23 best buy and sell sites

Newspapers and yard sales used to be the only places people could buy and sell stuff before the advent of electronic commerce (ecommerce) and the internet. Thanks to the rise of different buy and sell sites and apps, anyone can buy items, sell items, or source items for their ecommerce business without ever having to leave their home.

No matter your objective, there’s likely a sales channel strategy that will fit your needs perfectly. In this post, we’ve compiled the best places online to buy or sell products.

Amazon

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer by far. In addition to being the first stop for any online purchase, they’re also on the bleeding edge of artificial intelligence, digital streaming, cloud computing, and ecommerce technology.

Amazon was originally started as an online bookselling business. It now provides an extensive product range and inventory of just about everything.

This includes household goods, garden supplies, toys, furniture, pet supplies, electronics, movies, books, jewelry, gourmet food, beauty products, and clothes.

What makes Amazon the go-to online marketplace for some is its highly-competitive pricing, fewer technology silos, and ease of use.

It supports recommendations based on past purchases, superior search and query, multiple consumer reviews and ratings, and one-click ordering upon checkout.

See how you can get started selling on Amazon without any inventory.

eBay

eBay is an online marketplace that facilitates the sale of goods between sellers and third-party buyers.

It was launched in 1995 as a place to trade hard-to-find items and collectibles. It has since morphed into a marketplace that is best known for its auctions and consumer-to-consumer sales.

Unlike typical buy and sell websites, eBay does not stock and sell its own products. Instead, it gives a channel for sellers to showcase items, connect with buyers, and manage their stores.

Since eBay does not sell anything, it makes money by charging fees for listing items and processing transactions between buyers and sellers.

Although you can buy items off eBay, the website is better to use when selling. One of the most significant benefits of eBay is that sellers can gain access to huge savings on shipping which makes your listings more attractive to buyers.

On top of that, it also provides you with more pricing flexibility when selling items. Since it allows you to put your items up for auction, you can set a reserve price which ensures that you won’t sell something for less than your bottom price.

To get started, check out our post on the best items to resell on eBay.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a website that enables users to buy and sell items, place classified ads, and communicate with each other on message boards.

It has multiple sections dedicated to items wanted, discussion forums, resumes, gigs, community service, for sale, housing, and jobs.

The website is also easy to use. But, much of its success can be attributed to being globally based. Craigslist is available in roughly 70 countries and over 700 cities.

When using Craigslist, anyone can simply enter their approximate location and only see and post ads that are available in their near proximity.

Although Craigslist also works as an online marketplace too, it is typically known as one of the world’s most popular job boards, with millions of work opportunities posed annually across hundreds of different cities.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a classified ads section of the social network that concentrates on assisting individuals and businesses buy and sell items locally.

With Facebook Marketplace, you can search for items to buy, browse for-sale items by category and/or location, create item listings, message buyers and sellers, and set custom bids.

It has a growing community of qualified buyers that are itching to make a purchase. Combine that with an easy-to-use product categorization and built-in interest targeting, and you have a powerful tool that can help you increase business sales.

Currently, Facebook Marketplace is available to Android and iOS users who are 18 years old and over in multiple countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

AliExpress

AliExpress is an online Chinese retail service for buying products at lower prices than Amazon and other similar services. It focuses on computing and ecommerce.

A part of the Alibaba Group, AliExpress provides shoppers with complete refunds on products that arrive late, damaged, or do not arrive at all.

It sells a wide array of items, including electronics, men’s and women’s fashion items, jewelry, hair and beauty products, furniture, jewelry, and even motorcycles and cars.

Dissimilar to other online marketplaces, the majority of merchants selling products on AliExpress source their products directly from manufacturers. This keeps the costs down and allows them to offer free or cheap shipping rates.

AliExpress is open to users from all major regions globally. It provides alternative language versions of its smartphone apps and websites in Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Turkish, Dutch, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and English.

Etsy

Etsy is an ecommerce company that concentrates on vintage or handmade items and craft supplies.

These items include but are not only limited to art supplies, toys, furniture, home décor, clothing, bags, and jewelry. It sorts its offering by providing categories to assist customers in narrowing down its search queries.

Unlike marketplaces like Amazon and AliExpress, everything on site is made, collected, and sold by its sellers. On top of producing their goods, sellers also manage their orders and inventory.

It is built for collectors, artists, and independent crafters who need platforms to find or attract customers and sell their artworks.

To get started, see the best selling handmade items on Etsy.

Flipkart

Flipkart is an Indian ecommerce company established in 2007 by two former Amazon employees.

