One of my favorite things to do is turn trash into cash. I get a wicked dopamine hit when I hear that "cha-ching!" sound on my phone when something sells in one of my online shops!

Especially if it's something I garbage-picked and sold for 100% profit!

Like this leather, hand-tooled (guessing from the 70s) leather bowling bag. I found this beauty sitting on the side of the road, next to boxes full of the remnants of someone's life.

I stopped and saw two older men hauling the boxes out to the side of the road. I asked them if they were throwing the bowling bag out. They said yes and that it was their mothers who had just been put into a nursing home. They said all of it was for the taking. That made my heart pang a bit.

I snagged it and sold it in my vintage Etsy shop for $295! My husband couldn't believe it and showed some of his bowling buddies. One of them said he would have given me $300. 😅

He never believes anyone would want to buy most of the stuff I drag home and list.

Inside the bowling bag was a black bowling ball — also a pair of ladies' Size 7 Striker bowling shoes in great condition. I sold those for $39.

That was a $334 garbage pick!

It's pretty cool to recoup some of that hard-earned cash spent on all the Nike and Under Armor clothing my kids had to have while they were growing up. As the kids or I grow out of name-brand items, I sell them on eBay or Poshmark. Name-brand clothing has excellent resale value if in good condition.

Someone is waiting to buy your outdated home decor! Trust me.

We had barnwood stacked up from an old barn that had been torn down years ago. One day, I whipped out some stencils and painted words on a few pieces. I sold them for $24, $34, and $12.

If you've thought about selling online before but don't know where to start, follow these four not-so-strategic steps.

• Find an item
• Pick a platform.
• Create listing.
• Cha'Ching! Collect 💰

First, find an item.

I gave you examples of things I sell online. Look around your house. We all have stuff that we could stand to part with. Clothes the kids or you or your spouse have grown out of or don't wear anymore.

Old kitchen gadgets, records, dated home decor, toys, shoes, tools, sports equipment, you name it!

People want to buy all those things cluttering your closets, garages, and basements!

And there has never been a better time or opportunity to make some extra coin by selling online at minimal or no cost to you.

Next time you clean out the kiddo's closets, don't just throw the clothes in a bag and drop them off at Goodwill. List those suckers and make some money back!

Are you creative? Sell your creations online!

Second, find a platform.

This is where folks become overwhelmed. There are many online selling platforms, and it can be confusing to figure out which one would be best for

The first question is typically how much will it cost.

Most platforms will have fees or subscriptions, depending on whether they are a Marketplace (think Etsy or eBay) or an e-commerce site (think Shopify or Amazon). The only one I can think of where you can list things for free is Facebook Marketplace.

Costs associated with selling online can be incorporated into the costs of your items and are minimal. The beauty of selling on Etsy or eBay, or any of the many platforms there are now, is that you have built-in marketing.

Platforms spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to bring people to their selling platforms, which gives your items hundreds of thousands of eyes and opportunities to get sold.

If you're concerned about fees, don't be. Grab my "Navigating the Costs of Online Selling Platforms" to get a bird's-eye view of the fees associated with selling on eight platforms I have experience with.

Third, create your listing.

You will need get a few things together to get ready to list your item.

You will need:

• 5–10 Photos of the item. Think front, back, sides, and a couple of lifestyle photos. Lifestyle photos are photos of whatever you're selling in action, on someone, or posed with props.
• A title or headline of what it is you are selling. Don't get creative with this. Title it what it is. "Blue Nike Pullover Hoodie, Men's Size Small, etc. When you title your listing, consider what people would search for in a Google or Amazon Search Bar. Search words are also known as keywords. Use keywords in your titles to get your listing higher in the algorithm.
• A product description. I have templates I've created to help me list faster. You'll want to write a brief description of the item. Use specifics. Don't get flowery with your description. People want specifics quickly.
• Know how you will ship and set up shipping profiles in the platform. Consider raising your price and offering free shipping.
• Return policy. Most platforms allow you to create a Return Policy that auto-populates when you create a listing.

Once you have figured out all of the above, which doesn't take long, you can log into the platform and create a listing.

Fourth, Sold!

Fortunately, today, most platforms offer payment processing. They collect and file the sales tax for each state on your behalf. This is what many of the fees are associated with, so I am happy to pay them.

During your initial platform setup, you will link your bank account to the selling platform so that you can receive payment. The platform will deduct their fees, tax, and if it offers shipping, you can purchase a shipping label with a few clicks of a button out of your proceeds.

Also, purchasing shipping labels through a platform often saves you 40% — 70% on postage.

When you first start listing and selling on a platform, sometimes they hold your profits in reserve or only pay you a percentage for a period of time. Ten days. It's not long. This is only while you are integrating onto their platform.

Once you are listing and selling regularly, you request any available proceeds at any time.

That freaks people out sometimes after they've shipped out the item, only to find their funds being held. Don't panic. It's only temporary.

Once the item is sold and the purchaser has paid, it is time to package and ship it out. I recycle boxes and padded envelopes. I haven't gotten fancy nor gone to the expense of having boxes printed specifically for my business, but that option is available if you are branding yourself.

The Etsy Mastery Course

If you want specific guidance on how to set up an Etsy shop, do keyword research, discover how to find items that are trending, and learn about some solid business-building apps and tools you can use to grow your online selling business, you have to check out Nancy's Etsy Mastery Course.

In this course, I also learned about three very cool apps that I use constantly to see what people are actually earning on Etsy, find out what keywords are "hot" at the moment, which could guide my listing what I'm selling, and how to watch trends.

She also teaches you to think through and plan your selling strategy based on seasons, upcoming events, and holidays.

This online course was worth every penny, and I refer back to it often. Nancy helped me understand how to add SEO to my listings in various ways, structure my titles, and generate sales.

Nancy will guide you step-by-step at your own pace and get you up and running in no time. I learned a ton in this course and highly recommend it to anyone starting out.

This article contains my referral link to Nancy's course. If you purchase the course through my link, I may receive a commission at no additional charge to you.

Want to read more about things I find and flip? Check out these articles!

Sign up for my Newsletter, "The Vintage Vibe Saturday Morning Newsletter," to see what I've found and flipped for profit, go on adventures to thrift shops and Estate Sales, and get the Etsy Edge on how to start a business selling stuff on Etsy.

Krista Bennett, writer, photographer, and Proprietor of Kinley's Vintage, The Vintage Vibe Newsletter. I'm also a homesteader, boy-mom-coffeeholic with an acute affection for cats.