The best apps for selling your unwanted stuff

Lots of us have had a bit of a clear out over the last year. (And some of us have found we own a lot of clothes that don’t fit us any more…*sob*.) Charity shops around the country are bursting at the seams.

So if you have piles of stuff you need rid of – or even just one or two hidden treasures – it’s the perfect time to make a little extra cash. We’ve got the lowdown on the best apps and online marketplaces for selling stuff you no longer want or need.

Selling clothes

You can usually make more money on second-hand clothes and accessories on eBay than you can elsewhere. And the helpful tools, such as prepaid shipping labels, can make it one of the most convenient ways to sell, too.

It does come with a higher selling fee than you’re likely to pay on most other apps and sites. But you can list a certain number of items per month with no selling fee. And there are lots of guides and tips out there on the best way to list your item for maximum sales – we like this guide from budgeting blogger Katie Saves.

Depop is a fashion buying and selling app with a difference, with more than 21 million users. It’s a bit like a cross between eBay and Instagram, so it’s worth taking the time to get good quality photos of your items! When you set up an account, potential buyers can find you via hashtags and the ‘Explore’ page, and follow you so they’ll see when you list new items. The app is free, but Depop takes 10 per cent of the profit for each item sold.

Despite the name, Vinted isn’t just for selling vintage clothes – in fact, some sellers report making more money on cheaper brands than they would on eBay, since Vinted doesn’t charge fees.

The process for shipping items is a little less user-friendly than some other apps, and you don’t get the money from your sales in your account straightaway like you do on eBay, because Vinted holds on to the cash for a few days to protect both buyer and seller. But for low value items, that little bit of extra cash could be well worth the little bit of extra hassle.

You can also use Vinted to swap clothing instead of selling it for cash – a great way to get a new look for less!

Shpock is a quick and easy-to-use app set up in 2014 for selling used clothing, furniture, or electronics. It markets itself as eBay without the selling fees, but it does charge for ‘add-ons’ that help more people see your items. And you have to sort out the logistics of payment and shipping with your buyer, since the site doesn’t handle that for you.

Thinking about selling your wedding dress? So many people cling on to these for the sentimental value. But if you’re short of cash, there are worse ways to make money than by helping someone else have the wedding of their dreams.

As well as eBay, there are a number of specialist bridal gown selling sites, which are especially good if you’re selling a frock by a named designer. Check out Sell My Wedding Dress (£10 for six months’ advertising) and Still White (£17, but your ad stays up till it sells).

Selling gadgets, games and music

You won’t make quite as much money as you would on eBay, but selling on trade-in sites is faster and easier. Type in the barcode or product name on the site – or even better, scan the barcode with your phone – for an instant valuation. Have a shop around on these apps and sites:

• CeX covers DVDs, CDs and games. They’ve been trading for over 25 years, and offer cash or store credit for trade-ins.
• Slightly newer on the scene is Ziffit, which covers books, CDs, DVDs and games. Known for paying quickly.
• GameXchange is another site for selling DVDs and games – it’s generally best for retro games. You have to pay for postage with this one.
• Music Magpie is well established as a way to sell books, CDs, DVDs and games. It usually pays on the day it receives your items.

Once you’ve compared and found the top payer, you simply accept the valuations, pack up your stuff carefully, send it off, and wait to get paid!

Have an old mobile lying around? Depending on how old it is, you could get hundreds of pounds for it using Sell My Mobile, Compare and Recycle, or, of course, eBay. Shop around to see where you can get the best price.

Selling books

Books were starting to take over our house, so we came up with a new rule for books we’d already read. You can only keep it IF…it has particular sentimental value; you’re definitely going to read it again; or it looks especially beautiful on the shelf.

That might leave you with a lot of books to get rid of! Listing them on eBay will probably net you the most cash, but it takes time and effort, especially if you have a lot to sell.

Amazon Marketplace is slightly easier, as the site is already set up to sell books – but Amazon will take a hefty chunk of the price you get.

Trade-in sites don’t pay as much, but they’re much easier to use – you can usually just scan the barcode of each book to see how much they’ll buy it for. Ziffit and Music Magpie take books, as we mentioned above. We also like WeBuyBooks. Again, try scanning with a few different apps to see which one offers the best price.

Selling homeware

As with so many items, you can usually get the best price for second-hand furniture, kitchenware and so on by selling on eBay. But shipping larger items can be a hassle, so it might be easier to look for local buyers who can come and pick them up.

Local Facebook groups and Facebook Marketplace are where, instead of eBaying second-hand goods, people harness the social media network’s power to sell items locally. The best bit is there are NO fees, so you keep the profit. Gumtree is good for this type of item too.

Selling children’s toys

It’s a familiar story by now: go for eBay for the best price, or sell on Facebook for the convenience. And if you happen to have a large amount of miscellaneous Lego, Music Magpie will buy it by the half-kilo.

Selling miscellaneous stuff

You might be surprised what people will buy…

• Accessories for your outdated gadgets, like cables, remotes or even boxes, might no longer be of any use to you – but they might come in handy for someone else. Before you throw them away, try listing them on eBay, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace.
• You can recycle empty ink cartridges for cash at Cash For Cartridges, Recycle Ink Cartridges or Infotone. Shop around to see which site offers the best price for the cartridge you have. Don’t expect a fortune – but if you can earn a few pence while doing your bit for the environment, why wouldn’t you?
• One woman’s trash is another woman’s art project: empty perfume bottles and even the cardboard tubes from the middle of loo rolls can earn you a little cash if you find the right buyer. Take a look on eBay and see how much you could make – although it’s usually only worth the hassle if you have a large number of items to sell.

 

We hope this has given you some ideas for making a little cash from the things you no longer want or need. If you have a success story to tell us about or some additional tips to share, drop us a line over on Facebook or Instagram!