I recently asked my Twitter followers a simple question: where can I sell my old clothes online?

I have a cupboard full of perfectly wearable items I no longer wear. Why not make a bit of extra cash from them?

Within a few seconds of sending my innocent little Tweet, a couple of my ‘hilarious’ friends suggested I check out a site called eBay. Very funny.

But they’d missed the point. I wanted to find some smaller, more niche sites where I could target my items at exactly the right people.

And, thanks to the knowledge and Twitter connections of a stylist friend, it turns out there are plenty out there such as www.fashionbloodhound.com which specialises in buying and selling pre-owned luxury designer pieces and ASOS marketplace where you can buy and sell clothes and accessorises only.

While eBay may have a lot more users, I’m fairly certain they’re not all on there looking for second hand women’s clothes.

It got me thinking, are we missing out on better deals because of inertia and laziness? Maybe our default is to go for well-known sites and providers because they have a trusted brand behind them?

But who said trusted brands are always the best option? BP, HSBC, Barclays set any alarm bells ringing?

The same applies to our personal finances. A recent study by moneysupermarket.com revealed UK households are missing out on £3.8bn a year energy saving by not switching from traditional energy suppliers to the cheapest available product.

The internet has opened a world of opportunity – selling clothes and getting the best financial deals out there being just two benefits.

Why limit ourselves to the first names that pop into our heads?