When you want to clear out your closet, it’s easy enough to list a few pieces on Poshmark and ship them anywhere in the country.
Furniture is a different story. Packing and shipping a dresser or a couch usually isn’t worth the effort, so a lot of it ends up on the curb.
OfferUp gives you another option. If you’re wondering how to sell on OfferUp, the process is pretty straightforward.
You post the item, someone nearby messages you, and they come pick it up and pay you in person.
OfferUp doesn’t charge fees on local sales, and since it stopped offering shipping in 2025, every sale on the app now works this way.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through each step, from setting up your profile to meeting buyers safely and getting paid.
Key takeaways
OfferUp doesn’t charge selling fees on local sales, so you keep 100% of the sale price. Listings are free up to a monthly limit (200 in most categories, fewer in some, like 25 for furniture).
OfferUp is currently only available to US residents.
To sell on OfferUp, create an account and complete your profile. TruYou verification is optional, but the badge helps with buyer trust.
When a buyer seems interested in a product, decide on a public meeting spot and get the payment before you hand the item over.
Use Crosslist to create and manage your OfferUp listings without spending hours on the process.
The 411 on OfferUp: how does OfferUp work?
OfferUp is a free, US-only app for buying and selling locally. It works a lot like Facebook Marketplace: you post an item, local buyers message you, and you meet up to make the exchange.
The big difference? OfferUp doesn’t ship at all.
Here are the most important things you need to know about how OfferUp works:
It’s a local buy-and-sell platform: OfferUp is only for buying and selling locally, i.e. within your own neighborhood. This means that only the people who live near you will be able to view and buy your products. If you live in Arizona, someone from New York isn’t going to be able to buy from you (unless they’re visiting your neighborhood when browsing through OfferUp).
There’s absolutely no shipping involved: You’re selling to people near you who can just come and take the product off of your hands — and that’s exactly what all OfferUp transactions look like. Local, in-person pickup only. (OfferUp used to offer nationwide shipping, but it removed the option from all listings in October 2025 and says it has no plans to bring it back.)
Buyers get first dibs on messaging: A sale often starts with a buyer messaging you about an item you’ve listed, making an offer (i.e. negotiating) on your item prices, or expressing their interest in purchasing it. You can’t reach out to buyers about your listings unless they do it first.
What you can and can't sell on OfferUp
Like all marketplaces, OfferUp has its own rules on what you can and can’t sell through the platform.
Here are some things that sell best on OfferUp:
Furniture
Electronics
Video games
Toys and collectibles
Home decor items
Clothing
Shoes
Jewelry, watches, and other fashion accessories
Kitchen appliances
Bicycles, home gym equipment, and other sporting goods
Baby gear
Outdoor gear
Now, for what you can’t sell on OfferUp:
Live animals (may we recommend a local shelter, instead?)
Weapons and other dangerous items
Alcohol, drugs, and tobacco
Adult content
Wildlife, such as bears and exotic animals (because it’s illegal to sell them. Anywhere!)
Services. For example, you can’t sell your web development services here
Products that have been recalled or have warnings
Counterfeit items
Medical and healthcare items
Offensive materials that promote racism, hate speech, etc.
Gift cards
Hazardous materials
Food items, such as perishables and homemade meals. However, certain food items like whole, uncut fruits are allowed, so check the official page for the latest updates
Cultural items
📝Note: OfferUp doesn’t tolerate duplicate listings or posting the same listings again and again.
OfferUp fees: does the platform take a cut?
No, OfferUp doesn’t take a cut of your in-person sales, which are the only kind of sales you can make on the platform. You keep 100% of what the buyer pays you.
Posting is free too, up to a point. OfferUp gives you a set number of free listings each month, and the limit depends on the category:
Category | Free listings per month |
|---|---|
Cars & Trucks | 1 |
Motorcycles | 1 |
Appliances | 15 |
Cell Phones & Accessories | 15 |
Furniture | 25 |
Jewelry & Accessories | 25 |
Tools & Machinery | 25 |
All other categories | 200 (combined) |
The good news is that your free listings reset on the first day of every month, so you get a fresh batch to work with each time.
Just keep in mind that any listings you don’t use won’t roll over to the next month, so there’s no point in saving them up.
If you’re a casual seller clearing out a few things around the house, you’ll probably never come close to these limits.
But if you’re running a reselling business, or you happen to be getting rid of a whole house worth of furniture at once, you might run out before the month is over.
When that happens, OfferUp gives you two options. You can sign up for a monthly listing subscription, which is available in select categories, or you can buy extra listings one at a time as you need them.
If you find yourself hitting the limit in the same category month after month (furniture sellers, we’re looking at you), the subscription is probably the more convenient route.
Either way, OfferUp shows you the price in the app before you pay anything, so there won’t be any surprises.
Apart from extra listings, the only other thing you might end up paying for is promoting your listings to get them in front of more buyers. That one’s completely optional, and we’ll cover how it works a little further down.
📝 Note: It might be tempting to get around the limits by posting an item in a different category, or by creating a second OfferUp account, but we’d strongly advise against it.
OfferUp considers both of these fee avoidance, and it can lead to your listings being taken down or further action being taken on your account. It’s just not worth the risk.
A 5-step guide on how to sell on OfferUp
Follow this detailed guide to get your OfferUp profile up and running. You’ll also find tips on how to maximize your trust and visibility.
1. Create your OfferUp profile
Head to OfferUp’s website if you’d rather sign up on a big screen.
If you’re comfortable with a smaller screen, download the OfferUp mobile app, and continue to sign up, either with your email, Facebook account, Gmail, or Apple account.
A few of OfferUp’s features only work in the app, so we recommend downloading it either way.
📝Note: Only one account is allowed per person, so you need to use an email address that’s not linked to any other (or previous) OfferUp account.
2. Add all of your details
Here’s what you’ll need to add to complete your profile and make it trustworthy for buyers:
Username: If you run a reselling business, add a username that reflects your business. If you already have a username that you’ve been using to sell on other marketplaces, use the same one here as well.
