When you need money now, not "whenever it ships"

Selling stuff you don't need is one of the fastest ways to get cash when a bill is due or your schedule is light this week. But not every app pays the same — or pays fast. Some take a chunk of your sale before you see a dime. Others let you walk away with cash in your hand the moment someone shows up.

Here's a plain breakdown of what actually happens to your money on the apps people use most.

The fastest option: local pickup apps

If speed is the whole point, local-only apps beat shipping every time. There's no waiting for a buyer to receive the item, no delivery window, no "funds pending" message.

Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp are the two biggest names here. For quick local sales with zero fees, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp let you accept cash, meet safely, and pay nothing. That means if you sell a dresser for $150 and someone hands you cash in a parking lot, you keep all $150 — no commission, no processing fee, no cut taken out later.

OfferUp doesn't charge sellers a fee on a local, in-person sale, so you keep the full price. Worth knowing though: OfferUp has scaled back nationwide shipping support in recent updates, so it's now mainly a local-pickup app — check the app for current shipping availability in your area.

Craigslist and Nextdoor work the same way. Facebook Marketplace charges no listing fees for personal sellers, and Nextdoor and Craigslist are also free. If you're moving furniture, appliances, or anything bulky that a buyer has to come get in person, these are your cheapest, fastest lanes.

If you ship it, the math changes

Shipping opens you up to way more buyers, which can mean a faster sale even if the payout takes a few more days to land. But platforms charge for that convenience.

  • Poshmark takes the biggest bite for clothing and fashion. Poshmark's selling fees can be higher than comparable platforms — it takes a 20% commission on the order value for items over $15.

  • Mercari sits in the middle for general household items. Mercari runs a flat 10% selling fee structure.

  • Depop has become one of the cheaper shipped options for clothing, especially vintage and streetwear. Depop now has some of the lowest fees for shipped sales, around 3.3% plus a small per-sale processing fee, after eliminating its flat seller commission in 2024.

  • eBay reaches the widest audience but costs the most in fees. Fees on eBay run roughly 13% plus a small per-order fee, and Amazon's seller referral fees run 8 to 15% depending on category.

  • Facebook Marketplace shipped orders still beat most fashion-specific apps on fees, though the exact shipped rate has shifted over the past couple years — check the current rate in the app before you list, since it's changed more than once since 2024.

A quick gut-check before you list anything

Ask yourself two questions: Can this item go to a local buyer, or does it really need to ship? And is the convenience of a bigger audience worth losing 10-20% of the sale price to fees?

As an example, on a $50 sale: Facebook Marketplace local sales would leave you with the full $50, while Mercari's flat 10% fee would leave roughly $45, eBay's ~13% fee would leave roughly $43, and Poshmark's 20% fee (on items over $15) would leave roughly $40. These are illustrative estimates based on each platform's published fee structure, not guaranteed payouts. That's the real tradeoff — reach versus take-home pay.

Things that slow down your payout even when the app is "fast"

A few traps catch people trying to sell in a hurry:

  • Shipping delays your cash. Even on low-fee apps, shipped sales often hold your payout until the buyer confirms the item arrived, which can take several days.

  • Promoted listings cost extra. Most apps offer a paid boost to get more eyes on your item. It might sell faster, but it's money out of your pocket before you've made a sale.

  • Payment processing is usually baked in, but double-check if you're cashing out instantly — some platforms charge a small fee for immediate transfer versus a free standard transfer that takes a day or two.

The bottom line

If you need cash today, local-pickup apps like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and Craigslist are your fastest, cheapest route — you get paid the moment the buyer shows up, and nobody takes a cut. If the item is worth more shipped to a bigger audience, expect to wait a bit longer and give up a slice of the sale, with Depop and Facebook Marketplace's shipped option generally costing less than Poshmark or eBay.

Either way, selling stuff you're not using is a real way to close a short-term cash gap without taking on debt — just know going in what each app will actually leave you with.