The Best Apps to Sell Stuff in 2022
A great way to earn extra cash is by selling your vintage or handmade items. The easiest way to do that is by using a free app to post and sell your items. Lots of people have learned how to make money on Etsy and sites like it, and it’s one of the best apps to sell stuff with. You can sell your stuff from the comfort of your own home to earn extra cash without having to set up a yard sale or go to a flea market.
Using an app service to sell secondhand items and accept online payment is a great way to turn unused items into cash. Consumer to consumer (C2C) marketplace apps had 28 million visits in the last part of 2020. Many people like to sell their stuff with apps, and there are even free apps to sell your stuff. In this article, we’ll cover the pros and cons of 10 of the best apps to sell stuff.
What Is An App for Selling Stuff?
Apps for selling stuff are mobile applications that connect sellers with customers. These apps are similar to ecommerce websites, but online selling apps are more portable and easier to use. You can always take the time to learn ecommerce, but apps make for faster sales and better communication with buyers. In fact, most ecommerce businesses have both websites and apps to make their virtual marketplaces more accessible.
Why Do People Use Apps to Sell Stuff?
People use mobile apps to sell stuff because they are easy to navigate and lead to sales fast. In fact, people use apps for everything. According to Statista, in 2020 alone, 230 billion apps were downloaded globally. Apps are a convenient way for an individual seller to access virtual marketplaces and sell everything from clothing to furniture.
How the Best Apps to Sell Stuff Can Help You Sell Your Unwanted Items Quickly
Sale and resale apps are designed to provide a comfortable and convenient experience for both the seller and the buyer. With just a few clicks you can sell your homemade or secondhand items or turn clutter into cash. Below are a few common features that make a great selling app.
User Experience
Apps used to sell stuff offer an excellent user experience. Customers can use filters and searches to easily find what they are looking for. From a seller’s perspective, you can streamline your sales to reach your target customer. Buyers can search for active listings in their own zip code so they can buy big-ticket items without having to pay shipping costs.
Connect to Buyers Faster
With mobile apps you can connect with potential buyers faster. Most apps offer an app chat feature for you to communicate with potential buyers and answer any questions about your posted item for sale. There are also options for buyers to give feedback on the items you offered, and good reviews can help you get more sales.
Accessibility
Mobile apps mean that you can sell from your location to buyers anywhere. As long as buyers are willing to pay the extra money for the shipping fee, you can sell to a much broader market than through traditional selling options. You can print out a prepaid shipping label at home and schedule a pickup with your chosen mail carrier. Some apps even offer a free shipping kit to use so it’s even less of a complicated process.
The 10 Best Apps to Sell Stuff: Overview
App | Availability | Notable Features | Cost |
---|---|---|---|
Amazon Seller Marketplace | IOS, Android | Monitor shipment, interact with customers | $0.99/sale or $39.99/month plus fees |
Chairish | iOS, Android | Sell high-end furniture, monitor shipment | 20% – 30% commission |
Decluttr | iOS, Android | Easy-to-use interface | Free |
eBay | iOS, Android | Great support for sellers | $0.30/item plus final item value fee |
Esty | iOS, Android | Transactions made easy with notifications and shipment tracking | $0.20 listing fee plus 6.5% transaction fee |
Hoobly | iOS, Android | Pets for adoption, speedy and responsive customer support | Free |
Instagram Shopping | iOS, Android | Easy to integrate with social media platforms, automated publishing | Free |
Meta Marketplace | iOS, Android | Chat through Facebook Messenger, see buyers’ Facebook profiles | Free |
NextDoor | iOS, Android | Interface with buyers via direct messaging, subscribers verified by address | Free |
OfferUp | iOS, Android | Provides notification for every step, uses little memory space on your device | $0.00 – $19.99/item |
The Best Apps to Sell Stuff and Make Your Life Easier
There are many great apps to sell stuff, some specialize in selling products like electronics or furniture. Apps with paid options save the best features for sellers who pay to use their platforms. Here are some of the standout features from some of the best-selling apps to sell stuff.
Amazon (Seller Marketplace) | $0.99/Sale or $39.99/Month Plus Fees
- Best Feature of Paid Version: Increased product visibility
- Biggest Downside of Paid Version: Lots of competition
The Amazon app is great to use because it has a huge number of customers for you to reach. The Seller Marketplace app has more than 200 million active users, and you can take advantage of Amazon’s logistics and shipping services with Fulfillment by Amazon. As a bonus, if you’re looking to sell services as well as items, you can advertise those services on Amazon Home Services.
Chairish | 20% – 30% Commission
- Best Feature of Paid Version: Attracts customers willing to pay high prices
- Biggest Downside of Paid Version: Items must be in very good condition
Chairish specializes in selling quality vintage and new furniture. The furniture sold on this app must be in excellent condition. Charish charges a 20 percent commission for every item sold on this platform. Chairish is a good option if you want to sell a high-quality piece of furniture for a high price.
eBay | $0.30/Item Plus Final Item Value Fee
- Best Feature of Paid Version: Dedicated customer support
- Biggest Downside of Paid Version: Complicated price structure
eBay is one of the best-known platforms to sell your unwanted stuff and make some cash. With more than 85 million sellers and 182 million users across the globe, it will be easy for you to find a buyer for your stuff. You can use the bidding option for auction-style sales, or you can use eBay’s fixed-price format, which is the “Buy It Now” option. Sellers can receive their payments through direct deposit, and buyers can pay by credit card, debit card, or PayPal.
