By Holly Reisem Hanna
From a very early age, I was taught the value of money. Not only did I do chores to earn a weekly allowance, but I was expected to save my money for things that I wanted to purchase. And like most kids — I wanted more than I really needed, which motivated me to come up with creative ways to make money.
Yes, I sold lemonade from a TV tray in our neighborhood, but I also sold arts and crafts door-to-door. I collected salamanders from our backyard and sold them to the local pet store. I collected aluminum cans from the nearby business park’s dumpsters and sold them to the recycling center, and I sold my old toys in rummage sales.
Fast forward and not much has changed.
In college, I sold my old text books and CDs for cash. I sold old clothes to consignment shops. I even sold my body to science, by participating in numerous pharmaceutical research studies. The point being, when you’re short on cash there are TONS of ways to make extra money by selling things.
So if you need some extra pocket cash, here are 27 different things you can sell from home.
Advice:
Are you a math whiz or a tech guru? Do you know a foreign language? Then cash in on your knowledge on sites like Brain Mass or Create Pool. Simply browse the questions, give an answer, and get paid. Each site works differently, so visit each for specific details.
Be sure you check out this post — it has 11 different sites where you can sell your expertise!
Art:
Do you love to paint or draw? Then sell your art online at ArtPal, they accept paintings, prints, photography, sculptures, handmade jewelry, and crafts. Best of all, there's no fee to join.
Baby Gear:
Is your baby all grown up? Then sell your used baby furniture, gear, toys, and clothes at a Just Between Friends sale. At JBF you simply bring in your items to a local sale, price them, and then two weeks later you receive your consignor check in the mail. You can also try selling your gently used baby stuff on Craigslist or eBay.
Belly:
While this is a HUGE commitment and undertaking, it can be very lucrative if you’re healthy, the right age, and you have the right mindset. Being a surrogate (carrying someone else’s baby for 9 months) pays anywhere from $25,000 – $40,000, plus the cost of medical bills and treatments.
Big Ticket Items:
Do you have furniture, designer clothing, major electronics, or appliances that you no longer need or want? Then sell them on Amazon, eBay, or Craigslist. Like a newspaper ad, but free, you’ll list your item and it will be up to you to follow through with customers. With Craigslist just remember to use common sense and general safety precautions when meeting people and accepting payments (cash only). With eBay you’ll list your items online, once they sell, you’ll ship them to the customer and you’ll get paid via PayPal. eBay takes a 10% fee from each item sold, otherwise, it is free to list your items.
Breast Milk:
Yes, you heard me correctly, breast milk! In fact, there is a whole website called, Only The Breast that is dedicated to moms selling and those looking to buy breast milk. $2.00 is the average selling price per ounce.
Books:
Do you have old books laying around? Sell them online at Cash 4 Books. Enter the book’s ISBN and get a quote. If it’s acceptable, send your books with their pre-paid shipping label. Once they are received you’ll be paid either via check or PayPal.
Clinical Trials:
Donate your body to science by partaking in a clinical research study. Use Clinical Trials.gov to locate studies around the globe. Compensation will vary depending on the type of medication, the length of the study, and the number of visits. Payments are usually made by check from the clinical research organization.
Clothing:
Do you have outgrown children’s clothing or styles that you no longer wear? Then sell your clothes on ThredUp. To get started, go to the SELL TAB and order a free Clean Out Kit. Once you receive the prepaid bag with shipping label, fill it up with clothes, shoes, jackets, handbags, and accessories and send it off in the mail. You'll receive a notification once ThredUp receives your bag and once they evaluate your items. ThredUp accepts around 60% of items sent in and you can transfer your earnings via PayPal or ThredUp credit. And if you sign up now, you can earn a $10 ThredUp credit just by using this referral link. ThredUp has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Prefer to sell new clothing? Here are 5 online boutiques that will let you set up shop for FREE!
Crafts:
Do you make gorgeous jewelry or cozy knit scarves? Then sell your handmade goods, vintage items, or craft supplies on the Craft Star or Etsy. It costs .20 cents to list an item for 4 months, or until it sells. Once you sell your item, Etsy collects a 3.5% fee on the sale price.
If you have a creative personality — here are some ways you can use your creative side to make money.
Egg Donor:
Are you young and in good health? Then donating your eggs may be a viable option for you. You must be between the ages of 21 – 32, a non-smoker, and in overall good health. Donors can make anywhere from $5,000 – $8,000 per retrieval. Want more information on being an egg donor? Check out this post from The Penny Hoarder.
