Sell Stuff Online: What Are the Best Online Marketplaces To Make Money?
If you’re looking to make some extra money, selling stuff online may be the answer. Chances are, you have things around your house that you’re no longer using — things that other people may pay good money for!
Many sites and apps allow you to list used items for sale — here are the best places you can sell stuff online and make the most money in the process.
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Best Places To Sell Stuff Online
Marketplace | Pro | Con |
|---|---|---|
OfferUp | Can sell almost anything | You may pay more to promote listings |
Facebook Marketplace | No fees | Less seller protection |
Poshmark | Niche market, which is great for certain items | You may end up selling on two sites if you have other items to list |
Mercari | Can sell almost anything | More fees than some sites |
Decluttr | No haggling with buyers | You may get less than if you sold items on your own |
eBay | Can sell almost anything | Relatively high fees |
Bonanza | Offers the option to advertise your items | Better for setting up a shop than for one-off sales |
1. OfferUp
You can sell almost anything on OfferUp, from your kids’ unwanted toys to a used car. OfferUp has a website and mobile app, making it easy to list your items for sale. It’s a free marketplace, so you won’t be charged fees to list or sell your items, with a few exceptions.
Good To Know
Letgo was a top site for selling used items and is now part of OfferUp.
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Promote Plus
OfferUp has promoted listings that get 14 times more views than regular listings. You can pay for an item to be promoted for a period of one to three days, and it will appear in the top 50 items for relevant searches. You can also swap the item you are promoting at any time.
This subscription comes with a free three-day trial. Cancellations take 24 hours to process, so if you cancel, make sure you do so on the second day to avoid a fee. You can unsubscribe and resubscribe at any time.
Shipping Fees
While cash transactions on OfferUp aren’t charged any fees, there will be a service fee if you ship an item. This will be 12.9% of the sale price, with a minimum of $1.99.
When you list an item for shipping, be sure to list the correct dimensions and weight. This prevents the chance of your item needing additional postage and incurring higher fees.
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Tips for Using OfferUp
If you want your item to sell quickly, use a detailed description that has searchable keywords. There is a chat feature you can use to negotiate prices and plan a meetup. Have your notification settings turned on so you can respond quickly to potential buyers.
Most items are listed for local pickup. If your buyer doesn’t have cash, you can use an app like PayPal or Venmo that issues an instant payment. Be aware of any fees you may incur by completing a non-cash transaction.
Keep in mind that OfferUp prohibits the sale of:
Alcohol, drugs & tobacco
Adult & mature content
Animals
Wildlife products
Counterfeit and replica items
Dangerous items
Recalled items
Food items
Illegal items or encouraging illegal activity
Intangible items
Medical & healthcare items
Offensive materials
Getting Paid with OfferUp
If someone pays you through OfferUp, you can receive your money fee-free using regular bank transfers. If you activate its Fast Deposit feature, you can receive your money instantly once it clears. The fee for this service is 50 cents or 1%, whichever is larger.
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2. Facebook Marketplace
If you have a Facebook account, you can access Marketplace through the website or app. Post for local pickup or offer shipping. There are no fees to list or sell items. You won’t incur fees for local pickups with cash transactions. Keep in mind that accepting payment using apps like Venmo and PayPal may incur a fee.
Merchant Account
If you sell on Facebook Marketplace as a business, you may pay fees for sales and shipping. Fees are taken out of your sales automatically before you get paid. Selling fees for businesses are 40 cents for shipments of $8 or less and 5% for each shipment over $8. Good things to know about seller fees include:
Fees are based on the total sale price, including taxes.
The cost of payment processing is part of the fee.
They apply to all sales on both Facebook and Instagram, no exceptions.
Your fees are reinvested into Marketplace to improve the buying and selling experience.
Keep in mind that if a customer files a chargeback report, your transaction is placed on hold until the situation is resolved. You may incur a fee as a result of the chargeback.
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Reminder for Facebook Marketplace Sales
Facebook Marketplace prohibits the sale of the following items:
Digital products or subscriptions
Weapons, ammunition or explosives
Animals
Illegal, prescription or recreational drugs
Tobacco products and related paraphernalia
Ingestible supplements
Adult products and services
Real money gambling services
Real, virtual or fake currency
Misleading, deceptive, or offensive items
Recalled products
3. Poshmark
Poshmark is best known for selling name-brand clothes, shoes and accessories, but you can list almost anything from electronics to unopened perfume and makeup.
It doesn’t cost anything to list your items for sale, but Poshmark does charge a fee for each sale. If your item sells for less than $15, Poshmark charges $2.95. Anything $15 and over incurs a 20% fee. Your earnings accumulate in your account, from where you can transfer them to your bank.
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Poshmark Selling Tips
People can follow your Poshmark store, so if you list similar items frequently, you may get repeated sales. You can also offer discounts to customers who buy more than one item from your shop, boosting your chance for sales.
