In 2003, Suzanne Wells went through a divorce, and with two children, a mortgage newly in her name and a freelance marketing job, she turned to eBay.

"I just started selling stuff I had laying around my house," she said. "And it was pretty profitable."

When Wells had cleared the clutter out of her Atlanta-area home, she hit nearby thrift stores and bought up clothes, toys and tools to sell online. Six years and 17,500 items later, Wells has become an expert on how to use the Internet to turn household junk into cash.

"Are we in a recession? I don't know," said Wells, who made a killing by buying up Hannah Montana merchandise during the holidays and then unloading it on eBay when the stores ran out. "People will pay some ridiculous prices for stuff like that."

In a bad economy, people increasingly are sifting through their basements and attics for stuff to sell. But what's the best marketplace?

Online? Garage sale? Pawn shop? It depends on the sellers -- and how much time and effort they have.

Online

EBay has evolved into the planet's largest marketplace with 84 million active users worldwide, according to the company. Launched in 1995 by a French-born computer programmer, eBay now sells $1,900 worth of goods every second.

For the casual seller with just a small pile of goods, eBay has advantages. It's relatively easy to use and the size of the audience is hard to match.

People can find stuff in every room of their house that will sell on eBay, from brand-name clothes to unused shampoo, said Wells, author of "Stay-at-Home Mom's Guide to Successful eBay Selling."

"There's a buyer for everything," Wells said. "You just have to research what the market will bear and what people will pay."

Hot items on eBay include exercise equipment, DVDs, toys -- especially vintage and electronic toys -- tools and as-seen-on-TV gadgets that are snatched up by people who don't want to wait four to six weeks for delivery, Wells said. Kitchen goods sell well -- iron skillets can fetch as much as $800, she said. And people love vintage kitchenware, from used Pyrex bowls to old Tupperware in gaudy colors.

"It's almost like the uglier it is, the more you can make," Wells said.

Among the most important tips that eBay veterans offer new sellers: post lots of clear, close-up photos of the item from different angles and write detailed, grammatically correct item descriptions. Include the most trivial bits of information -- the oddest notation could be what sells an item.

Experts also advise that sellers carefully consider a number of factors, including prices, auction lengths, shipping details and how to make the actual transaction. PayPal is the most popular method among eBay sellers and comes with a small fee.

Selling on eBay is not a path to riches, veterans say. EBay is an increasingly competitive marketplace where many sellers note ever-shrinking profit margins. Niche Web sites that boast lower fees have sprung up as eBay sellers have taken their business elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal noted last year.

EBay's fees vary depending on prices. A $25 item has a 35-cent initial posting fee. If the item sells, the seller also pays a fee of 8.75 percent of the sale price.

If you are willing to narrow your audience to people in your city, one free option is Craigslist, a classified ad service as opposed to an auction site like eBay.

Craigslist users post items at no charge and the site boasts 20 billion page views per month. Postings are grouped by cities -- 570 in 50 countries -- so sellers attract buyers who often pick up an item in person, which eliminates shipping and transaction hassles.

Of course, there are lots of other online marketplaces. Sites including Bonanzle, Shopflick, Wigix, SilkFair, Oodle, OLA, eCRATER, Listasaurus, GoodBarry and uShops give the big players some competition, in most cases catering to a specific audience.

Some other options to consider:

Online stores: Sellers with a lot to sell can save money on fees with an online store, where buyers view all of a seller's items at once. Lots of sites offer stores, including eBay, Amazon and Yahoo, but smaller competitors have cropped up, too, including buyitsellit.com, bigcartel.com and osCommerce.com.

Craft fairs: Craft-selling sites like fast-growing Etsy offer artists a venue to sell homemade wares varying from clothes and furniture to jewelry and homemade soap.

Online infomercials: Sellers might not need to stray further than their social networking site. Facebook's Garage Sale application allows users to post videos of stuff for sale on their profile pages. Sellers with stocks of finer goods might consider more upscale sites like Talk Market that allow sellers to create their own videos -- and do their best QVC host impressions.

Yard Sales / Flea Markets

Other sellers might prefer a more traditional approach to unloading their junk -- putting it all on the lawn.

Selling individual items online can be a hassle if you have a basement full of stuff you'd prefer to get rid of in one day, said Chris Heiska of Lusby, Md., often called the Yard Sale Queen, whose Web site offers tips to buyers and sellers. And while you might make a little more selling a couch on Craigslist, you also deal with the hassle of arranging for buyers to come see it.

"Mark it cheap and get it out of your house," Heiska said. "Sometimes a fast nickel is better than a slow dime."

Simple preparations can increase profits, Heiska said.

She recommends gathering lots of change, newspaper for wrapping items and grocery bags for buyers. And keep the money on you in a change apron or fanny pack -- thieves cruise yard sales for money tins, Heiska said.

She advocates easy-to-read and similar-looking signs well-placed around the neighborhood and lots of advertising in newspapers, on Craigslist and in free regional classifieds.

Don't hover around browsers but always be available, Heiska recommends. Heiska also advises organized, tidy displays, with neatly hung clothes, goods off the ground on tables and shined-up items.

"Make it as nice as possible," Heiska said. "Dust off the cobwebs. Dump out the mouse poop in the bottom of the box."

Other sellers might embrace the charms of open-air markets, swap meets and local fairs that draw more foot traffic.

Each year, an estimated 2,500 flea markets in the U.S. draw 10,000 to 50,000 people each, according to National Flea Market Association director Mark Blakewood. Flea markets draw buyers who want to see items in person as opposed to online and enjoy negotiating a price, Blakewood said.

Two places to start to find one near you: fleamarkets.org and keysfleamarket.com.

Pawn Shops

For someone in need of fast cash, a pawn shop might be the best option. Pawn shop owners report brisk sales in recent months in jewelry, firearms, electronics and musical instruments.

"Business has picked up," said Dave Adelman, president of the National Pawn Shop Association and owner of two shops in Atlanta. "The loan end of it has increased. We're seeing a wide variety of people -- blue collar to white collar. There are a lot of first-time people coming into the pawn shop."

The two biggest advantages to pawning are that sellers can negotiate for a loan in order to get their items back (with interest varying from 3 to 20 percent, Adelman said) -- and the transaction is fast and easy.

"The main advantage is you could come in, strike up a deal face to face with one of our associates, and in five to 10 minutes you walk out with money," Adelman said.