Over the last three months I have made over 5,000dkk by selling clothes, household items and toys my son no longer plays with. These items were sitting around in our house, taking up space but not really adding to our lives.

It is very easy to simply bag up these items and donate them in one of the many donation bins around the city. But many experts say that a large amount of stuff donated this way never reaches the charity shops but ends up either in landfill or in storage as there is not enough volunteers to sort the enormous amount of stuff donated. It is better to actually sell the items to people who want them. I was interested to hear from this YouTuber a while back that the effort you need to put in as the seller also makes you think of your things as less disposable and perhaps encourages you to make better purchasing choices in the first place.

One way of making sure your items go to someone who really wants them is  selling items on an online marketplace such as Facebook Marketplace, Facebook sales groups, DBA (here in Denmark but there are similar sites in all countries) or on platforms such as Depop but there is a lot of effort on your part to do this and sadly, people often let you down in regard to collection of the goods or paying you what you are asking for.

That is why I was delighted to be introduced to a fleamarket type shop or as I like to call them shelf shops (I doubt this name will catch on outside our house though!) in Østerbro called Lidkøb. This shop is a little more upmarket than the one I visited outside the city a couple of years ago. They have a great sales model which works well for both sellers and buyers. And this is where I have made all that money!

The shop is divided into distinct sections which all have their merits and make it easy for people to find your things to buy. You can rent a shelf comprising of five shelves and you can fill it with as much as you wish as well as adding to your stock during your rental period. There are four types of shelves – children’s toys, children’s toys and clothes, adult clothes and accessories or household good including books. Each type of shelf is located with the same ones so if buyers are interested in kids stuff they can go straight to that area rather than trawling through every type of shelf.

In addition there are two premium sections – locked glass cabinets at the front of the store where you can sell higher ticket items and premium clothes, bags and shoes where you pay per item to have your clothes displayed in a dedicated section with dividers by clothing type and size. This means you can sell decent clothes and have people find them more easily than in the slightly more jumbled racks booked by one seller.

Finally you can sell items of furniture or kids car seats etc by booking them individually.

You list your items under your booking once you have paid the fee and then in store you print out the labels for them. Each label states the item, the price and also your unique seller number. For the premium items you get an alarm to put on the item to deter shoplifters and there are also little sticker alarms for more expensive items on your shelves. Remember to only sell things in good and clean condition.

As well as the charge for your shelf/cabinet booking or item booking, Lidkøb take a commission of 15% per item sold but I think this is worth it for the lack of hassle it takes to sell the items, no more waiting in or meeting someone to come and collect an item and wondering if they will actually turn up. A lot of effort for one item whereas  a few visits to this shop is all it takes to sell a lot.

There are merits to the types of stand you can book in the store and you need to weigh up what is best for you. I have had the most success selling clothing in the premium section and toys on a children’s shelf stand. The glass cabinet wasn’t so good for me but I learnt from my experience with this type of booking for the future.

They also post up a lot on social media and have themed sections in the store such as the yellow one above. As a shopper this place is great too. I love to watch the consumer behaviour in the shop especially on a weekend day. There are plenty of very cool looking teenage girls coming in looking for an alternative to fast fashion and to avoid looking the same as everyone else. There are parents looking for inexpensive toys for their children who will either lose interest quickly in the item or to get them started on something new such as Duplo or Lego. And people just looking for a bargain. I have bought a number of great items of clothing from the premium section, which I am delighted with.

If this way of making money appeals to you check out their website below or if you want to find something for yourself pop into have a good browse. They are open every day.

For more information  their website here,  and Instagram and Facebook page. Or simply pop by the store, the staff in there are wonderfully helpful.

And if you are looking for inspiration on being more sustainable on your fashion (and life) choices I can really recommend checking out Venetia La Manna on YouTube (and also her Instagram and podcast). I love this video featuring her (and yes I do have a bit of a girl crush on her!)