The Most Brilliant Apps To Buy And Sell Through Your Smartphone

A fact of our busy modern lives is that we’re always looking to do things quicker and more easily, and selling unwanted items is no exception. Smartphones make this process easier as we brace in 2020 as you can snap a few photos of your item, write a description and set a price on a smartphone marketplace in no time at all to make a bit of money from the things you don’t need. Buying through a phone app is also an easy way to grab a bargain or find something specific. We’ve put together a list of the best apps to buy and sell through your smartphone so you can get started.
#1 Depop Free iOS & Android App
Depop iOS free, Android free
Depop is currently one of the most popular apps to buy and sell through your smartphone, with fashion, accessories and jewellery making up the majority of listings. It’s free to list on Depop but you will be charged a 10% fee if the buyer purchases your item using PayPal through the app.
Listing an item is quick to do- just upload up to four photos, write a quick description, choose from fourteen categories then set your price and delivery options. You can sell nationally or internationally and all listings show the location of the item so there are no nasty delivery cost surprises when buying an item.
Depop is a great app to buy and sell on a smartphone, but do expect to have to lower your prices a little as this marketplace is all about bargains.
#2 OfferUp Free iOS & Android App
OfferUp (iOS free download, Android free download
OfferUp is a smartphone marketplace that helps you find items for sale near where you live. The app recommends that all transactions take place in cash in person so that you can inspect the item before parting with your money. This app has a large following in the US and is comparable to a simple app version of Craigslist or Gumtree.
OfferUp is free to download and as the app doesn’t handle payments there are also no fees or charges when buying or selling items. There’s a great mixture of items available for purchase so it’s worth giving OfferUp a try when looking to buy or sell through your smartphone.
#3 eBay Free iOS & Android App
eBay iOS free download, Android free download
The eBay app is a condensed version of the full website that makes buying and selling easy on a small screen. When looking for items you have much the same options as the full site, but selling is a bit quicker and easier as you can input all the essential details on one screen with helpful features such as setting a rich text description or adding HTML. All the normal sales fees of the online eBay site apply when selling through the app but the 20 free listings for private sellers applies to the app too.
The eBay app is particularly useful for buying as there is such a huge range of items for sale and searches can be refined precisely which is what makes this a great marketplace app for smartphones.
#4 PoshMark Free iOS & Android App
PoshMark iOS free download Android free download
The PoshMark app is dedicated to fashion and clothing with an emphasis on secondhand designer items. This app is currently only available to users in the US but will hopefully be opened to other countries soon as it’s very well run. All transactions take place through a credit card in the app and you’ll be sent an email to confirm your purchase when buying.
Poshmark has features such as Posh credits which are held within your account on the app, Posh Parties where people join together on the app to shop at the same time, and the premium Posh Concierge service which receives luxury designer items before they are shipped to the buyer to authenticate and verify that the item is genuine.
PoshMark’s fees are slightly higher than other sales apps with a flat fee of $2.95 for sales under $15 and 20% commission on listings over $15, but for this you are paying for a more premium experience such as receiving pre-paid ready to use shipping labels and having PoshMark provide customer service for your sales.
#5 Carousell Free iOS & Android App
Carousell iOS free download, Android free download
Carousell has great features for easily buying items for sale in the area where you live, work or go to school, such as Campus Marketplaces which can only be accessed by people from a specific campus or school. The app is free to download in a range of countries around the world and buyers and sellers decide between them if the item will be picked up in person or shipped through the mail. As with some of the other apps, payment options are not included in Carousell so buyers can request to pay by bank transfer, PayPal or cash in person but the app does charge a final value fee on sales.
Selling on this smartphone marketplace app is simple and listings can be completed quickly. There are also some useful options available to help you sell such as posting listings to Facebook groups and importing images from Instagram.
#6 Shpock Free iOS & Android App
Shpock iOS free download, Android free download
Shpock is a great smartphone selling app that focuses on the items close to you, with each listing showing how far the seller is from you in kilometers. This makes it easy to arrange picking up items with both buyers and sellers, very helpful for large or bulky objects such as furniture. The app has a large following across Europe and in the UK. There are seven main categories ranging from fashion to electronics to cars, making it easy to choose a section to browse or sell in.
Shpock is both free to download and free to use which means buying and selling is simple and cheap as the only fees the app charges are optional upgrades to help your sale items get more exposure. Shpock claim that you can list an item in 30 seconds by uploading up to three photos, writing a description and setting a price for your item which makes a change to some of the more complicated apps that give you endless options before you can submit a listing. As Shpock doesn’t handle payments directly you can receive and send offers for items you’re interested in and then discuss how to pay, including paying in cash for things that you’d like to pick up in person.
Overall this selling app definitely shouldn’t be overlooked as the lack of fees is very helpful if you’ve got lots of items to sell.