87 Best Things To Sell At School

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If you’re a student looking to make extra money your best option is to market products to your peers.

You have a market available to you every day and if you sell the right things, you can have a steady stream of income.

This list of things to sell at school gives you a lot of options, spanning multiple categories and niches.

As a rule, to make the most money, you should look for items that are high in demand, but low in cost.

With that said, let’s look at the list of 87 best things to sell at school.

87 Best Things To Sell At School

Things To Consider Before Selling

Before we get into the list of items to sell, you need to make a few important decisions first.

To begin, you have to take into account how old your potential customers are.

Are you a teenager in high school?

A tween in middle school?

Or a kid in elementary school?

For example, chances are you will have more success selling clothing items to older teens compared to a kid in second grade.

Next, are you going to create a product or service to sell to students or are you going to resell items?

For example, you could make bracelets and earn money by selling them for a profit.

Or you might stumble upon an item at a store that isn’t local, buy the items, and sell them to classmates for a higher price than you bought them for.

Other questions to ask yourself include:

• If you’re buying products, will you purchase in bulk?
• If you are making products, can you keep your costs low so you can make money?
• Do you have space for storage?
• Can you source them on an as needed basis and will this cost you more?

If you’re new to entrepreneurship, don’t worry.

You can learn as you go and the lessons you learn will benefit you for the rest of your life.

Next, you need to know the rules as to what you can sell vs. what you cannot.

In some schools you can sell clothing with your school logo on it.

Other schools don’t allow this.

So before you decide on something to sell, make sure you are allowed to sell it in the first place.

Finally, as any successful entrepreneur will tell you, pay attention.

Listen to what other students are talking about.

This will clue you into popular items to sell or give you creative ideas into problems you can create solutions for.

With that said, here are things you can start selling at school.

Food And Beverages

When it comes to what to sell at school food items and drinks are profitable things because this is what most students spend their money on.

As such you have a lot of options to pick from.

• Candy
• Chocolate bars
• Gummies
• Gum
• Chips
• Pretzels
• Popcorn
• Soda
• Iced tea
• Lemonade
• Energy Drinks
• Iced coffee

Sweets of all types are definitely high in demand in a school setting.

However, your school may have policies against these so make sure you check before making any purchases.

For example, gum is definitely a student favorite.

While teachers may ban it in classrooms that doesn’t stop children from keeping a pack or two on them at all times.

When it comes to snacks, like chips and pretzels, you can easily buy large quantities in bulk at warehouse clubs.

The bulk packages have smaller snack size portions with different varieties, which are great for a school setting.

The same goes with beverages.

You can buy a lot more at a cheaper price at warehouse clubs than at the grocery store.

With that said, you probably want to start off paying more for smaller quantities until you know you can sell the items on a regular basis.

• Pizza
• Burgers
• Sandwich boxes
• Waffles
• Ice cream
• Popsicles
• Cup of Noodles
• Fruit bowls
• Baked goods

A lunch option is something that many students will be happy to spend their money on.

Especially if it is something they can’t get in the cafeteria.

Dessert options are a desperate need in most schools.

If you can deliver a low cost product that students love, your waffles, cakes, and ice cream will sell out by the end of the day.

Of course, many of these are going to be more difficult to sell than the snack options listed.

But if you can think outside the box, you can be more successful.

For example, you might not be able to sell frozen treats in school, but you could do this after school at sporting events.

And for baked goods like brownies and cookies, you could either buy packaged boxed recipes or use your own if you have a great recipe.

When it comes to selling them, could sell these both in school and at after school events.

Stationary Supplies

If you’re looking for things to sell at school other than food, there’s one thing students need it’s a consistent supply of: stationery items.

There’s a reason every teen high school show has a scene with students borrowing pens.

And if you don’t have the proper tools during an exam it can even affect your GPA.

Here are some different things you can sell for good money.

• Pencils
• Erasers
• Sharpeners
• Glue
• Stapler with staples
• Scissors
• Paper clips
• Rubber bands
• Protractors and rulers
• Highlighters
• Note pads
• Sticky notes
• Folders
• Notebooks
• Colored pencils
• Markers
• Old books
• Small bags with a complete set of supplies

Selling school supplies is a great way to earn extra cash.

Bonus points if you sell small bags filled with a variety of small items.

This idea is sure to offer a big profit margin as you will get more money than if you sold individual items.

