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10+ things to sell online to make money (with great income potential)

By Author Chhavi Agarwal

Things to sell online to make money

Want to make extra money?

Looking for the best things to sell online to make money or wondering what to sell to make money today?

If you’re looking for a way to earn some extra cash, selling at home can be an excellent option. You don’t need any special skills or training, and it doesn’t take much time out of your day.

The best part is that there are plenty of things you can sell online!

Check out this list easy things to make and sell for extra money online.

These are handmade items or crafts, services, tangible or intangible products/services which the most non-technical person can pull off or someone with a little more technical know-how can scale into a full-fledged business!

There is no limit on how much you could earn from these items that are in high demand.

You’ll never find another resource like this one so check it out and start your online selling business.

We’ve even included some tips on where to market your products so they get maximum exposure – because we care about our customers’ success as much as our own!

Lets begin what things to sell to make money from home

The post includes affiliate links.

Want to make money quickly? Here are a few platforms to earn up to $25 – $50 in a few minutes!

Table Of Contents
  1. Things to sell online to make money
  2. things to sell online to make money: 5 factors to consider
  3. things to sell online to make money – Physical product
  4. things to sell online to make money – Intangible product
  5. Sell your expertise on a blog, youtube and podcast
  6. things to sell online to make money – Online Business
  7. things to sell online to make money – Service
  8. Things to sell online to make money – different ideas
  9. What is The Best Site to Sell Stuff Online?
  10. Where To Find Customers To Buy Things Online?
  11. FAQ – things to sell online to make money
  12. Conclusion: things to sell online to make money 
  13. Things to sell online to make money

things to sell online to make money: 5 factors to consider

In this image someone is operating a laptop. Used for a post on things to sell online to make money

1. Initial Investment

It might be difficult to be able to spend or invest too much money right away. We understand that.

Work out the math and come to an amount that is comfortable for you to invest and we have listed several selling side hustles for you to choose from (businesses that take 0 investment to a couple of hundreds).

If you don’t have the investment money, you can make money in one day or take up side hustles that can earn upto $1000 and more.

2. Income Potential

Who says side hustles are little gigs that can barely make ends meet?

Remember, your goal is to work only when you want to work.

What this means is that you should be able to do what you love doing or spend time with your kids while earning a decent income at the end of the day.

We have covered all these bases for you which should be good enough.

3. Flexibility

Time is money! We get that right?

That’s why we have covered businesses that can work on autopilot (no need for your supervision at all time) as well as businesses that need active involvement.

4. Time To First Paycheck

We need some time to test and experiment before we can really get anything out of it.

This also includes figuring out the market trends, testing your materials, marketing strategies, and so on.

For each option listed on this page, we have provided an estimated number of days you will need to wait for your first paycheck.

5. Time Commitment

It is important to know what is your time commitment

That is why we have provided an estimate on how many hours it will take in terms of time. You can then work out how many hours you need to spend each day.

things to sell online to make money – Physical product

Sell handmade products (crafts, etc):

If you can turn your hobby into a physical product, you can sell it on Etsy and make money online.

Crafts and handmade items have always been popular, as they are often personalised and in demand.

Handmade items are unique, and people are often willing to pay more for something that is one-of-a-kind.

Here are a few platforms you can sell your handmade products:

Etsy: Handmade products, vintage items, and supplies (You can find all sorts of things to sell here). You can also sell coloring books

Amazon: If you don’t want to work for yourself, Amazon has many different affiliate marketing programs that payout monthly. However, if you want to work for yourself, check out how to start an Amazon FBA business from home.

eBay: You can sell vintage items, antiques, or handmade crafts on eBay. Find out other items to sell on ebay and how to sell on ebay.

If you’re an artist, there are many art side hustles that can help you make money online

Print on demand T-shirts or products with your own design:

Selling t-shirts is probably one of the easier things to sell online. If you have good ideas for designs, print on demand business can be very lucrative.

