How charities can use online marketplaces to boost income
Is your charity shop selling online? Or are you already using one marketplace and looking to increase your sales?
Around 75% of charities surveyed by the Charity Retail Association said they were already selling products online. But did you know that if you sell on three or more online marketplaces, you could almost double your online revenue? That’s what Minimist’s Marketplace Manual found when they surveyed the UK charity retail sector.
The research revealed that while charity retailers hold 15-20% share of the UK second-hand market, many are under-monetising online. One reason is that as many as 80% of charities surveyed rely on just one traditional online marketplace, often eBay, rather than exploring whether additional channels could help them reach different buyers.
Here, we explain why charity shops should start using multiple online marketplaces, whether you’re selling online for the first time or looking to get more from your existing activity.
What is charity ecommerce?
Once upon a time, charity ecommerce meant setting up a website to sell donated or new items, such as Oxfam did with the Oxfam Shop. Today, it largely involves listing items on marketplace platforms including eBay, Vinted and Causee.
The benefit is reach - it lets supporters buy online and helps charities reach people who might never visit a high-street shop.
How do online marketplaces expand a charity shop’s audience?
If you’re struggling to sell donations via traditional bricks and mortar, then you can widen your audience by listing clothes and other items online. Rather than stock only being available to those locally or who happen to be passing by, a national or global market can buy your products online.
An online shop also keeps running when a physical store can’t. For example, during the pandemic, there was a 151% increase in charity ecommerce. And the UK second-hand market has just kept on growing ever since. According to Minimist’s Marketplace Manual, the second-hand market was worth £4.8bn in 2025, with 66% of UK consumers now buying pre-loved goods.
Expanding across several marketplaces will also put your stock in front of shoppers who prefer certain platforms, as each has its own unique benefits. The more marketplaces that you’re on, the more chances of putting your stock in front of the right buyer.
Does selling online attract younger shoppers?
Selling online can also help you to target a younger audience like Millennials and Gen Z, as these demographics are native online shoppers. Online ethical marketplaces, like Causee, can also help charities reach younger consumers who are interested in pre-loved shopping, sustainability and more values-led ways of spending.
The platform you choose makes a difference too, as different marketplaces can appeal to different audiences and shopping habits.
Does listing items online increase their sale value?
Another advantage of online marketplaces is that they help people find what they’re looking for; they can search for a specific item rather than browse a physical shop. This can be particularly valuable for higher-value or specialist items. In a traditional bricks-and-mortar shop, the potential pool of buyers is largely determined by local footfall. Listing online can expose an item to a much larger audience, increasing the chances of finding a buyer who recognises its value.
Choosing the right marketplace can also affect what an item sells for. For example, the Minimist’s Marketplace Manual puts vintage Levi’s 501s at £65–£120 on Depop, compared with £28–£45 on eBay. This illustrates how the same type of item can command different prices on different marketplaces, and why using more than one platform can give charities greater flexibility in their pricing strategy. If you sell hundreds of items online, this can potentially boost your charity’s revenue by thousands of pounds.
Does selling online help to build brand awareness?
Listing stock in an online marketplace not only makes it easier to find your products, but your seller profile can also boost awareness of your brand. Especially as you can communicate its existence and promote the current products available via other channels such as email and social media marketing. What’s more, this helps create a relationship with your audience and can ultimately lead to better engagement.
Are you listing the right stock online?
Charity shops don’t always list the stock that buyers are actually searching for. According to Minimist’s Marketplace Manual, fashion makes up around 35% of what charities list online, while buyer demand for fashion sits closer to 42%. There’s a strong opportunity here for charities to boost their revenue by prioritising fashion donations when sorting through stock for listing online. You can also encourage more clothing donations by putting a poster in your shop window or posting a callout on your social media channels.
How to get started selling or increase your sales
Now you know all about the benefits you’ll gain from using online marketplaces, you may be wondering how to actually begin selling your stock. Or perhaps you’re already selling online but want to generate more revenue.
If you’re just getting started, online marketplaces offer a simple way to begin selling without setting up your own ecommerce website. If you already use a marketplace, you should really consider expanding onto extra platforms as a way of increasing your sales. The potential revenue uplift could be huge, as Minimist’s Marketplace Manual found that charities using more than one marketplace generated up to as much as 143% more revenue online.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or expanding beyond just one platform, we recommend using FLUF Connect because it will save you a lot of time and effort (you can thank us later)! FLUF lets you cross-list products on multiple platforms and manage your inventory. You can connect with popular marketplaces like eBay and Vinted, as well as our own platform: Causee.
Causee goes that extra step to support good causes. Sellers keep 100% of their sale price, while Causee’s distributable profits, after operating costs and appropriate reserves, support charities chosen by our community. So, it’s an all-round win. If you’re interested in listing your items, then you can get started by signing up here.
How to become a charity partner of Causee
Finally, there’s also the option to boost your money further by becoming a charity partner of Causee. We’re currently accepting more charity partners and it’s free to join, helping you reach new supporters through everyday buying and selling.
Contact us today to become a charity partner and help us to create an ecosystem that can also be a force for good.
