Selling Smelly Shoes – How I Made Over £400 in 3 Months
If you’re looking for ways to make a little extra money, here’s one you may not have heard of. Selling smelly shoes. Yep that’s right. You can make money selling old, well worn shoes. Sounds crazy, but it’s true!
You might be wondering:
Who on earth is gonna buy old smelly shoes?
I thought exactly the same, but it turns out there is actually a market out there that is interested in buying your worn, trashed shoes. Yep, that’s right, people really will buy smelly shoes. You can also sell feet pics too!
Those with an interest in smelly shoes, or a foot fetish, may be interested in buying trashed shoes or well worn shoes. This might not be something either party would want to buy or sell in person, but it’s simple enough these days to buy and sell used shoes online.
If this whole idea is just not for you – check out these other money making ideas. But if you’re unfazed and want an easy way to make some money – why not give it a try!
This somewhat unique side hustle is actually something that lots of people have been able to make good money with, and luckily, I’ve managed to bag an interview with a successful smelly shoe seller! Read on for her answers to for all things smelly shoe.
Hopefully this will provide some insights into a weird and wonderful way to make money and give you an idea of how to get started if you think selling well worn shoes on eBay might be a good earner for you!
How to make money selling smelly shoes
Where did you get the idea for selling old shoes?
I first got the idea for selling smelly shoes on eBay from a blog that I read about another woman that had done so. Thought I would give it a try and it turned out to be quite lucrative!
How long have you been selling used shoes?
I did it for couple of months until I ran out of well-worn shoes. Once I get some more shoes that are quite well-worn I’ll probably start selling again!
Where and how do you sell your used shoes?
I sell used shoes strictly through eBay, however when I’ve had extra requests I have given customers an anonymous email address I created just for smelly shoe selling.
Note: It’s not just shoes too, you can also sell used socks. There are specialist marketplaces online, such as SofiaGray, where you can list your worn socks for sale for buyers to purchase.
You can also sell used shoes on All Things Worn, a website dedicated to buying and selling worn items.
What kind of used shoes can you sell?
You can sell all kinds of old shoes! I have found the most popular to be flats / pumps however some people do buy well-worn heels, preferably with the heel almost worn away.
You could consider buying cheap shoes from Ebay or from Primark, just to wear to sell on. You can even get cheap ballet pumps like the below from Amazon, so it doesn’t have to cost you much.
You can also make money selling used socks, either on their own or in addition to selling well worn shoes.
How much can you sell used shoes for and what’s the most you’ve made?
I have found per pair of pumps I would get an average of £20 per pair. Some particularly well-worn shoes sold for around £35. In 2-3 months I made around £400+!
How To Sell Used Shoes
Are there any words you need to use or avoid using in your listing?
To meet with eBay’s guidelines, it is important to word your listing appropriately. The key words to use are ‘Well-worn ladies shoes’. Never make any references to fetish and do not use the word smelly. Your listing will be removed, and you could be faced with a temporary ban from selling!
You also can only take photos of your feet in the shoes below the ankle. In your listing you can also quote ‘shoes will be cleaned in accordance with the manufacturers standards’. You don’t actually have to clean them, just say that you will!
Any other tips to sell used shoes online?
Add photos with feet in. You don’t have to do this but customers buying used shoes generally prefer to be able to see the feet in the shoes. (remember, below the ankle only if you’re selling used shoes on eBay!)
When posting out your well worn shoes, an airtight bag (such as ziplock) within your packaging is best to keep them in the condition you’re selling them.
Do you take precautions to stay anonymous?
In order to stay anonymous, I created a whole new eBay account without using my name and a new PayPal account to protect my privacy.
Do you sell any ‘extras’ and how do you go about it?
I have had so many requests for extras! Some of which I would never dream of doing! People have asked to buy used socks which I did agree to for £10 per pair. I sometimes charge £10 for a bundle of 5 photos of feet or feet in shoes. I’ve even been paid £20 just for a bunch of photos of the insides of my shoes!
I’ve also had requests for videos of me wearing the shoes, some of which I was comfortable with as again, they were only from the legs down. In one of them I was asked to squash a cake wearing the shoes. For less than a minute of footage and a red velvet cupcake I made £35 and gained a repeat customer!
Customers pay the money into PayPal and then I send the photos/videos by email.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve been asked by a customer?
The strangest thing I have been asked for by a customer is ‘would you allow me to worship your feet in person’. Now, I have been offered large sums of money to do this but is an absolute NO-NO for me. Although it may seem like easy money… it’s a dangerous game!
How do you feel about your customers?
Personally, I don’t have a bad opinion of my customers at all! People have all kinds of fetishes and this particular one benefits me financially, so I can’t complain! Not that it floats my own boat…
I have found the vast majority of my customers to be incredibly polite and sometimes embarrassed by their requests. Always treat your customers with respect.
Anything else you think we should know about how to make money selling well worn shoes?
A top tip for anyone wanting to start selling smelly shoes is to make sure you are honest about the condition of the shoes… the customers only want well worn shoes and often shoes that smell. Make sure that’s what you give them to avoid negative feedback.
Also – don’t limit your postage options to national; a lot of my customers are from outside the UK.
Final quick tip: Create an amazon wish list! Several of my customers have asked for my amazon wish list in order to send me gifts! You can completely anonymise it and get some great stuff!
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Quick recap
Yes! Depending on the condition of your shoes you may be able to sell them using buy/sell apps, Gumtree, Ebay or even Facebook.
You can sell well worn shoes on Ebay; many people have made money selling trashed shoes and worn shoes there. You can also try selling used shoes on All Things Worn – a marketplace for used items.
Yes. There is really a market to sell smelly shoes, trashed shoes and well worn shoes and it can be quite profitable for sellers.
On average you could expect to make £20+ per pair of well worn shoes.
You can choose to set your own prices, or depending on which selling site they may have their own suggestions re shipping costs 🙂
Hi what happens if buyer messages asking questions like how smelly can I reply direct via ebay messages?
Hello;
Do you purchase old worn out shoes for re-sale?
I read you column s little over a year ago, but with som such going on, didn’t tsk do the time to check out “old worn out shoes.”
I had a few contact but I do not see them any more.
I have about 20 Great brand worn out shoes and before I list them, I thought I would check to see if you purchase for re-selling.
Hope to hear from your soon.
Hi, I don’t sorry, you could try somewhere like All Things Worn.