I Tried 3 Apps for Selling Clothes, and This One Made Me the Most Money
It finally happened.
After months of ignoring the growing pile in the back of my closet, I found the courage (and motivation) to go through all the clothes and random trinkets I’d been hoarding. Shudder.
In true Penny Hoarder style, I wanted to make extra money off the items I parted with, so I turned to OfferUp, Letgo and Craigslist.
Once I had my giveaway pile as close to picture-perfect as I could get it, I let these selling apps do the rest of the work, a.k.a. make me money — $62 to be exact.
Here’s how it went:
OfferUp: $39
I had the most success with OfferUp, a free app that lets you sell just about anything — furniture, clothes, gadgets — even cars. Plus, all I had to do to sign up was download the app, enter my ZIP code and click the camera.
The app let me chat with interested buyers without the pressure of having to exchange phone numbers. When I was ready, I scheduled meetings by using its site SafeTradeSpots.com to find a safe public place to meet with buyers and complete transactions.
When I met up with buyers, I let them inspect the item first, then gathered the payment. (Don’t accept a check, cashier’s check or gift card as payment — keep it simple with cold, hard cash.)
You might want $20 for the pants that cost you $40, but things depreciate with time. Your second-hand clothing might get more engagement if you’re advertising thrift store–like prices.
Using OfferUp, I earned the bulk of my extra money from selling old dresses, skirts and T-shirts I hadn’t worn in awhile. Talk about a come up.
Letgo and Craigslist: $23 Total
I used Letgo and Craigslist to find local forever homes for the rest of my stuff. I didn’t hit the jackpot, but I did pocket a little, and, well, I’m not rich enough to turn my nose up at practically-free money.
Letgo
Ever heard of Letgo? It’s a free app that removes a lot of the hassle of selling things online, plus you can sell whatever you want. To get started, I just had to snap photos of my items and upload them to the app.
It let me select the price I wanted, and even gave me the option to set it as negotiable or totally free. (Spoiler: I didn’t give anything away for free.)
When I met up with buyers, I kept Letgo’s recommendations in mind: They advise only transferring money after the buyer inspects the item. Take cash, or use a secure payment platform like PayPal. Don’t take a “certified check,” and don’t ship anything.
My total earnings: $15 from the sale of two pairs of shorts and an old dress.
CPlus
Craigslist doesn’t have its own app, so I used CPlus, a licensed, third-party app to post directly to Craigslist. (It’s legit; don’t worry).
After I created a Craigslist account, I went back to the app to start posting what little I had left. I categorized and titled my posting, added a price, my location and postal code, plus a short description about the item. Next came the images, then I posted.
When selling to local buyers, be sure to meet in a well-lit public setting, trust your instincts and stick to cash as your form of payment.
My posts didn’t garner a lot of attention, but I did meet a buyer who wanted to make use of an unused picture frame and a pair of tennis shoes. In the end, I pocketed $8.
Farrah Daniel is an editorial assistant at The Penny Hoarder. She’s already on the lookout for more items to sell.
