30 Things You Can Sell to Make Extra Money Now
You have a house full of items and need money now. Well, you’re in luck because selling things is one of the easiest, fastest, and best ways to make money quickly. Take a look at this list of 30 things you can sell to make extra money now.
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1 | TV and movie memorabilia
People are willing to pay a lot for TV and movie memorabilia that conjure feelings of happiness and comfort from their past. Think about items like
Signed movie scripts
Posters
Movie props
Costumes
I read about someone making thousands of dollars selling paper items like old magazines, newspapers, posters, and TV guides. It’s easy to find these items relatively cheap at garage sales and yard sales.
2 | Ephemera
I was surprised to learn how much people pay for ephemera. These are things that normally wouldn’t be kept, but people keep them and even collect them.
Do some research to determine if the items you have are worth selling. These are some of many ephemera:
Empty perfume bottles
Luxury brand shopping bags and boxes
Catalogs
Postcards
Greeting cards and letters
Old maps
Packaging items
Calendars and brochures
3 | Sports cards
Those baseball cards of your youth might be worth something now. Identify the cards you have by year or era. Generally, the older the card, the better.
Then consider the condition of the card, its scarcity, and the player on the card.
You’ll have to do some research to get the best value for your card no matter whether you sell it yourself or to a dealer or store.
4 | Clothes
Did you know that most women wear 20-30% of their wardrobe regularly?
That means most people have old clothes in their closets that are in great condition but aren’t being worn. Another great way to make money it to sell those clothes!
I sell mostly clothing and have made thousands of dollars doing it.
After you’re done selling the items in your own closet, you can shop at thrift stores, ask friends and family, and use these other ways to find clothes to resell.
How do you know what brands sell well and how much they sell for?
Check out this list and this list of top-selling brands.
Also type the brands of items you have into the search bar on marketplaces like eBay and Poshmark, then filter to the sold listings and take a look at the sold prices.
My favorite online marketplaces to sell are Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, and Facebook Marketplace.
** If you don’t have a Poshmark account, you can receive a free $10 bonus when you sign up with my code SFGIRL2015.
** On Mercari, you can get $10 when you sign up with the code JENMHM.
Some of my recent sold listings on Poshmark
Items tend to sell for a higher price when you sell them yourself. If you don’t have time for that, try selling them at buy-sell-trade store like Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange, and Plato’s Closet. These places will give you quick cash on the spot or store credit for your items.
Another option is to send your items to thredUP.
Request either a regular cleanout kit or a partner cleanout kit. Regular clean out kits can take months to process and more time for your items to sell, but will make you a little more money than the partner one.
I recommend requesting a partner cleanout kit if you need the money faster. You can read my review of the items I sent in.
thredUP has partnered with companies such as Athleta, Reformation, and Gap to give you gift cards to those stores for the clothes you send in.
Your partner cleanout kits are processed soon after they arrive at a warehouse, and you get paid out shortly after. There’s much less waiting and little effort on your part.
You can either use those gift cards to shop or sell them through a gift card exchange like Raise or Cashcard.
5 | Gift cards
Do you have old gift cards that you don’t use? Recoup some of the money by selling them.
Popular exchange sites:
Cashcard
Gift Card Granny
You can also list them online to facilitate the sale yourself. The nice thing about going through a company is that you avoid being potentially scammed by a buyer.
6 | Handbags and shoes
You wouldn’t believe how well luxury handbags and quality shoes sell second-hand. You can sell these on the same marketplaces listed above where you’d sell clothes.
Some handbag and shoe brands that tend to sell well (depending on the style and condition):
Louis Vuitton
Chanel
Doc Martens
Uggs
Tory Burch
Twisted X boots
Frye boots
7 | Sneakers
Men’s sneakers are huge on the resale market. You have to know which shoes will sell well and be able to acquire them.
Sign up for notifications from brands about the newest shoe releases.
Sign up for promotional raffles and drawings with shoes as the prize.
Browse garage sales and yard sales.
Search discount and second-hand stores.
I’ve heard of people finding Nike’s at Ross and other discount retail stores and selling them for a profit.
8 | Makeup
Women know that the best makeup is expensive. It’s not only current brands and items that are in demand.
When my favorite concealer was discontinued, I went on eBay to purchase a bunch at over retail. The next time I went on there, I saw them selling for $50 to over $100 each!
Sell only new, unused, and unexpired items. You may find some people willing to take swatched or used makeup, but you can’t be sure that the item is clean.
