Here's an article I found on Ezine written by Tom Graber, the author of Thrift Store Profits. He's got some great tips about what to look for when shopping at thrift stores.
"One of the best places to find product to sell on eBay is as close as your local thrift store. Many people overlook their local thrift store as a source to buy clothing and other items for very cheap and sell them at a very nice profit on eBay. This is because many people don't realize how much some clothing pieces are in demand. They think they are filled with out of date clothing that is full of holes and no one wants. The truth is there are items out there that people will pay hundreds and in some cases even thousands of dollars for.
Now, most of the clothing items in thrift stores are not going to sell on eBay. These are the common names that you can find by the thousands. Names like Faded Glory, Croft & Barrow and St Johns Bay just are not in demand because they are not a bigger name brand and they are carried everywhere. But there are other names like Ralph Lauren, North Face and Lacoste are in demand on eBay. These are brands that the manufacturer spent tens and hundreds of millions of dollars over the years building a brand name that people want to own. They like the quality, status symbol or the functionality of particular brand names and are looking for a way to buy them but not at the full retail price in a store. These are the brand names you want to look for and feed those hungry buyers.
You want to learn what is in demand and will sell on eBay.
This is the key to selling on eBay, knowing what names people are looking for. Thrift stores are filled with thousands and thousands of pieces of clothing. Only a small percentage will be worth buying to sell, but they ARE out there. You just have to hunt them out. And the way to know what to hunt for is by being well prepared by first studying what people want. This takes some time but is worth it or you will just waste your time and money by buying stuff nobody wants. That isn't any fun. What is fun is when you find an item you KNOW will sell on eBay. This is because you know the market and have done your research. What is unknown is how much it will sell for.
That is the brilliance of eBay, it is an auction. The price is determined by the market and how determined each individual bidder is. This is great for you because the sky is literally the limit for some items. I have seen sweaters sell for $1,500 even $2,000. Leather jackets sell for many hundreds and even old boots can sell for $300. There are collectors who will bid what it takes to add something to their collection and clothing is something there are rabid collectors out there waiting to find the next piece to their collection. Think about that when you research closed auctions on eBay."
Thanks Tom for the great tips!
I'll be sure to let you know what other great finds I come across in the upcoming weeks. Happy shopping!!!
Sarah Shipley
Taylor's Corner Children's Clothing
4 comments:
Something that might be worth trying is searching eBay for listings that have main key words misspelled in the title, buying them at a discount, and then re-listing them on eBay for a profit.
Most interested buyers will never see these misspelled listings, so you have a better chance of getting a good deal.
You can use a site like ebuyersedge.com (typojoe.com, etc) to search ebay for common misspellings of keywords you enter.
Ebuyersedge also gives you the option of saving your favorite searches, then sending you an email when an item is listed matching one your saved searches, giving you a jump on other potential buyers.
This works best with 'Buy It Now's, but is also effective with auctions.
I've read that some people profit from this and even make a living doing it. I don't know about that, but it is at least worth a try to find yourself a good deal if nothing else.
Thanks for the great information! That's an awesome tool - I'll be using it often!
Hi! You sure got that right. I've been selling for over 10 years on eBay and everything is from thrift stores, mainly vintage. That's why I wrote a book about what to sell on ebay since it's been such a successful thing for me.
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