Selling Online

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Deciding if you should use eBay or perhaps Craigslist or Amazon, an auction house, a collectibles dealer, a consignment shop or even have a garage sale is the first thing you must consider. Below is a list of items and suggestions as to which site you might use. Then we have included how to use eBay and Craigslist. Just click on the appropriate links.

Websites for Selling Goods Online

​New sites to help you sell online:
  • Saily
    Download the app to help you buy or sell your used stuff in your neighborhood.
  • OfferUp
    A simple way to buy and sell locally. 
  • Close5
    An easy way to buy & sell locally.
  • Sello
    Lets you sell anything to anyone anywhere.
  • Move Loot
    ​    The easiest way to buy and sell used furniture.

​Open Your Own On-line Store

Sell products by opening your own ecommerce store under a unique domain name. Using an eCommerce platform to build an online store is easy because you can customize it without any prior knowledge of complex programming.

Check out the top 10 Website builders at www.best10websitebuilders.com to see which builder fits your needs.​
Antiques. Use eBay, the premier Internet-auction site. Auction sales are perfect for antiques. If the antiques truly are rare and valuable, competitive bidders can drive up the prices. Exception: A local auction house or consignment store might be a better choice for large antiques that would be very expensive to ship. Go to Google.com and type in "local auction houses" for one near you. Use an auction house for antiques with a high resale value.

Appliances. Sell large appliances on Craigslist. It would cost too much to ship these, and Craigslist is the best way to reach local buyers. Sell small appliances on Amazon.com. They tend to fetch higher prices there than on eBay.

Art. Sell on eBay. Amazon.com is not designed for one-of-a-kind items, such as art (though it does have a category for poster prints)... and art-for-sale listings don’t attract much attention on Craigslist. Exception: Major auction houses, such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, could be the best options for expensive art.

Bicycles. Sell high-end or collectible bikes on eBay. Buyers are likely to pay the $40 or more in shipping charges only if a bike is special. Sell mainstream bikes, older bikes and children’s bikes on Craigslist. Buyers can find used bikes on Craigslist for less than $50.

Books. Sell on Amazon.com -- that’s where most book buyers shop on the Internet. Exception: If you want to sell many used books of little value, list them as one lot on Craigslist. Group lots by theme, such as "Box of 25 paperback Western novels." Or donate them to a local library book sale. The charity tax deduction might be more than these books would bring if sold.

Clothing. Sell designer and vintage clothing on eBay. Sell other clothing as lots on Craigslist, or donate them to charity for the tax deduction. Use a consignment shop for "like-new" brand name clothing.

Collectibles. Sell old or rare collectibles on eBay. Sell modern collectibles that are not in great demand on Amazon.com, where at least you won’t have to pay listing fees if they don’t find buyers. Follow auctions of similar collectibles on eBay to determine if yours are in demand or not. Example: Commemorative plates made in large quantities during the past decade might not be worth posting on eBay. Use a collectibles dealer for objects with a devoted fan base like coins or stamps.

DVDs, CDs and Video Games. Sell on Amazon.com. These categories have become so flooded on eBay that many auctions do not attract competitive bids. Exception: An eBay auction could be appropriate for a DVD or CD that is no longer being produced and is difficult to find.

Electronics. Sell recent electronics, such as a new-model DVD player or digital camera, on Amazon.com. For older electronics (those that still are in demand but are no longer sold on Amazon.com), use eBay. Follow eBay auctions of similar items to evaluate demand. Sell (or give away) old electronics that are in low demand on Craigslist.

Exercise equipment. Sell on Craigslist. Most exercise equipment is too heavy to be economically shipped to buyers in other regions.
Furniture. Sell on Craigslist. Most furniture weighs too much to be affordably shipped. This is one of the most active "for sale" categories on Craigslist.

Golf clubs. Sell modern clubs and antique clubs on eBay. Sell clubs that are out-of-date but not antiques on Craigslist.
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Jewelry. Sell on eBay. Jewelry is too unique to sell on Amazon.com, which is designed for mass-produced merchandise... and Craigslist doesn’t reach enough potential buyers to bring a fair price. Helpful: Many bidders won’t trust jewelry auctions from sellers who lack an eBay track record. If you’re relatively new to eBay, consider selling jewelry through an eBay "trading assistant" who specializes in jewelry sales (http://pages.ebay.com/tahub). This person will list the jewelry for you for a fee. Use an auction house for high value jewelry.

Local-interest items. Sell on Craigslist, which is divided into ¬regional sites, so it’s a good choice for items of interest to regional buyers. Example: A 19th-century map of your town.

Musical instruments. Sell on Craigslist. Musicians like to play instruments before they buy them, which usually is not possible with Amazon.com or eBay. Exception: eBay is best for antique instruments and high-end instruments from collectible makers, such as a Gibson guitar.

Skis. Sell modern high-end skis in excellent condition on eBay. eBay also is the place to sell antique skis. Sell run-of-the-mill worn or low-end skis on Craigslist -- buyers won’t bid very much for them on eBay, where they also would have to pay $20 or more in shipping charges.

Tickets. Sell them on eBay’s StubHub. This is the most popular of the ticket-resale Web sites is StubHub.com. Exception: Some sports teams insist that season ticket holders resell unwanted tickets only through their designated channels. Review the small print on the ticket or the team’s Web site for details.

Toys. Sell in lots on Craigslist... or in a garage sale. Exception: Toys more than a generation old might be collectible. See if similar items are fetching high prices in eBay auctions, and sell there instead if they are.

Vehicles, including cars, boats and RVs. Sell on Craigslist. Vehicles are best sold locally, because buyers like to test-drive them before buying. Exception: Sell vintage or collectible vehicles through eBay Motors.