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Have you ever heard the expression “there’s a lid for every pot”? It usually refers to romantic matches, but it’s appropriate for household items, too. Your attic, storage unit, or junk drawer might contain the very objects for which someone else is desperately searching—and willing to fork over cold, hard cash.
The following apps will help you list, market, and sell your items online, which will help you to keep usable items out of the landfill, declutter your space, and put some extra cash back in your pocket. Everyone wins, including Mother Nature.
1. Meta (Facebook) Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is officially Meta Marketplace now, but all else about this popular selling platform remains the same. It’s available in 70 countries to upward of 1.5 billion people—that’s a lot of potential buyers. Keep the sale local and arrange delivery or pickup and payment. If you need to ship an item, the social media juggernaut provides the shipping label and takes a 5 percent selling fee. Payment for a Meta Marketplace sale is made through Messenger. Sellers can hawk their items a little harder by boosting a listing as an ad for a fee.
2. Nextdoor
You might know Nextdoor as a community message board where people can air their neighbor-related grievances, but there’s also a marketplace where neighbors can buy and sell their stuff. The app verifies all members and provides the platform that connects parties, but doesn’t offer much else in the service department. Nextdoor traders must work out all the details with the buyer—payment amount, payment method, meetup location, and any other terms they want to negotiate.
One plus is that if a listed item isn’t selling, you can “boost” it with a discount and bump it to the top of the feed. Once you reduce the cost of an item, however, you can’t increase the price again.
3. eBay
Established in 1995, eBay is the OG online auction and sale site, with more than 182 million users worldwide. There are several options for selling—through an auction lasting up to 10 days, the fixed-price “Buy It Now” feature, or the “Make Offer” option, which lets buyers try haggling. While most eBay sellers ship products long-distance or even internationally, it’s also possible to list items locally for buyers in your area. Local selling is ideal for bulky items that would otherwise be prohibitively costly to ship. Payment is through PayPal, credit, or debit card.
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4. OfferUp
A major advantage of the app OfferUp is a feature called “Community Meetup Spots,” a listing of brightly lit areas with security cameras where parties can meet for safe interactions. Local sales are free, and you set up payment and exchange with the buyer. OfferUp also facilitates distance sales that require shipping, but charges a 12.9 percent or minimum $2 fee for the service. Another perk is a seller rating system, so you’re rewarded for trustworthiness and buyer-friendly behavior.
5. Poshmark
Mostly known as a destination for buying and selling clothes, Poshmark also deals in home goods. The app prides itself on having about 25 million items from 5,000 different brands listed on its site every day. Most of those fall under the apparel and accessories categories, but it’s possible for buyers to find real deals on decor and household items. Sellers can list their stuff the old-fashioned way with pics and descriptions, or use Posh Stories to create appealing videos.
Poshmark takes a flat fee of $2.95 on sales under $15 and 20 percent from sales $15 and over. This app might be a good choice if your wares consist mostly of clothes, but you also have a few tchotchkes to trade or kitchen gadgets to get rid of.
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6. Chairish
Looking to divest yourself of high-end, unique vintage, antique, or pedigreed items? Consider Chairish, a marketplace for used furniture, decor, and fine art. It’s more of a long-term endeavor than a one-off, quick-cash venture, but offers several distinct advantages. The buyers are largely interior designers and other industry pros rather than bargain-hunting homeowners who need a new lamp. Chairish helps sellers create attractive, accurate listings and coordinate delivery of large, heavy, unwieldy items, but you’ll pay for this expert assistance with hefty fees of up to 40 percent of the item’s selling price.
7. VarageSale
For more quotidian items, check out VarageSale. It boasts a wide range of stuff for sale—much like an analog garage sale—and sign-up is free. A mandatory verification process ups the trust factor, as does a 24-hour hotline in the event that a meetup goes sideways. VarageSale transactions take place locally, which could be a pro or a con, depending on participants’ personal preferences.
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8. 5miles
Another location-based app, 5miles affords plenty of opportunities to transform your trash into a neighbor’s treasure. 5miles emphasizes security with several levels of verification, including internal checks to ensure that each listing is legit. Its aesthetically appealing, Pinterest-esque interface is enjoyable to browse. And unlike many buy/sell/trade sites, 5miles has separate categories for free items, wanted items, pet adoption, lost-and-found objects, yard sale posts, housing, and jobs. There’s even a section where users can offer or receive services such as catering, child care, electronics repair, guitar lessons, landscaping, and many more.
9. Mercari
Mercari, a site that originated in Japan about a decade ago, is a strong contender for selling or buying just about anything. With both local and long-distance options, Mercari should be on your radar if you’re in the market for, say, a St. Patrick’s Day-hedgehog-themed fleece throw, vintage drawer pulls, a Hello Kitty hamper, plastic souvenir Super Bowl cups circa 1998, collectible mint-condition Charlie’s Angels action figures, and other treasures you never even knew you needed. Sellers can list their offerings for free, but note that Mercari assesses a 10 percent fee plus a payment processing fee when an item sells.
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10. Decluttr
Do you have a device graveyard—a spot in your home where old smartphones, e-readers, speakers, headphones, and laptops go to die? Keep electronics out of the landfill by selling them with the aptly named Decluttr app. Primarily focused on gently used tech of all types, Decluttr also accepts books, DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays, and video games.
This app allows you to bypass the buyer, as it purchases your items directly. Simply scan the product’s barcode and get an instant offer, along with a shipping label if you choose to accept that offer. Once your shipment is received and after a quality check, Decluttr pays quickly—often the next day—via PayPal or direct deposit.