Need to earn a little money on the side? How about thrift store reselling? The internet is filled with thrifting tips on how to be successful at reselling. Side Hustle Nation describes thrift store reselling as simply buying cheap and reselling at a profit. This wash, rinse, repeat pattern may never make you rich but it can help put some extra money in your wallet. The best part about this business endeavor – according to Side Hustle Nation, is that anyone can do it, the startup cost is low, and the results can be quick. Read on to learn more thrifting tips to help you profit.
What Merchandise Sells
Knowing what to sell is probably the most helpful of all thrifting tips. There are several ways to go about thrift store flipping. One way is searching by your area of interest. Side Hustle Nation cited Keely Stawicki’s personal experience as an example. Keely loved horses and all things related to horses. For her first resale, she bought an old saddle at auction for $50, cleaned it up and resold it later for $150.
But, if you’re not sure what to sell and just need a place to start, Money Crashers has a list of merchandise ideas. Books, picture frames, and pyrex cookware are all on the list of excellent merchandise to acquire for resale. When purchasing books for resale, search for complete book sets or college textbooks. Elaborate picture frames are also a hot commodity but Money Crashers recommends that larger frames be sold locally. Doing so might help with extra shipping costs. Vintage Pyrex cookware is in high demand by glassware lovers. Make sure it’s in excellent condition before you buy it.
Read More: Tips For Saving Money
How to Price the Merchandise
The Dollar Stretcher has fantastic thrifting tips when it comes to setting prices on used merchandise. The most important piece of advice they give is for sellers to forget about what’s fair. All is not fair in the world of reselling. When it comes to thrift store resells, it’s all about what someone is willing to spend on the merchandise. Do your research! Conduct internet searches to figure out what similar items are going for online and also what they’ve sold for. Then, price accordingly. Also, keep in mind that certain types of merchandise, such as furniture, lose their value very quickly regardless of how well their condition is.
Mistakes to Avoid
Seller Cloud compiled a list of mistakes that eBay sellers have made over the years. Even though eBay isn’t the only website for reselling, you might learn a few thrifting tips from these listed mistakes. For example, many of the sellers incorrectly assume it’s better to have a large inventory when in fact it’s the quality of the products they’re selling that matters to buyers. Seller Cloud recommends that sellers take the time to research what items are selling and for how much and then focus on finding those items to list.
Poor quality photos are another area where sellers often go wrong. We’ll cover photography a bit later but for now, it’s advised that sellers avoid using stock photos at all costs. Spectacular merchandise photos that clearly show buyers what they’ll get are desperately needed. One other mistake mentioned is that buyers often inaccurately describe their merchandise on the website. Descriptions should be well-written, filled with keywords to help buyers find the item, and also – even though it wasn’t specifically mentioned – running spell check is always a good idea!
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Best Websites For Reselling
Whole People listed the top online thrift stores for 2020 for clothing. Poshmark, ThredUp, and Depop are among those retail sites listed. And of course, if you have items other than clothes you’d like to sell there’s always eBay, Etsy, and Shopify. Let’s not forget about Craigslist and Facebook Market place either. Both of these are great for selling clothes, toys, and furniture as well.
Best Tools For Digital Photos
As mentioned earlier, quality photography is key when it comes to online sales. SimpleConsign has some tips for photographing merchandise. As far as lighting is concerned, sunlight is best but if that’s not a possibility consider purchasing a ring light.
The 8″ Selfie Ring Light (pictured above) is one of many ring lights available on Amazon and it comes with three lighting modes to help you pick the best light for your product. This particular ring light also includes a tripod as well as a cell phone holder.
A white background is also recommended by SimpleConsign for photographing merchandise. The Emart Table Top Light Box (pictured above) is perfect for smaller items. It also comes with four different color backdrops just in case you need the contrast.
SimpleConsign also recommends that photographs of the product be taken from multiple angles, that a tripod is used at all times, and that photo editing services such as Pic Monkey be used to crop the image or create a collage before posting the images online.
Read More: 10 Hobbies That Can Be Turned Into A Profitable Business
The opportunity to earn a little extra cash- here and there – is all around us. For some, thrift store reselling will be an exciting, financial adventure. And while anyone can do this there are a few thrifting tips to remember. Be particular about the thrift store items you buy for resale. Do your research. Take awesome photos. Most of all, have fun! You never know what treasures you might find.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on YARD SALE SECRETS FOR SUCCESS.
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Photo Credits: Unsplash.com | Pixabay.com | Amazon.com
Sources: Side Hustle Nation | Money Crashers | Dollar Stretcher | Seller Cloud | Whole People | SimpleConsign
