When I was growing up one of my favorite things to do with my mom was to go thrift store shopping. It’s crazy the things that people donate and you can scoop up for a quarter of the price. I remember when I was younger we got some really cute clothes for me to wear on a vacation to France and I felt really fashionable LOL. One of my best finds that I had as an adult was a full length hot pink for rabbit coat that I got at the bins for less than five dollars.
There are so many thrift stores in the DMV area it makes it really easy to have a variety to pick from. Most people I know like to go to the thrift to buy odds and ends and I personally know very few people in my area who have made a full-time living from a thrift store flipping business.
Is this a legit business?
If you are reading this and you were saying to yourself what the heck is thrift store flipping it is when you buy something from the thrift store clean it up package it up nicely and resell it for profit. There are multiple platforms that you can sell on that make the process fairly easy. There’s also a very large online community presents that makes the whole experience fun and exciting as well.
How the heck do you buy things from the thrift store isn’t it considered junk?…The answer is NO, the local thrift shop is a great place to find gems.
The art of thrift store flips
I’m sure most of you have heard of eBay ,craigslist and Facebook marketplace and those are some really good places to sell your thrift store finds outside every traditional yard sale. Now there is an art to this.. let’s get into it. You may like something but there may not be a market for it. Example say that you’re really in to llamas and you find a really cute llama themed hoodie. Well maybe llamas or not in but let’s just pretend. You don’t want to buy something just because! I’m sure most of you have heard of eBay craigslist and Facebook marketplace and those are some really good places to sell your thrift store flips outside every traditional yard sale. Now there is an art to this let’s get into it.
Buy low sell high
Sometimes you will find something and you know it will sell but the profit just is not there. Maybe it’s overpriced or maybe there are a ton of them on sale at the local Target and Walmart and a lot of people prefer to buy them brand new at the big box stores.
When you’re looking for item to flip you’re not only want to consider the profit margin but you also want to take a good look at that item. Is the item really dirty? How do you clean it? Do you have a way to get it home Is it breakable? Or is it really heavy? One thing that a lot of new sellers have problems with is figuring out shipping and I messed up a lot in the beginning because I found a lot of items that cost me an arm and a leg to keep secure while I was shipping and they ended up being very expensive because of the way weight. Do you guys know who Ray Dunn is? EBay is filled with Rae Dunn items right now but some of them are not only very heavy but most of them are also very breakable.
Shipping breakables
Is it really worth it for you to ship it and it break over two dollars? Probably not so those are some things just to keep in mind. If you have not downloaded the eBay app or the Poshmark app to check your solds you can do that.
When you get on the app make sure that you are checking the actual solds and not just what is for sale. You might get excited when you first open the app if you’re not familiar because you will see 100 of the same item for sale but they go to the solds and there are zero solds.
Here are some of my favorite things to sell from the local thrift store for profit
Old books
I got really serious into reselling box and I actually bought a scanner Opticon and I would wear it around my neck and I would scan it you can find the link to that here.
Sell VCR tapes
To my surprise there is a huge opportunity for old VCR tapes which brings me into my next option.
Old appliances
Now this could be tricky because there’s a lot of work that you have to put into it sometimes some of the pieces are missing and sometimes it will malfunction you have to actually test each of the appliances and all of the functions and sometimes multiple times to ensure that you were giving your customer a good product. A great idea is to split the pieces up ad sell them piece to expand your profit.
Furniture or home decor
Ready for a fun upcycle project? There are fun ways to take an old piece of furniture and give it a new purpose and a brand new look . Think about a side table, coffee table, old wall decor or end tables for furniture makeovers.
The thrift store is full of old and outdated furniture that can be used for different purposes. One of my favorites is taking an old dresser, give it a fresh coat of paint and selling it for 2- 3 times what you purchased it for. With a little paint and some love you can transform an old piece into something that is functional and stylish. Just browse Pinterest or watch Youtube for some creative ideas if you need inspiration.
Have you seen my DIY dye wingback chairs with pink paint tutorial?
Last year I found 2 white old wingback chairs and made them into unique pieces by painting them pink. I’ve had them in my family room ever since then and absolutely love them.
If you’re looking for a fun and exciting way to make some extra cash, flipping any thrifted item may be right up your alley. It can be easy to get started with minimal investment, and there are multiple platforms where you can sell your finds. There’s also a very active online community of flippers who are always willing to help out and share tips. So what are you waiting for? Start flipping today!
Last but not least my favorite love shoes
This is not for the faint of heart a lot of the times the shoes stink they are stained up and you may need to replace shoelaces and or souls a lot of work goes into prepping shoes to resell but there is a lot of profit to be made. Check out this YouTube video on prepping shoes to sell
Here are some of my favorite apps to use
eBay Facebook Amazon Poshmark Mercari and craigslist
In closing
Once you get the hang of it and you start to find profitable items you might be hooked on it for life just a fair warning I want to let you guys know ahead of time it is very addicting LOL. I would love to hear about some of the thrift store finds that you come up with. Like any other venture please do not think that you will become a millionaire overnight but this is definitely a nice way to make a chunk of change and have fun all at the same time.

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