Clothing

While a school may not seem like the best place to sell clothes and shoes there is actually a market here.

By tailoring clothes to fit current trends, rep the school spirit, support sport’s teams, or even social causes, you can establish a profitable clothing business.

• T-shirts with slogans and quotes
• Customized hoodies
• Sneakers
• Flip flops
• Leggings
• Windpants for track and other sports
• Pants

By taking advantage of print on demand companies, you can easily turn your graphics and designs into clothing.

And if you don’t have any artistic skills, maybe you can partner up with a friend who does have these skills and either pay them a portion of the profits or partner up with them.

Clothing Accessories

Clothes are definitely a hit with students, but don’t overlook clothing accessories.

In many cases you can buy these for cheap and make a nice profit or you can easily make your own bead jewelry as well.

• Bracelets
• Necklaces
• Anklets
• Shoelaces
• Sunglasses
• Tote bags
• Makeup items like lip gloss, chap stick, and nail polish
• Handmade soaps
• Homemade Candles
• Perfumes and deodorants
• Bath bombs
• Caps with logos
• Wallets

Craft ideas like these always tend to be a good way to make money since the items are unique and teens love to stand out and make statements.

Services

When it comes to selling products you’ll have to put in an initial investment.

However, with services you are offering your skill set so there’s no funds needed.

This is a great opportunity to make some money while also helping other students.

Tutoring

If you are good in certain subjects, tutoring is definitely an easy way to make consistent cash.

Test Prep

Do you score well on standardized tests? Get paid to help other students learn how to prep.

Homework Service

Whether it’s writing essays or solving math problems, there is always a market for this service.

Study Notes

If you are good at note taking, sell class notes, extra reading materials, study packs with flash cards, and bulleted points.

Vintage Photos

Polaroids are making a comeback and if you have a camera you can start offering your photography services to the masses.

Phone Charging

All it takes is a large power bank.

You can buy these for cheap on Amazon and they have a fast charge feature to quickly recharge devices. Here is my favorite.

Shoe Cleaning

Everyone loves the look of brand new shoes. Offer a basic service to keep sneakers clean for your fellow classmates.

Streaming Accounts

Buy a Netflix family package and start renting out spaces. You can easily make a profit with this one. And you aren’t limited to just Netflix either.

Photo Printing

Everyone has digital photos but some teenagers like to stand out with printed photos in their locker or on their school supplies. Offer to print the images and make money in the process.

Fix Cracked Smartphone Screens

Everyone shatters their phone screen. Instead of dealing with the hassle of going to the mall to get the screen replaced, offer this service.

Watch a few videos to learn how to make the repair.

Taxi Service

If you can drive, offer to drive students around. Maybe they need to get home or to work. For a small fee, you can drive them and make money while doing so.

Bully protection

You can help some kids not be intimidated by bullies by offering to walk around with them or eat lunch with them.

One word of caution here.

Some students might try to sell old tests.

This is a big no and can get you into hot water.

Instead of selling the test, use it to help you create study guides that you can sell.

Just don’t market it as a way to pass the next test.

Extras

Finally, try to think outside the box for unique things to sell at school.

One great example is there are a lot of accessories and knickknacks that are popular among students.

Of all the ideas, these are the ones that will have a lot of interest.

This isn’t to say you should avoid the other ideas, it’s just that these tend to be most popular.

• Decorative phone cases
• Head phones
• Videos games
• Laptop stickers
• Phone stickers
• Bumper stickers
• Locker magnets
• Locker organizers
• Concert tickets
• Sports accessories like bats, balls and helmets
• Skateboards with customized designs
• Trading cards
• Sell screen protectors
• Phone pop sockets
• Stress balls

A creative way to market these ideas is by setting up a gift service where you wrap low priced items for students.

Birthday gifts are a huge market and definitely one you should capitalize on.

If you are a younger kid, selling popular toys could be the best way to make a lot of money.

You could sell putty, slime, and fidget spinners as examples.

Final Thoughts

Overall, there are a lot of options for things to sell in school.

The only point you should keep in mind is to avoid spreading yourself too thin.

Don’t start multiple product lines at the same time.

Instead pick one niche and build on it.

You’ll start out making a little extra money, but if you stick with it, you can create a profitable business.

Especially if you find items to resell that are in high demand.

Just be patient and keep working at it and before you know it, you will be earning some extra cash.