We all know Marktplaats, but did you know that there are many more online places to buy or sell stuff? PlusOnline lists six of them.
1. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook has a central place to offer second-hand stuff: Facebook Marketplace. The offer here is still smaller than on Marktplaats, but that also means that there are fewer potential buyers and you can still find gems there. It is also possible to filter by distance. You can take a look via your phone by performing the following steps:
- Open the Facebook app.
- Click in the news overview on
Marketplace.
- Click on an item you want to buy.
- You can now message the seller.
Are there also disadvantages to Facebook Marketplace? Yes, it is not anonymous. As a (seller) buyer you reveal part of your identity, because everyone can see your profile picture and name and click through to your personal Facebook profile. If you want others to see as little as possible, check your private settings.
Want to know more about Facebook Marketplace? Facebook has a handy page with questions and answers.
2. Next Door
NextDoor is an app that allows you to easily exchange messages with people nearby. You can also offer things and the good thing about this is that you often come to an appointment quickly: after all, the person who buys it or sells it lives nearby. How does NextDoor work? You can read that here.
3. Vinted
Vinted is currently one of the better-known apps that mainly offers clothing. Yet the range of furniture, books and home accessories is also increasing. Advantages of Vinted are the ease of use, the large number of participants (also international) and the security. For example, Vinted acts as an intermediary between buyer and seller, so that you are much less likely to become a victim of fraud. Goods up to twenty euros are also always insured. Did you not receive the product? Then Vinted will refund you up to 20 euros. There are also disadvantages: if the buyer is not satisfied with the product received or indicates that the product is ‘fake’, Vinted may not pay the seller the money. Then you have lost your product and your money. That happened Kaya (23) for example, RTL Nieuws wrote earlier. Fortunately, those cases are quite exceptional.
Starting with Vinted? Read here how it works.
4. Facebook groups
Back to Facebook for a moment. In addition to Facebook Marketplace, there are also a lot of local Facebook groups that offer stuff. For example, there are general groups for all kinds of products in and around Amsterdam, Utrecht, the north of deer country, Limburg and many more places. You can also buy or sell more specifically, because there are also groups in which only books, garden plants or clothes are sold. Just search for a place or type of product within Facebook and put ‘buy’ next to it. Then filter on ‘groups’.
5. Catawiki
Catawiki is a website with second-hand items for real collectors. Buying and selling goes through an auction. You can’t just sell everything on Catawiki. First, you offer your product to an auctioneer, who determines whether it will be auctioned. This mainly concerns special objects that are difficult to find and that you will not find in an average store, for example old coins or special comic albums. Here you can read what kind of products you can buy or sell.
Curious about how Catawiki works? Read it here.
6. Instagram
Believe it or not, you can also buy or sell stuff via Instagram. If you don’t have your own store with stuff, buying via Instagram is especially interesting. There are many small entrepreneurs who scour thrift shops and flea markets and sell the gems they find there for a nice price via the social medium. You do have to search for those pages, for example by searching for ‘cycle’ and possibly adding the name of a place or city in your area. Some nice pages are for example Recycle Treasures, Vintage Third Charm, thrift sale, True Cycle Love and Nsemble Treasures.
There are of course drawbacks. Via Instagram you buy directly from someone, which means that there is no intermediary to guide the sale. We therefore recommend that you only buy stuff on pages with a lot of followers (e.g. 500 or more). Also take a look at the comments of previously posted messages. If there are negative comments below, do not buy on that page.
Are there any more online alternatives to Marktplaats that you are excited about? We would like to hear it! Send an email with your tip to m.bressers@spn.nl.