Etsy | $0.20 Listing Fee Plus 6.5% Transaction Fee
- Best Feature of Paid Version: More visibility of products to buyers
- Biggest Downside of Paid Version: High commissions
Etsy is known as a marketplace for craft and vintage items. If you search Google for handmade items, this will probably be the first site to show up. The site is well-known to buyers who want unique, designer items, and customers on Etsy are willing to pay artists and crafters to craft one-of-a-kind products like designer clothes.
OfferUp | $0.00 – $19.99/Item
- Best Feature of Paid Version: Access to verified buyers
- Biggest Downside of Paid Version: Poor seller support
OfferUp app is a secure platform to connect verified buyers and sellers. On OfferUp, listings never expire, they only disappear when you remove them or sell the item. You can purchase OfferUp premium listing packages to sell your items quicker. The OfferUp premium listing price ranges from $0.99 to $19.99 per item.
The Best Free Apps to Sell Stuff
You too can sell your unwanted stuff via some of the best free sell stuff apps highlighted here. With the best free apps to sell stuff, there is no commission rate, no fee for items sold, and no need to subscribe to any premium plan.
Decluttr
- Best Feature: Sale items clearly categorized
- Biggest Downside: Lots of ads
Decluttr is a unique way of buying and selling stuff. Instead of waiting for prospective buyers to order your items, Decluttr gives you an instant valuation of your items for sale, buys them from you, and then later sells them to their customers. After Decluttr values your item, you ship it to Decluttr, and you get paid the next day.
Hoobly
- Best Feature: Best app for pet adoption
- Biggest Downside: Difficult to sell other products
Hoobly is an app for selling pets that need adoption, and it has become a go-to app for pet lovers. Hoobly also allows subscribers to sell other items on their platform, but pets are their most popular listings.
Instagram Shopping
- Best Feature: Easy to use
- Biggest Downside: Needs to link to an existing online store
You can use the well-known social media site Instagram to sell your stuff through the Instagram Shopping app. Selling your items on Instagram is free and easy to do too. You don’t need to direct customers to your website, buyers can purchase items via the Instagram Shopping app. However, to post items to sell you do need an existing online store on a website.
Meta Marketplace
- Best Feature: Accessible and easy to use
- Biggest Downside: Payment is not monitored by the app
Meta Marketplace, previously Facebook Marketplace, is one of the most accessible selling apps to use. With more than 800 million users, sellers have a huge marketplace to sell to. Using Meta Marketplace is free for anyone with a Facebook account, but you can choose to pay to advertise your products. You can make in-person transactions with your friends on this social media platform if you’d like. You can also can ship items and have the buyers pay the shipping fee for items sold to them.
NextDoor
- Best Feature: Suitable for an active neighborhood
- Biggest Downside: Not a good option for selling if NextDoor isn’t popular in your neighborhood
NextDoor is a community-based app with a selling function. NextDoor helps you connect with your neighbors, and some of them might be interested in buying your used items. To sell an item on NextDoor, simply upload a picture, item description, and price. A neighbor nearby who is interested in your product will message you privately. NextDoor also requires a triple verification process to be completed to make sure everyone stays safe.
Which of the Best Apps to Sell Stuff Should I Choose?
eBay is the most popular online marketplace for sellers in the US and has great name recognition since it is one of the oldest online marketplaces. Another great app is Decluttr because the app pays you for your items, then sells them to a customer.
If you have some financial burdens and love the idea of making extra cash through sites and apps like the ones listed in our article, start your own virtual flea market today and get some financial relief. Resale apps are a good way to build your own business from scratch. You get to choose a price range for each of your product listings and you can get rid of things like unused articles of clothing or electronic items.
Best Apps to Sell Stuff FAQ
Popular items that customers want to buy are clothing, gaming consoles, furniture and household items, and electronics. You can sell almost anything on an app to make money fast.
Decluttr is a great free app to sell stuff because you get paid fast. Decluttr will pay you for your items before a customer purchases them. One downside to Decluttr is that the app values your items, you don’t get to set the price.
A commission is a set percentage of every sale that you have to pay to the app, while subscription fees are usually a flat fee paid every month. Some apps give you the option to pay for a whole year of a subscription at once. That won’t work with commissions though. For example, if you sell a $20 jacket on an app with a 10 percent commission, you’ll have to pay the app $2 for that sale, and you’ll have to do that each time you sell an item.
Clothing and toys for kids, furniture, tools, and sports equipment all sell well on Meta Marketplace. To make more sales, make sure you take clear, high-quality photos of your items on a simple background. Make sure all items are clean.