It’s moving season in my neighborhood and, as a result, the streets are getting filled with trash as the college kids in my neighborhood move out. For someone like me, it’s like Christmas. There’s more trash out there than I can even realistically grab.
If you’re a new reader, you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about. As a bit of recap, for the past few years, I’ve been grabbing furniture and other junk that people throw out and reselling it. It’s pretty crazy how much stuff is just sitting out there waiting to be sold. Over the past year, I’ve documented exactly how much I’ve made selling these unwanted treasures in my monthly Side Hustle Reports. In some months, I make just a few bucks from trash. In other months, I can sometimes make hundreds for just a small amount of work. Remember, this is money I make from stuff I literally find in the street while I’m out and about.
I’ve made it a goal to earn $1,000 per year from selling trash finds and for 2017, I’ve already surpassed that mark. Back in 2015, I made over $1,000 just selling stuff I found in the dumpster of my apartment building! Besides the monetary aspect, I also get to do some good by keeping perfectly good stuff out of a landfill.
With the college kids moving out, this is the time of the year that I can usually stock up on a lot of good stuff that will likely last me through the winter. It occurred to me though that once you find this stuff, you might wonder what to do next. Where do you go to sell your trash finds?
In today’s post, I thought I’d share with you the apps and websites I use to sell the stuff that I find on the street (aka “my trash finds”). This can be a great resource, not just for you trash sellers out there, but also for anyone else looking to earn some money from the stuff in their house.
Where To Sell Your Trash Finds
Back in the old days, you basically only had one option to sell your stuff locally – Craigslist. Today, there are a ton more ways for you to sell stuff to people in your city. Here are the four apps and websites that I recommend for those of you looking to sell your trash finds or just looking to clear out the clutter in your home.
1. Craigslist
It’s the original marketplace and probably the first place that most people look to when they’re selling their junk. For most people who are just selling things here and there, Craigslist will probably be good enough.
The main disadvantage with Craigslist is that it’s old and clunky. Craigslist is famous for not really updating its website, and having to go through Craigslist’s mobile website to list up your stuff can be a chore. The other issue with Craigslist is how it doesn’t have a clear avenue for people to contact you. People can call you, text you, or email you, which can be a pain when you’re getting a lot of messages about something you’re selling.
Craigslist will still always be the best place to sell your big items – things like couches, beds, or huge appliances. And you’ll still make plenty of sales just from listing your stuff on there.
I will say that, in the two years that I’ve been actively selling my trash finds, I’ve found Craigslist to be less and less important in my selling strategy. Maybe it’s just the type of stuff I sell – usually small pieces of furniture that are cheap and sell quickly. I still always put my trash finds up on Craigslist, but I’m seeing that the marketplace is moving towards these mobile first apps, at least in urban areas with a lot of younger buyers.
2. Facebook Marketplace
I’ve only recently discovered Facebook Marketplace, but it’s quickly becoming my primary selling platform. If you think about it, selling things through Facebook Marketplace makes a ton of sense. Everyone already has Facebook, so it’s got a huge group of users. If you’ve never heard of Facebook Marketplace, all you have to do is click on the Marketplace icon in your Facebook app. It’s the icon directly in the middle.
The process of listing things up is pretty simple. You just go to the Marketplace screen in your Facebook app, list up your item, and then wait for people to communicate with you. All communications are done through the Facebook Messenger app. The downside is that it uses your Facebook account and sometimes, I’d rather people not know my full name. Not a huge deal, but you never know what crazy people you’ll meet out there.
At the moment, Facebook Marketplace is definitely where I’m making the majority of my sales – at least in the past few months. If you’re not listing your stuff up on there, you’re missing out on a huge market of potential buyers.
3. OfferUp
I’ve been using OfferUp since 2015 with pretty good results. Along with LetGo (discussed below), it’s one of the two big standalone selling marketplaces out there. Like with all of these mobile first marketplaces, you communicate with people through the app, which helps make things simpler.
