fbpx

Best place to sell stuff depends on key issues

Written by:
best place to sell stuff, random yard sale items

Being locked in your house for weeks at a time has a way of prompting the cleaning urge, doesn’t it? How many of you have been purging your homes since quarantine began? On one hand, it feels like an extended “spring cleaning” spree, which is nice. Everything is freshly scrubbed, organized and smelling better than it was a few months ago. On the other hand, however, you’ve probably noticed that the more you clean, the more stuff you have to get rid of. Like thousands of others, you might be wondering where the best place to sell stuff happens to be.

There are basically two main ways to sell things — in person or online. Figuring out which is best can be challenging. If you want to find the best place to sell stuff, it helps to do a little research first. And, the best way to research this particular topic is to check out what the people who sell stuff all the time are doing.

Best place to sell stuff in person

Consignment shops are the place to go if you want to save time and unload your stuff so you don’t have to actually do the selling. Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange are two of the better known stores that accept clothing and other items on consignment. The latter of the two even lets you mail stuff to them. I’ve never tried it, but apparently, they send you a box, then you send them stuff. They keep the things they want and send you payment. What I don’t know is what they do with the stuff they DON’T want.

The biggest benefit of dropping things off or mailing stuff into consignment shops is that you don’t have to put in the effort or time to organize an online selling and shipping campaign.

Best place to sell stuff online

If you want to go this route, you’ll undoubtedly be choosing from The Big Three: E-bay, Poshmark or Amazon. One of the biggest benefits of using Amazon is the “new or used” feature. If a potential customer is browsing the site and does a search for an item you happen to be selling, your product will show up right next to the new products. New items are obviously going to cost more. This can work in your favor because shoppers will see your lower priced offer and you might make a sale!

If you’re trying to decide which is the best place to sell stuff, a top priority should be the host site’s commission fees. For instance, there’s a big difference between the commission Poshmark takes on every sale and E-bay’s fees. Another key factor is that you’ll be doing the packaging and shipping, so you need to work those expenses into your overhead cost as well.

Maybe Etsy is your best place to sell stuff

If you’re not just selling all the stuff you cleaned out of your garage or attic or bedroom closet during quarantine, you might want to consider opening an Etsy shop. This is a better option for those who plan on having things to sell on a regular basis, especially if you are developing a product line of some sort. I have a friend who has an Etsy shop, and she does quite well with sales. Who knows? Your best place to sell stuff just might turn into a small business someday!

You don’t necessarily have to have an entire inventory of items if you want to sell on Etsy. Some people open a shop to sell a single item, particularly specialty products like rustic, wooden American flags or a unique, handcrafted bench.

Other options for selling stuff

Maybe you’d rather rent space in an antique mall or host a yard sale when the quarantine ends. Selling stuff can be a great micro-business for kids, too! There’s also the Marketplace on Facebook, as well as various yard sale and buy/sell/trade pages that might suit your purpose.

Then again, you might be more like me, and instead of being bothered selling anything, you just give it away!

Share THis