How to Earn Money As a Teen Who Can't Get a Job
Think about things you can sell., Look for ways to sell your items., Set a price for your items., Let others sell things for you., Consider renting out your stuff if you don’t want to sell it.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Think about things you can sell.
One of the easiest ways to make money on the side is to sell things you no longer need.
Look around your house or yard for things you have but are willing to part with for some money.You will have the easiest time earning some extra cash this way if the items are in good condition and are desired by others (it will be hard to sell a broken video game console, or your personal collection of gum wrappers, for instance).
Things that can have good resale value include:
Books Video games CDs or records DVDs Gently-used name brand clothing Jewelry Smartphones Computers Tablets Musical instruments and equipment Bicycles Cans and bottles (in some states, you can get a refund for these; otherwise, you might be able to sell them to a recycling center) -
Step 2: Look for ways to sell your items.
You might already know some friends that would like to buy your stuff.
If not, you’ll need to find some ways to advertise the things you have and connect to buyers.
Some options include:
Online auction sites such as eBay “For Sale” postings (these can be posted to a bulletin board, in a newspaper, or on an online classifieds board like Craigslist)Online retailers like Amazon or AbeBooks.com (these sites usually charge a small fee or percentage of your profit) Yard sales Flea markets] Pawn shopsTrade-in at stores (this works for certain items; some stores will buy used clothing, CDs and Records, or books, for instance) , Deciding how much to sell you stuff for can be difficult.
If you are selling via an auction, you can let the price be determined by the highest bidder.
Otherwise, you can either set a price or ask potential buyers to make you an offer.
You are more likely to make a sale, however, if you set a price for your buyers.
Your price might be determined by market demand.
For instance, if you are selling a used smartphone that you know people can purchase for $100, you are most likely to make a sale if you sell it for $100 or less.
You can get a good sense of the price to sell an item by looking for how much comparable items sell for online.
For instance, if the used smartphone you want to sell appears for $90 to $125 on online retailers, you can set a price that is within or below this range.
If you really want to make some money, you might consider selling your item for well below its going rate.
If you advertise the smartphone for only $75, for instance, you can have a better chance of making a sale.
However, you might not want to part with your items for less than they are worth. , Some online retailers will give you a certain price for items such as books, DVDs, or electronic devices, and then resell them.
All you have to do is send the item to the retailer, and collect your money.
This can make the process easy.
However, the amount you will get from selling your items this way will probably be less than if you sold them yourself. , Some items are in high demand but only needed for a short time, and so you might be able to make money by renting these out to other people.
Possible items to rent include tools, camping equipment, gaming consoles, DVDs, and musical instruments.
There are websites that you can use to advertise the items you have for rent.However, these sites usually charge a small fee or percentage of your profit.
You will have to decide if you will charge people a flat fee to rent an item, or if you will charge a certain amount by the hour/day/week/etc. -
Step 3: Set a price for your items.
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Step 4: Let others sell things for you.
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Step 5: Consider renting out your stuff if you don’t want to sell it.
Detailed Guide
One of the easiest ways to make money on the side is to sell things you no longer need.
Look around your house or yard for things you have but are willing to part with for some money.You will have the easiest time earning some extra cash this way if the items are in good condition and are desired by others (it will be hard to sell a broken video game console, or your personal collection of gum wrappers, for instance).
Things that can have good resale value include:
Books Video games CDs or records DVDs Gently-used name brand clothing Jewelry Smartphones Computers Tablets Musical instruments and equipment Bicycles Cans and bottles (in some states, you can get a refund for these; otherwise, you might be able to sell them to a recycling center)
You might already know some friends that would like to buy your stuff.
If not, you’ll need to find some ways to advertise the things you have and connect to buyers.
Some options include:
Online auction sites such as eBay “For Sale” postings (these can be posted to a bulletin board, in a newspaper, or on an online classifieds board like Craigslist)Online retailers like Amazon or AbeBooks.com (these sites usually charge a small fee or percentage of your profit) Yard sales Flea markets] Pawn shopsTrade-in at stores (this works for certain items; some stores will buy used clothing, CDs and Records, or books, for instance) , Deciding how much to sell you stuff for can be difficult.
If you are selling via an auction, you can let the price be determined by the highest bidder.
Otherwise, you can either set a price or ask potential buyers to make you an offer.
You are more likely to make a sale, however, if you set a price for your buyers.
Your price might be determined by market demand.
For instance, if you are selling a used smartphone that you know people can purchase for $100, you are most likely to make a sale if you sell it for $100 or less.
You can get a good sense of the price to sell an item by looking for how much comparable items sell for online.
For instance, if the used smartphone you want to sell appears for $90 to $125 on online retailers, you can set a price that is within or below this range.
If you really want to make some money, you might consider selling your item for well below its going rate.
If you advertise the smartphone for only $75, for instance, you can have a better chance of making a sale.
However, you might not want to part with your items for less than they are worth. , Some online retailers will give you a certain price for items such as books, DVDs, or electronic devices, and then resell them.
All you have to do is send the item to the retailer, and collect your money.
This can make the process easy.
However, the amount you will get from selling your items this way will probably be less than if you sold them yourself. , Some items are in high demand but only needed for a short time, and so you might be able to make money by renting these out to other people.
Possible items to rent include tools, camping equipment, gaming consoles, DVDs, and musical instruments.
There are websites that you can use to advertise the items you have for rent.However, these sites usually charge a small fee or percentage of your profit.
You will have to decide if you will charge people a flat fee to rent an item, or if you will charge a certain amount by the hour/day/week/etc.
About the Author
Debra Nguyen
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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