Got a product you’ve made, designed or created that you want to sell? Or, just want to shift some of the stuff from your attic?
There is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing it anymore. In fact, why are you still here? Get out there and sell it. Okay…wait a minute and read how to do it. Sorry, I’m just excitable with all this money talk going on.
Here’s how to legitimately sell your products and turn a profit…
5.1: Auctions And Marketplaces
You’ll likely know a lot of these from buying from there, but the beauty of a lot of your favourite sites is that you can sell there as well. You can sell your own products on:
- Amazon: What, have you been living under a rock? eBay: See above. Craigslist : This is proper Craigslist, not the other one with all the weird stuff going on. Backpage: Similar to Craigslist. Facebook Buy and Sell: Your local area will no doubt have a buy-and-sell auction going on where you can sell things you don’t want. Swappa: Focuses on tablets and phones. Shopify: Not directly a sales forum, but allows you to create your own shop on Facebook, your site, or anywhere else you connect with people. Bonanza : The best eBay alternative on the market.
You’ll need an account, and probably a PayPal account to make it all run smoothly. But these are the main ways to sell your general items.
Sites like Amazon and eBay have spawned hundreds of profitable businesses on their own, just from people selling their own products.
In this article The Guardian outlines 15 eBay business that are making at least six figures a year and have evolved into entire companies.
5.2: eBooks
eBooks are usually the realm of bloggers and internet celebrities. But, the truth is, if you have an idea for a book, anyone can create and sell one nowadays. And while it definitely helps if you have a platform to sell from, you by no means need one.
Once you’ve created your book, there are lots and lots of sites you can sell it on:
5.3: Online Courses
I touched on Online Courses in the blogging section, but if you’re not a blogger, you can still make a lot of money from creating a course.
If you consider yourself a specialist, or good enough to teach, in a specific subject then you can turn it into a side career or your full time job. There are people making $100,000+ a year delivering online courses, so it’s lucrative if you do it right.
You can create and sell courses using:
5.4: Your Own Website Or Domain
Websites are real estate. And no matter what your domain, people want it. In fact they’re dying to buy it from you. And if you’ve got a well-established site, you can sell (or flip as it’s often known) it for thousands of dollars.
You’ll need to have built up a site and an established flow of traffic to get the big money here. But you can even cash in with your smaller domain for a small amount, too.
If this sounds like how you want to make money, take a look at one of these sites:
Website Flipping:
Domain Names:
5.5: Arts, Crafts And Designs
If you’re an artistic and creative soul, you can make money creating just about anything online. And by anything, I mean anything. There’s a market for everything.
For example, if you're into art, design or illustration, you could start making money with DeviantArt.
According to this poll on their forum, while not everybody does (or chooses to) make money from their site, there are plenty of people making a decent amount of cash selling there. In fact, some people are making over $10,000 a year selling there…
Take into account that not everyone will have taken the survey, but this is still a good representation
If you think you've got the skills to emulate that, you can sell your creations on these sites:
Or, if you’re a painter, you can get even more specific and sell on these sites:
5.6: Apps
Don’t fancy being a freelance app creator? Don’t fret, there’s a whole world of people who will buy the ones you’ve created from you. A little like buying and selling websites and real estate, you can create and flip just about anything here.
Carter Thomas, from Blue Cloud Solutions, went from $1,000 to $200,000 flipping apps not too long ago. and he outlines how you can do it right here.
5.7: Templates And Web Designs
If you’re creative, but you prefer to keep your designs to a more web-based format, like WordPress themes, site designs and fonts, there's still a huge market for you.
Now, I'm not suggesting you'll see the same millionaire results, but with over 22.8 billion pages being read on WordPress a month. that's a lot of sites that are going to need what you can create.
If this tickles your entrepreneurial fancy, you can sell what you've created here:
5.8: Music
Think your music career ended in your Aunt’s garage at 16 years old? Think again.
You can make a decent living out of the music industry online, you just need to know where to do it.
Case Studies are few and far between on this front, but I did find this Tech Crunch interview with the creator of DistroKid. that shows proof of people making money, like the duo Jack and Jack, who, thanks to the site, are now embarking on their 18-city tour of the US.
You can create and sell your music on these sites:
5.9: Videos
There’s a lot of money to be made in video production. It’s fast becoming the favourite content type for Facebook, and more and more video content is showing up around the Internet. You just need to know where to look to monetize your videos.
Luckily, I’ve taken care of that for you:
5.10: Photography
Got a keen eye for photographs, details and making the ordinary look extraordinary? Well, you might be able to sell your stock photos online.
I know as a blogger myself that this is an industry that people need, and will pay a lot of money for the right image. Michael Jay, a photographer from Berlin, has been able to consistently make $200 a month from Shutterstuck, Fotolia and iStockPhoto.
So, cash in while you can at one of these sites:
5.11: Recycling Your Old Stuff
If you’re human, you probably have a room or attic or cupboard full of stuff you’ve not seen or touched in years. If you’re not human, you’re probably not reading this. So, I’m going to assume you do have stuff to sell.
LoveMoney recently compared all the different DVD and CD recycling options in the UK. and while the results weren't life-changing, they found you could make around £8-£10 by just getting rid of the ones you don't watch anymore.
It's not going to be a long term career plan, but you know, it might be a little something to make money online fast, or at least help you get out of your overdraft.
These sites are UK and US, but they're all easy ways to get rid of your unwanted stuff pretty easily:
5.12: Collectibles
Where there is fandom, there is a market for collectibles. Whether it's a 1980s Superhero lunchbox, or first edition Pokemon cards, you can buy and sell any of these collectibles online.
People actually make entire family-supporting incomes from buying and selling this stuff, so the money is always there, if not a little inconsistent. But when you can make $30,000 from a Darth Vader toy. you can see why people do it.
This isn't just for geeks and dudes into cosplay, either. You can do this in just about any niche, from antiques, to old books and even snow globes or Dutch windmills.
Who knows, you might even have a goldmine sitting at the back of a cupboard, just waiting to be sold. And if you do, you can list them on these sites:
