Everyone dreams of being financially independent. Of being your own boss calling the shots. If you have a real knack for repairing electronics and like to do it as a hobby, you should really consider using those talents and skills to get rich on your own merits. There are a lot of really good reasons that selling used electronics online is a fruitful enterprise.
First, repairing and selling old electronics online reduces landfill waste. Although electronics should never end up in landfills, about 2% of America’s landfills are made up of
There is also a high demand for refurbished electronics. Our society now demands that every adult, and most children, must be connected to the world wide web. Internet connectivity is now required by nearly all elementary, middle, and high schools since the pandemic changed how children learn when they cannot physically go to school.
In addition, those who cannot afford electronic devices are the very people who need them the most for survival. Even the lowliest jobs now require online rather than paper employment applications.
Especially since the onset of the pandemic, states have been moving all of their assistance applications online as well, which means that someone who can’t afford the internet must find an alternative way to access the internet to apply for food stamps, Medicaid, and other vital programs.
You can make money online selling electronics, getting rich while you help those who need it most. Turning your hobby of electronics repair into a goldmine is even easier when you start small and scale up with Ecwid as your online ordering platform.
Selling Used Electronics Online is Easier Than Ever
A lot of people with a talent for refurbishing electronics never take it past the hobby level. You may have sold your old electronics for cash as they were completed and no longer necessary, but probably haven’t had ambitions beyond a bit of extra cash. Today it is easier than ever to make money online selling electronics.
While the traditional places to sell used electronics may never go away — swap meets, flea markets, and garage sales — anyone selling anything with any type of regularity must cater to online selling platforms if they have any hope of continuing earning money from their hobbies. Most individual sellers start with Facebook Marketplace, but you can’t rely on that platform alone for very long if you really want to be successful.
An online store with a platform like Ecwid gives you the ability to sell electronics on almost any platform across the web. It gives you more exposure to your brand and allows you to grow exponentially. As your business grows, you can take on repair staff and other employees, upscaling until you are able to quit your day job.
Ecwid makes it easy to set up an account and start selling used electronics online with several subscription levels, including a free option for just 10 products per month. You can take your account up or down as your business needs dictate.
How to Make Money Selling and Trading Electronics Online
Having your own online store opens up a lot of options for trading or selling electronics online. There are two primary ways that you will make money online with electronic devices:
- Repair or refurbish acquired old electronics to sell online as working used devices.
- Send electronics that can’t or shouldn’t be repaired to
trade-in programs, using the credits to purchase electronics that you can sell online for a great price and a decent markup.
There is no reason you shouldn’t take advantage of both of these ways of earning money from electronics. In either case, there are a few things you need to determine before you start taking your electronics repair to the next level.
Where can you get old electronics to repair and sell online?
It should go without saying that your first order of business must be getting the electronics you will be selling. There are a lot of different ways you obtain old electronics that may or may not be repaired for resale.
The easiest and cheapest way to get electronics that are old or no longer work is to get permission from local businesses to place a bin near their door prompting people to leave their electronics rather than sending them to a landfill. You don’t have to pay for the stock, and you can turn them into cash by sending them to Amazon or Best Buy
You can also advertise your electronics refurbishing and recycling online through a blog, external content, and other digital or print media. Consider offering store credit for your online catalog of used electronics to boost incoming stock and increase sales revenue. You might also consider allowing customers to trade their used electronics for a refurbished device, and such trades are great for turning potential buyers into loyal customers.
How do you want to get paid for selling electronics online?
When you sell electronics on a platform like Facebook Marketplace you have few options for receiving payment. Many people are still making electronics for cash sales, but you can also easily get paid through Venmo and other cash apps. These can be convenient for processing but they make it more difficult to get your hands on the money.
Choosing a service like PayPal or Stripe will give you faster access to the funds, but they don’t work with all platforms. Ecwid’s
How will you handle shipping?
As soon as you take your electronics repair business from Facebook to the next level, you will have a need for shipping to other states or countries. If you are soliciting
It is a good idea to choose one primary shipper and set up an online account. Ecwid allows you to link your shipping account with your online store so that you can easily create, share, and print free shipping labels. Having an account with a shipper usually affords you some discounts depending on volume, which can eat the costs associated with paying for the shipment of your product to your door.
Ready for Success But Don’t Know Where to Start?
Ecwid’s online store is easy to set up, with many preset themes and available templates. However, not everyone has the time, patience, or talent for web design or marketing to make their online store a reality. If you still aren’t sure where to start to take your love of electronics into the realm of financial stability, our experts can walk you through setting up and selling right away.
Do you want to learn more about selling electronics online?
- Selling Used Electronics Online: Best Practices
- Complete Guide to Building the Best Website to Sell Electronics