Profile photo: This lets buyers know that you’re an actual person and not a robot. Seeing your face increases trust, leading to more sales.
Bio: A bio lets potential customers know who you are and makes you more human in their eyes. Include a note about what you typically sell, and try to throw in one or two fun facts about you.
Location: Where do you live (or sell from)? Add an accurate location as your listings will only be visible to other people near you.
Response time: If you take more than a day to reply, buyers are going to assume that you're not interested in selling to them. So they may move on to other sellers, which means you'll lose out on a sale. Our advice is to keep response times low and let buyers know when they can expect a reply from you.
3. Verify yourself with TruYou
Those jokes about sending your live location to a trusted friend before picking up an item you bought from Facebook Marketplace exist for a reason. Because, there's no 100% guarantee that the seller is who they say they are.
OfferUp solves this trust problem by giving sellers a way to verify their identity through TruYou. The TruYou membership helps OfferUp keep the platform safe by verifying that buyers and sellers are real people and not bots.
TruYou is free and optional. You can verify anytime in the app (Account settings → Join TruYou).
All you'll have to do is provide:
Your phone number
Photos of one valid government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport)
An on-the-spot selfie taken from your mobile phone
Once your application is approved, you'll get a shiny new badge on your profile that says “TruYou member.” Any buyer who sees this badge will know you're trustworthy since you have OfferUp’s stamp of approval.
4. Post your first listing
It's time to get to business and create your first listing. Here's a list of questions to check off when doing so:
Have you photographed your product from all angles? Are the photos clear and of high quality? Do they highlight any damages, stains, or imperfections that may exist?
Is your title clear enough to let buyers know what the product is?
Have you described your item accurately, bringing attention to its unique features? Also make sure you mention the condition of the item. Including a little something about why you're selling it (moving, decluttering, etc.) also helps!
Did you price your item right? i.e. not too low and not too high?
Did you add the relevant categories and tags?
Do your title and description contain the relevant keywords that will help buyers find your products?
If you answered yes to all of these, you're ready to publish your first OfferUp listing!
💡Time-saving tip: If you're listing an item that you've already listed elsewhere, use Crosslist to post it to OfferUp within seconds instead of manually creating the listing from scratch.
📝Note: OfferUp has a “make offer” feature that you can enable if you want buyers to send in their own offers. Be ready for some pretty lowball offers, though. A great way of getting around this is to set your starting price a little higher. If your price is fixed, keep the feature disabled.
5. Reply to buyer inquiries as soon as you can
Once the buyer inquiries start rolling in, get to them as soon as possible. Answer their questions as clearly as possible, be firm on your final price, and set up a meeting time and place to exchange the item for cash.
Depending on the speed of your replies, OfferUp will give you a “reply rate” badge that will be visible on your profile. The faster your replies, the more favorable you become to buyers.
Once you get paid and hand off the item, mark the listing as sold on OfferUp. Our advice, though? A sale isn't complete until you actually meet the buyer and get paid.
How to meet buyers from OfferUp safely
Meeting a stranger always carries some risk. Here's how to stay safe when meeting buyers from OfferUp:
Make sure they're TruYou verified so that you know they are who they say they are
Take someone with you. At the very least, share your live location with someone before you head to the meeting
Pick a meeting spot that you're familiar with. It should be brightly lit and have a lot of foot traffic so that you'll never be alone
Meet during the day when there's plenty of sunlight
Once the buyer verifies the item, don't hand it over until you receive the payment
Use one of OfferUp's Community MeetUp Spots to meet
OfferUp partners with local businesses and police stations to designate certain spots as Community MeetUp Spots. These spots are public areas that are always brightly lit, have 24/7 surveillance, and are ADA accessible. When you meet at one of these spots, you can rest assured that you're meeting at a safe spot.
You can find a list of these Community MeetUp Spots on OfferUp’s mobile app. The app will also suggest MeetUp Spots that are near you to carry out your in-person transactions.
How to receive payments for OfferUp sales
OfferUp only allows for in-person transactions. There's no provision to collect payments through OfferUp, so you'll have to handle it yourself.
Most sellers take cash or an instant payment app like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, or Apple Pay.
Whatever you use, make sure the money has actually landed before you hand anything over, and never share a verification code a buyer asks for. It’s one of the most common OfferUp scams. Since OfferUp doesn’t process payments, all sales are final once you’ve been paid.
How to get more visibility on your OfferUp listings
OfferUp has two paid ways to boost visibility. Promote is a one-off boost for a single item. Promote Plus is a monthly subscription that keeps one item (or five, on the bigger plan) promoted, with unlimited swaps.
Prices show in the app before you pay, and Promote Plus starts with a 3-day free trial.
If paid promotion isn't your thing, try to get more exposure organically by including the right keywords in your title and description. You can also follow other people in your locality to let them know you exist.
You can also relist your items with Crosslist if any of your items have gone unsold for too long. Don't do it too often, though, as you might get flagged by OfferUp.
Manage your OfferUp listings with Crosslist
If you already sell on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Poshmark, Crosslist lets you add OfferUp without retyping a single listing. It's also one of the very few cross listing tools to support OfferUp.
Here's what you get with a Crosslist subscription:
Support to 11+ marketplaces, including OfferUp
A universal listing form that simultaneously posts your listings to all selected platforms
Autodelisting: when an item sells on another marketplace, Crosslist removes it from OfferUp, so a buyer never shows up for something you already sold.
Crosslist users regularly save 10+ hours each week. Sign up and see for yourself. [Try risk-free]
FAQs
Does OfferUp still ship?
No. Local pickup only since October 2025.
How many free listings do you get on OfferUp?
200 a month in most categories, fewer in some.
Should I give out my number on OfferUp?
No. Keep chats in the app.
How do people usually pay on OfferUp?
Cash or instant payment apps.