Similar to Amazon, it started as an online book sales business before expanding to a marketplace wherein everyone can purchase groceries, home essentials, electronics, and lifestyle products.

It has a slick user interface that makes it easier for buyers to check out items and make payments.

FlipKart also offers a “Flipkart First” service that allows you to get priority customer service, same-day delivery, free shipping on all your orders, and priority access to newly-launched products and offers.

It is best designed for vendors to display their products and provide comprehensive descriptions for website visitors.

Oodle Marketplace

Oodle is a social marketplace that provides customers with a web and mobile app for buying and selling products and services.

Unlike a typical buy and sell website, Oodle Marketplace is designed to be more like a classified engine.

It is currently the world’s largest classifieds aggregator. It collects listings from sites like Boat Trader, For Rent, and eBay, as well as local listings from websites and newspapers.

This way, buyers can see everything. On a given day, Oodle collects more than 500,000 new listings from over 80,000 different sites.

Sellers can also post everywhere since Oodle syndicates listings published throughout numerous sites in its partner network.

What makes Oodle Marketplace unique is that it provides buyers with more transparency. It encourages posters to include their Facebook profiles on their listing to allow for a secure transaction.

Oodle Marketplace is built for individuals from all walks of life searching for used cars, homes for sale, job listings, apartments for rent, and other classifieds.

MyDeal

MyDeal is an Australian online retail marketplace that sells an extensive range of products from a large selection of brands.

These items range from appliances, clothing, and technology to hardware, homewares, furniture, and even baby supplies.

It also offers secure transactions with multiple payment solutions, including Eway, Klarna, LatitudePay, Afterpay, Openpay, Zip Pay, and PayPal.

What makes MyDeal an attractive option for sellers is that it gathers all sales information and other related data in one place.

This makes it easier for sellers to determine best-selling items and restock their inventory, as well as identify products that are not doing well.

MyDeal works best for sellers that need help to market their products to the right customers to generate a higher return on investment.

Rakuten

Rakuten is a Japanese-based ecommerce company.

Unlike the typical ecommerce marketplace, Rakuten is an online and app-based service that gives individuals cash back when they make a purchase using a specific link.

It currently serves more than 12 million users in the U.S. by providing promo codes for online shoppers.

At present, you can earn cash back at over 3,500 stores online using Rakuten. These stores include but are not only limited to AT&T Wireless, Beis Travel, Choice Hotels, Oriental Trading Company, and DIRECTV Stream.

Rakuten is best for individuals looking to get discounts and more value from their online shopping experiences.

USA Today Classifieds

USA Today Classifieds is the classified ads section of the daily middle-market newspaper and publication USA Today.

It provides everyone with access to classifieds on auctions, business opportunities, real estate, services, and travel.

You can also place ads and announcements on the site to let the community know about upcoming events or honoring those who have passed.

With USA Today Classifieds, you can increase your reach and generate more opportunities to be seen than ever before. Currently, USA Today has more than 44 million unique visitors monthly.

A USA Today online classifieds and marketplace package costs around $1,495. The package includes one online listing, one online banner, four print marketplace ads, and a custom video advertisement.

While USA Today Classifieds is available to everyone, it is best designed for small to medium-sized businesses looking to generate a buzz within their industry.

OTTO Marketplace

OTTO is a German shopping platform that lets online retailers sell products without much effort.

It is among the most popular shopping platforms in Germany, with more than 2.5 million daily visits and up to 10 sales per second.

Unlike the buy and sell websites on this list, you can link your with OTTO to gain more traffic and eventually generate more sales.

You can simply use its Magnalister plugin and connect your online store with OTTO or any other marketplaces, for that matter, without the need for technical knowledge.

Using the Magnalister plugin, you can also import and manage marketplace orders automatically and match product variants and features with marketplace attributes.

Moreover, OTTO also lets you generate invoices directly from your online shop or through Magnalister and deliver them to the marketplace.

OTTO Marketplace is a general match if you are a medium business or a large enterprise selling new goods to end customers.

You may also be required to be in Germany and have a Germany VAT ID as well as a warehouse and a German-speaking customer service to use the platform.

Taobao

Taobao Marketplace is a Chinese online shopping platform.

Also owned by the Alibaba Group, it drives consumer-to-consumer (C2C) retail by providing a platform to open online stores that service consumers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau.

It provides an extensive range of product lines, from clothing and electronics to bags and fragrances.

Taobao sellers can post products for sale either through an auction or at a fixed price. Auctions comprise a small percentage of the transactions, whereas the majority of products are available at fixed prices.

The marketplace also integrates with the online payment platform Alipay to ensure fast and safe transactions.

