Turn Clutter Into Cash! Step-By-Step Quick Guide To Selling Unused Items For Cash

8 min readMar 12, 2025

With all the things happening in the world right now, getting extra money is something we should all think about. There is no such thing as job security anymore, as you can get fired anytime, even if you do a good job, as we can easily see from the news in the US due to a certain someone’s actions.

Smart budgeting becomes a necessity. The extra money you need can be stored away for rainy days or you can use it to make more money by working on your own business. Regardless of the reason you have, you surely want some extra cash.

Fortunately, there are several ways to make more money, even without knowledge. But, it all takes time. You might need/want money now. A great way to get it is to sell unused items.

Here’s the deal!

We ALL have things we do not need or use anymore. Why not sell them?

You can sell things like clothes you never wore but bought because you liked them, gadgets you replaced, or furniture that just picks up space. Use the extra money to boost savings, pay off bills, fund a vacation, make an investment, or whatever you need.

Why Should You Sell Unused Items?

Before talking about how to sell unused items for money, let’s think about the perks of doing so:

Fast cash — Items you own can be turned into money in just days, or sometimes even hours. You get money fast when you really need it.
Declutter your space — Your home becomes more organized and cleaner. This even has psychological advantages.
Sustainability — Reduce waste and give unused items a second life or use.
Low effort — You do not need special skills. A computer or a smartphone is all you need.

Now let’s get to it and see exactly how you can sell your unused items for cash.

Step 1 — Figure Out What You Sell

You just need to walk through your home and look for items that are in good condition, items you do not use anymore. While we can basically sell anything these days, the most common best-sellers are:

Clothes and accessories — Gently worn shoes, jewelry, handbags, dresses, or necklaces. As long as the condition is decent to good, you can sell them.
Electronics — Older tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, or phones you no longer use.
Home goods — Sell kitchenware, furniture, home decor items, or small appliances
Collectibles — These can be particularly valuable. Think trading cards, vinyl records, rare books, or vintage items.
Baby gear — As your baby outgrows, things like toys and strollers can be sold for extra cash.

Simple Tip: Look at the sold listings on online platforms like Poshmark or eBay to see pricing and demand for items similar to what you could sell. So you do not lose time on something that is not at all popular. Start with items that you know sell well.

Step 2 — Choose Where To Sell Your Used Items

Based on what you sell, there are online platforms that are better than others. Use a search engine to find local platforms besides the ones recommended below. In every country there are such sites that can be faster than international ones.

Clothes And Accessories

Poshmark — Very good for mid-to-high-end fashion items like barely worn shoes or designer bags.
ThredUP — You send in your clothes and they handle shipping and listing. In return, you get a cut of the profits.
Depop — Really good for streetwear, vintage clothes, and trendy clothes.
The RealReel — Perfect for luxury items like designer handbags, accessories, and clothing. Luxury items need to be authenticated.
eBay — A highly versatile platform where you can sell practically anything in good condition. Most likely, you already know about it.
Vestaire Collective — Very good for pre-owned designer fashion and luxury items. Everyday wear is also good for selling if the condition is good.
Vinted — Very good for selling vintage accessories and clothes. The interface is user-friendly and selling fees are practically non-existent. Choose the site version for your country. (Not available in all countries)
Grailed — Particularly useful for high-end streetwear and designer pieces for men.
Etsy — If you have or make handmade accessories or clothes, you need to check out Etsy.
Facebook Marketplace — Very good for local, fast selling. (Not available in all countries)

Quick Tip: Before investing time to create listings, browse the marketplaces to see if there is demand for clothes and accessories like what you want to sell.

Gadgets And Electronics

eBay — The global marketplace is good for almost all electronics, from gaming consoles to smartphones.
Amazon Trade-In — You can trade in eligible gadgets and electronics like video game consoles, tablets, and smartphones. In return, you receive an Amazon Gift Card and potentially a discount on new items.
Decluttr — This marketplace specializes in buying used tech gadgets, including gaming consoles, tablets, and smartphones. The selling process is straightforward.
Gazelle — Specialized in buying used tablets, computers, and smartphones. You also receive free shipping if approved.
Swappa — The user-to-user marketplace is perfect for directly selling smartwatches, smartphones, and tablets to interested buyers.
uSell — As a seller, you are connected to professional buyers for several electronics like video game consoles, tablets, and smartphones.
OfferUp — Specialized in local selling of several electronics from home tech devices to smartphones. In-person transactions are facilitated. (Only available in the US)
Gizmogo — You get competitive prices for several electronics. The selling process is secure and quick.
Back market — Great for refurbished electronics. You sell to certified refurbishers that will then resell the items. (Not available in all countries)

Home Goods And Furniture

Chairish — Highly-specialized in high-end vintage furniture, art, and home decor. Perfect place to sell designer, antique, or curated pieces.
AptDeco — Focused on pre-owned and new furniture from really popular brands, including CB2, Restoration Hardware, and West Elm. Great for contemporary items.
Vinterior — A great online marketplace for vintage and antique furniture, decor, and lighting items. You can sell your pre-owned, unique pieces that have character.
OfferUp — This US, mobile-focused local marketplace is perfect for several items, including home goods and furniture. Think of it as an alternative for Facebook Marketplace.

