Are you paying too much to sell your stuff online?

Updated
manchester   feb 12  ebay home...
manchester feb 12 ebay home...

One person's junk is another person's treasure, and one of the most obvious ways to make money is to have a big clear-out and try and sell off some of your unwanted stuff.

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Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that. Most online selling sites charge you for the privilege, and with cheap items, it may be hardly worth bothering at all.

So how much are you paying to sell your old things - and how can you do it for less?

eBay
You can list up to 20 items a month for free on eBay, but it'll cost you 35p per item after that. However, you'll also have to give eBay 10% of the sale price, including postage. Sometimes the company runs special promotions discounting this fee, so it's worth keeping an eye out. You will also have to pay PayPal fees on the deal, at 3.4% of the total sale price plus 20p per transaction.

Amazon
If you're selling fewer than 35 items a month - and unless your attic was really stuffed, the chances are that you are - then you won't need to pay a monthly subscription to sell on Amazon. You'll pay 75p per item instead. However, there's also a 'referral fee' - and this is where it gets complicated. The fee varies from 7% (for consumer electronics and large appliances) up to 45% for Amazon device accessories. Most items come in at the 10-15% mark. And on top of that, there's a 'closing fee' that depends both on the product category and destination.

Facebook
With Facebook selling groups and Facebook Marketplace, you get to keep every penny. However, the downside is that you don't have any comeback if things go wrong - so you may want to insist on payment in cash. To find a local selling group, type 'selling' into the Facebook search bar, along with your postcode - you may well find several.

Gumtree
Another local selling site, Gumtree allows most ads to be posted for free - unless you choose to have your ad featured. (There is a fee, though for ads in cars, services, property and jobs.) The odds are that you won't have to pay a penny to sell any of your old possessions, although even Gumtree itself advises that the only way to be sure is to create a test ad without posting it and then check the price quote at the bottom of the page.

Specialist sites
If you're selling something a bit different - a rare book or CD, for example - the chances are that you won't get the best price on a general site, especially a local one. So try Music Magpie, Cash In Your Gadgets or We Buy Books. You may have to pay for the listing, but you could still make more money overall, as you'll be more likely to attract serious collectors.


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