There are many different selling apps available nowadays – so which one is best? In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of our top options.
Whether you’re spring cleaning or just trying to get rid of a few bits of clutter from your closet, you may have considered using an app to sell some of your used items.
Selling apps make the process of offloading items easy, quick, and safe!
Plus, they’ll often handle some of the more complicated parts of second-hand selling for you such as disputes, refunds, and collecting payment information.
However, there are now so many buy-and-sell apps available that it can be hard to know which is best for you.
You need to think about what you’re selling, how much you want to earn, and how you want to get it to your buyer (among countless other factors).
Some apps have listing fees and some don’t, while others have entirely unique systems that can be mystifying to a beginner!
Luckily, we’ve written an entire article about which apps are best for different types of selling.
Read on to find out which app is best for your needs – no matter what they may be!
screenshot of the ebay homepage
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eBay is the classic online marketplace and is still massively popular despite its age.
Their fees can be a little confusing, with their cut being anywhere between 2.35% and 15% depending on your item and how it’s sold.
Though their final fee amount isn’t normally very big, it’s hard to know how much you’ll be charged until the end because it’s split into many small portions.
If you have a wide variety of items to sell and want a large audience to sell to, eBay is a great option.
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Facebook is super accessible because practically everyone uses it! Whether you’re a seller or a buyer, logging into the Facebook Marketplace is as easy as clicking a button.
No one is anonymous, which makes things safer for everyone involved and helps to combat scammers.
However, this means you’re exposed, too – something that should be heavily considered.
The best part of Facebook Marketplace is the ability to list items in specific groups, meaning you can sell to a highly niche audience to match your item!
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If you’re looking to sell clothing – especially luxury clothing – Poshmark is probably the best option.
They’ve got over 80 million members and over 5,000 brands listed on the app each day! The market is huge, and you’ll have no problem with exposure.
They also handle all shipping and payment logistics, which takes a lot of stress off you.
Unfortunately, their commission rate is pretty high compared to other sites. This is most likely attributed to the convenience of their shipping and payment systems.
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OfferUp is a great local selling option, with in-built safety recommendations like their Community Meetup Spots which show areas that are well-lit, populated, and monitored by cameras.
You communicate with buyers directly to organize payment, and to pickup or drop off items.
Shipping is an option as well, but does mean that a cut will be taken by the app.
Optionally, you can sign up for their premium subscription to boost your listings.
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Another locally-focused buy-and-sell app, LetGo tries to create an online garage sale for your neighborhood.
They have a strong focus on safety with great scam and inappropriate content filters.
They also verify all their users, which helps filter out spam for the most part.
The 40-minute wait for listings to appear can be tedious if you want to get stuff sold as quickly as possible, especially when most other apps list items instantly!
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Craigslist is one of the original buy-and-sell sites, and now they’ve expanded to an app format with CPlus.
It’s available in 570 cities across 70 countries and sees hundreds of thousands of listings a day in some of the most popular cities.
Using your geolocation, the app will advertise your listing to those nearby. This makes it perfect for local pickups and drop-offs.
However, safety is always a concern – especially with CPlus’ anonymous accounts.
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Amazon is the largest online retailer in the present day, selling practically everything almost anywhere in the world!
Getting your stuff onto the Amazon platform isn’t too hard, but actually selling it is.
There’s so much competition, and those who succeed have it down to a science.
If you’re a casual seller, Amazon probably isn’t a great option.
However, if you’ve got the time and grit to become proficient with it, you may come to love it (and the profit it brings!).
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Bonanza operates on a “booths” concept, which is basically your private store where you can sell your items to their user base.
They have a strong focus on unique, interesting, and niche items that can’t be found elsewhere.
This makes them perfect for artists, crafters refurbishers, or anyone who likes to comb their local antique stores for interesting finds.
Their advertising program doesn’t need any money upfront and instead takes a cut from your sale price, which is unique.
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This app is great for selling to a very local area, aiming to emulate a “virtual garage sale” (hence the name).
For this reason, all accounts are linked to your Facebook account – meaning buyers and sellers can see your photos and information as you interact with them.
This keeps things above board and helps to prevent scammers.
There aren’t any built-in shipping or payment systems, so organizing these aspects is entirely up to you.
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NextDoor is mostly a neighborhood bulletin board, filled with event announcements, road closures, and complaints.
However, you can also sell things on the site! Your listing will show up like any other post, which can definitely help with visibility.
Unfortunately, this can also mean it gets lost in all the other goings-on in your neighborhood.
There aren’t any fees, but all negotiation and payment/delivery is up to you to figure out.
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This app specializes in luxury brands of clothing, handbags, makeup, and more! If you’ve got Prada or Louis Vuitton you don’t want, this is definitely where you should sell it.
The more you sell, the more badges you’ll earn that boost your listings. However, this can mean being a new seller is tedious since your listings will get buried.
Vestiaire fully handles all shipping and payment, which means you only have to worry about listing the item and sending it off once it’s sold.
Their 15% commission rate is very reasonable considering this.
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If you can’t be bothered with listing your item, communicating with buyers, or sorting shipping, Decluttr is the perfect option.
They accept phones, CDs, DVDs, books, LEGO, games and consoles, and other assorted tech.
This includes items that are damaged or even completely broken!
Best of all: they handle pretty much everything. Simply scan your item’s barcodes, send them in, and receive payment a day later.
This app is by far the most convenient on this list. However, their commission rate is also much higher to match this convenience!
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This app is all about furniture and home decor, covering everything from art and lighting to rugs and sofas.
Their focus is on vintage and handmade items, which make up a whopping 85% of their listings.
If your item fits this category – great! The audience is very suitable for it. Otherwise, you might have some trouble selling on their site.
You should keep in mind that large items will probably need to be pick-up only, since shipping can be tricky.
It's never been easier to sell items online, and you can make extra cash quickly if you know which marketplace to pick.
If you're trying to sell something locally like a car, hit up Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist first, then try local, secured apps like 5mile and OfferUp.
And if you're cleaning out a wardrobe and need to unload some formerly cool fashion, download Vinted or Thredup.
Just be sure to treat your sale like you would a social media post.
You'll need lots of pictures, and you’ll need be able to communicate often on apps with potential buyers just like you would on social media.
If you're going local, be sure to offer plenty of verified information, like a photo, phone number, or a Google or Facebook account to make sure your potential buyers feel safe enough to meet and make a deal.
Hopefully, this article has given you a better idea of which app would be best for selling your items.
Remember: safety is very important when interacting with anyone online, especially if you’re going to meet in person!
Make sure to meet in public places that are well-lit, populated, and ideally covered by a camera system.
You should also be aware of check scams and other deceptions used on selling sites.
Make sure any site you input your credit card information into is legitimate, and that you’ve verified its web address is correct. Happy selling!
The sources we reviewed to write this article.
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