How to Find Other Places to Sell Your Wares Besides eBay

While eBay and Amazon are leading marketplaces for individuals attempting to sell their belongings, many other venues are available. Among the possibilities are other websites modeled largely upon those two giants, but the creative home-based salesperson has a wide range of opportunities, some of which might result in significantly higher profits.

Things You'll Need

• Time
• Patience
• Perseverance

Instructions

1. Participate in online forums to learn of the resources upon which your peers are relying.

2. Post your item on free classified ad sites on Myspace, Kiji (an eBay affiliate) and Craigslist.

3. Build your own website. There are free website services that will provide you with the templates to begin building your site. Simply search for "free website" or "free web page" to get started. Write an article about your product with a link to your website.

4. Start a blog about the things you sell. Blog sites such as Blogger and WordPress are free and good places to start blogging.

5. Join social networking sites and talk about the items you sell on your site.

6. Go back to the traditional way of selling things, such as flea markets, swap meets, home parties and yard sales.

7. Join various nonprofit organizations and civic groups. As people get to know you, they will be more willing to buy items from you.

8. Consider your local classifieds. If you plan to move soon, start planning for a "Moving Sale."

9. Distribute fliers and business cards. Place them in laundromats, grocery stores, libraries and other places that have public bulletin boards.

10. Alert you existing contacts about your new blog, article, website, email address, and product information.

Tips & Warnings

• Some services may cost money, but they are worth it if they bring traffic to your site.

• Pay per click is another way, but it can be very costly and time consuming if you don't know what you are doing.

• Research your product online often and observe the tactics that the most successful sellers use to reel people in to buy their products.

• Traffic doesn't always come quickly especially to blog sites. The fastest way to get traffic to any site online or offline is through word of mouth. If you can create a buzz around the products you sell whether through a contest, a trial or giveaway coupons, people will be more likely to purchase your items.

• Unfortunately eBay is still the best site to sell items, but if enough people leave and support the smaller auction sites, at some point eBay will have to fall back.

References

• Craigslist