Niche/Specialty Items

Etsy — We have to start with Etsy, it is perfect for selling vintage, craft, and handmade items. The most popular categories are clothing, jewelry, home decor, and art.
Depop — A very good place to sell unique fashion items, including streetwear, independent brands, and vintage clothing. Very popular among the Gen Z users.
Ruby Lane — Online marketplace specializing in vintage collectibles, jewelry, art, and antiques. If you want to sell antique and vintage pieces, give it a try.
Pinkoi — The marketplace caters to original design goods, including lifestyle products, accessories, and designer home decor items.
Newegg — Focused on the tech-savvy customers, very good for selling computer components, electronics, and similar items.
Shutterstock — Worth mentioning because you can use it for extra cash. You can sell illustrations, videos, and photos of all kinds. This site is perfect for digital artists and photographs who want to license their work.
Grailed — The platform specializes in designer, vintage, and high-end menswear. Perfect when you want to sell rare streetwear pieces and luxury fashion items.

Step 3 — Optimize Your Listings

Listing your items on the best sites is not enough. This is because you will not be the only one doing this. Chances are, you will have people selling items like yours or very similar. Your goal is to attract buyers and close the deal as fast as possible. To do so, here are some recommendations:

Take high-quality pictures — Take your pictures in natural light, highlight flaws when they exist, and show what you sell from multiple angles. If possible, record a video.
Write good descriptions — Basically, you want to be as honest as possible and include all important details like condition, brand, size, and sprinkle in some keywords too (like Samsung Galaxy S24, Ultra, Unlocked, 256 GB).
Choose a competitive price — The price needs to be right. Look at similar listings then price what you sell slightly lower. This makes the sale faster and lets your listing stand out.
Always be honest — This is, maybe, even more important than taking good pictures. You have to disclose all wear and tear so you do not have to deal with returns. Even worse, you do not get negative reviews.

Simple Tip: Post your items on weekends. This is when buyers are most active. Also, refresh your listings periodically so your listings remain visible.

Step 4 — Learn To Negotiate

Buyers often haggle on these websites. To help you deal with this, here are some helpful tips:

Slightly higher price — Price your items a little higher than your target. This leaves room for offers and makes the buyer think they get a discount.
Bundle items — If you have items that go well together, offer a discount. Think outside the box too. What goes well together? Maybe a pair of boots with a coat.
Stay firm — People will try to lowball you. When that happens, you have to stay firm and polite. Counter with a fair price.

Step 5 — Ship Smart

Shipping can easily add a lot to your prices, based on where you ship to. Obviously, international shipping will be more expensive but you rarely need to do that if you just want some fast cash. Here are some tips to help you out:

The best thing you can do is meet in person with the buyer. Make sur eto do this ONLY in a public place, like a coffee shop. Safety first! In many cases, you can also ask the buyer to come to your house to pick up the items you sell. But do not let people inside the home.

For starters, use platform labels, like from Poshmark. Then, you can always reuse packing materials and boxes to cut more costs. When you ship high-value items, use insurance.

As an extra shipping-related tip, you can offer free shipping. This increases the possibility of making a sale. You do this by folding the shipping cost into your price. In fact, most sellers already do this.

How Much Can You Earn Turning Clutter Into Cash?

This is a very common, completely understandable question novice sellers have. Unfortunately, I cannot give you an exact number. Remember the fact that prices are different in different countries and even from one state to the next.

The best thing you can do is browse the chosen marketplace for items similar to yours. See for how much they sell. Do an average and price your items similarly. Just make the price a little smaller. Not by much though since this would ruin the market, would make you less money, and might make interested buyers believe there is something wrong with your listing.

Usually, what you sell will be priced 50% to 70% of the original price. But this is not a rule.

Read more about this topic here: How To Price Items To Sell Online

Bonus Tip

I could say more about this but the basics are presented above. Still, I should tell you one more important thing.

Carefully look for items that might have value but you do not see it as such. They can bring you more money and most people neglect them. Examples of such overlooked items to sell include:

Empty beauty containers — There are brands that offer store credit for returns.
Gift cards — You can sell unused gift cards.
Textbooks — Check prices on BookScouter.
Old DVDs

Final Thoughts

When you need fast cash, selling items is one of the best ways to get it. Also, it is smart to do this once in a while because selling your unused items helps you reclaim space and reduce waste. Just start small, like with cleaning out your closet. Then, move up to bigger items, like your unused smartphone.

Originally published at http://adriancruce.com on March 12, 2025.