MetaChat - Where to sell stuff online?

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27 March 2007

Where to sell stuff online? A question too small for AskMe:→[More:]

I want to get rid of some clutter. Most of this involves de-stashing craft supplies (yarn, fabric) but also some old clothes I don't want anymore, some things I've made but don't want to keep, some pattern books, old magazines for collaging, etc. What do you guys recommend by way of online marketplaces.

I've never sold online before and I'm looking for the best blend of ease of use and seller protection. I don't want to go to the effort of listing a few balls of yarn on eBay and shipping them overseas if they only sell for 99 cents (I'm in Korea and postage ain't cheap). I've thought about Etsy but I'm not sure how good they are about protecting sellers (and a few of the items I want to sell are handmade by me from vintage patterns — not sure how eBay or Etsy handle this muddy copyright issue).

I like Etsy because you can set your own price and I think it's a better niche market for selling craft supplies, but eBay may be better in terms of ease of use and seller fees. Last time I checked, eBay charged you to list photos, while photos are included in Etsy's flat rate listing fee. What experiences do you guys have?

Am I missing other options?

post by: Brittanie at: 03:29 | 4 comments

Ebay lets you set your own price as well, if you want. Also, with ebay you can include one photo for free if you host with them. If you know a little HTML and have a place to store your photos on the internet you can include as many as you want for free on ebay.

posted by drezdn 27 March | 07:51

Many enthusiast forums have buy/sell/trade sections (if you don't already have some cred in the forum, though, this may be less than ideal). One of my friends sells a lot of vintage clothing through various Livejournal communities. All PayPal, no auction fees. As you wouldn't be shipping out of the US, thouugh, this may not be ideal for you. And there's another, smaller, Etsy-esque place for crafters/artists/etc., but I can't seem to remember the name right now.

eBay has some faults, but it's also the busiest marketplace in town.

posted by box 27 March | 08:13

Korea? Doesn't that country have weekend markets? Seems like that would be the easiest place to sell stuff like you describe rather than all the hassle of describing it online.

posted by mischief 27 March | 11:42

Mischief, that's a good idea except that I live in the country (in the middle of nowhere, really) and I don't speak much of the language.

posted by Brittanie 27 March | 16:41

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