17 Great Places to Sell Stuff Online

With the rise of the internet, there are tons of options for you to sell stuff online – whether it be your old used stuff that you no longer need, unique products that you made, or even digital products. No matter what you have to sell, there’s a place online where you can sell it.  Here are the 17 best places to sell stuff online, broken down by type of item so that you can get started making money selling stuff now.

What is the Best Site to Sell Stuff Online?

The best site to sell stuff online greatly depends on what you’re selling. You wouldn’t want to sell print-on-demand t-shirts on eBay, and you wouldn’t want to sell your old baby stuff on Etsy. There’s a bit of an art to selling stuff online, and a large portion of that is knowing which website to use.

How Can I Sell Stuff Online for Free?

Many websites charge a fee for you to use them. Sometimes it’s a listing fee, which is a charge just to put the item online, and sometimes they take a cut of everything you sell. Very often, it’s both!

However, there are still a few websites that allow you to sell stuff online for free. These are the places where you’d want to sell your old baby stuff, sell stuff you don’t need anymore, and sell any other physical item that you might have.

The biggest limitation to these sites is that it’s all local pick-up. I couldn’t find any website that would connect you with potential buyers and help you with shipping for free. This makes sense, though, as addresses are sensitive information. Making a transaction without seeing the product first can often lead to disputes, which the third party would be responsible for handling.

But still, if you want to sell stuff online for free, you have three great options.

Craigslist

Craigslist is the king of selling stuff online. It’s the original and one of the first places people look when they are looking to buy. You can post virtually anything on Craigslist, from your old stuff to an apartment you need to rent.

When you sell an item on Craigslist, you are responsible for coordinating with the buyer to pick the item up locally. Please don’t ship any items through Craigslist, as you will most likely never see any of the money.

 

You must also use caution when using Craigslist. It is just a platform to connect people and is not responsible for vetting people in any way. Scams are rampant on the platform. I’d also advise you always to meet your potential buyer in a public location. Although rare, there are stories of Craigslist transactions gone wrong. The platform doesn’t ask for any personal information of its users, so it’s nearly impossible to track them down and hold them accountable if there is a problem.

Even with all that, Craigslist is a great platform for buying and selling. It’s easy to use, allows you to sell to anyone near any given city, and has a lot of functionality. Thousands of people use the platform every day with success, so don’t let the potential for misuse scare you off.

Offer Up

Offer Up is trying hard to be the new Craigslist. They recently acquired competitor “Let go” and are trying to be the top provider for local buying and selling.

The advantage to using Offer up to sell your old stuff online is that it’s specific to buying and selling. While you can find anything on craigslist, from apartments to jobs to personal ads, Offer Up is limited to buying and selling items. You can sell baby clothes, lotions, antiques/collectibles, and a wide variety of other used goods on the platform.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a great option for those who want to sell stuff online for free with a little more security. People who want to buy and sell on the platform need a Facebook account, and the company does try to ensure that people use their real information. This makes situations like “the Craigslist Killer,” which, although rare, have happened, less of a concern on the platform.

People sell all types of things using Facebook Marketplace, from baby clothes to toys, furniture to RVs.

Online Sites Where You Can Sell Anything to Anyone

If you want to sell your stuff online and need a wider marketplace, there are two websites that will help you out. Both of these sites help connect potential sellers to potential buyers and assist with payment processing.

eBay

eBay is the go-to place for selling your stuff online. Anyone can set up an eBay account and start listing their items for sale. You will find anything and everything on the site – from books to video games, crafts to art, collectibles to high-end antiques.

 

To sell on eBay, all you have to do is navigate to the website and sign up for an account. Next, you have to sign up for Paypal (if you don’t already have it) and make sure your Paypal account is connected to your eBay account. Using Paypal helps protects both buyers and sellers from fraud, and it’s the standard payment method used for e-Bay. E-Bay itself recommends against discussing/accepting any form of payment off of the platform, as that is rife with scammers.

