Thrifting Tips

Tips On What To Look For At Thrift Stores To Make Money

Riches are where you find them. Thrift stores are a good place to go for lots of hidden treasures. Buying things for remarkably low prices and then reselling those items for much more has become a small side business for some folks. How does it work?  Let’s look.

How To Shop At The Thrift Store To Make Money

• Research. Know your brand. Know what you’re looking for and what it’s worth.  Have your specialty or a niche, i.e. vintage clothing does well on resell.
• Be patient/take your time. You have to go through the store slowly and look at each item carefully.  Can’t go through fast and make a rush decision. Could lead to a mistake and a loss.
• Inspect the items condition. Look for stains, tears, odors, flaws, missing parts. Have the item tested.
• Take advantage of discounts. Sometimes there are big savings or sales bins. If you take in donations, they’ll give you a discount.

When you see someone push out a new cart, go to it.

• Be kind. You’ll be thrifting with these staff members probably regularly. Build relationships.
• Take good pictures. Once you get them home photograph your things well.  Show off the good parts, but point out the flaws to give yourself a reputation as a responsible seller.
• Post it. There are a lot of mediums to use, i.e. eBay, Amazon, Dpod, YouTube.

Not sure what the item is worth, put it in the cart anyway. It’s better to hold the products you’re interested in until the end. Then research pricing. At the end, go on eBay’s sold/complete category, find the pieces to see the value and if it’s worth purchasing. Keep in mind, you’ll have fees to pay along with shipping costs.

If you find a really good thrift store that has hot items on the regular, keep this to yourself. It’s not necessary to share with everyone.

Are you unsure the types of things to buy at a thrift store to make money? The list is endless. Pretty much anything is either vintage or collectible or high-end and has a buyer. For high end items, you’ll want to go to a thrift store that’s in a higher-end neighborhood, or to get unique items, go to a local market rather than a Goodwill or Salvation Army.

What People Are Interested In Buying To Make Money

• Albums. Very collectible.
• Books. Sell very low price but resale on Amazon is great.
• Electronics. May inly be missing a small part. Sells for a low price, easy fix, resale is much higher.
• Sporting goods. Popular especially jerseys.
• DVDs, CDs, video games.
• Used toys. In good condition.
• Kitchen items.
• Rugs. A rare find.  If in good condition, they resale quick.
• high-end and vintage clothing.
• Ties.
• Scarves.
• Jewelry. Big for resale.
• Free stuff. The Thrift stores have items they can’t sell or don’t know how to price or can’t figure out how to test. Up to 90% goes to the landfill. Ask them. They’ll give things away, especially at the end of the day.

A thrift store can be a gold mine for you or a dangerous place. With all the nice things and the good deals, you have to remind yourself you’re trying to make money not fill your house. Happy shopping.