Electronics:
Have old electronics laying around? Then sell your old smartphones, tablets, laptops, and computers on Gazelle. Simply find your gadget on their website, answer some questions, ship it off for free, and get paid via check, Amazon gift card, or PayPal. Gazelle has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Old Jewelry:
Do you have jewelry from an old flame? Then sell it at a pawn shop, local jewelry store, or on a platform like, Out of Your Life. While Out of Your Life has an A rating with Better Business Bureau, I have not used them personally. Be sure to do your research before sending off your precious gems.
If you'd like to sell new jewels and gems — here's a HUGE list of companies to check out!
Direct Sales:
You've probably heard of heard of Avon — but did you know there are thousands of direct selling companies that sell fun stuff like on-trend jewelry (Chloe + Isabel), wine (Traveling Vineyard), and stylish clothing (cabi)? While you usually have to pay a small startup fee — the direct sales industry is a great way to sell new products from home. From makeup and jewelry to gourmet food and clothing, whatever your passion there’s a direct sales company that caters to it.
For more information, check out some of the best products to sell from home.
Gift Cards:
Have you gotten a gift card for a store that you don’t shop at or that’s not close to your home? If you’re not using it, sell it on the platform, Card Cash. Just enter your gift card info online and get a free quote. Card Cash pays up to 92% in cash for your old gift cards. Payments are made via check, PayPal, or direct deposit. Card Cash is a member of the Better Business Bureau.
Don't have any unwanted gift cards?
How about earning some using platforms like Swagbucks or InboxDollars? Both of these platforms are free to join and you earn points by taking surveys, watching videos, printing out coupons, searching the web and other random short tasks. Both platforms give you a $5 bonus for signing up and they both have A+ ratings with the Better Business Bureau.
Hair:
Do you have long hair? Then sell your hair using HairWork.com or HairSellon.com. You’ll need at least 10 inches of healthy hair — but you can make anywhere from $100 to $4,000 just by selling your locks.
Logos:
Do you have graphic design skills? Then use your talents and sell logos on 99 designs. Simply find a contest, submit a design, and if yours is chosen as the winner you make money.
Or you can try using your design skills to create and sell t-shirts — there are a bunch of platforms that allow you to design, setup up shop, and sell for FREE.
Mini Services:
Fiverr is a website where you post services that you’re willing to do for $5.00. People sell everything from writing services, design services, voice over services, to making phone calls, posting social media updates, and videos. Once you make a sale, Fiverr will keep a $1 fee and payments will be made via PayPal. Doesn’t sound like much money? Connie Brentford is making good money on Fiverr – she even wrote an e-book about it, How I Made An Extra $1,200 Per Month At Home Using One Free Website.
Music:
Sell your used CDs, DVDs, and video games at Decluttr. Just enter the item's barcode on the site to get a quote. Decide which items you’d like to sell (minimum of 10 items per transaction) and send them in using a pre-paid shipping label. Once items are received, Decluttr will send you a check.
New Stuff:
With Shop Your Way (Sponsored by Lands End, Sears, and Kmart) you can sell clothes, shoes, accessories, appliances, toys, home decor, and much more. Sign up for a free account and then view the startup videos to get started. Simply share items via social media and earn a 5% commission on items you sell through your personal shopper link.
Plasma:
Are you a healthy individual? Then donate plasma at BioLife Plasma Services. Your first visit will take approximately 2 hours for donation screening, medical check, and retrieval time. Upon successful completion, you’ll be paid via a Visa Debit Card. Donors are allowed to donate two times in a seven day period and subsequent visits only take one hour. Call your local chapter for compensation rates.
Photos:
Sell your photos to stock sites like Dreamstime.com. Simply upload your photos and sell your images. You’ll receive 25% – 60% from each sale you make. For more places to sell your photos, check out this MASSIVE list of sites you can sell on.
Or use an iPhone app like Foap. Download the application to your smartphone and upload your photos. Once your image receives five positive ratings from other Foap users – your photo will be published for sale. You will earn $5 each time someone purchases your photo. Payments are made via PayPal when the user requests a cashout.
Practical Tips:
Do you love to DIY? Are you in the know? Then share your tips, strategies, and hacks with magazines for money. Cuisine.com pays $100 for solving common cooking problems. Check out this article on ways to make money from home for more magazine submission sites. You can also search online for “submit a tip” or in the back of physical magazines.
