Course description

Clearing out a wardrobe, a loft or a whole house? This course shows you how to sell your unwanted things on eBay and Vinted safely and sensibly, and, if you enjoy it, how to run a small resale side hustle the UK way, with the records and rules that go with it.

You begin by sorting what you own and choosing the right platform for each item. Then you set up your accounts safely, research what things are really worth from sold prices, take clear photos with your phone, and write accurate titles and descriptions. You learn how to price, handle offers, pack and post, look after buyers, and deal with returns and problems through each platform's process. Later sections cover scams and safety, prohibited items and counterfeits, and what HMRC's rules on trading, the trading allowance and platform reporting mean for you.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons. Each lesson has a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Idunn, who clears her family home in Ilkeston and then starts a small resale side hustle, and her dad Crwys, who sells his spare things before a move. In the final lessons you help a made-up couple plan the clearing of their household. Every section has a practice pack with exercise sheets, answer keys and cheat sheets, plus a sorting sheet, a pricing research sheet, a photo shot list, a listing wording guide, buyer message examples, a scam spotting card and a sales and profit tracker spreadsheet.

What you'll learn

• Deciding what to sell and where: sorting a clear-out into keep, sell, give away and recycle, comparing eBay and Vinted, private and business selling, and planning your first month.
• Setting up your accounts safely: opening accounts, strong passwords and two-step sign-in, how you get paid, your profile and username, and keeping personal details private.
• Researching what things are worth: why sold prices matter, searching sold listings on each platform, reading the evidence, spotting hidden value and recording your research.
• Photographing items with a phone: what buyers need from photos, daylight and a simple home set-up, a shot list, and photographing clothes, shoes, bags, homeware, electricals and books.
• Accurate titles and descriptions: how buyers search, writing titles, filling in item details, describing condition and flaws, measuring and writing the description.
• Pricing, offers and postage: setting a price and a floor price, offers and bundles, postage on each platform, packing safely and proof of postage.
• After the sale: talking to buyers, returns, eBay's Money Back Guarantee and Vinted's buyer protection, handling problems calmly, and feedback and reviews.
• Scams, safety and the rules: off-platform payment requests, fake emails and texts, meeting buyers safely, prohibited items and counterfeits.
• Records, tax and the law: simple records, personal possessions or trading, the trading allowance and Self Assessment, platform reporting to HMRC, Capital Gains Tax and consumer law.
• Growing a side hustle and your final project: sourcing stock and realistic expectations, tracking time, costs and profit, and a final project clearing a made-up household.

Who it's for

Anyone in the UK who wants to sell their own unwanted things online, from a single wardrobe to a whole house, and anyone thinking about buying and selling second-hand items as a small side hustle. No experience is needed; a smartphone is enough.

What this course is, and isn't

This is a practical beginner course. It isn't tax, legal or financial advice, and it makes no promises about what you'll earn. Fees, rules and legal points come from eBay's and Vinted's own help pages, GOV.UK, HMRC, legislation.gov.uk and Citizens Advice, read on 1 November 2026. The platforms change their features, fees and rules often, so check their current help pages before you rely on a detail. Idunn, Crwys and every other person in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Sort a clear-out into keep, sell, give away and recycle, and choose eBay or Vinted for each item
• Set up eBay and Vinted accounts safely with strong passwords, two-step sign-in and private personal details
• Price items from sold prices rather than asking prices, and set a floor price for offers
• Take clear, accurate photos with a phone using daylight and a simple home set-up
• Write titles and descriptions that buyers can find, with accurate condition, flaws and measurements
• Handle offers, choose postage, pack items safely and keep proof of postage
• Look after buyers and handle returns, problems and feedback through each platform's own process
• Recognise selling scams and fake messages, meet buyers safely and avoid prohibited and counterfeit items
• Understand the difference between selling personal possessions and trading, the trading allowance and platform reporting to HMRC
• Keep simple records, track time, costs and profit, and plan the clearing of a whole household

Frequently asked questions