Design your own t-shirt or product on sites like:

  • Teespring: Design and sell custom T-shirts
  • Redbubble: Print on demand clothing, mugs, phone cases, etc.
  • Zazzle: This site is similar to Redbubble but with more options for product types (t-shirts

Also, check out sites like Printful and Printify to print your own shirts.

You can also sell other on-demand products with your designs like mugs, phone cases, stickers, pillows, etc.

Home made Beauty Proudcts:

There are so many homemade beauty products you can make by hand.

This is an incredibly in-demand niche, and people are willing to pay good money for natural, organic or unscented items that they use on their body

Here are some ideas:

  • Lotions/Creams you can buy base ingredients online (coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, etc) and mix them together to make your own products.

  • Natural skin serums or facial masks made from fruits, vegetables or other common household items

  • Sugar scrubs that use common kitchen ingredients like brown sugar or coconut oil

  • Makeup made from all-natural ingredients (beeswax, cocoa butter, etc)

Dog treats/ chews

You can make all sorts of dog treats yourself using ingredients found at your local grocery store.

Many people are making homemade versions of popular dog foods that are expensive in the store and sell it from home or develop their own recipe and sell something unique to pet parents

Learn how to start, launch and grow your dog bakery business.

Dog clothes or accessories

If you know how to sew, this is an easy way to make money online.

You can create all kinds of clothing items for dogs like sweaters, leggings, coats, and more using a sewing pattern and materials found at local stores (Fabric stores)

Make dog beds from a simple pattern and some old sweatshirt fabric

Design and sell your own pet accessory line for popular pets like cats or dogs

Sell food

Sell homemade food on a food-based online marketplace like Zomato or Farmers Market.

Sell pre-made, homemade foods on marketplaces that feature local businesses or collaborate with local businesses like bakeries, grocery stores, etc to sell your products.

You can also create your own website or use social media channels like Instagram and focus on selling the food you make at home.

Sell Old Clothes, books, CDs

You can find a book buy/sell site online to sell your old paperback or hardcover books.

Most of these sites will pay you in cash but some might offer store credit as well.

You can sell used CDs and DVDs at local pawn shops where they usually give you cents per CD or DVD

Sell clothes from your closet at a local secondhand store or on a buy/sell site online to make some quick cash

You can also make use of websites like Poshmark, Mecari, and Facebook Marketplace 

Flip Furniture

If you have a knack for decorating, this is an easy way to make extra money online.

Find old or used furniture that needs some work and give it a new look by repainting, refinishing or reupholstering the piece.

Sell the refurbished furniture pieces on marketplaces like Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, or on a national buy/sell site like OfferUp.

Note: Craigslist is a great way to sell items and make money. If you are wondering, what products sell quickest on Craigslist, check this out.

Sell Candles

Scented candles are in high demand and very easy to make at home.

You can buy base ingredients at your local store and add essential oils or natural scents to create customized products for a very specific customer base.

Create labels and branding around the candle-making process so you can sell candles online or in person.

things to sell online to make money – Intangible product

ebooks on a topic you are an expert on:

If you have a passion and know a lot about a specific topic, research and write an ebook on it.

You can sell it online or offer it for free to build your email list (your buyers’ emails could be monetized later after they buy your info products)

You can also sell one-time access to webinars where people pay to watch you present information on the topic of your ebook.

You can sell access to tutorials where you show people how to do something related to the topic of your ebook.

Learn how to launch your ebook or courses the right way.

create an online course around a topic that you are an expert in:

Create an online course with video lessons, PDFs, and text lessons on a subject you are familiar with.

You could create options for different payment amounts like $10 or $20 monthly access to the course or $97 one-time access where people pay once to gain all of your content through the site like Udemy (Udemy makes its money from a part of the monthly access or one-time fee)

You can sell your course on Udemy (they take their cut) or on an affiliate marketplace like Clickbank (you make more but you don’t control the price point).

