Do you have a collection of VHS tapes in your TV room cabinet or locker? If so, you might be surprised to learn that you can turn those tapes into cash.
The best places to sell VHS tapes can help you get organized and make some extra money in the process. Whether you want to get rid of your tapes quickly or maximize your profits, there are places online and offline that can help you.
Where to make money selling VHS tapes
The best places to sell VHS videotapes have a wide audience, are easily accessible and affordable. You can list your tapes on one or more of these sites to get the highest payment possible.
- 5miles.
5miles is a free local buying and selling app designed to connect you with buyers who live within five miles of your location. However, it will also advertise your VHS tapes to buyers outside your local area.
With 5 Miles, you can list a fixed sale price or do bidding/auction listings. Even better, the platform includes user reviews from buyers and sellers. You can use these reviews to better understand who you’re working with.
It’s also wise to encourage people who buy from you to leave you reviews. The more positive reviews you get on sites like 5miles, the better your chances of making successful sales in the future.
- Amazon
The Amazon marketplace is another great option for selling VHS tapes. Since Amazon is such a popular site for buyers, your audience as a seller will be huge.
When you sell on Amazon, you will pay 99 cents and a 15% referral fee for each item. When you sell media on the platform, there is also a $1.80 “closing fee” per item.
Since the fees on these sites are a bit high compared to Craigslist and Facebook, you may want to try other selling platforms first.
If you can find a good audience on a free site, you can use it to sell other items in the future. There are many sites like Craigslist that you can use to sell VHS tapes and other items.
- Craigslist
Speaking of Craigslist, it’s an old standby site and one of the longest running sites you can find. Despite the simplicity of the platform, it still boasts over 300 million page views per month.
Under its “For Sale” banner is a specific category dedicated to cd, dvd and VHS tapes.
The site is often a popular place to sell these items. Check out the listings of VHS tapes near you to find out how much they sell for and which shows and movies are the most popular.
As a bonus, there are no sales fees when you sell VHS tapes on Craigslist.
- Etsy
Etsy is another great place to sell VHS tapes. It is known for selling handmade items. However, they also allow sellers to sell vintage items.
According to Etsy, “vintage” is anything over 20 years old. This includes most VHS tapes.
Compared to sites like Amazon and eBay, Etsy’s fees are quite reasonable. It only costs $0.20 to list on Etsy.
When your item sells, you’ll pay 6.5% plus a 3% payment processing fee and $0.25. You can also pay an additional 15% to advertise your tape through ads off the site.
If you sell regularly on Etsy, you can sign up for Etsy Plus, which costs $10 per month and offers additional selling tools, including customizable storefronts, listings, and advertising credits, as well as discounts for custom urls.
- Mercari
Mercari’s homepage
Mercari is an eBay-like site for buying and selling. When you sell a videotape on Mercari, you pay a 10% fee. When you sell, you also pay a 2.9% + $0.30 fee.
Fortunately, listing your item on Mercari is free.
Mercari has a rating system that works in favor of sellers. Buyers need to rate sellers on the platform. If you sell on Mercari, you will create a user rating system that will give you a star system rating and tell you how many items you have sold.
When you sell a lot of items, whether it’s VHS tapes, clothing and accessories, or other items, Mercari helps you do that with a lower fee structure than eBay.
That said, Mercari doesn’t have the same kind of users as eBay and similar sites. So you have to balance that risk with the higher fees you pay on eBay.
- eBay
One of the benefits of eBay is that it has a global marketplace. The site gets over 1 billion visitors a month, second only to Amazon.
One cool thing about listing your VHS tapes on eBay is that you have the option of choosing a buy it now price or putting your tapes up for auction.
Having this option can help you sell faster or increase your profits. One thing to remember is that when you sell on eBay, you will pay a fee.
In addition to the standard payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30, you will need to pay eBay a percentage of the sale price of the VHS videotape. Currently, the selling fee for video products is 14.95%
- Facebook Marketplace
Facebook marketplaces are a great option for selling old videotapes. You’ll attract local buyers, as well as a healthy audience.
Even better, you can see a potential buyer’s Facebook profile before agreeing to do business with them.
Additionally, there is no charge to sell VHS tapes on Facebook Marketplace if you are not doing it for business purposes.
You might even consider posting on Facebook’s Local Buy and Sell site to attract more local buyers. Target groups with members in your town to share your items for sale.
- On-site yard sale
Another way to sell VHS tapes is a garage sale. This is an especially successful option if you live in a densely populated area.
If you want to make sure that more people come to your garage sale, consider having a community-wide garage sale weekend held in your neighborhood.
However, if this isn’t an option, be sure to post your garage sale date and time on Facebook, Craigslist and Nextdoor.
Remember, it’s common for garage sale shoppers to want to cut a deal. To accommodate the negotiation, you’ll want to set your price a little higher so you don’t sell items for less than you want.
- Local dealers
You may be able to find local dealers who want to buy your VHS tapes. This may include pawn shops and consignment stores specializing in electronics or games. It may also include antique stores.
You may even be able to find local dealers on Craigslist. Search the CD/DVD/VHS section or the “Wanted” section to find someone to buy your VHS tapes.
- OfferUp
OfferUp is a website focused on helping people sell locally. When using the OfferUp app, you can list VHS tapes or other items in about a minute.
The site prioritizes security through user profiles, ratings, badges, and transaction history. You can even send messages to users in OfferUp’s messaging app.
You can sell VHS tapes for free on OfferUp. However, if you sell to someone who is not in your local area, you may have to pay for shipping. For more information, see the OfferUp website.
Other apps like OfferUp can also help you list VHS tapes and other items you want to sell quickly.
