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14 Cool Shopping Web Sites

Here is our roundup of the 14 best sites to buy, sell and market your stuff online.

Author:: Seth Fiegerman
Publish date:: Apr 7, 2010 7:00 AM EDT

When you think about sites that are good for buying and selling goods online, your mind probably jumps to the big three: Craigslist, eBay (Stock Quote: EBAY) and Amazon (Stock Quote: AMZN). But there are plenty of other great online marketplaces, many of which cater to more niche interests. Here is our roundup of the 14 best sites to buy, sell and market your stuff online. Whether it’s a product you designed yourself or that box of Star Trek memorabilia lying around in your attic, these sites can make it easier for you to find deals or make some extra cash. Photo Credit: Amazon.com

When you think about sites that are good for buying and selling goods online, your mind probably jumps to the big three: Craigslist, eBay (Stock Quote: EBAY) and Amazon (Stock Quote: AMZN). But there are plenty of other great online marketplaces, many of which cater to more niche interests. Here is our roundup of the 14 best sites to buy, sell and market your stuff online. Whether it’s a product you designed yourself or that box of Star Trek memorabilia lying around in your attic, these sites can make it easier for you to find deals or make some extra cash. Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Bonanzle is a community of users who buy and sell “everything but the ordinary.” Although, I did find a pack of chewable antacid tablets on sale, which seem pretty ordinary to me. In all seriousness, the site is an excellent resource for a wide variety of merchandise including collectibles (jukeboxes), jewelry (beads) and musical instruments (accordions). Photo Credit: Bonanzle

No site is better for selling your homemade crafts online than Etsy. The site has 5 million members who sell everything from kitchenware to accessories like handbags and wallets. Not only is it a great place for finding incredibly unique goods at a moderate price, but some sellers have actually managed to use Etsy to build their own small businesses into success stories. Photo Credit: Etsy

Few sites are as well suited for the times we live in as Fiverr. The conceit of the site is simple: users buy and sell tasks for $5 each. The tasks themselves range the gamut from the bizarre (recording an a cappella song of your name being repeated over and over) to the necessities (having a doctor diagnose you.) Users can also post small jobs that they want someone to do for them. Fiverr may not help you pay the rent, but you will never find a more entertaining job marketplace than this. Photo Credit: Fiverr.com

Jasmere offers an item a day by lesser known specialty retailers for 50-70% off the regular label price. And, in an unusual twist, when more people sign up to buy a product, the price actually goes down. It’s a win-win for the site and the sellers, as they both get more attention, and of course, it’s a great deal for consumers. They sell eco-friendly lunch boxes, clothing and other accessories. Photo Credit: Jasmere

Have you ever said something brilliant and thought it deserved to be on a T-shirt? Well, chances are you’ll find it at CafePress. And if not, you can always make it and market it yourself. The site always sells other stuff like cups, posters and greeting cards. Photo Credit: CafePress

If Cafepress isn’t enough to satisfy your T-shirt needs (I personally require a lot of ironic tees to get me through the year) then you should probably check out Zazzle too. Zazzle sells T-shirts for every kind of person – geek shirts, vintage shirts and even 80s shirts (though I’m not exactly sure who would want that variety.) Photo Credit: Zazzle

This is the place where audiophiles go to salivate over sweet stereo equipment. Audigon users can buy, sell and converse about record players, home theater systems and crazy speakers. Photo Credit: Audiogon

If you’re a gamer (or just live with one), Dawdle is the place to go. They’ve got great deals on games for pretty much every system, even Sega Genesis. Users can also sell their old games on the site. Photo Credit: Dawdle

'No one wants to go to a used car lot if you can help it. That’s why they rank as one of the most despised businesses in the country. But FSBOCarsales allows users to buy and sell used cars while skipping the middle man. Photo Credit: FSBOCarsales

Most people love to take pictures but it’s near impossible to make much money from your photos. iStockPhoto makes it a little easier though, giving members the opportunity to upload photographs, with the possibility of earning 20%-40% in royalties when those photos are purchased. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto

Amazon is one of the most popular e-commerce sites on the Web, but the site also features a lesser-known tool called CreateSpace that allows users to self-publish their own works (books and music) and distribute them. You may not sell as many copies as the Twilight Saga, but it’s an excellent way to work around publishing houses and recording companies to get your stuff out there. Photo Credit: CreateSpace

Last month, Google launched its own app marketplace. The site may not be as popular yet as Apple’s App Store, but there are definitely advantages for small businesses and independent developers to experiment here. Google charges a one-time fee of $100 to vendors and does not limit what can and can’t be sold in the marketplace. By comparison, Apple charges $100 each year and has a notoriously strict approval process. Photo Credit: Google App Marketplace

Half.com is run by eBay, but has a more specific focus. The site features unbeatable deals on used books, CDs and movies. The site is especially useful for students looking to buy and sell textbooks. Photo Credit: Half.com

So now you know some great places to buy stuff online, but if you're interested in environmentally friendly shopping it's important to be a bit skeptical. Take a look at our recent article about eco-friendly fakes. Photo Credit: fishermansdaughter

Join the MainStreet team and other readers on our lively Facebook page! Discuss our newest stories and get links to breaking content, automatically. Click here to add us. Photo Credit: Facebook.com

Where to Buy and Sell Online

When you think about sites that are good for buying and selling goods online, your mind probably jumps to the big three: Craigslist, eBay (Stock Quote: EBAY) and Amazon (Stock Quote: AMZN). But there are plenty of other great online marketplaces, many of which cater to more niche interests. Here is our roundup of the 14 best sites to buy, sell and market your stuff online. Whether it’s a product you designed yourself or that box of Star Trek memorabilia lying around in your attic, these sites can make it easier for you to find deals or make some extra cash. Photo Credit: Amazon.com