Selling Online to Make Extra Income
Stop wherever you are reading this post, do a scan of your room and answer these questions:
- What items are laying around that you really don't need?
- Do you really need that knick knack?
- Does that basket have a purpose?
If you're answer is “no” then I'm going to challenge you to declutter and make some cash in the process by selling your stuff online!
What Items to Sell Online
When you think about selling online, the sky is really the limit. Just think about the scan of the room. You found items in just one room. You can sell items from any room in your home online. Here are just a few of the things you can sell online:
- Gift Cards
- Gold
- Electronics: cameras, computers and computer parts
- Cell Phones
- Vintage Clothing
- Jewelry
- Books
- DVD's and CD's
- Games and software
- Photographs
- Small Kitchen Appliances
- Small Dishes
- Collectibles
- Clothing
Seriously, whatever you have in your home now, you will find a market online that is interest in buying your stuff!
Reputable Online Sites to Sell Items
Selling online has become increasingly popular over the past few years. I remember my very first eBay purchase. It was a handheld Weight Watchers points calculator. I think I paid under $10 including shipping. It was something that you could only get if you were an official Weight Watchers member, and I wasn't going to join just for that.
Just like that item, people are selling everything online because it's either in high demand or limited quantity, or just because. There is also a market to buy used items online and resell them online too. It's like a never ending garage sale but with much better stuff.
Wondering where to sell your items and know that it's on the up and up? Here are a few websites that I have personal experience with.
From used books to electronics, games and more you can sell your used stuff on. If you don't have an Amazon account it's free and easy to sign up. Then you can begin selling your stuff. Amazon will let you know how much they will pay for the item before you ship it.
You can also trade in your electronics for Amazon gift cards. This could be a great way to get rid of those old electronics and earn some cash.
Etsy sells just about everything! I've purchased custom jewelry in the past but you can find just about anything that is vintage or homemade. If you have these types of items around your home, create a storefront on Etsy and start selling.
There are no membership fees to have a store on Etsy. It costs $0.20 to list an item for 4 months, or until it sells. Once it is sold, they take 3.5% of the sale price, which is pretty typical for large sites like this.
You can sell just about anything on eBay. Seriously, anything! Someone is likely looking for that trinket you have on your shelf right now and will pay a pretty penny for it.
Ebay does charge a small fee to list your items and will take a commission on each sale. This is standard and totally worth it. Most sellers also pay via Paypal which also takes a small percentage as well. Again, this is totally worth it as it does protect you as a seller too.
When you do start to sell on eBay, ask your buyers to leave feedback and a rating. The higher the rating and more positive your feedback, the better. My rating is 100%. This makes a difference for buyers who are contemplating making a purchase.
Gazelle buys back used electronics like cell phones. They also buy back used computers, gaming consoles, cameras and ereaders. Gazelle is one of many buy back establishments, however they do have one of the best reputations.
Like Amazon, Gazelle will tell you what your item is worth before you ship it to them so you can make the decision to sell it to them or to use a different outlet to sell your wares.
I previously wrote about how you can make money selling books with Cash4Books.net. You can also sell back to Half Price books as well.
I have previously sold items on Craigslist and we purchased our used freezer on Craigslist as well.
Craigslist is free for anyone selling anything. The downside is that it can get quite cluttered and your listing may get hidden in a few hours. To help with this, simply edit the listing or add a new listing each week until the item is sold. It's really easy to use so it shouldn't take too long.
When you are selling on Craigslist, you will likely arrange for a face-to-face pickup of the sold merchandise. As I mentioned before, make sure you are in a safe environment and have someone else at home if they are coming to pick up. Better yet, ask them to meet you in a public domain so they don't know where you live.
I have seen more and more online yard sale type groups started on Facebook recently. There are some that are strictly by city, which I prefer. This is simply another way to market your items online and arrange for a face-to-face pickup.
Online Selling and Shipping
This was the biggest hurdle for me to overcome, honestly. I was never familiar with the prices for shipping items but eventually I got a good understanding of how to price the shipping fee on different sized items.
I would highly recommend creating a Stamps.com account. This will help you create postage efficiently and cost-effective. Plus, there is an integration with your Stamps.com account and Ebay so that helps a ton!
I would also purchase a postage scale and tape measure so you can have a highly accurate estimate of what your shipping costs will be. Once you set the price on these sites, you can't change it when the auction is over if you underestimated. To get a confirmation, do a search for other similar items and see what they are charging for shipping.
You will need something to ship your merchandise in so start stocking up on boxes and paper now. Also make sure you have labels at home (like these Avery shipping labels) so you are ready to ship out your items as soon as they sell.
Income Potential
Selling online at these different sites can truly offer unlimited earning potential. You can not only become really well at selling yourself, but you could create a business to list items for sale for others as well.
I've found that many people are confused about how it works and just need someone to help do it. There is another opportunity to earn and more reason to increase your seller ratings on these sites so you can become a resource for people to help sell their items online as well.
I will sound like a broken record, but if this is something that you are finding you become the “go to” resource for your friends, create a website and get hosting for under $5 a month. This is a business and you need to market it. Having a website online to market your services, and even market your items for sale, will be a big plus!
If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!
More in the Earn Money from Home Series
Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online
Start a Sewing and Alteration Business
How to Self Publish an eBook to Earn Income
Offer Babysitting Services
Internet Research from Home
Earn Money as a Home Organizer
Disclosure: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.
