Want to buy and sell in Canada but still don’t know which websites to use?
There are more than a dozen platforms you must check out to score the best bargains or sell your pre-owned possessions for as much as possible. My personal go-to sites are Kijiji, eBay and Facebook Marketplace, but those are just the tip of the iceberg.
This article discusses the top websites for buying and selling things in Canada, including how they work, their pros and cons, and how much their fees are.
Best Websites to Buy and Sell Items Online
| Website | Description | Best For | Fees for Selling |
| Kijiji | Canada’s largest buy-and-sell classifieds that let you connect directly to buyers. | Selling to a Canadian audience and selling services, not just products. | Depends on the category, but you’ll get two free ads per month |
| eBay | Popular for selling used items with a vast audience. | Reaching potential buyers worldwide. | Depends on the category, but expect 13.25% of the sale price or lower, plus $0.30 per order |
| Used.ca | Canadian-owned buy-and-sell marketplace that focuses on keeping useful items out of landfills. | Selling and buying secondhand items. | Free |
| Facebook Marketplace | Facebook’s very own marketplace that brings communities together for buying and selling. | Facebook users who want to sell things to the local community without signing up on another platform. | Free |
| Amazon.ca Marketplace | Go-to website for Canadians who want to purchase legitimate products fast. | Ensuring you only buy from verified sellers and you receive products on time. | Two selling plans offered. Individual: $0.99 per item sold; Professional: $39.99 per month |
| Craigslist | One of the best free buy-and-sell sites that let you sell to your local community. | Selling anything without fees. | Free |
| Karrot | Enables easy selling and buying of items in the local community and offers a chatting platform to connect sellers and buyers. | Avoiding scammers (by taking the scoring system into account) | Free |
| Buyselltrade.ca | Platform for buying and selling items to Canadians. | Listing products easily and chatting with buyers or sellers directly. | Free (except in the firearms category). |
| Oodle | Displays its own listings and those posted from other sites. | Making buying and selling safer, as you can prove your credibility by connecting your Facebook profile | Free |
| VarageSale | eCommerce platform that lets you hold virtual garage sales. | Selling items fast and in minutes (just like a garage sale) | Free |
1. Kijiji
Kijiji Canada is the country’s biggest buy-and-sell classifieds. This site allows you to connect with buyers via phone or email and allows you to sell a wide variety of products and services.
After creating an account on Kijiji, take pictures of the items you want to sell, price them, write an attention-grabbing headline, create tags, and you’re good to go.
Pros
- Audience is broader, making it easier for sellers to find someone interested in the items they’re selling
- Canadians’ go-to for buying brand new and used items
- Aside from products, you can also sell services like real estate, legal, and financial services
Con
- Interactions can be anonymous, which puts your safety at risk
Fees for selling: Depends on the category, but sellers are allowed to post two ads per month for free.
2. eBay
eBay is one of the most popular sites to sell used items due to its longevity and ease of use. After creating an account on the website, you must create a listing with information about your product. Check this list to determine which items are prohibited from being sold on eBay.
Pros
- Reach a vast audience
- Gain new customers from eBay sales
- You can sell almost anything
Con
- Competition in some niches
Fees for selling: Depends on the category where your product falls, but for most categories, it’s 13.25% of the sale price or lower, plus $0.30 per order.
Related: eBay alternatives to selling stuff.
3. Used.ca
Used.ca is a Canadian-owned and operated buy-and-sell marketplace. Its goal is to keep useful items out of landfills and encourage users to maximize secondhand items. This is the perfect site for selling a wide variety of used items, like clothing, electronics, collectibles, and many others.
Pros
- You can connect your Facebook profile to your used.ca profile
- Sell various products, including services like appliance repair, tailoring, real estate, and many others
- Receives more than 33 million page views every month
Con
- Site doesn’t allow buyers and sellers to chat directly
Fees for selling: Posting an ad for sale is free
4. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace was introduced in October 2016 to bring communities to buy and sell. Selling here is free, but you need to follow certain guidelines as a merchant, such as providing accurate information about your business and using the same domain as your business name.
Pros
- Simplifies buying and selling
- You decide on the shipping charges
- Simple user interface
Con
- Facebook doesn’t vet sellers and buyers
Fees for selling: Free
5. Amazon.ca Marketplace
Amazon has become the go-to website for Canadians because it creates a sense of legitimacy. Sellers are verified first before they can sell, and counterfeit products aren’t allowed on the website. Amazon is also known to deliver orders on time.
Pros
- Low marketing costs
- International expansion
- Easy startup
Con
- Selling fees
Fees for selling: The site offers two selling plans: Individual (no subscription fee but gets $0.99 per item sold) and Professional ($39.99 per month with no per item fee)
Related: Learn how to sell on Amazon USA from Canada.
6. Craigslist
Craigslist is one of the best free buy-and-sell sites today. Selling on the website is easy: choose your place of residence, create a posting, identify which category your items belong to, add a description (dimensions, model, brand, etc.), add photos, and your listing will be published after 15 minutes.
Pros
- Free, no monthly or setup costs required
- Listings automatically remain active for 30 days
- You can sell anything
Con
- The site is notorious for scammers
Fees for selling: Free
7. Karrot
Karrot makes it easy for you to sell unwanted items and buy preloved items in your local community. It’s a free buy-and-sell site, so there is no need to pay anything. Post items you want to sell and start a chat with a prospective buyer to close a deal — it’s that easy!
Pros
- Easy and quick to list items as a seller
- Uses a scoring system to weed out scammers
- Customizable newsfeed
Con
- Not yet as popular as other selling platforms
Fees for selling: Free
8. Buyselltrade.ca
You can also use Buyselltrade.ca to buy and sell items to Canadians. The site allows sellers to post different items for sale, except for alcoholic beverages, baby walkers, burglary tools, expired car seats, counterfeit products, and others.
