Over the years, I’ve had great success buying and selling on OfferUp, and today I’m going to share my top 10 OfferUp tips with you! These tips will help you to sell your items faster and make more money in the process.
Selling on OfferUp is a great way to make some extra money. We’ve sold all kinds of things—home decor, baby gear, furniture, camping equipment, a Blentec blender, snow shoes— you name it!
Our small apartment has limited storage space, so unwanted items are promptly donated or sold.
It’s always nice to declutter your home, clean out your closets, and bring in some extra cash!
Why Use OfferUp?
Personally, I like using the OfferUp app because it’s fast and easy—and not as creepy as Craigslist!
Buyers and sellers have profile pictures and ratings (based on past purchases and sales), so it’s somewhat less anonymous. That alone makes me feel safer, both as a buyer and a seller.
Plus, it’s super easy and convenient to have a conversation right in the app. I don’t have to give out my phone number or email address to anyone!
10 OfferUp Tips to Sell Faster & Make More Money
When you take the time to present your items nicely, market them well, and communicate effectively with potential buyers, you greatly increase the odds of selling your stuff. Plus, you’ll make more money in the process!
1. Before You Sell
Before you start the listing process, spend a few minutes cleaning up the items you want to sell.
Wash clothes, wipe down dirty equipment, repair broken items (if possible), and touch-up scuffed furniture with fresh paint.
2. Photograph Like a Pro
Good pictures make all the difference when selling online! I can’t tell you how many listings I’ve passed by simply because of poor photo quality.
When the details and condition of an item aren’t clear right away, it’s usually not worth the hassle of trying to investigate further.
Do not photograph your items in a dimly lit room. Instead, place your items near a window—or, better yet—take them outside! Make sure the background is as clean and uncluttered as possible, and make sure the image is sharp.
Take pictures at multiple angles to see which ones look best. Also, take pictures of the entire item, as well as close-up detail shots.
Be sure to edit your pictures before uploading them to OfferUp. Adjusting the brightness, contrast, sharpness, and saturation will go a long way. This should only take a couple of minutes, and will help your items to stand out.
Make sure to upload several photos—not just one. This is especially important for bigger-ticket items.
Of all my OfferUp tips, improving your images will probably make the biggest difference! These tips will increase your buyers’ confidence, both in you as the seller and in the item for sale.
3. Create a Smart Title & Description
Use strong keywords in both your title and description. Include important information, such as the brand, size, model, and color. Good keywords will help potential buyers find your listings!
Be honest and accurate in your wording, and describe your items properly.
4. Price it Right
When deciding how much to sell your item for, I recommend first doing a quick OfferUp search. Then check Craigslist and eBay to make sure you’re pricing your item correctly.
If I see that most people are asking $25-$30 for a particular item, I’ll usually price mine a couple of dollars less (especially if there are several already listed for sale).
This helps my items to sell more quickly. I’d rather sell it in a few weeks, than wait a few months before someone bites.
5. Communication is Key
Respond to messages from buyers as quickly as you can! Be clear and courteous with your wording.
I like to use complete sentences, good grammar, and even smiley faces when appropriate! When you communicate effectively, you’re telling your buyers that you are trustworthy.
Sometimes, buyers will stop responding to your messages, which is incredibly frustrating (especially when they’ve already told you where and when they want to meet)! When that happens, just shrug it off and move on.
6. Know How to Negotiate
If someone offers you less money than you feel your item is worth, you can always counter. Try to find a happy medium.
When a buyer sends me lowball offer, I try countering with something reasonable. If they continue offering me unreasonable numbers, I just send them the lowest price I’m willing to accept.
“Thank you for your offer, but the lowest price I’m currently able to accept is $50.”
Sometimes, it’s worth accepting an offer that’s a bit low in order to sell an item more quickly. Buyers can be fickle, and coordinating can take a few days, so I like to jump on sales whenever I can!
7. First Come, First Served
Some buyers will not be considerate of your time, and will not keep their word. I’ve experienced this firsthand.
I have a rule: The first person to give me money for an item gets it!
In the past, buyers have asked me to hold items until a certain date. I would agree, and end up turning down other potential buyers while I waited. Then, the original buyer would change their mind and wouldn’t follow through with the purchase.
Talk about frustrating!
So now, if someone comes along, ready to meet with cash in hand, they’re the one I’m doing business with!
8. Confirm Before You Go
Before you leave your house to meet someone, send them a quick message to confirm the place and time. This is especially important if you agreed to meet a few days prior.
(I like to add reminders to my Apple calendar so that I don’t forget to meet my OfferUp buyers.)
And don’t forget to let someone know if you’re running a few minutes late. Be courteous!
9. Choose a Convenient Meeting Place
When choosing a location to meet buyers, I don’t drive long distances in case they flake out on me. Plus, the farther I drive, the more time and gas money I’m spending.
Instead, I have buyers drive to a location that’s convenient for me—especially if I’m selling a small item. The bigger the item, the farther I’m willing to drive.
10. Be Wise
Be wise about where and when you’re meeting someone.
I prefer to meet in front of a large store during the day, when there’s lots of light and plenty of people around. The safest place to meet is up by the entrance of a store, but parking lots can work, too.
