One of the best ways to make a side income is reselling. People resell items from their homes online when, either they don’t use the item anymore, or they’re ready to upgrade to a newer version. There are many places popping up to resell online. Read my post on where you can sell online. If you’re looking to make a serious side income on eBay, then, you may need to look outside your home. There’s only so many things from home that you can sell online after all! Check out all of my listings on eBay HERE. Here are some ways to find items to sell on eBay.
After you’ve set up your eBay account, the next step in the resale world is figuring out items to sell on eBay is to go on eBay and do your research. Go to Advanced Settings and look at recently sold items for items you want to sell.
Depending on what you’re selling, you want to figure out what kind of profit margin you’re looking to make. Because eBay is SO saturated with sellers, you have to find the items that people are looking for. Most people are thrilled with buying items and making $5 or $10 over what they bought it for. Others want more. You have sellers out there that won’t sell items that sell for less than $100. For those items, you’ll need to go into the higher priced neighborhood resell shops. Where people don’t think twice about donating a Simone Rocha or Burberry.
One of my better finds recently was a Nili Lotan plaid sheer shirt. I purchased it for $4 and sold it for $65. This was a pre-owned shirt in great condition. I found this shirt at a Goodwill.
Another great place to find items to sell on eBay, if you have the option, is Goodwill Outlet. They charge X amount for certain weights in different categories. But, you will need to go a hunting! If you want to sell shoes, get ready to dive into the bin to find the matching pair. They are not always kept together.
If you want to sell only items that are brand new and still have their tags, the best time would be to hit the stores offseason. Purchase these items 60% to 90% off. Depending on the store. Purchase under clearance deals and put them aside to sell the next season. Don’t be afraid to hit those clearance shelves in Walmart and Target as well. One man turned those shopping trips into making millions on Amazon. I’ve purchased some things there, but, haven’t had the chance to really delve into it. However, some of the items I’ve purchased, have sold. Those items are not always at a high-profit margin though. Because let’s be realistic. It’s Walmart and Target! Not knocking their items at all. I shop there all the time. But, the resell value will not be as high as Coach, Burberry and Vera Bradley for example.
Another place to find items to resell is yard sales. While eBay may be saturated with sellers, there are more that don’t have the time to do the research needed to sell their items on eBay. They’re looking to make a quick buck and put their items out at yard sales.
An interesting place to add to this list is eBay itself! I know! You’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about. But, if you look on eBay for certain items, look them up under their commonly misspelled names. People may not realize the misspellings and lower their prices to get rid of their stock. If it’s an auction-style listing, then chances are high, you’ll get the item at a lower cost because not as many people will be looking for the misspellings. See the difference in the number of listings:
Correct spelling of DIAMOND bracelet results in over 131,000 listings.
Incorrect spelling of DIMOND bracelet only resulted in 79 listings…
See where I went with that? Try this on your favorite items!
The final place I’m listing as a great resource on where to find items to sell on eBay is Craigslist. Now, don’t get your panties in a twist! Craigslist has a bad rep and I acknowledge that. This video on YouTube is such an accurate representation of how people feel about it! There is an F-word dropped in the video, so, watch little ears!
Had to share that. I’ve watched it several times and laugh each time!
But, seriously. When meeting up with someone for a sale of an item from either Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, be cautious. NEVER meet in isolated locations. I always pick busy shopping center parking lots. And, knock on wood, I haven’t had any issues so far!
There are many other great resources on getting started reselling such as these books:
Six Figure Thrifting
eBay Reselling: 151 Profitable Items Found at Garage Sales, Thrift Stores and Goodwill
eBay Selling Made Easy: 55 places to Buy Products to Sell on eBay
Thrift Store Hustle
There are many other books out there, but, these were the four that I liked.
If you’re an established reseller, where else would you suggest to find items to sell on eBay? Any other tips? Comment below or share on my Facebook page!
If you enjoy reading, you should check out my YA Paranormal book, Cavern Cove! Click the image to be taken to Amazon. It is also available at Barnes and Noble for your Nook and in Paperback! It’s also available on iBooks!
Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. If you happen to purchase anything from those links, I will earn a small commission. There is no extra charge to you for this. So, don’t be afraid! Click on those links when you make a purchase in support of Flights of Fancy Mom :). I thank you in advance for your continued blog support.
I need to get the man I live with to start reselling. He’s retired and needs something to do. He also collects things. Great ideas.
Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski recently posted…LA Theater Review: Chicanas, Cholas, y Chisme at CASA 0101