When you want to clear out your closet, it’s easy enough to list a few pieces on Poshmark and ship them anywhere in the country.
Furniture is a different story. Packing and shipping a dresser or a couch usually isn’t worth the effort, so a lot of it ends up on the curb.
OfferUp gives you another option. If you’re wondering how to sell on OfferUp, the process is pretty straightforward.
You post the item, someone nearby messages you, and they come pick it up and pay you in person.
OfferUp doesn’t charge fees on local sales, and since it stopped offering shipping in 2025, every sale on the app now works this way.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through each step, from setting up your profile to meeting buyers safely and getting paid.
Key takeaways
OfferUp doesn’t charge selling fees on local sales, so you keep 100% of the sale price. Listings are free up to a monthly limit (200 in most categories, fewer in some, like 25 for furniture).
OfferUp is currently only available to US residents.
To sell on OfferUp, create an account and complete your profile. TruYou verification is optional, but the badge helps with buyer trust.
When a buyer seems interested in a product, decide on a public meeting spot and get the payment before you hand the item over.
Use Crosslist to create and manage your OfferUp listings without spending hours on the process.
The 411 on OfferUp: how does OfferUp work?
OfferUp is a free, US-only app for buying and selling locally. It works a lot like Facebook Marketplace: you post an item, local buyers message you, and you meet up to make the exchange.
The big difference? OfferUp doesn’t ship at all.
Here are the most important things you need to know about how OfferUp works:
It’s a local buy-and-sell platform: OfferUp is only for buying and selling locally, i.e. within your own neighborhood. This means that only the people who live near you will be able to view and buy your products. If you live in Arizona, someone from New York isn’t going to be able to buy from you (unless they’re visiting your neighborhood when browsing through OfferUp).
There’s absolutely no shipping involved: You’re selling to people near you who can just come and take the product off of your hands — and that’s exactly what all OfferUp transactions look like. Local, in-person pickup only. (OfferUp used to offer nationwide shipping, but it removed the option from all listings in October 2025 and says it has no plans to bring it back.)
Buyers get first dibs on messaging: A sale often starts with a buyer messaging you about an item you’ve listed, making an offer (i.e. negotiating) on your item prices, or expressing their interest in purchasing it. You can’t reach out to buyers about your listings unless they do it first.
What you can and can't sell on OfferUp
Like all marketplaces, OfferUp has its own rules on what you can and can’t sell through the platform.
Here are some things that sell best on OfferUp:
Furniture
Electronics
Video games
Toys and collectibles
Home decor items
Clothing
Shoes
Jewelry, watches, and other fashion accessories
Kitchen appliances
Bicycles, home gym equipment, and other sporting goods
Baby gear
Outdoor gear
Now, for what you can’t sell on OfferUp:
Live animals (may we recommend a local shelter, instead?)
Weapons and other dangerous items
Alcohol, drugs, and tobacco
Adult content
Wildlife, such as bears and exotic animals (because it’s illegal to sell them. Anywhere!)
Services. For example, you can’t sell your web development services here
Products that have been recalled or have warnings
Counterfeit items
Medical and healthcare items
Offensive materials that promote racism, hate speech, etc.
Gift cards
Hazardous materials
Food items, such as perishables and homemade meals. However, certain food items like whole, uncut fruits are allowed, so check the official page for the latest updates
Cultural items
📝Note: OfferUp doesn’t tolerate duplicate listings or posting the same listings again and again.
OfferUp fees: does the platform take a cut?
No, OfferUp doesn’t take a cut of your in-person sales, which are the only kind of sales you can make on the platform. You keep 100% of what the buyer pays you.
Posting is free too, up to a point. OfferUp gives you a set number of free listings each month, and the limit depends on the category:
Category | Free listings per month |
|---|---|
Cars & Trucks | 1 |
Motorcycles | 1 |
Appliances | 15 |
Cell Phones & Accessories | 15 |
Furniture | 25 |
Jewelry & Accessories | 25 |
Tools & Machinery | 25 |
All other categories | 200 (combined) |
The good news is that your free listings reset on the first day of every month, so you get a fresh batch to work with each time.
Just keep in mind that any listings you don’t use won’t roll over to the next month, so there’s no point in saving them up.
If you’re a casual seller clearing out a few things around the house, you’ll probably never come close to these limits.
But if you’re running a reselling business, or you happen to be getting rid of a whole house worth of furniture at once, you might run out before the month is over.
When that happens, OfferUp gives you two options. You can sign up for a monthly listing subscription, which is available in select categories, or you can buy extra listings one at a time as you need them.
If you find yourself hitting the limit in the same category month after month (furniture sellers, we’re looking at you), the subscription is probably the more convenient route.
Either way, OfferUp shows you the price in the app before you pay anything, so there won’t be any surprises.
Apart from extra listings, the only other thing you might end up paying for is promoting your listings to get them in front of more buyers. That one’s completely optional, and we’ll cover how it works a little further down.
📝 Note: It might be tempting to get around the limits by posting an item in a different category, or by creating a second OfferUp account, but we’d strongly advise against it.
OfferUp considers both of these fee avoidance, and it can lead to your listings being taken down or further action being taken on your account. It’s just not worth the risk.
A 5-step guide on how to sell on OfferUp
Follow this detailed guide to get your OfferUp profile up and running. You’ll also find tips on how to maximize your trust and visibility.
1. Create your OfferUp profile
Head to OfferUp’s website if you’d rather sign up on a big screen.
If you’re comfortable with a smaller screen, download the OfferUp mobile app, and continue to sign up, either with your email, Facebook account, Gmail, or Apple account.
A few of OfferUp’s features only work in the app, so we recommend downloading it either way.
📝Note: Only one account is allowed per person, so you need to use an email address that’s not linked to any other (or previous) OfferUp account.
2. Add all of your details
Here’s what you’ll need to add to complete your profile and make it trustworthy for buyers:
Username: If you run a reselling business, add a username that reflects your business. If you already have a username that you’ve been using to sell on other marketplaces, use the same one here as well.