The buyer will also have an easier time filing for a return claiming that the item is used or damaged in some way.
Popular makeup brands to sell right now:
Pat McGrath
MAC Cosmetics
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Charlotte Tilbury
Glossier
NARS
9 | Jewelry
Just like clothes, most women have jewelry sitting unworn at home. Sell the jewelry your ex-partner gave you or that necklace that doesn’t sit right.
Gold can sell for a lot, but it’s worth trying to sell costume jewelry that’s in good condition too. I’ve seen jewelry from mall brands such as Zales and Jared’s sell well online.
Higher-end brands like Tiffany resell well too. You may need proof of authenticity before buyers will purchase expensive items.
10 | Electronics
You wouldn’t believe how well electronics sell! Both the latest versions of electronics and older vintage types sell well too. Common things to sell:
TVs
VCRs (yes, people still want them)
Cell phones
Tablets
TV remote controls
I read about one guy making hundreds of dollars selling old TV remote controls.
People are willing to pay a lot to buy exact replicas of the ones they have because the remotes work with their TV and they know how to use them.
11 | Furniture
Check out garage sales, estate sales, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace for people who are selling furniture.
You might have to put in a little time and effort to make the item look nicer. You could even make it a DIY project and sell the finished product as an upcycled product.
Try to find buyers locally so you don’t have to deal with packaging and shipping large pieces of furniture.
One of the best brands to resell is Ethan Allen if you can get your hands on any of their pieces
12 | Video games
Both adults and children play video games. The best place to find video games cheap enough to resell for profit is at garage and yard sales.
It’s not just video games and consoles that sell well either. If you have other rare cards for games such as Magic the Gathering, they will sell for top dollar too.
13 | Board games
Board games are popular among both children and adults. The more complex and intricately made ones can cost over $50 at retail, which is why people try to get them second-hand if they can.
You’ll be much more likely to sell and for a higher among if the game is sealed because that ensures no pieces are missing.
Popular games to resell:
Everdell and its related games and expansion packs. The collector’s edition is gold.
Spirit Island (with the crate is more valuable)
As a buyer, I stalk online marketplaces like Mercari and eBay waiting for my the games I want to pop up. Who know? I could be buying from you next!
14 | Baby strollers
Strollers are one of the most expensive purchases when it comes to baby equipment. A good stroller that’s safe, durable, easy to maneuver, and useful for a baby at any age costs a lot.
That’s why parents get them second-hand when they can. Check out Facebook groups for communities, free stuff, moms and parents, and upcycling to get sell your stroller or find a great deal buying one.
15 | Toys and figurines
People love their toys and figurines from childhood and sometimes even from adulthood. They’ll pay a lot for the ones they love.
I was able to sell Britney Spears dolls and other items from her early career for a fair amount 15 to 20 years later.
Be on the lookout for
Sonic the hedgehog plush, figurines, and other items
Rare Disney plush dolls
Retired Build-A-Bear dolls
Vintage Polly Pocket
16 | Children’s toys
Every Christmas there’s a hot children’s toy that goes for well over retail price. It doesn’t only happen at Christmas. You can make good money selling children’s toys if you acquire them cheap enough.
Certain types of these children’s toys sell well:
Lego’s
Fisher-Price Little Peop
17 | Collectibles
They’re called collectibles for a reason. People collect all sorts of items such as stamps, coins, dishes, wine, comic books, first-edition books. If you have them, get them listed to start selling them.
18 | Books
Reselling books can make you decent money. I’ve seen people at the thrift store fill up their carts with books to resell.
They scan the back of every book quickly to pull up the price it will go for on sites like Amazon. Your best bet for making good money on books is to sell textbooks, rare and old books, specialty books, and out-of-print books.
You can look up their value online on sites with buyback service or check Amazon. If that doesn’t work, you can put whatever books haven’t sold up for sale at your yard sale.
Some popular places to sell books:
Bookscouter
Amazon
Powell’s Books
Decluttr
Your local independent book store
19 | Sports equipment
Children can go through sports seasons without wearing out their equipment, or sometimes they simply outgrow them.
Make some money by reselling them online, at stores like Play It Again Sports, or to families you know in your children’s leagues or clubs.
20 | Musical instruments
Many adults and children have taken up learning to play an instrument as a hobby only to abandon it at some point.
If you’re not using the instrument, consider selling it as it could bring in a lot of money. I was able to sell my old flute through a local flute teacher.
