How to Sell Used Shoes Online (And Actually Make Money)

Selling used shoes online is more straightforward than most people expect. Clean them up, take clear photos from every angle, write a title that includes the brand, model, size, and condition, and price based on what similar pairs have actually sold for — not what you paid or what you hope to get. List on eBay to start. Most people either don't know there's a real buyer market for used shoes, or they assume the process isn't worth their time. This article covers both.

Are your used shoes actually worth selling?

Most people donate their shoes without thinking twice — drop them in a bin, feel good about it, move on. That's a perfectly valid choice, especially if your time is more valuable to you than the effort of listing. But a lot of people skip the process without realizing there was real money in those shoes. They simply don't know that people actively buy used footwear online.

People buy used shoes for a lot of reasons. Someone needs a specific size in a brand that's been discontinued. Someone wants quality without paying full retail. A kid outgrew a pair and the parent needs the next size up without spending $120 at a shoe store. In today's economy, $40 or $50 from a pair sitting in your closet is real money — and it takes less time to list than most people assume.

Here's a real example of what a common pair of Nikes can bring:

Step one: find out what your shoes are actually worth

The most common mistake people make when selling shoes online is pricing by feel — too high because of what they paid originally, or too low because they just want them gone. Neither approach gets you the best result.

Before you list anything, go to eBay, search the brand and model of your shoe, then filter the results to Sold listings. Active listings show what sellers are asking. Sold listings show what buyers are actually paying. Those are very different numbers. Scan through recent sales, find the price range, and list at the higher end. If you're not in a rush, enable Best Offer and let buyers negotiate from there.

Clean the shoes before you photograph them

Condition directly affects your sale price and how quickly a pair sells. A clean pair photographs better, commands a higher price, and generates fewer questions from buyers. Before you take any photos:

Be upfront about any flaws you can't fix — a small scuff, some heel drag, a worn insole. A buyer who knows what they're getting rarely complains. A buyer who's surprised when the package arrives often does.

Take photos from every angle

Your photos are the only way a buyer can evaluate the shoes before committing to buy. One or two overhead shots aren't enough. Shoot both sides, front and back, overhead of both shoes together, both soles, and the size tag inside the shoe. The size tag photo alone eliminates the most common pre-purchase question buyers ask — and every question they have to ask is a reason they might move on to another listing.

You don't need special equipment. A clean surface, good natural light, and your phone is enough.

Where to sell your shoes

eBay is the easiest entry point for selling shoes online. It has the largest buyer base, a straightforward listing process, and buyers who search specifically for the brand, model, and size they want. You buy your shipping label through eBay at a discounted rate, pack the shoes, and ship when they sell. Payment deposits directly to your bank account.

Poshmark is worth considering, especially if your closet leans toward women's shoes, designer styles, or anything with a fashion angle. Poshmark works differently than eBay — it's more social, with buyers browsing closets and following sellers whose style matches theirs. If you're selling your own personal collection rather than sourcing to resell, that closet format actually works in your favor. Poshmark provides a prepaid shipping label and the buyer covers the shipping cost, which simplifies the process. The trade-off is a 20% seller fee and buyers who tend to negotiate more aggressively than on eBay.

Facebook Marketplace is the fastest option for local sales. There are no fees on local pickup transactions, no shipping to deal with, and a buyer can pick up from your front door the same day. The trade-off is a smaller audience — you're selling locally rather than nationally, which limits who can find and buy any given pair. It also requires being available to coordinate meetups and respond to messages. If your schedule allows for it, Facebook Marketplace is a genuinely good option for moving shoes quickly with no platform cost.

If you end up listing on both eBay and Poshmark, use a cross-listing tool like Vendoo to manage both from one place. The most important thing it handles: when a shoe sells on one platform, it automatically delists it from the other. If you're managing that manually and miss it, you can end up selling the same pair twice — which means cancellations, refunds, and unhappy buyers.

What happens when one sale turns into something more

Most people start selling shoes online to clear out a closet. They're not thinking about income — they just want the space back and maybe a little money back in the process. Then the first sale comes through. It's usually not a lot. But the reaction is almost always the same: that was easier than I thought.

I've been selling on eBay since 1998 — back in high school, before smartphones existed, when you had to find something at a yard sale, drive home, look it up on a desktop computer, and then list it and hope. Even then, the dynamic was clear: find something someone else wants, sell it to them, keep the difference. That hasn't changed in thirty years.

What does change is the question people ask after that first sale. It shifts from "how do I get rid of these shoes?" to "what if I did this more intentionally?" That's usually when a goal comes into the picture — a bill to pay off, a vacation to save for, an unexpected expense to cover. Something that $40 at a time could realistically add up to.

If that's where you are, the process for selling one pair out of your closet is the same process for building a consistent side income. The only thing that changes is how deliberate you get about sourcing, how often you list, and how much of the profit you put back into the next round. The foundation is the same either way.