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Who among us hasn’t squealed in delight at the adorable, impeccable figure of Marie Kondo, blithely helping borderline hoarders reorganize their lives? (Seriously, if you have not yet, go watch now. It is an instant mood boost.) If the newest Netflix zeitgeist has you inspired to do some decluttering of your own, why not take the opportunity to make a little bit of money while you’re at it?
Here are some of our favorite quick, convenient digital sales apps to help you turn that potential trash into treasure.
For many, our closets are our biggest junk-compiling culprits. It’s just so easy to let old clothes languish — or to forget about that new sweater with the tags still on it.
If you’re looking to get rid of some high-quality duds that just don’t suit you anymore, Poshmark is a great option. It’s available as an app for both iOS and Android, and it also has a slick browser interface so you can sell gently-used fashion items from literally anywhere.
What makes it great? Listings take less than 60 seconds to set up, especially if you use the in-app photo functionality. Poshmark provides sellers with prepaid shipping labels at no additional cost to you, rolled into the price paid by the buyer. One exception: if your package weighs more than five pounds, you’ll be responsible for overweight costs.
Poshmark also hosts three “Posh Parties” per day: in-app sales events focused around a specific theme or brand. These can boost sales and make the process more fun for both buyers and sellers.
Cost. Poshmark makes money by charging a commission fee against each sale you make, though listing items is totally free. For listings under $15, the commission is a flat $2.95; for those $15 and over, you’ll keep 80% of the sale price.
From fashion accessories to used electronics and even vehicles, Letgo helps you sell your old stuff “quickly, safely and locally.” Find it in the App Store or on Google Play.
What makes it great? Letgo takes the hassle of shipping out of the picture, focusing on helping you sell secondhand items within your local neighborhood.
Letgo features a user-friendly listing mechanism, allowing you to photograph your items directly from the app. You can also chat with potential buyers and easily share the listing on your social networks, all through its secure platform.
Cost. Letgo is totally free to use, charging neither a listing fee nor taking a commission.
Another free everything-under-the-sun sales app, OfferUp can be used through your web browser or via mobile app for either iPhone or Android.
What makes it great? Whether you’re selling that old camera to fund an upgrade or looking for a new home for your couch, OfferUp is all about staying local — which means you won’t have to worry about shipping. The app also features an instant messaging system to make it easy to communicate with buyers, as well as ratings, profiles and transaction histories to help keep everything transparent.
Cost. OfferUp is free for both buyers and sellers to use at the basic level, but charges fees for premium, pay-per-use services, like Bump (which bumps your item to the top of the pile) and Promote (which makes your items show up more often).
Not super into the idea of meeting up with a local stranger to exchange goods? Mercari makes shipping easy by automatically emailing a label to the seller — and you can list just about anything, from tops to treadmills. You can find it in the App Store for Apple devices or through Google Play for your Android.
What makes it great? This app stands out from the crowd with its diversity of item categories, even including a section for handmade goods. And getting paid as a seller is super simple: Once you have a balance of $2 or more, you can simply request a direct deposit into your checking account.
Cost. Mercari takes a flat 10% fee when you complete a sale.
Another fashion-focused sales platform, Tradesy doesn’t sacrifice security for speed. Although you can set up a listing in just seconds, rest assured that your transaction will be successful thanks to its seller protection guarantee, which covers shipping and return costs. Find it for iOS and Android.
What makes it great? Tradesy’s marketplace is specifically marketed toward women, and it’s filled with the fashion items you covet at affordable prices. To that end, once you make a sale, you can choose to transfer your earnings to a PayPal, debit card or bank account … or just keep them right there on Tradesy to use for your next not-so-costly splurge.
Cost. Though Tradesy doesn’t assess selling fees upfront, it does take a 19.8% commission on items sold for $50 and over. Items that sell for less than that are hit with a $7.50 flat fee. You’ll also pay a 2.9% “Safe Transfer Fee” when you withdraw your earnings.
