Depending on the type of items you have that you no longer need/want you can sell them. eBay.com allows for sales of items in various states of trash and treasure. Creepy dolls living in your attic? Research what they are and sell them! eBay often asks you to use PayPal for item payment and there are fees to use PayPal and fees from eBay if your item sells. Be sure to add a little extra to shipping or your base price to cover potential fees. Also with eBay allowing you to list for free, you can set the price at the lowest amount you will accept and anything after the first bid is icing on the cake.
Be aware if you make too much money on eBay you will have to pay taxes on this income. eBay will send you a 1099MISC form with the information on it. According to this thread on the eBay.com forums, you need to receive either 200 payments through PayPal or over $20,000 over the course of a year. Because at that point it is no longer hobby selling but closer to a second income. Most people don't have to worry about this for selling off items that have been hanging around, but sometimes a creepy doll from the closet can bring a bigger profit then you were expecting.
Some tips before you sell your stuff on eBay:
- Before listing- make sure to find the right size shipping box for the item(s) and go to the post office/UPS/Fedex Store's website to estimate shipping. Your buyer pays shipping cost unless you say "Free Shipping"
- Get organized. Know what you are listing, when you want the auction to end, how much it is worth
- Have a decent camera that can show details.
- Don't stress out! Its only eBay.
Now for you crafty people. Etsy.com lets you sell vintage and home made items. They do not always sell quickly but you can make money off items you made. I sell home made and custom jams. To figure out my cost, I made a spreadsheet where I track cost of jars, sugar, pectin, fruit, labels and any other supplies needed divide it by number of jars per batch and I figure out my price from there. If cost per jar is $3.32, I round up to the next dollar to pay for my work.
Friends of mine sell clothing made for Live Action Role Play Games, Renascence Fairs, Steam Punk Accessories and other events. There are people with hobbies out there that need clothing but cannot sew, so they look for someone else to make their costumes. Don't be surprised if they sell slowly. When you open up a shop on Etsy talk about it! Post the link on your facebook and Twitter. Tell your friends that you're doing it. You never know which of your friends is looking for that item you make!