Oftentimes, I’ll send my husband to meet a buyer (especially in the evening).
Share Your Best OfferUp Tips!
I learned most these OfferUp tips and tricks through trial and error. They’ve helped me to develop the system I use today for selling on OfferUp, and have successfully made me some extra money!
Have you tried making extra money using OfferUp? What are your best OfferUp tips?
Awesome article, thank you for sharing. It is comforting to know that I am doing exactly what you have suggested, except I set my prices as firm and then lower prices sometimes,not always! Low ballers are more like an insult and less worth trying to negotiate with people looking for something for nothing. And although the selling process has been slow so far, I hope in time things will improve and make it worth my time, money, effort, research….You already know! Trying to stay positive
This is true! Stay positive!
I am new at this! I am Terri Hart and I would like to sell a sand blasting cabinet and some more items…
He’s a cutie- you’re pretty lucky- my girl’s a teen now.
I think one of the coolest things about selling on offer up is shipping to the buyer. 99 % of my sales are items I ship. I only had one problem and it was my fault. I gave a ups to the USPS. Other than that it is so easy to ship stuff and get paid.
That’s great, Janet! Since I originally wrote this post, shipping items has become much more common on OfferUp! I’ve never tried shipping something through the OfferUp app.
This is a great article! I agree that photos are so important , thank you for the tips about editing, I wouldn’t have thought of that.
I’m so glad you found it helpful! 🙂
Does offer up charge a fee each time I sell an item?
Nope! OfferUp is totally free to use, which is one reason I love it. 🙂
Offerup will not download properly. I’m using a Compaq Presario Windows 7 desktop computer. Is there a conflict with the soft ware with offerup app?
You know, I’m not sure that there is a computer app… I’ve only ever downloaded and used the app on my phone! But you could always try emailing OfferUp and asking!
Hello
Hi I just started using offer up. It will be a great help if you can give me more information about payments. As a seller what mode of payments should I be offering. Before joining I thought only option is meeting in person but then a guy offered to send a cashier’s check and asked for my full name address and phone number…honestly sounded fishy. Pls advice thanks a lot!
It sounds fishy to me, too! Personally, I only ever accept cash for anything I sell, and that’s what I would advise others to do, too. 🙂
My problem is, after I posted my first item “marked sold” appeared under my item, I could not remove it. Wondering what went wrong.
Simsc9848@gmail.com Thanks
Hi there! After marking as sold, you can archive listings (from either the “Buying” or “Selling” tab in “Offers”) by tapping the item’s photo and selecting “Archive” from the menu. It will help clean up your Buying and Selling pages. Hope this helps, and Happy Selling! 🙂
Thanks for the info. Im new and bumbling around.
You’re so welcome! 🙂
How often should I repost an item?
Hi TeriSue! Personally, I like to remove the listing and repost it about once per week. 🙂
Hi Lauren, by delete you mean just archiving it correct?
Hello! Yes, that’s what I meant. 😉
First time using offer up as a buyer. Are you required to buy before you see the item? Or is there a cash only option for payments?
Hi Jacinda! No, you typically pay the seller after you meet up and check out the item. 🙂 I’ve only ever done cash as payment, as I feel that’s the safest route. And I always meet in a place where there are plenty of other people around (e.g. Target parking lot, in front of the doors of a big box store, etc.).
Hi, I have big furniture (bedroom set, desks, treadmill, etc.) I want to sell. How do you handle meeting up? The only option I see is to have them come to your home to pick up items. Any advice? Thank you!
Hi Lili,
In the past, I have always had people come to my house and pick it up. However, I would recommend that someone else is also there with you as a safety precaution (I’d always make sure my husband was home). And scheduling the pickup during the daytime is also good. Thankfully, I’ve always had very nice people show up on my doorstep! 🙂
How do you respond to people that say they want an item your selling, but then go no further. This happens to me slot. I pronly with questions like ” when would u like to pick it up?” But so far it’s just weird when there’s no response. So what do you say when told a buyer wishes to purchase an item?
I’ve had that happen to me as well. Usually, if I message them and receive no reply, I just assume that they’re no longer interested. I always try to reply in a timely manner, whether I’m the buyer or the seller, because good communication goes a long way! Often, I’ll try another message a couple of days later because sometimes buyers (and sellers) just forget to reply or are busy when they read your message. But if it’s radio silence, I’ll just move on…
Just want to say I think the tips offered are smart and accurate. Especially about posing pix and using correct wording. If going to put effort into it anyway, why not put 100% effort. I find when I’m clear and excited about getting a post just right, I generally get immediate results. I think attitude shows through our postings and positive vibes are contagious.
So, so true, Donna! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Hi Lauren, I have a lot of used/ new clothes to sell. I posted a lot of them on OfferUp with fair prices but somehow not able to sell them. Do you have any advice on how to sell them faster. Thank you
Hi Amna! Sometimes clothing sells well in lots, so you could try that. But the only clothes I’ve tried to sell on OfferUp are baby clothes. If you’re selling adult-sized clothing, you might want to try another place like Poshmark or eBay, where people are more likely to be looking for clothes.