Like most people, I live on a tight budget.  It is often worth-while trying to source a good, reconditioned item rather than an expensive brand new version. 

Likewise, if I have something at home, which I no longer use but it is still in good condition, then why not earn a few bob by selling on-line? 

So here is a look at various on-line selling platforms, which I have used and how useful they have been to me.

I remember EBAY when it first came out, decades ago!  In the beginning, it was a great platform for ordinary folk, wanting to sell off their every day things, such as baby items, which were no longer needed.  It was easy to use and very popular. 

Sadly, it is no longer so.  In fact, eBay has been steadily losing its market share to newer, more user-friendly sites. 

My recent personal experiences with eBay have not been happy.  Professional sellers, rather than private sellers, occupy the most space on it.  EBay keeps “updating” its rules and regulations, supposedly to protect buyers but more likely to protect themselves!

When I signed up with EBay, after a gap of many years, my seller’s money was kept on-hold for over one month before I could access it, in case I was a fraud!  I needed that money to pay the postal charges to send off the parcels.  Instead, I had to raise funds elsewhere, to finance the postage, defeating the purpose of selling on eBay in the first place! 

Another problem concerns eBay fees.  In the past, eBay seller fees did not include the costs of freight.  Far Eastern sellers took advantage of this to sell items at ridiculously low prices but made up for it on high freight charges.  Of course, it could not be allowed to continue.

Now, EBay sellers must pay fees on the total costs of both the sale price plus the freight costs.  I can tell you that French postal rates are expensive!  I unintentionally gave away my things because I had miscalculated the postage costs, which were much higher than expected.  Not a happy camper! 

Instead, I found a newer, better platform called VINTED, which is based in Lithuania and serves the European market.  Their system charges the buyers – not the sellers – a small fee and it is the buyer, who purchases freight labels from within the platform.  You have a choice of different delivery methods at different prices.  For the past year, I have successfully bought items and sold items on this platform.  So far, it is working for me! 

FACEBOOK’S MARKETPLACE was another platform, which I used with mixed success.  I found that it really only works if you are either buying or selling bulky items, like furniture, from people within your own area.  It is up to the buyer and seller to work out payments and delivery, with little or no support from the site. 

However, Marketplace still has lots of rules and regulations!  It is easy to be put in the “naughty corner” because their computer system has mis-interpretated something you have advertised! 

This example will make you laugh!  I had put up for sale a bed with an orthopaedic mattress.  Marketplace made me take it down immediately!  Why?  Because I had used the word “Orthopaedic” and I was not a registered medical professional!  So, I advertised it on the local French website LE BON COIN, being careful not to use the word “Orthopaedic”, just saying that the mattress was extra thick and firm!  Political correctness has reached new heights of idiocy! 

There are quite a few online stores, which buy and sell second-hand books and dvds. My experience is with the German-based MOMOX. Like all these dealers, their adverts lead you to believe that you will get a lot of money selling your books and dvds to them.

The reality is that Momox pays a flat rate of 15 cents per item, occasionally offering more for popular titles. They are selective about which book and dvd titles they will buy and items must be in near-perfect condition. On top of that, they demand a minimum of 10€ worth of goods before providing free shipping. That means a heavy load of 67 items!

I only used Momox a few times but gave up after several of my items “disappeared” at the sorting stage. I knew I had placed everything in each of the parcels, having triple-checked against the invoices. One mistake is understandable but more than one? Not worth the hassle for 10€!

Perhaps you have seen adverts on social media from businesses offering to buy your “forgotten treasures”? Their target audience is retired people, in the hopes that we do not know the current market value of our possessions and can be easily cheated. Their support teams are oh so charming, promising to take great care of your valuables and giving you the best price possible!  Testimonials  are probably written by AI.

As an experiment, I answered one of these adverts. I already knew the value of what was in the parcel. As suspected, they got back to me with a ridiculously low offer, proving that they were nothing more than junk dealers, buying low and selling high! At least I knew the risks. Unfortunately, many others do not.

Some of my friends, who are professional artists or craft-workers, use the website ETSY but I have heard mixed reports about it. I understand that you can only sell things, which you have made yourself, and again there are issues around fees charged for using the website. 

I know that there are many other on-line selling platforms on the internet.  These are just the few that I know from personal experience.  If you would like to share your views on these or other websites available in your country, please feel free to leave a comment.  It is the only way that we learn, by hearing each others’ points of view. 

Happy Selling! 

Ends   author: Veronica Smith