One exception to this rule is local pick-up. If you are selling a large item, you can set it to local pick up only. If you are meeting with someone in person to complete the transaction, you may accept cash at the time of purchase. Please don’t accept checks, though, as the potential for them to bounce is too high, and since you accepted the payment offline, eBay has no obligation to assist you.

The great thing about eBay is that its fees are reasonable. You can list fifty items each month without a listing fee and only have to pay a percentage of the sales price if something is sold, which eBay calls a “final value fee.” The biggest gripe I have with eBay is that they charge final value fees on shipping as well. Still, unfortunately, they had to do this because far too many people listed items for low prices and added exorbitant shipping charges to avoid paying fees. Be sure to charge a little extra in the price so you can pay for shipping even with the fee.

Amazon

The other megalith website where you can sell basically anything is Amazon. However, new items do much better on Amazon than used items, barring a few categories. You can easily sell used books and games on Amazon, but eBay is probably a better choice if you’re looking to sell collectibles or baby items.

Amazon does not offer free listings. You have to pay a one-dollar listing fee for every item you place for sale on the platform and pay final value fees if your item sells.

If you are an individual selling a few used items, it’s probably best to use eBay. However, if you are starting a company to sell stuff online, especially new products or in-demand electronics, Amazon might be a better option. It’s best to determine where the bulk of your potential customers will shop before making a final decision.

Where Can I Sell Niche Items Online?

You can sell niche items on any of the above marketplaces, but you might have better luck elsewhere depending on what you are selling.

Etsy

Etsy is the best place to sell niche creative items. It’s marketed as a way for artists and craftspeople to sell their arts and crafts, and it delivers. You can find hand-made jewelry, clothing, stuffed animals, and artworks of all kinds on the platform. If you like to create things and want to find a way to sell your creations, Etsy is the perfect place to look.

Like Amazon, Etsy also charges a listing fee of one dollar for any item that you post for sale. A cool thing about Etsy is that you can create your own store. Your Etsy shop can showcase the variety of products you have available, and you can drive sales to your shop rather than a specific product. This helps you build lasting relationships with customers.

ArtPal

If you’re a traditional artist, you can try to sell your paintings online with Artpal. It is a very similar system to Etsy, but its focus is on paint and canvas paintings. All types of artists have stores on Artpal, from abstract expressionists to landscape painters, to traditional still life painters. Artpal also hosts other traditional artists, such as sculptures, potters, and even jewelers.

The biggest advantage to using Artpal over Etsy is that it’s free. You can create your store and list your pieces without paying anything. Artpal doesn’t even take a commission if an original piece is sold!

They make their money with Print on Demand services. You can sell prints of a certain piece, and they will handle the printing, shipping, and processing, but they will also receive a portion of the proceeds for those services. It’s a great way to sell your artwork.

Print on Demand

Speaking of print on demand, if you want to sell stuff online with no overhead, you can use numerous print-on-demand services. These websites allow you to design shirts, mugs, planners, pillows, and an assortment of other goods and sell them online.

There are a few good websites for print on demand. Redbubble, Teepublic, and Amazon Merch are the most popular, but there’s also Teespring, Zazzle, and quite a few more. Amazon Merch is difficult to break into, though it is the best for sales if you can access it.

It’s free to list your shirts on both Redbubble and Teepublic, but you will have to pay the platform a commission when an item sells. They handle the payment processing, the printing, and the shipping, though, which makes it a low-cost way to start selling things online. The most important thing you need to do in order to get started is the create the designs.

Poshmark

If you have a lot of old clothing to sell, consider listing it on Poshmark. Poshmark is the eBay of designer clothes and the best way to sell your old clothing and accessories for extra cash. If you just cleaned out your closest and have a ton of gently used clothes to offload, Poshmark is the platform for you.

 

Poshmark’s fees are fairly simple. They don’t charge you to list an item, but they charge a $2.95 flat-rate commission for all sales under $15. They charge a 20% commission on all sales over $15. Poshmark also offers flat-rate shipping, paid by the buyer, for all shipments under 5lbs. It’s an easy way to offload your closet of old clothes and make some extra money doing it!