Profile photo: This lets buyers know that you’re an actual person and not a robot. Seeing your face increases trust, leading to more sales.
Bio: A bio lets potential customers know who you are and makes you more human in their eyes. Include a note about what you typically sell, and try to throw in one or two fun facts about you.
Location: Where do you live (or sell from)? Add an accurate location as your listings will only be visible to other people near you.
Response time: If you take more than a day to reply, buyers are going to assume that you're not interested in selling to them. So they may move on to other sellers, which means you'll lose out on a sale. Our advice is to keep response times low and let buyers know when they can expect a reply from you.
3. Verify yourself with TruYou
Those jokes about sending your live location to a trusted friend before picking up an item you bought from Facebook Marketplace exist for a reason. Because, there's no 100% guarantee that the seller is who they say they are.
OfferUp solves this trust problem by giving sellers a way to verify their identity through TruYou. The TruYou membership helps OfferUp keep the platform safe by verifying that buyers and sellers are real people and not bots.
TruYou is free and optional. You can verify anytime in the app (Account settings → Join TruYou).
All you'll have to do is provide:
Your phone number
Photos of one valid government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport)
An on-the-spot selfie taken from your mobile phone
Once your application is approved, you'll get a shiny new badge on your profile that says “TruYou member.” Any buyer who sees this badge will know you're trustworthy since you have OfferUp’s stamp of approval.
4. Post your first listing
It's time to get to business and create your first listing. Here's a list of questions to check off when doing so:
Have you photographed your product from all angles? Are the photos clear and of high quality? Do they highlight any damages, stains, or imperfections that may exist?
Is your title clear enough to let buyers know what the product is?
Have you described your item accurately, bringing attention to its unique features? Also make sure you mention the condition of the item. Including a little something about why you're selling it (moving, decluttering, etc.) also helps!
Did you price your item right? i.e. not too low and not too high?
Did you add the relevant categories and tags?
Do your title and description contain the relevant keywords that will help buyers find your products?
If you answered yes to all of these, you're ready to publish your first OfferUp listing!
💡Time-saving tip: If you're listing an item that you've already listed elsewhere, use Crosslist to post it to OfferUp within seconds instead of manually creating the listing from scratch.
📝Note: OfferUp has a “make offer” feature that you can enable if you want buyers to send in their own offers. Be ready for some pretty lowball offers, though. A great way of getting around this is to set your starting price a little higher. If your price is fixed, keep the feature disabled.
5. Reply to buyer inquiries as soon as you can
Once the buyer inquiries start rolling in, get to them as soon as possible. Answer their questions as clearly as possible, be firm on your final price, and set up a meeting time and place to exchange the item for cash.
Depending on the speed of your replies, OfferUp will give you a “reply rate” badge that will be visible on your profile. The faster your replies, the more favorable you become to buyers.
Once you get paid and hand off the item, mark the listing as sold on OfferUp. Our advice, though? A sale isn't complete until you actually meet the buyer and get paid.
How to meet buyers from OfferUp safely
Meeting a stranger always carries some risk. Here's how to stay safe when meeting buyers from OfferUp:
Make sure they're TruYou verified so that you know they are who they say they are
Take someone with you. At the very least, share your live location with someone before you head to the meeting
Pick a meeting spot that you're familiar with. It should be brightly lit and have a lot of foot traffic so that you'll never be alone
Meet during the day when there's plenty of sunlight
Once the buyer verifies the item, don't hand it over until you receive the payment
Use one of OfferUp's Community MeetUp Spots to meet
OfferUp partners with local businesses and police stations to designate certain spots as Community MeetUp Spots. These spots are public areas that are always brightly lit, have 24/7 surveillance, and are ADA accessible. When you meet at one of these spots, you can rest assured that you're meeting at a safe spot.
You can find a list of these Community MeetUp Spots on OfferUp’s mobile app. The app will also suggest MeetUp Spots that are near you to carry out your in-person transactions.
How to receive payments for OfferUp sales
OfferUp only allows for in-person transactions. There's no provision to collect payments through OfferUp, so you'll have to handle it yourself.
Most sellers take cash or an instant payment app like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, or Apple Pay.
Whatever you use, make sure the money has actually landed before you hand anything over, and never share a verification code a buyer asks for. It’s one of the most common OfferUp scams. Since OfferUp doesn’t process payments, all sales are final once you’ve been paid.
How to get more visibility on your OfferUp listings
OfferUp has two paid ways to boost visibility. Promote is a one-off boost for a single item. Promote Plus is a monthly subscription that keeps one item (or five, on the bigger plan) promoted, with unlimited swaps.
Prices show in the app before you pay, and Promote Plus starts with a 3-day free trial.
If paid promotion isn't your thing, try to get more exposure organically by including the right keywords in your title and description. You can also follow other people in your locality to let them know you exist.
You can also relist your items with Crosslist if any of your items have gone unsold for too long. Don't do it too often, though, as you might get flagged by OfferUp.
Manage your OfferUp listings with Crosslist
If you already sell on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Poshmark, Crosslist lets you add OfferUp without retyping a single listing. It's also one of the very few cross listing tools to support OfferUp.
Here's what you get with a Crosslist subscription:
Support to 11+ marketplaces, including OfferUp
A universal listing form that simultaneously posts your listings to all selected platforms
Autodelisting: when an item sells on another marketplace, Crosslist removes it from OfferUp, so a buyer never shows up for something you already sold.
Crosslist users regularly save 10+ hours each week. Sign up and see for yourself. [Try risk-free]
FAQs
Does OfferUp still ship?
No. Local pickup only since October 2025.
How many free listings do you get on OfferUp?
200 a month in most categories, fewer in some.
Should I give out my number on OfferUp?
No. Keep chats in the app.
How do people usually pay on OfferUp?
Cash or instant payment apps.