Items that infringe third-party intellectual property rights, such as music, movies, software, and video games, are also not allowed.
Pros
- Creating an account and placing an ad is easy
- Buyers and sellers can chat directly
- Some items for sale are covered by the site’s free delivery and 7-day exchange guarantee
Con
- The site doesn’t warrant the safety, quality, and legality of the items advertised
Fees for selling: Free except when you post your ad under the Firearms category
Best Buy Marketplace
9. Oodle
Oodle is slightly different than most buy-and-sell marketplaces. Unlike other sites, Oodle also displays listings posted from other sites.
For example, if you want to buy and resell furniture, Oodle will show listings posted on its site and other sites, like Craigslist. This expands your options, so you can choose one that best fits your budget.
Pros
- You can connect your Facebook profile to Oodle, which can help build credibility and show you’re a legitimate user
- Interface is easy to use
- Provides geographically relevant results than most of its competitors
Con
- Not as popular as other sites
Fees for selling: Free
Related: Find out how you can get furniture for free.
10. VarageSale
As the name suggests, VarageSale is an eCommerce platform that allows you to hold virtual garage sales. It has been operating since 2012 and has gained a positive reputation among its users. You can easily list items for sale on the site within minutes, as sign-up is fast!
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Previous buyers can leave praises (that serve like reviews) to show satisfaction with the seller’s products and services
- Listings are location-based, meaning your items for sale will be visible to people near you
Con
- Its app often crashes
Fees for selling: Free
Free Clothing Buy and Sell Sites
11. Poshmark
Want to sell used fashion and home décor items? Sign up for Poshmark. It’s a consumer-to-consumer marketplace made to help users make an income out of unwanted goods.
To create a listing, access Poshmark through its app or website. Add item photos, fill in the description, set the price, and publish your listing on the site. You can share your listing on social media platforms to drive more traffic to the site.
Pros
- Easy shipping
- Large and active market
- You can negotiate prices and make bundles
Con
- You need to pay excess shipping fees if the items ordered weigh more than 5 lbs
12. Depop
Another free buy-and-sell site is Depop. The process of selling on this website is straightforward: you post your items for sale, let the buyers make bids, sell the item to the buyer with the highest bid, receive payment through PayPal, and then ship the orders.
Pros
- No limit on the products you can sell
- Directly chat with buyers to negotiate prices and finalize the sale
- Guarantees security
Con
- Poor customer service
13. Vinted
Vinted is an online platform designed to help users make money by selling used or secondhand outfits. Signing up and listing items on the website is free but keep in mind that you can only sell clothing, bags, beauty products, cosmetics, and footwear here.
Pros
- No limit to the number of listings
- Interactive platform where buyers and sellers can chat freely
- Easy to sell as there are more than 20 million Vinted users worldwide
Con
- You must have an active PayPal account to create an account
14. RealReal
RealReal is quite different from the other sites that buy and sell items because here, only luxury and high-end branded items are accepted.
To sell, you need to send your items to the company as their in-house team of authenticators their legitimacy. Once the items pass through several checkpoints, they will be listed on the website.
Pros
- Easy selling process
- Items are usually sold within 30 days
- Receive payment through direct deposit
Con
- You can’t price your items yourself
15. Vestiaire Collective
Boasting over 3 million users, Vestiaire Collective has become one of the biggest marketplaces for selling luxury and designer items.
To sell on Vestiaire Collective, you need to download the app and list the item you want to sell (complete with photos and a description). The team from Vestiaire Collective will approve your listing if your items pass their authentication test.
Pros
- The site has a secure scam prevention process to protect both sellers and buyers
- User-friendly
- Site does the marketing and selling on behalf of the seller
Con
- 72-house window if issues are reported by the buyer, resulting in delayed payments
Tips on How to Sell Online in Canada
Before you sell your products online in Canada, it’s crucial to know the business landscape of the country and the shopping habits of potential customers first. The more you know, the better chances you have of succeeding.
Understand the Canadian Market
Take the time to know and understand the Canadian market before selling anything online and pattern your strategies based on their behaviour.
For example, Canadians love to use their mobile phones, so make sure to sell on a platform accessible to handheld devices.
Decide What to Sell
Your success in eCommerce depends on the products you decide to sell. Ideally, you should find and sell in-demand products. The more in-demand the products are, the easier it’ll be for you to find customers and earn profits.
You can test the demand for the products you’re planning to sell by using the Google Keyword Tool and looking into Google Trends.
Setting up an Online Store
To set up an online store in Canada, you need a business license, register your business, and secure a seller’s permit from the authorities. You also need to register for Goods and Service Tax or GST by providing your business’s name, your name, mailing address, and business activities.
Selling in Canada will also require you to abide by provincial sales laws. This means that customers should be provided with essential information about the product before making a purchase. They should also have access to your terms of sale.
Experience Success
Everything you need to attain success as a seller in Canada is covered in this article. So, what are you waiting for? Use this article as your guide to attain ultimate success as a seller in Canada.
FAQs
Yes. Under its Trade-In Program, you can sell an item in exchange for an electronic Best Buy gift card equivalent to the value of the item you sold.Â
Kijiji is the most popular website for buying and selling items in Canada. In fact, the site receives 12 million visitors monthly, thrice the amount drawn to Craigslist in Canada.
Yes, because Kijiji has a wider variety of categories for selling and buying. Kijiji also has a more modern user interface compared to Craigslist.
Decide which buy and sell marketplace to use, and start earning from selling products on sustainable fashion, specialty fashion, health and wellness, and pets. Selling information products and online education is also lucrative in Canada.
Related:
Amazon charges $39.99/month plus fees, not just $0.99 fee per sale