As if that’s not impressive enough, products on Taobao are also available on AliExpress and Lazada to reach customers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

What’s more, it also allows sellers to launch a streaming service called Taobao Live. With Taobao Live, sellers can organize a live stream to find customers and followers on the platform.

Taobao Marketplace is best designed for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to open online stores that cater to Chinese-speaking regions and Southeast Asian countries.

Poshmark

Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace that lets users buy and sell new and pre-loved electronics, home goods, and fashion items.

With Poshmark, you can take a photo and upload your closet in less than 60 seconds, fill in the description, and set the price.

Similar to Taobao, it also lets sellers organize a live stream for their products. Known as Posh Parties, you can browse, buy, and list items with your friends.

Poshmark also provides sellers with a pre-paid pre-addressed label ready to be installed on the box.

After your sale has been completed, you can drop it off at a USPS mailbox or even have it picked up for free.

Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95 for sales under $15, while a sale of $15 or more will charge you a fee of 20%.

Not only that, but it also provides buyers peace of mind when shopping. Once you place an order on Poshmark, you will be eligible for Posh Protect to ensure satisfaction.

Although Poshmark has a comprehensive selection of men’s items, its products are highly geared towards women.

Gazelle

Gazelle is a cloud-based platform that connects communication, information, and people in a single centralized location when selling old technology.

With Gazelle, you can sell old phones and gadgets with little to no effort. Unlike other buy and sell marketplaces, you no longer have to spend time taking picturesque photographs, creating comprehensive sales listings, or even planning meet-ups with buyers when using Gazelle.

You can simply click on what you want to sell, report its condition, and get an immediate quote for your gadget. It originally sold Apple products but has since started buying and selling Android smartphones.

If you decide to sell, the Gazelle site will send you postage and packaging materials to send your product in. It also promises to pay you the agreed amount within a week.

Gazelle is specifically designed for sellers who want nothing to do with finding buyers for their smartphones and gadgets.

The reality is finding buyers for electronics can be tricky. With Gazelle, you can get an offer in less than a minute and get the cash right after the device has been checked and verified as described.

Swappa

Swappa is a C2C marketplace for buying and selling new and secondhand electronics and technology.

These gadgets include home tech, cameras, GPUs, smart watches, laptops, tablets, unlocked phones, Android devices, and iPhones.

Buyers can purchase from the site using a Swappa account or a guest account, while sellers are required to have a Swappa account to conduct business.

Once the seller lists an item, a group of expert individuals from Swappa reviews listed devices to ensure that they are not defective and are fully functional. Sellers can define the conditions of their items as New, Mint, Fair, and Good.

Furthermore, the Swappa app also provides buyers and sellers to identify the correct specifications of a particular gadget thanks to its built-in IMEI checker.

Ruby Lane

Ruby Lane is a vintage online retail store established in 1998. It has 2,000 active shop owners that sell roughly $125,000 worth of merchandise daily.

These items include but are not only limited to art, dolls, jewelry, vintage fashion, vintage collectibles, and antiques.

Unlike eBay and other buy and sell websites in this list, Ruby Lane shops sell items at fixed prices. Though, what’s impressive is that the company does not take commissions from sales.

Each Ruby Lane shop is also evaluated by a house team of antiques and art professionals to ensure that they meet specific standards before conducting business.

Open shops are also required to adhere to an ongoing standard set of quality guidelines to ensure that all items for sale are represented accurately and genuinely.

All items are classified into the following Lanes or categories:

• Fashion
• Silver
• Porcelain & Pottery
• Jewelry
• Glass
• Lighting & Rugs
• Furniture, Art
• Dolls
• Antiques & Collectibles

Ruby Lane is perfect for antique connoisseurs and art collectors alike with the number of historical and ancient materials available.

Pro-Tip: Check out our guide on how to sell vintage clothing online.

OfferUp

OfferUp is an online mobile-first C2C marketplace that instantly connects local buyers and sellers.

It was founded in 2011 as a competitor to Craigslist by differentiating itself with an easy-to-use app and profiles with ratings for safety concerns.

Profiles are rated with verification badges, average response time, personalized background images, trusted connections, and positive review attributes.

OfferUp also has a smooth messaging feature that lets buyers and sellers connect directly without giving up personal data like phone numbers or email addresses.

Products available on OfferUp include everything from furniture and electronics to cars and trucks.

OfferUp enables users to post items for sale to people of similar interests, people nearby, mom groups, followers, and friends.

Decluttr

Decluttr is your one-stop online shop to buy or trade refurbished smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other gadgets.

Similar to Gazelle, you can get a free and instant valuation for everything you want to sell. You can simply choose the make, model, and condition of your smartphone or tech device.