If you need some motivation to clean out your closet, ThredUP might be just what you’re looking for. Unlike other fashion sales apps, this one’s about as hands-off as possible: All you have to do is fill a bag with clothes and leave it with your mail carrier. ThredUP takes care of the rest.
What makes it great? If the very idea of listing individual items (and then managing those listings) makes your head spin, ThredUP is a great alternative. You just declutter your closet as normal and send off the stuff — in a prepaid bag, no less! — and earn consignments on eligible items.
Unaccepted items are used or recycled, so even if you don’t earn any money, you’re still doing something awesome. And if you happen to have some luxury, designer-brand items to re-home, you’ll earn an extra 10% payout.
Cost. ThredUP keeps a sometimes-significant portion of an item’s selling price, and your actual payout will vary depending on the final sale price of the item. Generally, the more your clothing sells for, the more you’ll earn, up to 90% for the most luxurious, expensive items. Then again, if your piece sells for $15 or less, you’ll only get 5%, so it’s a bit of a give and take.
You know how each time you upgrade to a new smartphone, you stash your old one in the back of your closet for safekeeping?
Yeah, that makes zero sense — especially when you can easily turn it into extra cash by selling it on Decluttr. Ditto for laptops, video game systems and digital media like CDs and DVDs.
What makes it great? Decluttr puts as much money as possible into your pocket, promising up to 33% more than you’d earn reselling your old gear back to your carrier. The shipping is free and insured, so you can rest easy that your tech will make it to the company unharmed — and you can receive your earnings by check, direct deposit or PayPal transfer the very next day.
Cost. Decluttr makes money by reselling your tech at a higher price than it pays you for it, but it’s still free to use on your end. And while you might be able to fetch the same price selling it yourself on, say, Craigslist, it’s a whole lot more work.
Moving house? Before you start loading that van, check out Chairish, a digital consignment shop specifically for used and vintage furniture. It’s available in Apple’s App Store or through your regular web browser, but not yet on Google Play — sorry, Android users.
What makes it great? Chairish boosts your items’ ability to sell by touching up your homespun photos, and its buyer verification system means less wasting time with lookie-loos. They also orchestrate shipping for you (which is especially welcome when dealing with bulky furniture items) and quickly allow withdrawals to PayPal after a 48-hour buyer return window.
Cost. It’s free to list items on Chairish, and you’ll keep between 70-80% of the sale price depending on your number of active listings.
Yes, its name looks like an internet-y version of “smiles” for a reason: 5miles is a digital marketplace that allows you to sell all sorts of items, but also to promote services and even look for jobs. It’s also got a “community” section where you can advertise pets for adoption, want ads, lost-and-found items and yard sales. The app is available for both Apple and Android.
What makes it great? As its name implies, all of the various transactions take place within a five-mile radius of your location. (Well, that’s the default. You can actually expand the filter up to 50 miles, but still, it’s all local.)
Unlike other sell-it apps, 5miles also features a pretty nifty bidding platform called 5miles Dash. Instead of agonizing over a list price, let your potential buyers duke it out — and hopefully push it up — for you!
Cost. In most categories, you’ll get your first five listings free, and then decide between paying a listing fee or monthly membership charge thereafter. For full, up-to-date rate details, see this page.
Headquartered in Lithuania, Vinted, another fashion-sales app, has the sophisticated European feel you might expect but without any pretension. It’s also totally free to list, and the company’s commissions are capped at a low $5.
What makes it great? You can list men’s, women’s and children’s clothing easily on Vinted, and the buyer always covers the shipping fee. You can also build a network of followers who see when you post new items, which can help you sell those items faster.
Cost. Vinted is totally free — there’s no fee to list or sell items!
A less-messy closet and a fatter wallet? Now that’s what we call sparking joy.
Jamie CattanachJamie Cattanach is a writer whose work has been featured at Fodor’s, Yahoo, SELF, The Motley Fool, Roads & Kingdoms and other outlets.
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