Skip to content

Web Wealth: Sell stuff online

To boost your household bottom line, would you like to sell stuff online? The number of people who have done so is in the millions. Still, getting started can be confusing. These sites help.

To boost your household bottom line, would you like to sell stuff online? The number of people who have done so is in the millions. Still, getting started can be confusing. These sites help.

Testimonial. Someone named "Eugene" provides a pithy guide to selling whatnots on the craigslist site. Eugene says he has sold things for a total of $1,400 during a selling spree of "a couple of weeks." He advises would-be imitators with such instructions as "Make it easy for people to give you their money!" and "For the love of Pete, don't be a Jerk!" He has some simple suggestions for making the site work for you.

http://go.philly.com/sellonline1

Sell on eBay. There are many places to turn for help in learning to peddle your wares on eBay, the online auction powerhouse. This step by step, which also includes a video demonstration, gets at the basics, along with such advice as making sure you spell things correctly (so that people searching for your goods can actually find them) and telling the truth about products because "You are just as liable for dishonesty as you would be with any other kind of sale."

www.wikihow.com/Sell-on-eBay

And, here is a link to eBay's seller information page, which offers considerable detail:

http://go.philly.com/ebayseller

After eBay. On the theory that online auctions aren't necessarily the way to go, the article here by a contributor to ReadWriteWeb offers six alternative ways to sell online. They include fixed-price online markets, such as Amazon; online craft fairs; and even pushing stuff to the people you have contact with through social-networking sites such as Facebook.

http://go.philly.com/sellonline2

Seller beware. FinWeb.com gives some words of caution meant to keep online sellers from falling prey to scams. "Be aware that there are people in this world who are out to make a quick buck at your (or anyone else's) expense," this article notes. It describes several scenarios in which people could be flimflammed by online buyers.

http://go.philly.com/sellonline3