21 | Cookware
Certain brands and types of cookware are in high demand such as
Vintage Pyrex kitchenware
Cast iron skillets
Air fryers
You’ll get more if they’re new in their original packaging. A buyer may want to test out the item before buying if it’s been used.
22 | Rent out space in your house
While you’re not exactly selling a tangible item, you can rent out parts of your home. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it’s common for people to have smaller homes with less storage space and no parking space with apartment rentals. Storage space is expensive.
You can make money by renting out
A spare bedroom
Spare storage space
A parking space
A fenced backyard for dogs to play at Sniffspot
A swimming pool on Swimply
Your home when you’re away. List it on Airbnb.
23 | Outdoor gear
Sell your outdoor gear that’s in good condition. Clean off your items and get them up for sale on sites like Geartrade, Switchbackr, and Outdoors Geek. You can sell all kinds of items:
Clothing and footwear
Tents
Sleeping bags
Backpacks and poles
Kids gear
Bikes
And more
Sell Your Time
Another good way to make extra cash is to start a side hustle with your spare time.
24 | Make & sell printables
If you’re crafty, you might like making digital printables to sell. Printables are anything that people can print such as:
Classroom educational worksheets
Baby shower games
Wall art
Gift cards and labels
Coloring pages
Word games
Journals
Savings trackers
I like to make printables and give them away for free on my website or sell them on Etsy.
The amount of time it takes to create them varies depending on what you make and how much skill you have to start, but you can make them for free in Canva or PowerPoint. That’s how I make mine.
Once you get them up for sale, they can become passive income bringing in money while you do other things.
This Printables By Number course is my favorite course for learning how to make and sell them. I learned so much from this course and highly recommend it for people who are interested in doing the same thing.
25 | Tutoring
If you have a degree in a certain subject or work in an in-demand area, you can tutor students on it online.
One person I know makes money tutoring high school students in SAT prep. Another person I know made extra money by tutoring students in chemistry and math.
You can tutor foreign students in English as well. Many companies such as VIPKID can connect you with students around the world and get started teaching easily.
26 | Create a course
If you have skills in a certain area, why not share them by creating a course on the subject? Nowadays there are courses on seemingly every topic imaginable.
You don’t need a degree on the subject either, just something you know well and can use to help others:
How busy moms can get their children to eat more nutritiously
How to deal with being single again after a divorce
How to be a caregiver to someone with dementia
How to decorate cakes for children
You likely want to use a platform like Teachable or Thinkific to host your course. There’s also the time involved in creating a quality course and then marketing it afterward to get a stream of students.
Nonetheless, a course can become passive income bringing in sales and income even when you’re doing other things.
27 | Offer virtual assistant services
A virtual assistant helps businesses complete tasks virtually. Common tasks:
Responding to emails
Creating and posting pins to Pinterest
Editing and formatting blog posts
Managing an Instagram account
Transcription
And so much more
Being a virtual assistant has the potential to pay well depending on the businesses’ needs and your skills.
You can work as many hours a week as you want and the hours are usually flexible too. This makes it a very popular option for stay-at-home moms and others who are homebound.
28 | Freelance writer
There’s a demand for good freelance writers. If you know how to do research and write quality articles quickly, you can build a clientele that will return to you for piece after piece.
List your services on sites like Fiverr and locate bloggers or other online companies in need of writing help. You can be paid more to write about certain topics that take require experience or expert knowledge to write.
29 | Video editor
Video is the hottest social medium right now. But most business owners don’t know how or don’t have the time to put together polished videos to support their business.
They hire people to help them shoot videos and editors to make their videos look seamless. If you’re skilled with video creation, get your ad up or the word out to start taking clients.
Most technical skills such as video editing, graphic design, coding, and building websites transfer well into side hustles where you can make money relatively quickly.
30 | Taking surveys
You can make extra money with sites like Swagbucks and SurveyJunkie.
These free rewards websites give you prizes for doing simple tasks like watching videos, answering surveys, searching the web, play games, and other easy activities.
The prizes are gift cards to various stores like Starbucks, Amazon, and Target.
While these sites won’t make you rich, you can usually earn a few dollars a day on average, which is not bad if you’re doing this in your downtime.
I’ve earned gift cards by doing the tasks in my free time, then using them to purchase things I want like free Starbucks drinks or things I need on Amazon for the house.
Sign up for a free Swagbucks account and start earning free rewards today.
There are so many things you can sell to earn extra income today!
What do you like to sell when you want to make money quickly?
