Useful Apps and Websites for Selling Things in 2021

Facebook Marketplace

Wouldn't it be nice if everything I owned fit in my bedroom? I used to not have this problem when growing up since everything I owned did fit in my bedroom. For some reason, over the years, I accumulated more stuff. Now, I have an apartment full of things! At least it's not a house.

I know my goal of minimalism is not going to take a day, a week, a month, or even a year to achieve. It's a constant process. However, over the last couple of years I've been downsizing my things and selling them online.

Selling things online is not new, but a lot has changed. Back then Craigslist was the king for local buys and sells, and eBay was the queen of bidding. Today there are more places, apps, and websites to sell things. I want to sum up the services I've used that helped me get rid of things, which were then passed down to someone else for a second life rather than sending them to a landfill.

I start with the service that I sold the most on, and that's Facebook Marketplace. I recommend using this feature of the Facebook app because the people on Facebook are mostly real. There are very few scammers. I've encountered none so far. However, some people are flakey and would ask about the item I'm selling, but then ghost me. There is also a nice counter on Marketplace that shows how many people have viewed the item that I'm selling. This gives me a good metric about price points. Recently, I noticed that if I use the Facebook phone app to post an item, it'll tell me a price range that the item is going for. This is very handy and I'm surprised it's not a feature on the website.

I also used an app and website called Nextdoor. It's a neighborhood app that I was invited to when I first moved into my apartment. I think the app is still an invitation only. Basically, it's an app for local residents who belong to a neighborhood. It's a modern version of Craigslist, without the scammers and better user interface than Craigslist. I listed some things on it's For Sale section and only sold a few things. Facebook Marketplace definitely has more viewership than Nextdoor so I guess that's why I was able to sell more things there than Nextdoor.

Third is Craigslist. I still posted things on there to see if I can generate more sales. But Craigslist is more old school and full of scammers asking me to "verify" my post. No wonder there are a lot less traffic on Craigslist these days. I did sell a couple of things there, so some people are still using Craigslist.

Then there's Ebay. I listed some board games on there and was only able to sell one so far. I used to list my items for bidding, but you can actually have your items on Ebay as fixed price and it will stay on Ebay until someone buys it. I use Ebay only for items that I can ship. Even though, you can offer shipping on Facebook Marketplace I just never used it there. 

Similar to Ebay, but newer, is Mercari. This is an app only service. In many ways, it's like Ebay, but the user interface is simpler and the commission fee is 10% without any additional fees. I think Ebay charges transaction fees in addition to its commission fees. I've sold a couple of things on Mercari. I would only sell things I can ship on this app.

Lastly, I've tried OfferUp. Until a while ago, there was another app called Let Go that I signed up for. Now both companies combined to OfferUp. OfferUp is also an app only service. I didn't list too many things on there and can't really tell you anything about it since I never made a sell there. But it's something you may want to try.

In my opinion, there are too many services out there to choose from. However, if I were to pick one then I would choose Facebook Marketplace because the buyers are mostly real people, you can reach a local market or offer shipping, and the Facebook Marketplace is accessible on the web and on your smart phone. I would list all my items there first. For the things that don't sell there I'd consider using some of the other apps or websites.

I hope these apps and websites are helpful for anyone who is looking to sell their things. If there are any others that I've missed please let me know in the comments.