When doing your Spring cleaning, you may have come across items that you no longer use, or need. You can always pitch the items if there’s little to no value in them, or you could donate items that someone else could use.
However, you may come across items that you no longer use, but still have a significant value. As you’re always looking for a way to make some extra money, selling those items online is a great option.
There are many different sites that you can use to sell your stuff. Depending on what you want to sell, certain sites may be better to use than others. Let’s look at some of the sites to sell your stuff online, and hopefully help you decide which site will work best for you.
Amazon
Amazon is a multinational technology company that was founded in 1994. It started as an online marketplace for books, but has grown into the most valuable retailer in the United States.
Most items are allowed to sell on Amazon. For individual sellers, Amazon charges 99¢ to list an item, and a percentage of the final selling price of the item, which ranges from 8% all the way up to 45% for Amazon device accessories. Most items fall into the 8%-15% category.
Amazon isn’t the best marketplace to sell your used items though. Some items, such as clothing and toys, must be new to be able to list for sale, and items must have a UPC code to be able to sell.
eBay
eBay is a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers in 190 markets around the world. eBay was founded in 1995, and has now grown into a multibillion-dollar business.
To sell on eBay, or any website, you will need to take good pictures, as the buyer will not be able to inspect the item firsthand. Listing up to 250 items a month is free, and you pay a percentage of the item cost only when your item sells. Selling fees range in cost between 3.5% to 14.35% of the final selling price plus 30¢ per item. Most items are charged 12.35% of the final selling price.
eBay does charge a listing fee for real estate, cars, and heavy equipment. They also have several options to upgrade your listing for more exposure at additional charges.
On eBay, you can list an item for auction, or you can list it as “buy it now”. This is more of a personal choice.
I used to recommend eBay as a good place to start when first selling your items through the internet. However, eBay has recently changed their payment policy, and will no longer pay you through PayPal, but through their own payment system. In order for you to receive payment for your items sold, you must turn over your banking information to them, along with your personal information such as your Social Security number, and birthdate. eBay specifically states that they are not responsible for any misuse of this information. Considering this information would contain everything one would need for identity theft, I now strongly advise against selling on eBay for this reason.
Bonanza
Bonanza was founded in 2008, and has since then grown into a marketplace serving most every country in the world.
Bonanza is geared towards sellers, helping them set their store up quickly, and even allowing sellers to import their listings from Amazon, eBay and Etsy.
Bonanza offers the best rates for selling. There is no fee to list an item, and they charge only 3.5% of the final value once an item sells.
Although Bonanza is a growing marketplace, it doesn’t get the traffic that the other major sites get, which can make it more difficult to sell your items.
Etsy
Etsy is an American e-commerce sight that sells world-wide. Etsy was founded in 2005 and has grown into a million-dollar business.
Etsy limits what you can sell to hand-made items, craft supplies, and vintage items that are at least 20 years old. They charge a listing fee of 
20¢ per item, which will keep the item listed for 4 months, or until the item sells. If an item doesn’t sell within the 4-month period, a seller will need to pay an additional 20¢ to list it again for another 4-month period. When an item sells, Etsy charges 5% of the final selling price.
Like eBay, a detailed description with quality pictures will help sell an item faster.
The four sites listed above are more of the well-known marketplaces where you can sell a wide variety of items. However, there are also several sites online that are designed to sell specific items.
Swappa
Swappa was founded in 2010, and deals only with new and gently used technology. With Swappa, you buy and sell directly with other users.
For sellers, Swappa is a great alternative to other marketplaces, as they charge no selling fees. The buyers pay a flat fee based upon the selling price. When your item sells, Swappa pays you instantly via PayPal.
Decluttr
Decluttr was founded in 2014, and is an online marketplace specific to selling tech items, as well as books. Decluttr makes it easy to sell, without having to list items, or wait for the sale.
With Decluttr, you simply search for the make, model, and condition of your device, and they will give you an instant price, which they will lock in for up to 28 days.
When you decide you want to sell, they will send you a free UPS shipping label to print out. You simply pack your items, attach the free shipping label to your package, and drop it off at your nearest UPS store or customer center.
When your item is received, they will look it over to make sure your device is as described, and then pay you the next business day. Decluttr offers you the choice to get paid by either direct deposit or PayPal, and they even have an option to donate your proceeds to charity.
To complete an order with Decluttr, you do need to sell at least 10 media items, or one tech item, and the total order value needs to be over $5.
Ruby Lane
Ruby Lane was founded in 1998, and is now the world’s largest marketplace for antiques, as well as vintage collectibles, fashion, fine art and jewelry.
Ruby Lane is designed more for the serious antiques seller, as sellers are required to follow quality guidelines to ensure that all items for sale are genuine and accurately represented.
Ruby Lane charges a maintenance fee whether or not you sell any items. Their maintenance fee starts at $54 per month, whether you have one item, or up to 50 items for sale. Above 50 items the maintenance fee is charged per additional item. They also charge a service fee of 6.7% on the selling price of each item.
If you have a lot of valuable antiques that you want to sell, Ruby Lane would be the place to look for selling those items.
Chairish
Chairish was founded in 2013, and is an online vintage marketplace specializing in vintage furniture, art, and home accessories.
Chairish works on consignment, and only accepts items that they believe will sell on their site. For the occasional seller, they charge a 30% flat rate on each item sold. For that fee, they will touch up your photos form maximum attraction, and will help organize shipping details if needed.
Chairish will pay you for sold items via PayPal after a 48-hour return window.
ThredUP
ThredUP was founded in 2009 and is an online marketplace to sell gently used clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories.
To sell on ThredUP, you will need to request a clean out kit from them which includes a shipping label to send your items to them. Items to sell must be name brand (they accept 35,000 brands), on trend and less than five years old, and in excellent condition with no stains, rips or tears.
ThredUP will keep you informed of when they receive your items, and when they’re done processing it. According to their website, only 40% of your items will be accepted on average.
On items accepted, ThredUP will pay from 5% to 80% of the anticipated selling price upfront, or 20% to 95% of the selling price, based upon the value of the item.
From reviews read, ThredUP takes several weeks to process your items. If you don’t mind the wait, ThredUP can help you can make some money from selling your old clothing, and it will save you the pain of taking pictures and trying to sell the items yourself.
As you can see, there are several different options to sell your stuff online. What site to use will likely depend on what you have to sell. Check out each site, and decide which is the easiest for you, and which site will most likely net you the most money.
The sites that I listed above are intended to reach a large audience, and you will have to figure in the cost of shipping your items to determine if what you are selling is worth the effort.
There are many other sites online that cater to local selling, which may be more profitable on certain items. I will list some of the more popular local selling sites in my next article.
I currently sell items on several sites, and determine which site to sell on depending on what I have to sell. The more you sell, the better you’ll be able to determine which site is best to use.
Happy selling!
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