When you want to clear out your closet, it’s easy enough to list a few pieces on Poshmark and ship them anywhere in the country.
Furniture is a different story. Packing and shipping a dresser or a couch usually isn’t worth the effort, so a lot of it ends up on the curb.
OfferUp gives you another option. If you’re wondering how to sell on OfferUp, the process is pretty straightforward.
You post the item, someone nearby messages you, and they come pick it up and pay you in person.
OfferUp doesn’t charge fees on local sales, and since it stopped offering shipping in 2025, every sale on the app now works this way.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through each step, from setting up your profile to meeting buyers safely and getting paid.
Key takeaways
OfferUp doesn’t charge selling fees on local sales, so you keep 100% of the sale price. Listings are free up to a monthly limit (200 in most categories, fewer in some, like 25 for furniture).
OfferUp is currently only available to US residents.
To sell on OfferUp, create an account and complete your profile. TruYou verification is optional, but the badge helps with buyer trust.
When a buyer seems interested in a product, decide on a public meeting spot and get the payment before you hand the item over.
Use Crosslist to create and manage your OfferUp listings without spending hours on the process.
The 411 on OfferUp: how does OfferUp work?
OfferUp is a free, US-only app for buying and selling locally. It works a lot like Facebook Marketplace: you post an item, local buyers message you, and you meet up to make the exchange.
The big difference? OfferUp doesn’t ship at all.
Here are the most important things you need to know about how OfferUp works:
It’s a local buy-and-sell platform: OfferUp is only for buying and selling locally, i.e. within your own neighborhood. This means that only the people who live near you will be able to view and buy your products. If you live in Arizona, someone from New York isn’t going to be able to buy from you (unless they’re visiting your neighborhood when browsing through OfferUp).
There’s absolutely no shipping involved: You’re selling to people near you who can just come and take the product off of your hands — and that’s exactly what all OfferUp transactions look like. Local, in-person pickup only. (OfferUp used to offer nationwide shipping, but it removed the option from all listings in October 2025 and says it has no plans to bring it back.)
Buyers get first dibs on messaging: A sale often starts with a buyer messaging you about an item you’ve listed, making an offer (i.e. negotiating) on your item prices, or expressing their interest in purchasing it. You can’t reach out to buyers about your listings unless they do it first.
What you can and can't sell on OfferUp
Like all marketplaces, OfferUp has its own rules on what you can and can’t sell through the platform.
Here are some things that sell best on OfferUp:
Furniture
Electronics
Video games
Toys and collectibles
Home decor items
Clothing
Shoes
Jewelry, watches, and other fashion accessories
Kitchen appliances
Bicycles, home gym equipment, and other sporting goods
Baby gear
Outdoor gear
Now, for what you can’t sell on OfferUp:
Live animals (may we recommend a local shelter, instead?)
Weapons and other dangerous items
Alcohol, drugs, and tobacco
Adult content
Wildlife, such as bears and exotic animals (because it’s illegal to sell them. Anywhere!)
Services. For example, you can’t sell your web development services here
Products that have been recalled or have warnings
Counterfeit items
Medical and healthcare items
Offensive materials that promote racism, hate speech, etc.
Gift cards
Hazardous materials
Food items, such as perishables and homemade meals. However, certain food items like whole, uncut fruits are allowed, so check the official page for the latest updates
Cultural items
📝Note: OfferUp doesn’t tolerate duplicate listings or posting the same listings again and again.
OfferUp fees: does the platform take a cut?
No, OfferUp doesn’t take a cut of your in-person sales, which are the only kind of sales you can make on the platform. You keep 100% of what the buyer pays you.
Posting is free too, up to a point. OfferUp gives you a set number of free listings each month, and the limit depends on the category:
Category | Free listings per month |
|---|---|
Cars & Trucks | 1 |
Motorcycles | 1 |
Appliances | 15 |
Cell Phones & Accessories | 15 |
Furniture | 25 |
Jewelry & Accessories | 25 |
Tools & Machinery | 25 |
All other categories | 200 (combined) |
The good news is that your free listings reset on the first day of every month, so you get a fresh batch to work with each time.
Just keep in mind that any listings you don’t use won’t roll over to the next month, so there’s no point in saving them up.
If you’re a casual seller clearing out a few things around the house, you’ll probably never come close to these limits.
But if you’re running a reselling business, or you happen to be getting rid of a whole house worth of furniture at once, you might run out before the month is over.
When that happens, OfferUp gives you two options. You can sign up for a monthly listing subscription, which is available in select categories, or you can buy extra listings one at a time as you need them.
If you find yourself hitting the limit in the same category month after month (furniture sellers, we’re looking at you), the subscription is probably the more convenient route.
Either way, OfferUp shows you the price in the app before you pay anything, so there won’t be any surprises.
Apart from extra listings, the only other thing you might end up paying for is promoting your listings to get them in front of more buyers. That one’s completely optional, and we’ll cover how it works a little further down.
📝 Note: It might be tempting to get around the limits by posting an item in a different category, or by creating a second OfferUp account, but we’d strongly advise against it.
OfferUp considers both of these fee avoidance, and it can lead to your listings being taken down or further action being taken on your account. It’s just not worth the risk.
A 5-step guide on how to sell on OfferUp
Follow this detailed guide to get your OfferUp profile up and running. You’ll also find tips on how to maximize your trust and visibility.
1. Create your OfferUp profile
Head to OfferUp’s website if you’d rather sign up on a big screen.
If you’re comfortable with a smaller screen, download the OfferUp mobile app, and continue to sign up, either with your email, Facebook account, Gmail, or Apple account.
A few of OfferUp’s features only work in the app, so we recommend downloading it either way.
📝Note: Only one account is allowed per person, so you need to use an email address that’s not linked to any other (or previous) OfferUp account.
2. Add all of your details
Here’s what you’ll need to add to complete your profile and make it trustworthy for buyers:
Username: If you run a reselling business, add a username that reflects your business. If you already have a username that you’ve been using to sell on other marketplaces, use the same one here as well.
