Moving is a lot easier - and cheaper - when you have less stuff. But it’s not always easy to get rid of things that you know you don’t want before you move. If you feel guilty throwing stuff away, you can donate it or, if you need a little extra cash, sell it. We noticed that most of the reviews we found online for apps designed to help you sell your unwanted stuff were a little outdated, so we tried out the most popular services ourselves and picked our favorites.

Selling anything

There are two apps we recommend for selling household items locally. If you’re trying to get rid of some furniture, dishes, a rug, or your comic book collection, check them out.

Letgo

Letgo is an app specifically designed for selling items locally only - there’s no option to search for items that the seller will mail to you. If you’re selling heavy furniture or don’t want to make trips to the post office, this is the best option for you.

Using the app

When making a listing, you start by taking a photo of your item. Letgo will attempt to identify the item by the photo, and generate a suggested title, price and category for it. The glass of water I photographed was properly identified as a glass, and Letgo told me that glasses typically sell for $15 in over 30 days on the app. You can edit the suggested information to be more specific, but the data on pricing for similar items is useful - if you want to make cash quickly, you can set your price a bit lower than the average.

You can even pay a little extra money to ‘boost’ your listing, basically buying an ad in the app to make your item appear to more people.

Why we like it

The speed and ease of listing an item, and the pricing data the app offers makes Letgo my favorite choice for selling random household items from your phone.

OfferUp

OfferUp is similar to Letgo, except that you can see listings in your area and are also able to search for people selling items that they’ll ship to you. Upon downloading the app, the first items I see posted to sell are vape cartridges for a weed pen, a child’s coat, and an XBox. The app design is similar to Facebook Marketplace

Using the app

When making a listing, you simply take photos of your item in the app. Give your listing a title. Based on the title you give it, OfferUp will automatically suggest what categories the item falls into - I listed a glass of water, and the app suggested that i categorize it as ‘Household,’ ‘Antiques’ or ‘Collectibles’. You the select the condition, anywhere from ‘For parts,’ to ‘Used’ to ‘New (never used)’, and write a description. The you select how much you want to be paid for it and can even specify whether there’s room for negotiation or if you’re firm on the price. You can share the post to your socials, or keep it in the app.

Why we like it

The app offers you insights into how many people have viewed the item, and, like Letgo, you can pay to make your item appear in more search results to sell it more quickly.

Selling clothing

Selling gently used clothes via app has become huge in the past few years - any girl on Instagram with more than 1000 followers probably has an online store where you can buy her ‘gently worn’ items. There’s money in it, but unlike the apps mentioned above, you’ll likely have to make some trips to the post office.

Find a local thrift store

If you don’t want to ship stuff and go through the trouble of photographing all of your clothing, find a local thrift store that buys things on consignment. It may take some research, and you may not get a lot of money per item, but it’s the fastest and lowest effort way to get cash for your clothes fast.

Depop

Depop is one of many apps used by fashion-forward but budget-minded people hoping to upgrade their wardrobe or make extra cash on things they don’t wear anymore. It’s my favorite specifically because it seems to be the most popular, making your chances of selling your items higher in theory.

Using the app

When you make a listing, you can add up to 4 photos and a video of the item. You’re prompted to describe the condition and the size, and the more specific you are, the more likely you are to find a happy customer. You can add your location, the category of the item (like ‘Swimwear’ or ‘Shoes’), your preferred delivery method, and the price. You can offer to ship, or try your hand at just selling locally, but most users ship.

The app can have a bit of a learning curve, and certain brands and styles of clothing are likely to sell more quickly. Your 3 year old t-shirt from Target may not move quickly, but an item from a well-known brand or something super unique may go fast.

Why we like it

Depop is part social media and part small-business. Trash Brat Vintage and Shop Blue Dream are two great examples of this - their respective owners, Lexi Kingery and Jesika Espiricueta, have turned selling thrifted clothing into full-time hustles, and with a little knowledge of social media marketing, you can certainly make some extra cash.

Other options for selling your used clothing via app include Poshmark, similar to Depop, and of course, there’s always eBay.

Selling books

Bookscouter

There are hundreds of websites that buy used books, but Bookscouter does the work for you, and it can all be managed through an app. You can sell fiction, poetry, and even old textbooks.

Using the app

Simply enter the ISBN, and the app will tell you how much you can get selling your book on different sites that provide this service. If you don’t want to type out a long ISBN, the app allows you to scan the barcode. The only book I had sitting around the office, a used paperback copy of ‘My Struggle, Book Four’ by Karl Ove Knausgaard, scanned immediately and the app told me I could sell it for $1.25.

Why we like it

The payout may seem small, but if you have a lot of books, it adds up. The app shows you what you can get for your book from tons of different places and organizes the results, showing you who will pay you the most. The scanning barcode feature is super fast and easy. Also - books are one of the heaviest things you have to move when you change apartments. If you have some you can stand to get rid of, this can totally pay off and make a move much less painful.

Selling tech

Decluttr

Decluttr is the easiest way to get rid of CDs, video games, and DVDs. Because who still needs physical media in the age of streaming? They'll even buy your old DVD players and vide game consoles.

Using the app

Just like Bookscouter, Decluttr’s app uses your phone camera to scan barcodes and immediately tell you what your item can get you. I scanned the barcode for an old Depeche Mode CD and was offered $1.79. If for some reason your barcode won’t scan, you can always type it in manually.

Why we like it

Once you’ve added everything you want to sell to your basket, Decluttr sends you a free shipping label. You simply pack up your items safely and ship them off. Your items will arrive within a few days, and you get paid the day after they’re received. You can choose to be paid by direct deposit to your bank account, PayPal, or a check in the mail. It’s fast and much easier than shipping all your items to different people who’ve bought them.

Need more ideas?

For other suggestions on ways to make quick cash to cover your rent this month, head over to our blog post on the topic.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Bell


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