Poshmark Restrictions
Poshmark does offer guidelines that have restrictions:
Items that you list as “inspired by” a brand name
Medical products/medical claims
Used makeup and perfume
Counterfeit brands
Live animals
Misrepresented Native American art and fashion
Airline or airport uniforms
Cellphones
DVDs
Furniture
Appliances
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4. Mercari
You can sell almost anything you have on Mercari. There’s no face-to-face meeting, so plan on shipping your items to the purchaser. Listing your items for sale is free and Mercari charges 10% on all purchases. Mercari charges an additional 2.9% payment processing fee plus 30 cents on each sale. Essentially, you’ll pay 12.9% plus 30 cents on each sale.
Other Fees On Mercari
Payments accrue on your Mercari account for transfer to your bank account. As long as you transfer $10 or more at a time, you won’t incur a fee. If you transfer less than $10, Mercari charges $2. If a payment is returned to Mercari for some reason, you incur a $2 fee.
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Tips for Using Mercari
Beware of scammers. If someone asks you to complete a sale outside of the site where your item is listed, decline. You’ll benefit from seller protection using some third-party sites to sell your items.
Regular transfers may take a few business days, but you can pay $2 for an instant transfer to your bank. You can use instant transfer for up to $500 per month. Keep in mind that, even though the transfer is “instant,” it may take up to 30 minutes to see the balance in your bank account.
5. Decluttr
Decluttr works a little differently than other selling sites. Instead of selling person-to-person, you sell to Decluttr and its team handles the rest. Decluttr may be a good option for your used books, technology and Lego-brand blocks.
To place an item on sale, first, select the appropriate category from the Decluttr website and search for your specific item. You can search by barcode, brand name or ISBN for books. Decluttr asks questions about the condition of your item and offers a price.
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If you accept, you can print a label and ship the item(s) to Decluttr. You can drop items off at UPS for easy packing and shipping. Once your items arrive, the Decluttr team checks them and should pay you within 24 hours. You can choose to receive your payment via direct deposit or PayPal.
Tips for Using Decluttr
Do a quick search online for your item to see what the market is. This gives you an idea of what price to start with.
Keep in mind that while Decluttr doesn’t charge fees, shipping costs and processing are taken into account in the price you’re offered. You might make more on other sites. The greatest benefit of Decluttr is that your sale happens quickly. You don’t have to wait for the right person to come along to buy your item.
6. EBay
EBay was one of the originators of the concept of buying and selling stuff online — the digital marketplace dates back to 1995, when it was launched as AuctionWeb. Now, there are 1.7 billion active listings and 187 million active buyers on eBay’s Marketplace.
You can sell pretty much anything on eBay, from sneakers to watches to electronics to toys. For most categories, it’s free to list your items on the site, though you will pay up to a 14.35% final value fee and 30 cents per order when your item sells. When your item sells, eBay deposits funds directly into your account via PayPal, credit or debit card.
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Tips for Using EBay
According to eBay, there are four elements to the perfect listing: a descriptive title, a clear item description, high-quality photos and a competitive price. If you’re not sure what you should price an item for, eBay recommends looking at the prices that similar items sold for in the past 90 days.
One of the advantages of using eBay over other platforms is that you can allow offers rather than selling for a fixed price. This allows buyers to make offers on your item, and you can choose to accept or decline them, or make a counteroffer.
7. Bonanza
Bonanza operates like an online shopping mall. Rather than having individual listings, each seller operates a “booth” where you can sell multiple items at once. With that said, this might not be the best platform if you just want to get rid of one or two items, but if you are looking to make repeat sales, this might be a good choice.
To set up a booth, you will need a debit or credit card to keep on file for the payment of seller fees, select a payment option for receiving payments from buyers, and input your primary account contact details.
Bonanza charges a 3.5% fee for sales with a Final Offer Value (FOV) of less than $500. For sales over $500, you will pay a 3.5% fee plus a flat 1.5% of the amount over $500.
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Boost Your Listings With Advertising
Bonanza also offers sellers the ability to advertise on external platforms like Google Shopping. You do not pay anything upfront for these services, but you do pay an additional fee after the item is sold. Fees range from 9% to 30%, depending on the advertising level you choose:
Basic (9% fee) gives you access to Google Shopping, affiliate bloggers and Bonanza Promotions.
Standard (13% fee) adds publishing to eBay.
Superior (19% fee) adds publishing to BingAds and other shopping platforms.
Elite (30% fee) includes access to all the shopping channels listed above, plus an even higher ad spend.
Tips for Using Bonanza
Bonanza recommends that in the listing, sellers provide a detailed shipping and return policy, along with accurate shipping times.
The platform has its own messaging service, BMail, which enables you to easily communicate with potential buyers. Bonanza recommends that you responded to inquiries within 48 hours to keep communications timely.
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Gabrielle Olya contributed to the reporting for this article.
Last updated: June 25, 2021
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Sell Stuff Online: What Are the Best Online Marketplaces To Make Money?
