Selling Your Stuff: Where to Get the Most

Most households are sitting on a few hundred pounds of things they will never use again. Turning that into money is straightforward, but where you sell matters enormously — the same item can fetch wildly different amounts depending on the platform.

Match the item to the marketplace

Local selling apps and marketplaces

Best for bulky, heavy or low-value items where postage would kill the deal: furniture, appliances, garden equipment, bikes, baby gear. Usually no selling fees, cash on collection, and no packaging.

Downsides: time-wasters, haggling, and arranging collection. Meet in a public place where possible, or have someone with you if a stranger is coming to your home.

General auction and listing sites

The widest audience, and the best option for anything collectable, unusual or in demand. Auction format works well when there is genuine competition; fixed price suits ordinary items.

Watch the fees — final value fees plus payment processing add up, and postage costs come out of your margin. Look out for occasional reduced-fee promotions and time your listings for those.

Clothing apps

Dedicated second-hand clothing platforms have transformed what ordinary clothes are worth. Best for recognisable brands in good condition. Fast fashion in worn condition rarely sells anywhere.

Fees differ sharply between platforms — some charge the buyer rather than the seller. Compare before choosing.

Specialist buyers

For phones, tablets, laptops, games consoles, CDs, DVDs, books and Lego, trade-in and recycling sites give an instant quote and pay quickly. You will get less than a private sale, but it takes minutes and there is no risk.

Always compare several quotes — they vary a lot for the same device. Wipe and unlink devices before sending.

Car boot sales and charity

Efficient for clearing a large volume of low-value items in one morning. What does not sell can go straight to a charity shop — and if you are a taxpayer, Gift Aid on donated goods means the charity gets more at no cost to you.

Getting more for what you sell

• Clean it first. The single highest-return five minutes you will spend.
• Photograph in daylight, against a plain background, from several angles. Include any flaw in a photo — it prevents disputes and builds trust.
• Write the title as people search. Brand, model, size, colour. Not “lovely jacket”.
• Say what is wrong. Honest descriptions reduce returns and negative feedback, which matter more than one sale.
• Research completed listings, not active ones. What people actually paid is the only real guide to price.
• Include the original box, cables and manuals if you still have them. They add real value on electronics.
• Time it. Seasonal items sell for more in season — garden furniture in spring, coats in autumn, sports equipment in January.

Postage without losing money

Weigh and measure the packed item before pricing postage. Getting this wrong is the commonest way sellers lose their profit.

Compare courier aggregator sites against the Post Office. Always use a tracked service for anything valuable — without proof of delivery, a buyer claiming non-arrival will usually win.

Reuse packaging rather than buying it.

Staying safe

• Never send goods before payment clears.
• Be wary of overpayment and “pay outside the platform” requests. Both are standard scams.
• Keep communication on the platform, so there is a record if a dispute arises.
• For collections, prefer cash or an instant transfer you can see arrive.
• Do not share bank details or codes. A buyer asking you to read out a code sent to your phone is committing fraud.

Tax

Selling your own unwanted possessions is generally not taxable trading. Online platforms now report seller data to HMRC above certain thresholds, which has caused a lot of unnecessary alarm — reporting is not the same as owing tax.

However, if you are buying to resell, making things to sell, or trading regularly, that may count as trading and there is a trading allowance above which you may need to declare. There are also separate rules for capital gains on individually valuable items. If you are unsure, check GOV.UK or speak to an accountant.

A realistic plan

Do one room at a time. Anything you have not used in a year goes in a pile. Split it three ways: worth selling, worth donating, worth binning. List the sellable items in one sitting rather than one at a time, and put the proceeds somewhere they will not simply be absorbed into everyday spending.