at a minimum of $50.
In addition to quality items, Ruby Lane is also known for its superior customer service.
Just know that the fees on Ruby Lane can add up. The site charges a regular maintenance fee ($54 per month if you are posting less than 50 items) and a 6.7% service fee for sold items. So, unless you have a ton of antiques or high-end art to sell, you might want to opt for a different platform.
15. Swappa
Swappa is a platform for people to buy and sell new and lightly used technology items including phones, laptops, watches, cameras, and video games to other individuals.
The great thing about Swappa is that they employ a team of people that review listings to ensure that they meet the site’s criteria. In fact, Swappa doesn’t permit any damaged or broken technology to be sold.
Because of this, Swappa is highly rated by TrustPilot (4.9 out of 5 stars).
Payments between users are all processed securely through PayPal.
Oh, and Swappa doesn’t charge any fees to sellers. They include a small fee in the selling price that buyers must pay; unless the item is under $50, in which case, they don’t charge any fees.
Selling Your Stuff Online: Final Thoughts
If you want to sell your stuff online, you need to assess which platforms work best for your situation. Hopefully, this guide has provided you with enough insight to pick the perfect place to post your goods for sale.
The more important question is: what do you plan to do with the extra income you make from selling your stuff online? Be sure to drop your answer in the comments below!
Happy selling!
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