OfferUp App Review For Sellers – What Are The Pros and Cons

For some people, the online space is like a yard sale whereby gently used items get a second chance of market value. That means, there’s some serious money to be made. In this OfferUp app review, we’ll have a sneak peak into one of the largest mobile marketplace to see what’s like selling on this type of platform. Is this something that’s suitable for you? Let’s find out.  

Offerup At A Glance

• Offerup was launched as a startup in 2011 and quickly become a popular local marketplace with over 33 million users in the US.
• While most features are optimized for mobile users, sellers can upload and create listings from their computers as well. Most buyers, however, derived from mobile sources.
• Household goods and unique products are commonly found, but soon, people will be able to buy and sell automobiles too.
• For payments, sellers can accept cash when meeting the customers in-person or use the in-app payment system to receive funds via online.
• It’s basically a free app that runs on both Android and iOS, so as long as you have access to these devices, you’re good to go.

Who Should Use It?

Basically, anyone who has unwanted stuff in the house, can leverage from the app to promote and sell to the local community. As long as the items are still in good condition and functional, they can be priced anywhere between $1 to $500 (or more).

If you have an eye for good deals and the skills in refurbishing, you may also use it to buy and resell items for higher prices. It’s called flea market flipping and some people are actually turning this trading activity into a profitable online business. Not a bad niche idea, considering the amount of junk that are out there, uh?

The Pros

So, what good can this app brings you?

1 – Declutter Your Home

Let’s face the fact. Inside every household, there are plenty of accumulated stuff that people don’t really need. Whether they are family heirlooms or things that were bought impulsively, the stuff takes up space and unknowingly, create more stress in our lives.

That’s why many people are decluttering nowadays, so that they can come home to a more stress-free environment. However, unlike the older methods of listing on eBay or Craigslist, OfferUp provides a more user-friendly interface that can attract the younger generation who are also into thrift shopping.

2 – Sell With Convenience

With mobile technology, you can literary sell right from your own home. All that’s needed is to download the app, snap a few pictures of the item, type a description and wait for someone to buy. You can do this all year round without having to wait for summer to organize a garage sale.

When someone is interested in purchasing, there’s no need to give out personal information like email address or phone number because he or she can connect with you directly through the in-house message feature within the app.

3 – No Listing Fee.

Places like eBay charge you for listing, but that’s not the case with OfferUp. At least not yet. That does take away some of the load when entering the second-hand market and there’s less restriction to list as many items as you want.

4 – Local Traffic Exposure

Out of all the mobile selling apps, OfferUp probably has one of the highest traffic volumes which gets about 17 million visitors each month and growing. Almost 95% of that number come from the US region and based on Google Trends, the company is likely more popular on the internet as compared to its competitors like Letgo and Poshmark.

Clearly, it’s very easy to get started with the app, but between listing and actually getting the item to sell, there are a few things you need to consider and also intervene. This is where the reality of online flea market begins.

The Cons

In reality, selling online or through mobile isn’t always a smooth sailing process. Here’s why.

1 – Getting Sales

Listings on OfferUp are filtered according to product categories, prices and distances. The more specific the details, the more likely the item will show up during a search. However, due to the massive entry that the app gets on a daily basis and the way products are displayed in an infinite manner, it cannot be assumed that one’s listing will stay on the top all the time.  

While sales cannot be guaranteed, getting onto the front page can certainly attract more eyeballs and increase the chances of making sales. If you rely on the organic system, your listing will get buried and become non-visible after a week or so. In order to push it back up, you need to re-post or better yet, pay for a ‘bump and promote’ for immediate effect.

It costs $2 to boost each listing for them to be visible for a longer time frame. The fee isn’t much, but if you have a poor sales conversion and plenty of items to offer, the cost can quickly add up even before you make any money.

2 – Shipping Fees

Likewise, if you opt for shipping, OfferUp will charge a 7.9 % fee from the sales transaction. This plus the boosting fee can cumulatively eat into the sales profit. It’s actually not too bad considering that the app doesn’t charge for other thing else, but if you are already selling at a bargaining price, it may not be wise to use the shipping feature.

3 – Constant Haggling

Speaking of bargaining, do expect a lot of haggling with potential customers who approach your offers. A lot of people will test your patience and ask for more discounts even when the price is considerably low. They will also ask redundant questions, show up late or cancel after you’ve arranged for a meet up.

I am sure you can imagine how frustrating those situations are. Honestly, no one feels great about being taken advantage of. If you prefer not to deal with haggling customers in the online space, try doing affiliate marketing instead.

4 – Personal Safety

Since most offers are meant for local communities, selling an item will require you to meet with the customers at a designated location to exchange the item for money. Whatever that transpired from the online communication, it’s important to remember that you are still dealing with a stranger and there will be risks involved in regards to that.

The fact that OfferUp has gone to the length to search for safe meet-up spots (including police stations) tells you that the risk is real and they can only do so much to protect the sellers. The rest is entirely upon your judgement and you need to exercise caution all the time when doing a face-to-face transaction.

Is OfferUp a Good App for Sellers?

Selling through OfferUp, or any mobile app for that matter, is a good chance to get rid some of your unwanted stuff with convenience. You’ll be surprised at what interest the local market and probably get addicted too, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. After all, it’s entirely a legitimate online activity.

However, if you are looking to make a lot of profit, you either need to cross promote on different platforms or accumulate plenty of second-hand items for listings to increase the chances of sales. There’s certainly a lot of hustling to do, learning the ropes of using the app efficiently and building a positive reputation as a seller. If you have that kind of drive, by all means, go for it.

There are, of course, other ways of making money online that can lead to something more entrepreneurial and exciting, Ever thought of creating your own online business based on your passion? Here’s a chance to get started for free using my recommended training platform. So do check it out and if you have any questions about this article, just leave a comment below and I’ll be more than happy to respond.

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