When you need to make extra money, a great way to start is by selling things online.
After all, you probably have a load of old things you don’t use any more, and you could clear out some clutter while making money at the same time.
When people ask me what can I sell to make money from home? it’s actually quite a hard question to answer because it depends on you and what you have available.
The short answer is: anything and everything!
To give you a bit more inspiration, I’ve put together a list of over 20 different things you can sell to make money from home.
There are lots of practical suggestions, a few easy things to sell from around the home, and a few things you probably never realised you could sell!
Let me know how you get on!
Just a heads up, most of my posts contain affiliate links. That means if you buy something after clicking one of my links I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my site!
Easy things to sell from around the house
Ok, if you’ve decided to make some extra money from home by selling things online, the easiest way to start is to look for things around the house that you don’t need any more.
This is an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone: you get to declutter your home, and you can make money in the process!
Here are some of the easiest things to sell to make money fast on eBay or other selling sites:
Old clothes
This might be the easiest place to start. If you have second hand clothes that are good quality, vintage and/or designer, you can make very good money selling them on, but even non-designer clothes can sometimes get a good price if you take care with your photos and listings. For cheaper clothes, it might be easier to sell in a bundle.
This post has great tips on selling second hand clothes online.
Second hand furniture
Furniture is a great thing to sell because it can be so expensive new and people are always looking out for a bargain. Furniture can be easier to sell locally and you can ask people can collect it themselves. Try Gumtree, Preloved and Facebook marketplace.
Old phones
If you’ve recently upgraded your mobile, don’t leave the old one knocking around in a drawer. Second hand phones are an easy thing to sell to make quick cash. Recent models could get hundreds! Use Sell My Mobile to check which site will pay you the most.
Electronics
As well as mobiles, all kinds of electronics sell well online. Have a clear out and sell anything you’re not using on eBay, Music Magpie or Facebook, or you could take it into a local electronics shop to get a price.
DVDs, books, games
If you have a lot of DVDs, books, CDs and games to get rid of, I recommend using the apps Ziffit, We Buy Books and Music Magpie. You can read more about these apps in this post.
You simply scan the bar codes of your books and the app will tell you how much they will pay. These apps don’t pay very highly, but they are an easy way to get rid of a lot of books, DVDs etc in one go.
If you have any rarer books or more expensive books such as textbooks, you might be able to get more selling these separately on eBay.
Childhood toys
Have you still got piles of Beanie Babies in a box somewhere and you’re wondering if they’re worth anything? Well, not all childhood toys are worth much, but there are a few rarer pieces that you might be lucky enough to have around the house.
This guide lists some of the best. You can also check the finished listings on eBay and see how much similar things have gone for.
Unusual things to sell to make money
So you’ve had a clear out and sold off your spare electronics, furniture and that expensive coat you never wore anyway. But what’s next?
Well, there is a demand for a lot of surprising things that you probably never even thought of selling. You can even sell things that you might consider to be rubbish.
If you don’t believe that people pay money for these things, search for them on eBay, then go to the ‘advanced’ search and select ‘completed listings’. You’ll be amazed at some of the prices!
Do you have any of these things around the house?
Empty jars
There is a huge market for empty glass jars on eBay. I’m not sure what people are using them for – maybe crafts, or for pickling or jam making. You can sell plain pasta or coffee jars. Yankee Candle jars also do well.
Empty perfume bottles
Have you used up your favourite perfume? You can sell on the empty glass bottle for a couple of pounds!
Old shoes and slippers
So you’ve already listed all your good quality clothes on eBay, but you probably decided that there’s no way you could sell you stinky second hand shoes.
Well, apparently there’s a certain market for used shoes… the stinkier the better! If the idea doesn’t freak you out too much, this post has more details.
Toilet roll tubes
I couldn’t believe this one when I read about it in this post! People are willing to pay for the empty tubes from the middle of your toilet roll to use in crafts and other things (hamster toys?). Save them up until you have a batch of 50 or so and list on eBay.
Used corks
Wine and champagne corks are sold for hobbies, crafts and rustic wedding decorations. If you get through a fair bit of wine, trying saving up the corks and selling them in a batch once you’ve got a few.
Apple product boxes
Apple products are known to be good quality, and apparently so are the boxes! Yes, people pay money online for empty boxes with the right branding.
Designer carrier bags
If you have any designer carrier bags from expensive shops or brands, you can make some easy money by listing the bag on eBay.
Nothing physical to sell? Try this…
If you’re still determined to find things to sell from home, but you really don’t have any physical items left to sell, think outside the box. Here are some other things you can sell to make money, even with no product:
Your skills
If you have a skill such as writing, proofreading, speaking another language, programming or graphic design, an obvious way to make extra money is by picking up some freelance work. See this guide on how to get started.
Can’t think of any marketable skills? Don’t let that stop you. You can sell all sorts of weird ‘services’ on Fiverr, such as recording yourself singing happy birthday or send people jokes.
Sell designs on print-on-demand sites
Have you ever thought about creating your own products to sell? Creating a physical product typically involves a lot of investment and risk, but thanks to ‘print-on-demand’ sites, you can sell products printed with your own original designs with no cost upfront because the products are not printed until they’ve already sold. I’ve written about my experience with print-on-demand here.
Your parking space
If you have a driveway that’s empty during the day, list it on a site such as Just Park and make easy money by letting people use it while you’re out! This can be really profitable if you live near a town centre, station or stadium.
You spare room
If you’re lucky enough to have a spare room, consider taking a lodger or renting it out occasionally on Airbnb (use this calculator to find out how much you could earn!).
Advertising on your car
Have your own car? One easy way to make money with your car with very little effort is to sell advertising space! Car Quids is one company that will send you ad stickers to apply to your car. You can make around £100 a month doing this.
Gift cards
If you have any spare gift cards lying around (maybe you got one as a gift but you never got round to spending it), you can exchange it for cash to a friend or try to find a buyer on an online marketplace like Facebook.
Have you had experience selling any of these items online? What have you found to be the best things to sell online to make money?
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