Prefer to write articles for magazines? This article has step-by-step instructions on how to get started.
Random Items:
At Listia, you can trade in your old unwanted stuff for credits and buy new stuff for free. Earn 1,000 free credits for signing up. Listia has been featured on Mashable, ABC, and the Washington Post.
Recipes:
Are you a great cook? Then sell your recipes to magazines, cooking contest websites, or article databases like Helium.com and About.com. Magazines will usually pay $25 – $500+ if they publish your recipe. Some sites to check out are Cooking Light ($50 and a free t-shirt) and Sunset.com ($250). With article databases, they publish your recipe online and then place ads alongside your recipe. The more page views to your recipe, the greater revenue share you earn, and the more recipes you share, the more earnings you’ll make.
Tickets:
Do you have concert or sports tickets that you’ve won or are not able to use? Then sell them on StubHub. List your tickets for free, once they sell, StubHub collects a 15% fee from the total sale. Payments are made via PayPal or check.
Wedding Dress:
Is your wedding dress collecting dust in the closet? Then sell it on SellMyWeddingDress.org or StillWhite.com. Listings range from $19.95 to $29.95. Neither sites charge commission fees. List your wedding items, prom dress, wedding dress, or wedding gown to tons of potential buyers.
Looking for more things to sell from home? This post tells you how you can make money from your trash!
What things are you selling from home?
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This information is amazing. I have soooo much “stuff” that I could be making money from, Thank you for enlightening others with these articles.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Indeed. Takes a lot of guesswork out of deciding which sites are good or not, and best of all……they’ve already been found for you!
Thanks
This information is truly priceless, as I have just retired and looking for ways to make extra money now, I look really forward to trying some of these! Where do you think is best for selling items I have left from my consignment boutique, such as sign holders, store type items? Thanks so much!
Loved this article. I am hoping to retire from 20 yrs of nursing in a long term care facility in August. I want to completely declutter my house and possibly earn some money in doing so.
I think your ideas are a great starting point.
Glad you enjoyed the tips, JoAnn! Congrats on your upcoming retirement — very exciting!
While most of these are great tips, I don’t ever recommend selling breastmilk. Greed and desperation often make people do very unethical things. If anything, only sell to body builders or sports junkies (many will pay top dollar for a healthy, all natural supplement). There’s just too much at stake when you’re talking about an infant’s sole source of nutrition.
hi! I live in Nigeria, can you tell me ways to make money online from here please.
Take a look at this post — it lists global opportunities: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/global-telecommuting-jobs/
Hello every one.
I am from Mongolia
I want to do some thing that Mongolia don’t have that they need here in Mongolia if you all have any idea of what I can do and start can you all please wright me an email at this account Puje822@gmail.com
thank you all for you help
Take a look at this article, Paul. It’s for jobs outside the US: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/global-telecommuting-jobs/
Wow! This is highly informative. But I live in Nigeria and most of these things don’t apply. Like my wedding dress is been lying in my closet for some time now but there is no site to sell here.
Yes, most of these are geared towards US residents. I do have Global Work at Home Opportunities Post that I continually add new resources to. You can check it out here: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/global-telecommuting-jobs/
Maybe it is an opportunity for you to create a website for used things in your country.
Hello .. What about Argan oil ?? For skin and hair ?
There is probably a direct sales companies that sells Aragon oil or that has it in their products. If I hear of one I’ll let you know.
I’m really thrilled , have to check this out, thanks.
Good luck, Josie!
I really enjoyed this article because you were not trying to sell something, just giving out great information. I think the breast milk is a great idea, since you can produce as much as you can pump, even if your not pregnant. I bet the moms that can not breast feed like this. I thought the eggs was a great idea too, since both ideas help the buyer and seller.
I meant even if you have not been pregnant or had a baby, you can still produce milk.
Glad you enjoyed the list, Skylar =)
Great information, thank you, I will try a couple of these sites out. Again thanks.
Glad you enjoyed the list, Reba! Keep us posted on how they work out for you.
Breast milk,really ?Who will buy?
I know … I would have never thought about selling breast milk, but there are moms out there who are unable to breastfeed and who want their babies to get the benefits from breast milk.
Hi Holly,
This is another one of your wonderful and informative articles. I tried the link to Lea Black under the jewelry category you listed here and I couldn’t seem to find any information on how to join her direct sales program through Facebook. Do you know if this opportunity is still available? Do you have any additional information about the Lea Black company?