Depending on your market, OfferUp could either have a huge base of users or be sort of crappy. Here in the Twin Cities, I’ve found it to be decently good and before Facebook Marketplace, I’d say I sold about half of my trash finds through here.
With the rise of Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp has become less important in my selling strategy, but I still always go through the trouble of listing things up on here as well. It doesn’t take long and you never know who might stumble upon something on there.
4. LetGo
LetGo is the other standalone selling marketplace that can be a hit or miss. Listing things up on LetGo is even faster than OfferUp since it has a heavier emphasis on photos. All you have to do is upload a picture and then LetGo will actually title your listing for you based on what it thinks your item is.
It’s supposedly as big (or bigger) than OfferUp, but I haven’t really received a ton of traffic from LetGo, so your mileage will probably vary. It’s possible that it’s not as big as they claim, or it’s possible that there just aren’t that many people in my market using it. Whatever the reason, I still like to go through the trouble of listing things up here since it doesn’t take up much of my time to do so.
Recommendation: List On Every Platform
My advice to anyone trying to sell anything is to list up your stuff on every platform I’ve listed above. When it comes to selling stuff, you want to get it in front of as many people as possible.
The entire process of listing stuff up shouldn’t take too long. I find that the hardest part is getting pictures taken and measuring the dimensions (listing the dimensions of the thing you’re selling is super important).
Once you’ve written up your description on one platform, all you need to do is then copy and paste it into every other app or website you’re using. The whole thing only takes a few minutes.
For smaller things, you can use eBay. I’ll occasionally jump onto eBay if I’m selling something small I found – books, for example. For niche items, eBay will be the only place that it’ll sell. Obviously, you’ll need to think about whether going through the trouble of shipping stuff is worth it to you.
I hope that helps those of you who are looking to either sell your trash finds or just looking to clear up the clutter in your house. Remember, there are a lot more people that will buy your stuff than you think. It might seem like trash to you, but I guarantee that there’s probably someone out there that wants it and will pay you for it. I’ve been making an extra thousand dollars a year just from picking up stuff that people think is valueless. So go out there and see what you can find!
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($750) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Great recommendations. I have this good coat hanger that I’ve been trying to sell. Craigslist is not working but I haven’t bother listing it on other platform. Definitely going to give Facebook a try.
Tell me more about this coat hanger. What does it look like and how much are you asking for it?
Hmm…I feel like a coat hanger isn’t something that’s going to sell well locally. Probably an eBay type item if it’s actually worth something.
I prefer to give things away when I am done with them. There’s way too much buy & seel in this uber capitalist world.
Nothing wrong with giving things away. I prefer to make a little something for my time and then I always donate whatever I can’t sell to Goodwill.
*sell. So I feel giving old things away is my way of contributing to the victims of capitalism LOL.
How & where do you do the actual exchange? Someone told me bank lobbies are good places to these Craigslist exchanges. They already have security measure for bank robbery which deters snatch & grabs or strong-arm robberies, etc.
I always meet people at a gas station a block away from me. Saves me time because I don’t have to deal with no-shows. I just tell people to message me when they are actually there.
We’ve found a few things on the street that we grabbed for a 2nd property we have in Arizona. Nothing huge, a Crate and Barrel leaning bookcase, a side table for the living room. We give it a thorough cleaning in the yard and then we’re good to go.
I sold my old Ikea pullout sofa last year on Craigslist. I definitely had to go through a few time wasters, but eventually I found a nice couple who bought it for $200. Not bad for a sofa I’d had for 10 years!
Oh, that leaning bookcase is expensive! I would be in heaven if I found that. Our biggest score was an end table we found from Crate and Barrel that would cost $200 at the store. I couldn’t believe someone threw that out!
I use Offer Up frequently; the only issue I have is that people are sooooo cheap on there.
We are on Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist and Offerup. I haven’t had much luck on Offerup as yet, but it could be our location. We are rural, and stuff goes super cheap around here.