Profile photo: This lets buyers know that you’re an actual person and not a robot. Seeing your face increases trust, leading to more sales.
Bio: A bio lets potential customers know who you are and makes you more human in their eyes. Include a note about what you typically sell, and try to throw in one or two fun facts about you.
Location: Where do you live (or sell from)? Add an accurate location as your listings will only be visible to other people near you.
Response time: If you take more than a day to reply, buyers are going to assume that you're not interested in selling to them. So they may move on to other sellers, which means you'll lose out on a sale. Our advice is to keep response times low and let buyers know when they can expect a reply from you.
3. Verify yourself with TruYou
Those jokes about sending your live location to a trusted friend before picking up an item you bought from Facebook Marketplace exist for a reason. Because, there's no 100% guarantee that the seller is who they say they are.
OfferUp solves this trust problem by giving sellers a way to verify their identity through TruYou. The TruYou membership helps OfferUp keep the platform safe by verifying that buyers and sellers are real people and not bots.
TruYou is free and optional. You can verify anytime in the app (Account settings → Join TruYou).
All you'll have to do is provide:
Your phone number
Photos of one valid government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport)
An on-the-spot selfie taken from your mobile phone
Once your application is approved, you'll get a shiny new badge on your profile that says “TruYou member.” Any buyer who sees this badge will know you're trustworthy since you have OfferUp’s stamp of approval.
4. Post your first listing
It's time to get to business and create your first listing. Here's a list of questions to check off when doing so:
Have you photographed your product from all angles? Are the photos clear and of high quality? Do they highlight any damages, stains, or imperfections that may exist?
Is your title clear enough to let buyers know what the product is?
Have you described your item accurately, bringing attention to its unique features? Also make sure you mention the condition of the item. Including a little something about why you're selling it (moving, decluttering, etc.) also helps!
Did you price your item right? i.e. not too low and not too high?
Did you add the relevant categories and tags?
Do your title and description contain the relevant keywords that will help buyers find your products?
If you answered yes to all of these, you're ready to publish your first OfferUp listing!
💡Time-saving tip: If you're listing an item that you've already listed elsewhere, use Crosslist to post it to OfferUp within seconds instead of manually creating the listing from scratch.
📝Note: OfferUp has a “make offer” feature that you can enable if you want buyers to send in their own offers. Be ready for some pretty lowball offers, though. A great way of getting around this is to set your starting price a little higher. If your price is fixed, keep the feature disabled.
5. Reply to buyer inquiries as soon as you can
Once the buyer inquiries start rolling in, get to them as soon as possible. Answer their questions as clearly as possible, be firm on your final price, and set up a meeting time and place to exchange the item for cash.
Depending on the speed of your replies, OfferUp will give you a “reply rate” badge that will be visible on your profile. The faster your replies, the more favorable you become to buyers.
Once you get paid and hand off the item, mark the listing as sold on OfferUp. Our advice, though? A sale isn't complete until you actually meet the buyer and get paid.
How to meet buyers from OfferUp safely
Meeting a stranger always carries some risk. Here's how to stay safe when meeting buyers from OfferUp:
Make sure they're TruYou verified so that you know they are who they say they are
Take someone with you. At the very least, share your live location with someone before you head to the meeting
Pick a meeting spot that you're familiar with. It should be brightly lit and have a lot of foot traffic so that you'll never be alone
Meet during the day when there's plenty of sunlight
Once the buyer verifies the item, don't hand it over until you receive the payment
Use one of OfferUp's Community MeetUp Spots to meet
OfferUp partners with local businesses and police stations to designate certain spots as Community MeetUp Spots. These spots are public areas that are always brightly lit, have 24/7 surveillance, and are ADA accessible. When you meet at one of these spots, you can rest assured that you're meeting at a safe spot.
You can find a list of these Community MeetUp Spots on OfferUp’s mobile app. The app will also suggest MeetUp Spots that are near you to carry out your in-person transactions.
How to receive payments for OfferUp sales
OfferUp only allows for in-person transactions. There's no provision to collect payments through OfferUp, so you'll have to handle it yourself.
Most sellers take cash or an instant payment app like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, or Apple Pay.
Whatever you use, make sure the money has actually landed before you hand anything over, and never share a verification code a buyer asks for. It’s one of the most common OfferUp scams. Since OfferUp doesn’t process payments, all sales are final once you’ve been paid.
How to get more visibility on your OfferUp listings
OfferUp has two paid ways to boost visibility. Promote is a one-off boost for a single item. Promote Plus is a monthly subscription that keeps one item (or five, on the bigger plan) promoted, with unlimited swaps.
Prices show in the app before you pay, and Promote Plus starts with a 3-day free trial.
If paid promotion isn't your thing, try to get more exposure organically by including the right keywords in your title and description. You can also follow other people in your locality to let them know you exist.
You can also relist your items with Crosslist if any of your items have gone unsold for too long. Don't do it too often, though, as you might get flagged by OfferUp.
Manage your OfferUp listings with Crosslist
If you already sell on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Poshmark, Crosslist lets you add OfferUp without retyping a single listing. It's also one of the very few cross listing tools to support OfferUp.
Here's what you get with a Crosslist subscription:
Support to 11+ marketplaces, including OfferUp
A universal listing form that simultaneously posts your listings to all selected platforms
Autodelisting: when an item sells on another marketplace, Crosslist removes it from OfferUp, so a buyer never shows up for something you already sold.
Crosslist users regularly save 10+ hours each week. Sign up and see for yourself. [Try risk-free]
FAQs
Does OfferUp still ship?
No. Local pickup only since October 2025.
How many free listings do you get on OfferUp?
200 a month in most categories, fewer in some.
Should I give out my number on OfferUp?
No. Keep chats in the app.
How do people usually pay on OfferUp?
Cash or instant payment apps.