You can also sell it on an independent platform like Podia, Teachable, Thinkific, etc, and market it to your audience on social media, email platforms, or by running ads to your target audience.

Learn how to launch your courses the right way.

Sell your expertise on a blog, youtube and podcast

Here are a few things to sell to make money from home which are not physical items but have the capabulity to earn more than 200k a year.

Start a blog:

Create a blog on a topic you enjoy and know well.

You can monetize the blog by adding affiliate links to products that fulfill your readers’ needs or by selling ad space to relevant companies and businesses within your niche.

To better understand how to monetise a blog:

Ads – Ads  are shown on your blog, and you make money every time someone clicks on it. Find out alternatives to Adsense that pay well for ads

Affiliate marketing – Affiliate marketing is when you recommend other people’s products in exchange for a percentage of the sale. Check this out to learn how to go about affiliate marketing that reaps money

Email marketing – This form of monetisation involves building your own email list and then sending them targeted emails about related topics or products. Check out this free course on how to create an attractive lead magnet

Want to start a profitable blog? – Check this out.

Start a YouTube channel:

In this day and age, YouTube is a great way to make money.

You can start a free channel with no video editing skills and work your way up by creating videos on relevant topics that you are an expert in.

It takes some time to grow but if you stick with it, you’ll find ways to create

Start a podcast:

Podcasting is a great way to monetize your expertise.

You can start a free podcast and work your way up by creating relevant content to generate an audience for your paid products or services down the road.

There are other ways to monetise as well like sponsorships, brand collaboration, and ads.

It takes a little while to grow but if you stick with it, you’ll find ways to monetize the podcast.

Sell Software and Apps

If you have some coding knowledge, you can sell software or create an app and charge a monthly access fee to people who use it.

You can offer a free trial of your product for a limited time, after which users will have to pay the subscription fee to keep using your product.

Rent out space in your house

Looking for things to sell to make quick cash? This is the fastest way to do it.

Create a profile with attractive photos of the space and promote it on social media, classified sites like Craigslist or Airbnb, etc.

You can charge by the day or by monthly rent.

You could also advertise the space during peak times like festivals, trade shows, etc. where you can charge a premium price for the location.

things to sell online to make money – Online Business

Lets look a few easy things to sell online that have a great income potential

This image includes cents & dollars, a bonsai plant and a candle. Used for a post on things to sell online to make money

Flip Items Online

Buy low and sell high online is what it means to flip items online for money.

You could buy items on eBay or Craigslist for a cheap price and resell them on Amazon FBA or eBay for a higher price.

If you are good at shopping, you can also buy items from a flea market, thrift store, or garage sale.

Learn how to start flipping online with Rob & Melissa who earn over $133k a year with this. Click here to find their free webinar.

Sell Photos Online

If you have a good eye for photography, selling your photos online can be a great way to make extra money.

You can sell them directly through a site like Shutterstock or each photo could be sold as a stock image on one of the many sites like iStock, Adobe Stock, etc.

People often purchase these images to use in blogs, presentations, marketing materials, etc.

things to sell online to make money – Service

Tutoring sessions Online:

You can offer tutoring sessions online to people who need help learning a subject or skill.

It could be anything from math, English as a second language, science, etc.

You can start working with VIPKid, Chegg, etc.

Freelancing Services or becoming a virtual assistant:

If you have a good command over the English language and can handle customer support, orders, etc. – become a virtual assistant

You can also offer your services as a freelancer if you have specific skills that people are looking for.

These services would include creating logos, writing, website building, etc.

Many companies outsource work to freelancers as a way to cut down on costs and you could also sign up with them directly.

People often go for this option if they have a project that needs specialized attention or is not very large in size.

While you can start working with Upwork, Freelancer, etc, I recommend you start out independently.

Things to sell online to make money – different ideas

These are two things to sell to make quick cash online.

