With the holidays looming, every Tom, Dick and Harry is feeling the financial strain and are looking for ways to raise funds. Luckily enough, there is a host of apps that you can use to turn old junk, into new cash – here are some of the top apps.
eBay
Lo and behold, if you haven’t heard of eBay, you must be living on another planet – eBay is the goto auction site for people wanting to buy or sell second-hand items (and new). From clothes, cars to mobile phones, whatever it is that you are trying to shift, you can guarantee that eBay has a whole host of similar items. The danger here is that they do not specialize on one specific item – for example – sites like sellmymobile.com, allow you to look-up your mobile phone model and compare prices across a range of stores, eBay will not. So for items like mobile phones, it might be worth your while to check out price comparison websites, like sellmymobile.com, before you list your item on there. The app itself is smart and intuitive and is much faster than using your browser – no more taking photos and having to upload to your PC, you can take pictures straight from the app. With notifications and messages coming straight to your mobile, meaning you can answer questions from buyers without the need of being at a PC.
Gumtree
Gumtree was started by a guy in London who was having trouble finding a website where he could search for, or list accommodation for hire. Now it is one of the biggest selling sites in the United Kingdom. Over the years it has grown steadily and is a favorite app of many because of the ‘no fees’ for sellers (extra stand-outs do cost extra, however). The company was bought out by eBay and but are still run by the original inventors – meaning that it still carries its original charm. The app is easy to use and again, allows you to receive messages straight to your mobile. You can set-up notifications and alerts which will notify you when something you are interested in is listed.
Preloved
Preloved is a favourite of students and budgeting mothers and fathers alike. For local selling, Preloved is excellent and allows you to set up alerts for items that you want. The app itself resembles eBay and Gumtree but feels far simpler and sleeker in its usage.
Shpock
Shpock is a fairly new player in comparison to other apps listed here – but Shpock markets itself as a ‘car boot’ style app whereby users can browse by their local area and see what their neighbours or friends have to offer. There is something very pleasing to the eye about Shpock – it has a very attractive and responsive user interface and again, allows you to upload photographs straight from your camera.
Wish
Another selling and buying app that is targeted to local selling, Wish has no listing fees and allows you to set up local alerts for the items that you want. The user interface is not as attractive as some of the apps above and I found it to be a little unresponsive at times – a worthy addition to this list however due to its ease-of-use and focus on locality.
Zapper
If you’re a Dragon’s Den fan, you may remember that Zapper gained investment from no other than the usual hard-fisted Duncan. Zapper is focused on used DVD’s, Books, electronics and mobile phones; strangely enough, however, Zapper also has a specific section for Lego, yes Lego. Their app is simply beautiful to use and allows you to scan your barcode to save time and effort. With all the usual app capabilities.
Rebelle
Rebelle is targeted at the upper-class brand savvy socialite – my sister uses it to get her handbags and she raves on about it something wicked. You should be aware, however, that they do require 24 hours to authenticate items and you have to take high-quality pictures of specific areas on your item. Generally, you are recommended to list items on Thursdays so that they are available for over the weekend.
Whatever app you choose to use – always check that they are legitimate and 100% safe.
