eBay is the best-known auction site in the world, with customers in every country. The best thing about eBay is that you can decide to whom you want to sell.
You can decide to sell to only U.S. buyers or to ship internationally as well. eBay even has an option to sell locally and have the purchaser pick up the item. This is usually for big furniture.
To sell on eBay, you first have to set up an account. If you plan to take online payments, the method eBay and most shoppers prefer, then you must also sign up for a PayPal account. Remember you’ll pay insertion fees and that eBay keeps a certain percentage of each sale. PayPal keeps a percentage of the money sent to you.
Once you set up both accounts, take photos of all the items you want to sell and write them on a list. Next to the name of each item, write down a minimum price you would accept for it. If you don’t have a price, write down that you don’t care what an item goes for. Also note if you have multiples of the same item. The minimum price is helpful because you can use it on your eBay listing to ensure the item won’t sell below that number. You do this by putting a reserve price on the listing.
If you have multiples or feel that you won’t get more than a certain amount for an item, you may want to set up some buy-it-now auctions for a set price. This allows you to sell an item as soon as the customer accepts that price and not wait for prospective buyers to place bids. If an item doesn’t sell at the set price and you don’t care what you get for it, then you can just list it as a regular sale.
You can sell almost anything on eBay, so this is a great way to sell a lot of different things. Remember to add insurance to items you sell and ship, just in case something breaks.
Craigslist
Craigslist is an excellent resource if you want to sell stuff locally, and using the service costs nothing. You can list anything from electronics to stuffed animals. All you have to do is create a Craigslist account and choose the categories that best suit your items. It is best to include photos in your ads because they will make people more interested in looking at your items.
Though Craigslist is free to use, it can be a little more of a hassle than eBay. You likely will have to answer a lot of phone calls and emails about your goods, and go to the storage garage many times to show the items to people who may or may not buy them.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is another free way to sell items, though you won’t reach as many people. The items you list are available only to your friends and people in the same networks as you. So if you are in the Los Angeles or the University of Kansas network, people there will see the items but someone in the San Francisco network will not.
This is a good option to use in combination with Craigslist or eBay. It gets your items out there to more people, who may mention your ad to other people they know are looking for your specific items.
Garage Sale
Garage sales are usually excellent ways to make money, but to have one you’ll need to take your stuff out of storage. Storage garages are small and cramped and usually have security codes, among the reasons most of them will not let you have garage sales in their facilities.