“FOR SALE” – sell through classified ads in a newspaper. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not ready to take your show on the road and sell at conventions and events? Why not think local! Online classifieds are a simple and free way to sell your items to buyers in your area. The opportunities to sell locally range from the plain (such as the very popular Craigslist or even eBay classifieds which are mainly just plain text) to fancy magazine style and image rich listings like the ones on Zaarly. Facebook even has simple classifieds that let you sell to friends or local strangers.

Of course, the biggest downside to selling local is that you’ll likely end up doing your transactions not just in person but often at your home or place of employment. While the chances of your buyer actually being an axe murderer are slim, there is a greater risk to local sales because you’re doing them in your the personal spaces of your day to day life. Selling items through your computer or behind a vendor table at a convention with security is very different than having to arrange the meeting with your buyer and exchange items and money out in the real world. While you can opt to only ship items to your buyers instead of selling them in person in nearly all classified sites, most buyers shop local because they are hoping to avoid postage fees.

The ability to take cash for an in-person sale means more profit for you and less fees for your credit card processor. There’s also nothing to photograph, pack or ship which can save a lot of time. But if you’re really and truly dead set against in-person sales, luckily, there’s also a middle ground between a full e-commerce option and going offline.