By the way, thank you for all of the great information you give on this site. You truly have a wonderful website and it’s one of the best and legit resources for mothers and women wanting to work from home. Keep up the fantastic work!
Hi Damita, Glad you enjoyed the list! I emailed Lea a while back and the opportunity was on hold, but she was planning to relaunch it. Not sure of the new launch date. She’e very responsive if you want to try and email her.
And THNAK YOU for your kind words! It means so much to me! =)
I have been buying and selling gently used stuff for number of years, but there are so many sources that I did not know about. Thanks for the informative post. Bookmarked! :)
Glad you enjoyed the list, Gurki!
Thanks for this great contribution. Love it. But I am in Nigeria, can I participate
Hi Vera, I don’t think these are open internationally. This post covers some global gigs: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/global-telecommuting-jobs/
I will try what I can do , I realy want to be a business man,in fact , iam a Namibian and I want you to encourage me on what to do.
Hi Johannes, The Work at Home Woman is predominately geared for U.S. residents, but as our International audience grows we are including more global opportunities and listings.
Take a look at this post: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/global-telecommuting-jobs/
Hello and thank you for this article. I am looking for direct sales companies that are focused on health and being all natural.
Hi Stephanie,
There are a bunch! doTERRA sells wellness products and essential oils. BeachBody sells fitness programs and accessories. Isagenix sells healthy weight loss products.
For a full list of companies, check out this list: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/direct-sales/
While this list is perfectly fine if you need to make some quick cash for small purchases here or there, I expected a little more variety from a site called theworkathomewoman. So many women have worked in careers where they have gained tremendous skills in marketing, sales, IT, engineering, Human Resources, education, the list goes on and on. This knowledge can be transformed into an independent consulting business that can allow a woman to earn a lucrative and sustainable living. I’d love to see a post that explores those possibilities in equal measure. Don’t get me wrong–I am all for empowering women at all levels, and these are good suggestions, but we shouldn’t underestimate ourselves.
Hi Talia,
This post is written for the individual who wants to earn a little side cash. We also have articles on professional careers like coaching, nursing, and marketing. If you’d like me to point those out to you — let me know and I’ll drop the links in a comment for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Hello…
My name is Christal. Thank you for this article. My family and I have been homeless for the longest time. We just moved in our 2 br apt after months of living out of motels with our 3 children. My husband and I are looking for work. We our brand new to this city and state and dont know our way around. We have a go fund me campaign…kenny Taitt is the name you can find us under. We our not just asking for financial donations. …anything will help toilet paper, diapers anything will do. Even if you cant donate or help please at least share our go fund me story…or contact us at kenshaad52@gmail.com if you would like to help and want to communicate with us via email. Thank you.
Hi Christal,
I’m sorry to hear about your challenges.
These articles will give you a great place to start your WAH job search:
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/earn-income-2016/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/right-job/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/work-home-jobs-location/
Good luck with your job hunt!
For some reason my computer will not allow me access to your post about “111 sites for selling your stuff,” but maybe you can help me out by just answering my question this way.
I am wanting to start a business of my own doing consignment via the internet, however, I want it to be a platform or site in which I am able to post my items individually like an E-Store. I want to sell clothing, household items, hand-made items and art work, as well as services and resources such as E-books, E-courses, and one-on-one services such as life and recovery coaching…what is your suggestion for the best way for me to go about organizing this business as far as a platform or site??
Hi Lindsay, For the consignment shop you’ll want to set up an e-commerce website. For the e-books and coaching services you can set up a blog or you can use a third-party platform. I’ve included some links to all of the various options. Good luck and keep us posted!
E-commerce: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/building-a-website/
Blog: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/setup-blog/
Teaching/coaching platforms: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/make-money-teaching/
Why does everyone need to know that holly?
I was responding to Lindsay’s question.
I liked the wedding dress one a lot.
WOW, I am indeed impressed dear. I have been an entrepreneur for years and am always looking for legitimate ways to make money from home. So many scams out there today, so we have to be very careful. Again, thanks for the information.
Glad you enjoyed the post, Janet.
Holly I am totally impressed. No which made me drop a commemt on such article, I feel you have solemnly touched peoples life with this and surely you just touched mine. This are great ideas individual needs to benefit from. At this point I’d say thank you and I have come to chose from the list. Once again thank you and God bless you bountifully.