Sell Digital Products Online

What if you have a digital product to sell rather than a physical one? Where can you sell digital stuff online? The good news is that there are tons of options for selling your digital products online.

GumRoad

Gumroad is a marketplace for all things digital. You can create printables, templates, E-Books, how-to videos, and any other digital product you can think of and list it for sale on Gumroad. The cool thing about the platform is that it’s creator-centric, and it gives its creators a lot of freedom to create and market their own products. It also allows you to set up other individuals as affiliates for your product to create an army of salespeople who are marketing your items.

A downside to Gumroad is that some folks create products that promise things and don’t exactly deliver since there is no oversite. If you are going to sell an item on this platform, be sure that you are providing the value that you are advertising.

Draft-2-Digital

If you have an Ebook that you want to sell, consider using Draft-2-Digital. This platform helps you transform your Ebook into the proper format and gets it listed on the big sellers, like Barnes & Noble. There’s no fee to get the book listed on most websites (though Amazon does charge a listing fee), but Draft-2-Digital will take a portion of all proceeds.

Teachable

Another digital product that people create and sell is a course. Teachable is a great platform for building and selling your digital course. It allows you to have lesson plans, upload videos, and upload course materials like worksheets and quizzes.

I’ve not built a course through this platform, but I have taken the Launch your Side Hustle course through it, and it’s very well done. If you have a skill that you want to teach via coursework, Teachable is the place to do it.

Skillshare

If you don’t want to create an entire course to sell, you can create a video with Skillshare. This platform allows experts to create videos showcasing their craft, and users pay to watch the videos explaining things they want to learn about.

When you teach a course with Skillshare, you earn royalties for every minute that students watch. The platform uses a royalty sharing model, where they pay their teachers a percentage of the total royalties earned based on how many minutes of the video subscribers watched.

Shutterstock

Do you have photos that you want to sell online? Shutterstock is a great way to make them available to media companies and individuals looking for that perfect photo.

Shutterstock is an online repository of stock photos. As a creator, you upload your images or video to Shutterstock and get paid whenever someone downloads your content for use. However, remember that doing so will give Shutterstock and its clients’ legal rights to use your content, so be sure that’s what you want before joining.

Sell Services Online

A final thing you might want to consider selling online is a service. Perhaps you’re a graphic designer, a website builder, or a podcast editor looking to sell your services. Where can you go to find new clients?

There are two great online platforms dedicated to selling services.

Fiverr

In my opinion, Fiverr is the better option if you are selling digital design services, like Twitch emotes, website logos, website designs, and things of that nature. Millions of people head to Fiverr when looking for some type of design for their special project.

However, any type of freelance gig is welcome on Fiverr.  

Upwork

Although similar to Fiverr, I think Upwork is better for selling your writing services. If you are a freelance writer or editor looking to sell your services, Upwork is a great place to start.

Much like Fiverr, all services are welcome on the platform. It’s up to you to decide which one you’d prefer to use for the service you are selling.

A Bonus Place to Sell Stuff Online:

Make Your Own Website!

One final way to sell stuff online is with your own website. You probably don’t want to use this method if you are selling your old junk, but it’s a great option for those looking to sell products and services.

Many people build websites to sell products via drop-shipping, drive traffic to their creations, or market their services.

One huge advantage of having your own website is that you can completely control the content and advertising. Nobody can tell you what does or doesn’t meet their terms, and you have complete control over marketing your wares.

On the downside, it’s hard to drive traffic to a new website. It takes time and effort to build your SEO traffic and attract clients. The big platforms have already done most of that work for you. Another downside is that you will be responsible for all the transactions, so you need to ensure you have a secure site with checkouts enabled. Big platforms handle that for you as well.

In the end, whether you decide to create your own website to sell stuff online is a personal decision. It’s one more way to get your products out there, but it’s also a lot of work.

Are You Ready to Sell Stuff Online?

Now that you know where you can sell basically anything online, what are you waiting for? Pick the platform that’s right for you and start making money by selling stuff online today!