Amazon
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Amazon isn’t just a juggernaut when it comes to buying things, it’s a great place to sell them as well. We’ve featured Amazon’s fulfillment program before, shown you how to make the most possible money selling on Amazon, and how it can make you a ton of money if you know your stuff will sell quickly. Part of what makes Amazon such an attractive place to sell your stuff is that your used stuff goes right up for sale next to the new versions of the same products—so anyone shopping for, say, a Nintendo 3DS, will see your offer under “New and Used” right next to the price for the same item new. If they’re interested in saving a few bucks, it’s one click before they see the one you have for sale—and considering how many people browse Amazon for just about anything, that’s a huge potential audience. Plus, listing your item is super easy, even if you don’t sign up for Amazon’s fulfillment program. You list it, wait for it to sell, then ship. If you really want, you can send all your junk to Amazon, let them list it for you, then handle the shipping and customer service after it sells.
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Facebook may not seem like the first place you’d think of when you’re looking to sell things, but in reality it’s a great destination. It is the world’s largest social network, after all, and it’s packed with buy-and-sell groups for specific items and interests. It’s also full of local swap groups where people who live in specific communities or even in specific apartment communities can talk to one another and offer their used goods up to their neighbors. We’ve discussed these groups in the past, and you may be surprised to find one in your area—all you have to do is go look for one to join. Some are public, others are private and require you to prove your identity and where you live, but in any case, they’re worth checking out if you want to sell your stuff, but don’t feel like dealing with deadbeats or shipping your stuff across the country.
One of the biggest benefits of Facebook as a sales tool is that you can set your own price, and you don’t have a third party in the middle taking a cut of the sales. Of course, you have to keep in mind that many of those buy/sell/trade groups only accept certain kinds of listings, but you always get to know exactly who you’re dealing with, instead of some anonymous emailer or lowball offer. That doesn’t necessarily make it easier, but it does give you a great alternative. In its nomination thread, one of you noted that you almost exclusively use Facebook for selling things at this point, and it’s especially good for weeding out weirdos and seeing who you’re buying from before they show up to meet you and make the exchange. Check out the full nomination thread here.