When you want to clear out your closet, it’s easy enough to list a few pieces on Poshmark and ship them anywhere in the country.
Furniture is a different story. Packing and shipping a dresser or a couch usually isn’t worth the effort, so a lot of it ends up on the curb.
OfferUp gives you another option. If you’re wondering how to sell on OfferUp, the process is pretty straightforward.
You post the item, someone nearby messages you, and they come pick it up and pay you in person.
OfferUp doesn’t charge fees on local sales, and since it stopped offering shipping in 2025, every sale on the app now works this way.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through each step, from setting up your profile to meeting buyers safely and getting paid.
Key takeaways
OfferUp doesn’t charge selling fees on local sales, so you keep 100% of the sale price. Listings are free up to a monthly limit (200 in most categories, fewer in some, like 25 for furniture).
OfferUp is currently only available to US residents.
To sell on OfferUp, create an account and complete your profile. TruYou verification is optional, but the badge helps with buyer trust.
When a buyer seems interested in a product, decide on a public meeting spot and get the payment before you hand the item over.
Use Crosslist to create and manage your OfferUp listings without spending hours on the process.
The 411 on OfferUp: how does OfferUp work?
OfferUp is a free, US-only app for buying and selling locally. It works a lot like Facebook Marketplace: you post an item, local buyers message you, and you meet up to make the exchange.
The big difference? OfferUp doesn’t ship at all.
Here are the most important things you need to know about how OfferUp works:
It’s a local buy-and-sell platform: OfferUp is only for buying and selling locally, i.e. within your own neighborhood. This means that only the people who live near you will be able to view and buy your products. If you live in Arizona, someone from New York isn’t going to be able to buy from you (unless they’re visiting your neighborhood when browsing through OfferUp).
There’s absolutely no shipping involved: You’re selling to people near you who can just come and take the product off of your hands — and that’s exactly what all OfferUp transactions look like. Local, in-person pickup only. (OfferUp used to offer nationwide shipping, but it removed the option from all listings in October 2025 and says it has no plans to bring it back.)
Buyers get first dibs on messaging: A sale often starts with a buyer messaging you about an item you’ve listed, making an offer (i.e. negotiating) on your item prices, or expressing their interest in purchasing it. You can’t reach out to buyers about your listings unless they do it first.
What you can and can't sell on OfferUp
Like all marketplaces, OfferUp has its own rules on what you can and can’t sell through the platform.
Here are some things that sell best on OfferUp:
Furniture
Electronics
Video games
Toys and collectibles
Home decor items
Clothing
Shoes
Jewelry, watches, and other fashion accessories
Kitchen appliances
Bicycles, home gym equipment, and other sporting goods
Baby gear
Outdoor gear
Now, for what you can’t sell on OfferUp:
Live animals (may we recommend a local shelter, instead?)
Weapons and other dangerous items
Alcohol, drugs, and tobacco
Adult content
Wildlife, such as bears and exotic animals (because it’s illegal to sell them. Anywhere!)
Services. For example, you can’t sell your web development services here
Products that have been recalled or have warnings
Counterfeit items
Medical and healthcare items
Offensive materials that promote racism, hate speech, etc.
Gift cards
Hazardous materials
Food items, such as perishables and homemade meals. However, certain food items like whole, uncut fruits are allowed, so check the official page for the latest updates
Cultural items
📝Note: OfferUp doesn’t tolerate duplicate listings or posting the same listings again and again.
OfferUp fees: does the platform take a cut?
No, OfferUp doesn’t take a cut of your in-person sales, which are the only kind of sales you can make on the platform. You keep 100% of what the buyer pays you.
Posting is free too, up to a point. OfferUp gives you a set number of free listings each month, and the limit depends on the category:
Category | Free listings per month |
|---|---|
Cars & Trucks | 1 |
Motorcycles | 1 |
Appliances | 15 |
Cell Phones & Accessories | 15 |
Furniture | 25 |
Jewelry & Accessories | 25 |
Tools & Machinery | 25 |
All other categories | 200 (combined) |
The good news is that your free listings reset on the first day of every month, so you get a fresh batch to work with each time.
Just keep in mind that any listings you don’t use won’t roll over to the next month, so there’s no point in saving them up.
If you’re a casual seller clearing out a few things around the house, you’ll probably never come close to these limits.
But if you’re running a reselling business, or you happen to be getting rid of a whole house worth of furniture at once, you might run out before the month is over.
When that happens, OfferUp gives you two options. You can sign up for a monthly listing subscription, which is available in select categories, or you can buy extra listings one at a time as you need them.
If you find yourself hitting the limit in the same category month after month (furniture sellers, we’re looking at you), the subscription is probably the more convenient route.
Either way, OfferUp shows you the price in the app before you pay anything, so there won’t be any surprises.
Apart from extra listings, the only other thing you might end up paying for is promoting your listings to get them in front of more buyers. That one’s completely optional, and we’ll cover how it works a little further down.
📝 Note: It might be tempting to get around the limits by posting an item in a different category, or by creating a second OfferUp account, but we’d strongly advise against it.
OfferUp considers both of these fee avoidance, and it can lead to your listings being taken down or further action being taken on your account. It’s just not worth the risk.
A 5-step guide on how to sell on OfferUp
Follow this detailed guide to get your OfferUp profile up and running. You’ll also find tips on how to maximize your trust and visibility.
1. Create your OfferUp profile
Head to OfferUp’s website if you’d rather sign up on a big screen.
If you’re comfortable with a smaller screen, download the OfferUp mobile app, and continue to sign up, either with your email, Facebook account, Gmail, or Apple account.
A few of OfferUp’s features only work in the app, so we recommend downloading it either way.
📝Note: Only one account is allowed per person, so you need to use an email address that’s not linked to any other (or previous) OfferUp account.
2. Add all of your details
Here’s what you’ll need to add to complete your profile and make it trustworthy for buyers:
Username: If you run a reselling business, add a username that reflects your business. If you already have a username that you’ve been using to sell on other marketplaces, use the same one here as well.
