In our cellar or in the attic we are full of useless objects, left there to make dust without ever deciding whether or not to throw them in the garbage? Before thinking about their disposal it is a good idea to check if they still have value on the market: even the most unthinkable objects could have value for someone else, just try! Nowadays, people really sell everything online, often finding unthinkable feedback and interest: you may have a small treasure in your home without knowing it.In order to start selling items, however, you must rely on best sites to sell any item online. Many of these sites offer the option of sell used items on the Internet, withholding only percentages on any online sales and charging for visibility or options (often necessary to re-emerge the ad among the many present).
How to sell used items online
In this guide we will discover all the effective tricks for sell a used item on the internet, in addition to the best sites where we can easily complete our trade in a fast, safe and effective way.
Tips for selling on the internet
Selling is not easy, you have to follow very precise rules to hope to place an object or a product; these rules don't bring you absolute certainty (which doesn't exist), but they can greatly increase your chances of selling. Making an ad on a site is the simplest part, but few know the real tricks to effectively sell an item.
We have collected in the following list the best tips on selling a product on online sites:
- Item value: easy to make the highest possible price, hoping to earn a lot; pity that nobody will ever come to buy anything from us. The price we have to apply must be proportionate to the real absolute value of the object, to its possible relative value (when is it valid now that it has been used for a few years?) And to its rarity (how many other users have the same object for sale?).
- Sale price: studying the information in point 1, easily retrievable online or on the site where you want to place the sale, we will be able to find out the ideal price for our object. It is not possible to give an answer for any object, but we can get an idea by seeing the prices applied by other sellers and placing our object at a slightly lower price but sufficient to obtain at least 40% of the absolute market value.
- Presentazione: presenting the object well is essential to be able to sell it. So let's take as many photos as possible, from any angle, with professional cameras or with good cameras (at least 10 megapixels). If the site we have chosen offers a limited selection of photos to upload for free (often you have to pay to upload more than 3 photos or more), we try to take characteristic photos or photos that allow you to see the whole subject well; in these cases, spending something to place as many photos as possible could dramatically increase the chances of selling an object, so let's have no qualms about paying to see our object placed better than competitors who have not spent anything.
- Description: we describe in detail every detail of the object to be sold, without forgetting any problems, defects or malfunctions (they must be accurate). The more precise we are in the description, the more interested users we will get, the higher the sales chances will be. We don't try to be smart omitting some important information: if the buyer finds out, he could request refunds or report them to the postal police for an easily avoidable mistake.
- Terms of Payment: always try to use traceable and safe payment methods, so as to avoid bad surprises during the sale. Since in most cases users will have to pay you in advance we use PayPal as a payment system: it is easy, it is used by many users and it can also be associated with a prepaid card. In this way all payments will be traceable and we will easily avoid scams. We do not use Postepay, prepaid credit cards or money orders, scams are around the corner.
- Time to sell: many sites propose to decide the maximum time that the object can remain on sale. While it's free we try to keep the item on sale as long as possible, but if we go beyond 2 weeks without results, maybe it's better to give up and leave the time to some other more interesting item.
- Shipping: If the item needs to be shipped to you, we use traceable shipping methods. This is also essential to prove that we have done our part, in case the user wants to be smart and ask for a refund from PayPal even after having correctly received the item. Using the courier service of Poste cittàne or other express couriers, we will always obtain a receipt of the shipment and the tracking code, to be sent to the user to track the shipment.
Best sites to sell used online
After seeing the best tips for selling an item online it's time to analyze together which sites can be used to sell all of our items, not even paying for ad placement.
The most famous site where to sell any item quickly throughout the city is immediately.com, accessible both from the website and from the app for Android and iPhone / iPad.
Using this site is very simple: at the top we click on Insertion advert, we insert the detailed description and photos of the object to be sold, the contact methods (we always insert the email, while we leave the phone number visible only to registered users) and the payment methods we want to use; once ready we confirm the announcement and await confirmation. The site managers will check that the ad complies with the terms and conditions and, if everything is fine, within 24 hours we will have the ad clearly visible in the category and reachable with the theme searches.
Another good site that we can use to auction a used item is Catawiki, accessible from the website and the app for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
On this site we can auction any object in our possession, we can have it evaluated by a team of experts who will give it the right value and, as soon as the auction is open, it will be possible to follow the progress of the same, fixing also a possible reserve price below which not to go down (to always make money).
Another very useful site for selling any object online is Kijiji, accessible from the website and the app for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
This site offers the possibility to insert for free (and without hidden costs) any type of ad, so that you can easily sell your object. To use Kijiji, click on the symbol at the top right Inserisci, we choose the category, the municipality where we reside, insert the description, the photo and a captivating title for our object, followed by the contact information (name and email required, telephone number optional), then click on Post your ad. After the verification process (which can last a few hours but also a few days) the announcement will be published on the site if it meets the required requirements (no vulgarity, no drugs, weapons, alcohol or other outlawed products.
The platform eBay remains one of the best ways to sell any item online! We can access the service both from the website and from the app for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
With eBay we can both sell in auction mode (whoever makes the highest price wins) and in Buy it now mode, so as to sell the item to the first user who offers the requested amount. To sell on this site we open the homepage and click at the top of the page on Sell; we will be asked for the login credentials of the account (if necessary create one on the spot).
On the announcement page we enter the description of your object, the photos, the shipping and payment methods accepted, we choose the type of sale (auction or buy it now) and finally click on Put up for sale. After a careful analysis by the site managers our ad will appear on eBay, we just have to wait for users to start bidding at auction or decide to buy it right away.
A less popular site, but still effective in selling used items on the internet is shpock, accessible both from the website and from the apps for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
On this site we can easily post an advertisement after registering for an account. For each sale advertisement it is necessary to publish one or more photos of the object, write a title and a description; the ads can then be shared on Facebook, so as to dramatically increase the chances of being able to sell the used item.
Conclusions
Selling old and little-used items online can be a very lucrative additional source of income, as somewhere in the city or in the world there will always be someone willing to spend a little money on a used item that is in good condition.
If we want to expand the possibilities of online sales or even want to open an online shop, we invite you to read our guides How to use groups to buy and sell on Facebook e How to open an online store.
If we look for other effective methods to make money online, we can continue reading in our in-depth study How to make money on the Internet and make money online in 10 ways.
Best sites to sell used items on the internet
