How To Start A Business Selling Your Stuff

When you’re bootstrapping a business, you’re doing so for a pretty obvious reason: funds, or lack of them to be specific. Maybe that’s because you don’t want an investor to claim a percentage of your business like those pesky dragons in that terrifying den, or maybe it is because you tried to get backing but no one was willing to cough up, so you’re going it alone. 

Whatever the case, bootstrapping almost always requires innovation and outside the box thinking. For some, that could mean selling a kidney on the black market knowing they sell for around $160,000, but we wouldn’t recommend that a) for health reasons, b) for legal reasons and c) the fact you probably have loads of clutter you can safely sell instead. 

On that note, we have pulled together a list of tips to help you get the most money for your stuff, which can then use to bootstrap your way to success. 

1. Know Its Retail Value 

It doesn’t matter if you have found some old Geneve watches or you’re selling used movies; the first thing you should be doing is looking at an items retail value. You want to get on to the internet and see how much it would cost you to replace whatever it is while paying close attention to how easy it is to replace too. Trust us, knowing this is gonna help you a lot. 

2. Now It’s Used Value 

Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, Amazon, Etsy, Gumtree, any used selling site you can think of; check them all, see how much people are selling theirs for. If it is a ‘buy it now’ price, make a note of that. If they are up for auction, then make a note of the listing price and then how much they eventually sell for. It’s also worth looking at the interest there is in them. 

3. Sell According To Season 

The other thing you can do to fetch a tidy return is time your sales. For some things, when you sell is irrelevant. But for a lot of things, timing could see you double the value. Let’s say you have a load of raincoats you want to sell; you are going to get more in the fall than in the height of summer. This logic can be used for almost everything. Selling a Top Spin 2 just after the US Open, or a pair of used football boots at the start of the season. It is all worth thinking about. 

4. Major Marketplaces

Now that you have these, you can make a better decision when it comes to setting a price for them when it comes to selling them. However, knowing where to sell your items is another part of the game you need to get a better grip on because some places are going to fetch a better price than others. 

- Electronics: BuyBack Express or Amazon 
- Clothing: Etsy or Threadflip 
- Toys: Amazon Marketplace or Facebook Marketplace 
- Furniture: Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace 
- Collectibles: Get it valued and then head to auction

Start Selling Stuff Smart

Now it's time to move some inventory and sell, sell, sell! Nowadays you might even be able to get paid in cryptocurrency on an exchange!


I hope you enjoyed this article about how to sell extra items you have around the house in order to start a simple but profitable business.

Interested in more articles about e-commerce and online sales?

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