Some of the Best Sites to Sell Your Products Online
Before the advent of the internet and ecommerce, car boots and newspapers were the only places where you could sell your stuff without owning a storefront. Now, with all of the different selling websites and apps available, anybody can make extra cash selling just about anything, without having to leave your house.
Online selling has completely changed the way we think about starting a business. And there’s a good reason why: 63 percent of shopping journeys start online, making online sites an increasingly lucrative option for selling your own products.
No matter what your objective is or what you’re selling, there’s a sales channel out there that’s a perfect fit for you. We’ve done some digging and compiled the best sites for you to sell your products online.
Online selling has completely changed the way we think about starting a business. And there’s a good reason why: 63 percent of shopping journeys start online, making online sites an increasingly lucrative option for selling your own products.
No matter what your objective is or what you’re selling, there’s a sales channel out there that’s a perfect fit for you. We’ve done some digging and compiled the best sites for you to sell your products online.
“Sell Anything” Marketplaces
These marketplaces are the most well-known online selling sites and accommodate just about any item you might have.
When it comes to creating your own website to sell your stuff, Shopify has got to be one of the easiest to use and most trusted.
Shopify is an excellent platform to start your own online selling site. It’s beginner-friendly and easy to use, with excellent customer service.
Shopify is an excellent platform to start your own online selling site. It’s beginner-friendly and easy to use, with excellent customer service.
Shopify is the world’s leading ecommerce platform, which enables wholesale creators and retailers to manage inventory, track sales, and execute new orders from within the same ecommerce ecosystem they might be using already.
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This online selling site works well for those that are not able to pay listing fees. Setting up a shop is easy, and you only pay fees if you make a sale.
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Amazon is a trusted, go-to website that sells over 400 products PER MINUTE. How’s it able to sell that much so quickly? Well, people feel a sense of comfort and trust when buying from this site.
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Amazon is known to verify sellers and keep counterfeit products out of its marketplace. And it’s earned people’s trust by delivering the items they want, on time. That’s why so many people consider it their go-to marketplace for online shopping . Such a large number of perks means that your products are more likely to be sold, but it also means that it comes with more fees.
Amazon is great for those looking to move large quantities of products or need exposure to a larger audience.
Amazon is great for those looking to move large quantities of products or need exposure to a larger audience.
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The original online selling platform, eBay, has been on the internet since 1995. There’s no denying the power of eBay selling. There is almost nothing that you can’t sell on eBay, so if you’re looking to sell something a little weird, this might be the online selling site for you.
eBay has over 1.3 billion listings and 182 million users worldwide, according to 2021 eBay Statistics. Similar to Amazon, it’s an incredibly large buyer network. |
Be aware of the selling fees when selling on eBay. They charge a non-refundable fee to list an item and another “insertion” fee if you decide to list the same item in another category. There’s also a “final value fee” that is a certain percentage (they say it’s 10-12% for most categories) of the price that your item sells for plus a percentage of the shipping fee. These fees vary and are calculated based on what your product is, how many, and what types of categories it is listed in, as well as shipping.
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VarageSale is a Toronto-based online selling platform created by an ex-elementary school teacher who grew frustrated with the scams and illegitimate listings on classified sites. The site requires sellers to create a Facebook verified profile to ensure that merchants use a real profile image and name, along with a personal bio. This helps buyers feel comfortable doing transactions as they have a better idea of who they are dealing with.
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VarageSale members can sell products online for free. As a seller, you can create a listing with a headline, description, and product photo. If someone is interested in making a purchase, they can reserve your item and plan an offline meetup for exchange or use Stripe to make an online payment. As of this writing, the platform isn’t charging a seller or transaction fee from merchants.
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Built and operated by Shopify, Handshake is a wholesale marketplace designed to bring suppliers and retailers together. Retailers can join Handshake whether they are brick-and-mortar or online (or both), and suppliers are handpicked by the Handshake team.
If you sell unique, distinctive products under your own brand, you can apply to sell wholesale on the platform. |
In addition to hosting a massive collection of unique, non-mass-produced products, Handshake stands apart from other online selling sites because of its integration with Shopify.
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Etsy caters to more of a niche market than that of eBay or Amazon. Here, you can sell your handmade goods, art, collectibles, and antiques. With annual sales exceeding 4.97 billion on the site in 2019, Etsy is considered to be a lucrative platform for online selling.
Etsy charges a listing fee for each item. The item stays in your shop for four months or until it sells, whichever comes first. When you sell an item, there is a percent transaction fee and a percent processing fee (this varies based on the location of the seller’s bank). |
Etsy is well-known and respected. Their ease of use and overall good standing in the online selling world make this site one of the best places to sell your stuff online.
Sell Locally
You can’t go wrong with these local “sell anything” sites if you are selling your stuff online to declutter your home, get rid of your old clothing or footwear, or if you don’t want to deal with shipping logistics. Free and easy to use, check out these well known online selling sites to trade locally.
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Facebook Marketplace to bring people in communities together to buy and sell. What’s exciting about Facebook Marketplace is that the company is starting to support ecommerce merchants. Facebook has partnered with online selling platforms, such as Shopify, to facilitate online merchant presence on Marketplace.
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There are no listing fees, but there are specific requirements and guidelines that you must follow as a merchant on Marketplace.
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Basically just a forum, Craigslist is basic and easy to use. Started in 1995 by Craig Newmark, it was originally developed to provide information on local happenings around the San Francisco Bay Area. It is now a go-to online selling site for many individuals and even some businesses.
The downside of Craigslist is the rampant scams and the “you’re on your own” style of dealing with fraud and disputes, which makes it a higher-risk selling site. |
This online selling site is best suited for those who prefer to sell locally and make deals in person. Some people take advantage of buying low and selling high on Craigslist, which can turn a pretty profit for those into market arbitrage.
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Gumtree is the first site for free classifieds ads in the UK. Buy and sell items, cars, properties, and find or offer jobs in your area.
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Gumtree's Etiquette of Buying and Selling Online - How to Guide
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Are you hoping to sell your once-loved items, or grab yourself a bargain, without paying high-street prices? With over 1.5 million ads live on Gumtree at any time, it’s the perfect place to buy or sell second-hand goods in its For Sale and Motors categories.
But how do you do so easily whilst overcoming potentially awkward situations during the process, such as meeting the buyer or seller in person, knowing what to do if the item doesn’t look as though it was described, and negotiating on price? That’s why Gumtree’s teamed up with the How to Academy and negotiation expert, Gavin Presman, to create a guide to ‘The Etiquette of Buying and Selling Online’. |
Free to download, it offers simple tips for both buyers and sellers to help them confidently navigate the online marketplace process, from making first contact, to meeting to retrieve/handover the item, to the transaction itself. So if you’re part of 18% of Brits who have never used an online marketplace*, download the ‘Seven Tips to a Stress-Free Online Marketplace Experience’ today here: DOWNLOAD
Something for Everybody
No matter what you’re selling or how you want to sell it, there is an online selling site that fits your needs. Whether you want to clear your cluttered home, expand your reach for your retail store, or are looking to break into the ecommerce scene with your unique brand, you’re sure to find a platform on this list that works for you.