Sell ideas to companies

If you have a unique idea – companies will be interested in talking to you. You can actually sell ideas to companies for money.

Some companies directly advertise that they are looking for new ideas, and they will pay you cash if they like your idea and decide to use it.

How much do ideas for companies pay? – $50-1500/idea.

Sell your body in different ways

If you are comfortable with it, you can use your body in different ways to make money.

What is The Best Site to Sell Stuff Online?

Depending on your needs and what you want to sell, there are a lot of sites which you could use.

In short, you can use one of the following:

If you’ve never sold anything online before and have no audience as well, then it is always best to go with the online marketplace.

You can list your items, optimize your listing, share it on various social media, and utilize the already existing customer base that online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, etc already have.

Here is a list:

Craigslist   – this site is great for selling local items or meeting up with people.

You might have to pay a small fee for posting ads but it’s worth the money because you can reach people nearby and they don’t have to pay for shipping (and you also save on gas!).

Etsy – specialized in handmade, vintage, and supplies.

Amazon FBA – You can buy products from your own store or other retail sites and resell them on Amazon to make a profit.

eBay   – another popular site like Etsy but it’s more popular for selling larger items.

There are dozens of other sites like these and you can even try starting your own website to sell items.

Once you have established your brand and trust with buyers, you can start building your own e-commerce website.

You will have more control over the operations, design as well as revenue. Some of the benefits to having your own store:

  • You can list all the items at once place without having to worry about competition or sponsored listings
  • You will get access to the entire customer base with their details. Reach out to them on social media and email as well.

Where To Find Customers To Buy Things Online?

This is the fun part because you can reach out to people in so many different ways.There are too many channels where you can market your products online and reach out to potential buyers.

The basic principle is that you have to share your product on relevant social media pages, groups, etc.

You should also invest in Google Adwords and Facebook ads because that is where most people spend their time.

Social Media Marketing:

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of people’s lives and you can use it to market your products. For example, you can create an Instagram account and share images related to what you are selling.

You could even offer coupons and deals on some of the posts so people come to your website to check out more.

Don’t spam people with promotional content, but share valuable information which they will find useful.

Email Marketing:  

This is another great way to reach out to potential customers.

You can send them sales, offers or even create email lists where you could share tips on how they can use your products or services.

Paid ads:

You can use social media sites, Adwords, etc to reach out to potential customers for your products.

Collaborate with social media influencers, bloggers etc

Social media influencers can help sell products online by promoting them to their followers.

They have a lot of influence over their followers, so if they recommend a product, their followers are likely to buy it. This is a great way to reach out to potential customers and increase sales.

Collaborate with social media influencers, bloggers, etc to get your brand out there.

FAQ – things to sell online to make money

What can I sell to get money fast?

You can sell any of the items listed above to get money fast. That said, you can sell freelancing services to get money fast.

Besides that, you can also sell these items to get money fast

  • Handmade items
  • Crafts
  • Candles
  • Beauty Products
  • Baked goods
  • Flip items on ebay
  • consultancy services

What is the most profitable thing to sell?

While you can sell a tonne of things to sell online to make money, here are a few with huge profit margins

  • Services
  • Handmade items
  • Beauty products
  • Designer apparel, bags and shoes

What is the easiest thing to sell online?

The easiest thing to sell online are

  • Beauty products
  • Handmade items
  • Candles
  • Jewelry etc

Conclusion: things to sell online to make money 

If you’re looking for a way to supplement your income, consider making some of these items and selling them online.

It’s easy enough that the most non-technical person can pull it off with help from someone who is more knowledgeable in certain areas or it could be scaled into a full-fledged business if you have the interest!

Whether you want to make one item at home as a side hustle or branch out on Etsy, this list will get you started with 22 things that are the best things to sell online and make money.

What do think? Do any of these sounds like something that would interest you?

If you are looking for similar reads, check out things to sell at school, things to sell on ebay, and things to buy that make money

Things to sell online to make money