Whether you are saving up for an upcoming vacation or big expenses, the truth is we could all use some extra money. While there are many articles suggesting ways to do this, a lot of them require too much time. In this post, we will give you a step-by-step actionable guide that you can start right now to make extra money online.
Making money from home does not have to be vague, general, or complicated. Our goal is to make it as easiest and stress-free as possible while you make extra money on the side from home. Bonus? You get to declutter your home along the way!
What Do I Need To Buy To Sell Online?
You will not need anything extra to start selling online. Your goal is to make money right now, not spend. We suggest that you start with the absolute minimum that you can get away with. You can print shipping labels from home, a friend’s, or public places that are open. Use the library or business centers.
If you are in need of shipping material, here is a blog post dedicated to getting free resources for your shipping needs. You will also need to find a shipping scale and a measuring tape for shipping your packages. See if anyone you know has them before investing in one.
What Can I Sell Online?
First, go through your closets, basement, attic, or extra rooms. Find anything that you are no longer using or loving. It could be clothing, toys, books, home decor, sports equipment, or whatever. If you have forgotten it or not used it for a long time, it should go. If you are surprised to find those items, you do not need them. What you need right now is extra income. Focus on your objective and make a pile for these items.
Assess What Could Be Sold
Once you gather everything around your house that you can sell, go through them to sort through the condition. Clean, wash, or wipe everything if needed.
Next, you will be spending time on research and getting ready to list your pile. Because this step can take time, make sure that the items are worth it. You can sell most things online for cheap but it may take a long time. Items that are brand new, like new, or are in demand will get you cash faster and make the most amount of money, The exception is items that are old but have pop-culture meaning.
Pick a Platform to Sell On
One of the easiest ways to start selling online is selling through platforms. These are online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Poshmark, Mercari, and Depop. For guidance on which platform to use based on the type of items that you will be trying to sell, check out this blog post here.
How To Price An Item
If you have decided on a platform, download the app and start searching for each exact item that you plan to sell, and search the completed listings. You can do this by typing out the brand and type of item.
For example, “Ralph Lauren Button-down shirt” or “TI-84 Calculator”. Completed listings will give you an idea of how to price your item. That will give you an estimation of how much you should expect to earn after all fees are accounted for.
Also, check what other sellers are pricing for the same or similar items. You can price lower, the same, or higher depending on how fast you want to make a sale. Remember, every ten dollars per sale adds up. While you are at this stage, look for brands that perform very well for each category. Brands that cost a lot of money retail usually will sell well but that is not always the case. You will need this information for a later step.
Start Listing
Your biggest hurdle is here. Many people think selling online is complicated because they may find the platforms intimidating. The solution is to just start listing. There are many resources online for how to list on each online marketplace, including here at the blog. Check here for how to list on Depop as a beginner.
You already have your items and you now know how much money you can expect once they sell. If selling each individual item would yield you too little money after the platform fee, bundle them up!
Bundling items into twos, threes, or even five will make it worth it for the buyer. It will also cut down the effort for you. If you have a timeframe in mind, list in multiple platforms and list locally on the Facebook marketplace.
What About Shipping?
The easiest way to sell online without having to deal with any shipping is posting your items locally and having the buyer pick up the item. Otherwise, most platforms make it very easy to ship your product once it sells. They will either mail you the shipping label or give you an option to mail out the item on your own.
If you are just starting out and want to make everything as easiest as it can be for yourself, choose the option to ship with the platform if they give you a choice. For example, both Depop and Mercari give you the option to ship with them or to ship on your own.
It can be cheaper to ship on your own, however, it takes a bit more effort than having a shipping label mailed to you. Poshmark takes the choice away altogether so that it is very easy on the seller. If you’re interested in comparison on selling on Poshmark versus Depop versus Mercari, check this blog here.
How Much Time Will It Take Me?
You can dedicate a few hours of your weekend and start there. If you are reading this on a workday during the week, set an alarm and start now for an hour. Put what you are able to find in a corner of your house and mark an hour of your day after work at the same time every day.
Once you have listed, pay attention to how many likes or watchers your items have. If the platform allows, offer a discount to get sales moving. Platforms like Poshmark, Mercari, and eBay allow you to send discounted offers to likers or watchers of your items.
Source For More Items
If you have a particular number in mind for how much extra money you need to earn, calculate backward how many items you need to list given a certain price. After you have sold or listed everything that you can, it may be that you need to start sourcing extra items to list. You do not have to be intimidated by this, especially when your goal is to make extra money, not spend.
Sourcing with very little money is possible. You can start with your local thrift store and garage sales in your neighborhoods where you can find items to sell for a few dollars. Give yourself a budget to stick to, say $20 to start with, for example. Look for brands and types of items that you have studied to sell well.
Shop Small
A saying that is quite popular that is often said for personal finance is “a penny saved is a penny earned”. While you may be toiling to earn extra money, shopping from individual sellers through e-commerce platforms can be much cheaper than retail, saving you cash.
Once you start to sell online, you will find that there is a significant amount of depreciation for things once they are bought from a retailer. Even for brand new items with tags in original boxes, it is hard to sell them for the retail price with only very few exceptions.
Now that you are equipped with this knowledge, you can find great deals on e-commerce. You will know how much items are really worth instead of paying up for retail prices. You can find unique, sold-out items from past years and seasons that are hard to find in the present age.
And you can also find bespoke, hand-made items for someone you have in mind, even if you do not have the skills to make them yourself. Buying through e-commerce platforms from small businesses and individual sellers greatly help others like yourself. They would be so much more appreciative of your purchase while saving you money.
Take Home Information
Depending on when you come across this article, you may be saving for a certain goal or simply make extra money to supplement your income. If you are able to overcome the mental hurdles of selling online, it can be as easy as picking up your phone and start.
There are many free resources here on this blog and on the rest of the web. Selling online can be quite rewarding as it promotes reusing and recycling already made items. It helps the planet while at the same time decluttering your home.