The US used to be a throw away society. People would buy something and if they didn't like it they would just throw it in the garbage and send it to the trash heap. It really didn't matter because people had enough money, or actually credit cards, to go buy something new that they would like better. We became known as the throw-away society because we didn't know the value of things. Now that the economy is bad people are starting to understand how valuable even used items can be. Selling used items can be a great way to make money quick if you are in the need of some cash.

It use to be if people had some extra things to sell they would have a garage sale. This worked OK but you limited in the number of people who would find out about your sale. Most people would put up flyers on telephone poles and at laundromats or take out an advertisement in the newspaper classifieds. If your potential customers didn't see these adverts then they wouldn't know about the yard sale or garage sale and you missed out on some potential buying traffic.

The computer and the internet has changed even this. Now you can place your items on ebay and sell them to the millions of people who shop there. You can put up a picture and either put a price you will sell it for or you can put it up for auction so that people bid against each other for the opportunity to buy the item. Sometimes people will pay outragous prices for things you are selling because people get into the flow of the auction and they refuse to lose out. I have seen people spend twice what an item costs new just because they didn't want to lose out on the bidding war.

This method of selling can work well but the problem is you have to package the goods up and ship them to the person who won the bid. That means you may be boxing up items to go from California all the way to Maine or from Washington state to Miami, Florida. Then you have to learn all the shipping rules and be sure you pack it properly. It becomes a real hassle. Luckily there is a better way.

Craig's list is a lot like a newspaper classified only it has the potential for reaching more people.  Newspaper readerships are declining every month while more and more people are shopping on line.  This service takes advantage of this trend.  You place an ad on Craig's List and then people from your area can easily find what you have for sale.  If they want to buy it you don't have to worry about shipping or any of that stuff because the person can just come by your house and pick the item up.  This works really great.  Not only do you get to advertise your items for sale but if they sell you don't have to worry about shipping.

If you want to try this out take some of your surplus stuff and put it on Craig's List.  You will be amazed at how many people will be happy to spend good money for your left overs and junk.  If you need money quick this is a great way to raise some extra cash.

Once you have sold all the extra stuff you have laying around you will have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't.  Now is the time to really ramp up the game.  You can start going to other people's garage sales and buying items on the cheap that you can then turn around and sell for a profit on Craig's.  This is a great way to ramp up your make money quick program and make even more cash.

You can also do this with ebay if you are having luck with this program.  Just be sure to buy low.  If you can't get a good deal on an item them just pass it by.  There are a lot of other items out there that you can make a great profit on.