Profile photo: This lets buyers know that you’re an actual person and not a robot. Seeing your face increases trust, leading to more sales.
Bio: A bio lets potential customers know who you are and makes you more human in their eyes. Include a note about what you typically sell, and try to throw in one or two fun facts about you.
Location: Where do you live (or sell from)? Add an accurate location as your listings will only be visible to other people near you.
Response time: If you take more than a day to reply, buyers are going to assume that you're not interested in selling to them. So they may move on to other sellers, which means you'll lose out on a sale. Our advice is to keep response times low and let buyers know when they can expect a reply from you.
3. Verify yourself with TruYou
Those jokes about sending your live location to a trusted friend before picking up an item you bought from Facebook Marketplace exist for a reason. Because, there's no 100% guarantee that the seller is who they say they are.
OfferUp solves this trust problem by giving sellers a way to verify their identity through TruYou. The TruYou membership helps OfferUp keep the platform safe by verifying that buyers and sellers are real people and not bots.
TruYou is free and optional. You can verify anytime in the app (Account settings → Join TruYou).
All you'll have to do is provide:
Your phone number
Photos of one valid government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport)
An on-the-spot selfie taken from your mobile phone
Once your application is approved, you'll get a shiny new badge on your profile that says “TruYou member.” Any buyer who sees this badge will know you're trustworthy since you have OfferUp’s stamp of approval.
4. Post your first listing
It's time to get to business and create your first listing. Here's a list of questions to check off when doing so:
Have you photographed your product from all angles? Are the photos clear and of high quality? Do they highlight any damages, stains, or imperfections that may exist?
Is your title clear enough to let buyers know what the product is?
Have you described your item accurately, bringing attention to its unique features? Also make sure you mention the condition of the item. Including a little something about why you're selling it (moving, decluttering, etc.) also helps!
Did you price your item right? i.e. not too low and not too high?
Did you add the relevant categories and tags?
Do your title and description contain the relevant keywords that will help buyers find your products?
If you answered yes to all of these, you're ready to publish your first OfferUp listing!
💡Time-saving tip: If you're listing an item that you've already listed elsewhere, use Crosslist to post it to OfferUp within seconds instead of manually creating the listing from scratch.
📝Note: OfferUp has a “make offer” feature that you can enable if you want buyers to send in their own offers. Be ready for some pretty lowball offers, though. A great way of getting around this is to set your starting price a little higher. If your price is fixed, keep the feature disabled.
5. Reply to buyer inquiries as soon as you can
Once the buyer inquiries start rolling in, get to them as soon as possible. Answer their questions as clearly as possible, be firm on your final price, and set up a meeting time and place to exchange the item for cash.
Depending on the speed of your replies, OfferUp will give you a “reply rate” badge that will be visible on your profile. The faster your replies, the more favorable you become to buyers.
Once you get paid and hand off the item, mark the listing as sold on OfferUp. Our advice, though? A sale isn't complete until you actually meet the buyer and get paid.
How to meet buyers from OfferUp safely
Meeting a stranger always carries some risk. Here's how to stay safe when meeting buyers from OfferUp:
Make sure they're TruYou verified so that you know they are who they say they are
Take someone with you. At the very least, share your live location with someone before you head to the meeting
Pick a meeting spot that you're familiar with. It should be brightly lit and have a lot of foot traffic so that you'll never be alone
Meet during the day when there's plenty of sunlight
Once the buyer verifies the item, don't hand it over until you receive the payment
Use one of OfferUp's Community MeetUp Spots to meet
OfferUp partners with local businesses and police stations to designate certain spots as Community MeetUp Spots. These spots are public areas that are always brightly lit, have 24/7 surveillance, and are ADA accessible. When you meet at one of these spots, you can rest assured that you're meeting at a safe spot.
You can find a list of these Community MeetUp Spots on OfferUp’s mobile app. The app will also suggest MeetUp Spots that are near you to carry out your in-person transactions.
How to receive payments for OfferUp sales
OfferUp only allows for in-person transactions. There's no provision to collect payments through OfferUp, so you'll have to handle it yourself.
Most sellers take cash or an instant payment app like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, or Apple Pay.
Whatever you use, make sure the money has actually landed before you hand anything over, and never share a verification code a buyer asks for. It’s one of the most common OfferUp scams. Since OfferUp doesn’t process payments, all sales are final once you’ve been paid.
How to get more visibility on your OfferUp listings
OfferUp has two paid ways to boost visibility. Promote is a one-off boost for a single item. Promote Plus is a monthly subscription that keeps one item (or five, on the bigger plan) promoted, with unlimited swaps.
Prices show in the app before you pay, and Promote Plus starts with a 3-day free trial.
If paid promotion isn't your thing, try to get more exposure organically by including the right keywords in your title and description. You can also follow other people in your locality to let them know you exist.
You can also relist your items with Crosslist if any of your items have gone unsold for too long. Don't do it too often, though, as you might get flagged by OfferUp.
Manage your OfferUp listings with Crosslist
If you already sell on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Poshmark, Crosslist lets you add OfferUp without retyping a single listing. It's also one of the very few cross listing tools to support OfferUp.
Here's what you get with a Crosslist subscription:
Support to 11+ marketplaces, including OfferUp
A universal listing form that simultaneously posts your listings to all selected platforms
Autodelisting: when an item sells on another marketplace, Crosslist removes it from OfferUp, so a buyer never shows up for something you already sold.
Crosslist users regularly save 10+ hours each week. Sign up and see for yourself. [Try risk-free]
FAQs
Does OfferUp still ship?
No. Local pickup only since October 2025.
How many free listings do you get on OfferUp?
200 a month in most categories, fewer in some.
Should I give out my number on OfferUp?
No. Keep chats in the app.
How do people usually pay on OfferUp?
Cash or instant payment apps.