Moreover, it also uses barcode technology when you decide to sell your C.D.s, DVDs, and games.

Decluttr will email you a Welcome Pack once you have accepted their offer. Their welcome pack will let you know exactly how to ship your items to them.

Usually, the Welcome Pack is a simple four or five-page email, although you can expect more pages to arrive should you decide to ship more items.

Once your item has been received, the Decluttr expert and quality team will check them over and eliminate personal information using its specialist software.

After processing your items, you will be paid through Direct Deposit, PayPal, or even donate your earnings to your chosen charity.

Decluttr is best designed for individuals who want to simplify their lives and make money off their excess stuff.

It is, however, noted that Decluttr sometimes provides a low payout for most items, especially if they are worn out or no longer in demand.

Mercari

Mercari is a Japanese ecommerce company established in 2013. With more than JPY 10 billion transactions carried out monthly, it is the nation’s largest community-powered marketplace.

Its main product is the Mercari Marketplace App. It enables users to buy and sell items quickly from their smartphones.

Products available in the Mercari Marketplace App range from shoes and athletic apparel to video game consoles, seasonal décor, and electronics.

The Mercari Marketplace App is known for its ease of use and unique shipping systems. It lets users ship products and goods anonymously from local convenience stores through cooperation with Japan Post and Yamato Transport.

For U.S. customers, Mercari works with FedEx, UPS, and USPS to let users print shipping labels. It also has a separate purchase label for larger items.

Similar to Decluttr, the Mercari Marketplace App is best for minimalists and individuals looking to get rid of excess stuff quickly.

Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre is an Argentine online global marketplace that focuses on online auctions and ecommerce.

It operates across multiple South American countries, including Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, Peru, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, and Chile. It also has operations in Spain and Mexico.

What makes Mercado Libre different from your typical buy and sell websites is it operates under multiple business units. These business units are MarketPlace, Mercado Libre, Mercado Pago, MercadoShops, and Mercado Credito.

The MarketPlace is built to match buyers and sellers. Buyers bid for items or pay a specific price for offered items. At present, buyers can select products and services from over 3,000 official stores.

Mercado Libre is the market leader in each of the aforementioned countries, with over 139.5 million unique active users across different fields and educational backgrounds.

5Miles

5Miles is a mobile marketplace app that lets everyone buy and sell several items as well as find jobs and services.

These items can vary from used cars and furniture to clothing, electronics, video games, and even puppies. It also has a free section on its website wherein you can post items that you would rather donate.

Sellers can easily take a picture and list the item on the app. Buyers can then send offers and chat with sellers. If they are interested in buying the item, they can pay using the 5Miles Wallet or meet in person.

Should the buyer choose to pay for the item using their credit or debit card, you will be notified and must deliver the item as arranged by them.

Once the buyer confirms that the item has been received, the funds will be transferred to your 5Miles balance, where you can withdraw into your bank account.

What makes 5Miles stand out from the typical buy and sell site is its community of passionate buyers and sellers with varied interests.

This makes 5Miles a hotbed for comic book collectors, sneakerheads, die-hard LEGO fans, and even bike and car enthusiasts.

Locanto

Locanto is a global classifieds website with areas dedicated to jobs, real estate, community, personals, services, for sale, for rent, and vehicles.

It was launched in 2006 in Germany with a local classified site for New York City. A month later, it expanded its services to the U.S. cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston.

It is available in a mobile version for web users. Searching and browsing classified ads, as well as posting an ad are allowed in the mobile version.

With Locanto, you can post an ad at no cost and browse through the huge selection of free classified ads.

Locanto has no specific target users, which makes it suitable and easy to use for users 18 years old and over.

Finding the best buy and sell website

Picking the best buy and sell website depends on your needs as a buyer or seller. As a general rule of thumb, if you want to get rid of something quickly, go for a site that offers fixed-price listings, such as Mercari or 5Miles. If you’re looking for the best deals on pre-owned items, go for sites like OfferUp or Letgo.

When selling, you’ll want to consider the fees associated with each site. For example, Mercari charges a 10% fee on all sales, while 5Miles only charges 5% for credit and debit card payments (or 2.5% if you withdraw your earnings to your bank account).

Finally, consider the type of items you’re looking to buy or sell. For example, if you’re a comic book fan, 5Miles is probably your best bet. If you’re into fashion, Mercari is a great option. And if you’re looking for something specific, like a used car or piece of furniture, Locanto is worth checking out.

At the end of the day, the best buy and sell website is the one that meets your needs as a buyer or seller. With so many options to choose from, we hope this list helps you find the perfect site for your needs.