Being in the ‘internet’ industry, I get a lot of questions about buying/selling stuff online. I thought I’d put together a little chart to help you figure out what site you should use to sell something:
Website | Description | Examples |
Craigslist | The worse formatted website ever, best for getting rid of bulk stuff locally. Think anything you’d want to make at least $50 on. Also have solid rental section if you are trying to rent an apartment or commercial space. | My landlord trying to sell 5 desks, my landlord advertising his office rental space that I took advantage of three years ago. |
Facebook Groups | Centered around usually a local and sometimes even specific interest (i.e. Local and kids items for sale). Bonus of instant gratification and buying from someone you know. | File cabinet I bought off my friend Mel, giving away a cactus. |
Ebay | Yes, people still use this site but it’s mostly for collectibles or people otherwise looking for specific items | Your baseball card collection (collectors will pay more money than your friends), items that can be free/cheap to ship. |
Microsites/Apps that sell specific kinds of things | Sites/Apps have cropped up to help people sell specific kinds of items (Ex: Etsy for handmade goods, Poshmark for brand name used clothing and accessories for women) | Orla Kiley purse, the pile of slippers you meant to give away as Christmas gifts but they are too cute to be given to people who don’t deserve them. |
My point is not all sites are created equal. Some questions to ask yourself as you move forward:
- Do I want to mess with shipping?
- How important is local?
- Do you want the best price or the least amount of hassle?
- Would you rather sell to a friend?
- What technology do you use and how much technology learning can you handle?
(Note: If you have things to sell on Ebay and you are semi local, I have a friend just starting her business. Contact me and I’ll put you in touch!)
My point is, we all have some stuff we could stand to get rid of and make a few bucks on in the process. And if we actually take the time to sell it in the right location, we can make the most money possible for the amount of effort we want to put in.