Reselling on eBay is one of my all-time favourite ways to make money online. It’s straightforward, it’s fun, and it adds a decent little chunk of cash to my earnings each and every month. A very big and important part of reselling though is being able to get your hands on stock that you can buy cheaply enough to flip for a decent profit.
I’m always on the lookout for new treasure troves where I can find the best bargains to sell, though over the past six months, there’s been certain places that I return to again and again where I source items to resell on eBay. Here’s where I’m hitting up on a regular basis to build up my store…
MY OWN HOUSE
Okay, so this one isn’t strictly about buying with the sole intention to resell. But if you’re new to the eBay game, or you’re looking for a quick way to boost your levels without venturing too far, then it’s well worth doing. After a good rummage through my cupboards, I’ve sold dresses with the tags attached that I was never going to wear, I’ve shifted books from my uni days, and I’ve got rid of older versions of tech items that I’ve since replaced, but were still in perfectly good working condition.
This source is going to dry up pretty quickly, but it’s a great starting point, and it’ll clear up some space in your home. If you’re planning to go big with reselling, you’ll definitely thank yourself for that a little down the line. Check out Jane from Shoestring Cottage’s post on cashing in on your clutter.
CHARITY SHOPS
These are my bread and butter, and they’re where I pick up the vast majority of my stock. Yes, plenty of them are overpriced. There are a few in my local area that charge a tenner for Primark dresses, and there’s clearly no profit to be had there. But with some persistence and digging around, there are enough bargains to be found. Some will run sales, sometimes you’ll find clearance branches where everything is 99p, and often, high value items just slip through the pricing net and are available for next to nothing.
I’ve got about 25 charity shops that are in reasonable travelling distance from my house, and I rotate my way through those on a regular basis. If I’m making a special journey further afield for something else, I’ll try to schedule in some sourcing en route. There are days when I come home empty handed, but most days, I come home with a decent haul.
CAR BOOT SALES
Car boot sales tend to be seasonal and run mainly during the summer months, so it’s a case of making hay when the sun shines. The good news though is that they tend to be the best place for picking up super low priced stock. You’ll find pretty much anything you can imagine, and sellers will often be happy to part with their unwanted clothes for as little as 50p or £1.
If you’re thinking of giving this a go, check out this post I wrote sharing seven car boot sale tips for UK eBay resellers.
WHOLESALERS
You might think that buying wholesale is just for massive corporations with warehouses and employees and gigantic budgets to plough into stock, but that’s no longer the case. With a relatively small amount of cash, you can buy in bulk from wholesalers and get almost instant access to a store full of items.
Going down this route isn’t something that you’ll want to consider if you’re a complete beginner. There are plenty of other routes to explore that require less of a commitment and let you dip your toes in the reselling waters, and learn the nuances of the platform and what works and what doesn’t. It’s also worth noting that you’ll need to do A LOT of research before picking products or suppliers. But still, it’s an option to have in your kit.
I wrote a complete guide to buying vintage wholesale to sell on eBay, detailing all the lessons I learned along the way – and the stuff that I wish I’d known from the offset – when I sourced vintage clothing.
EBAY
Yep, you can buy stuff on eBay and then sell it on via the same platform, pocketing a generous profit. It doesn’t seem to make much sense when you first think about it, but if you know what to look for, you could bag some quality finds.
The key here is having a strategy. You might, for example, want to search for job lots that are available as collection-only in your area, or zone in on listings for auctions with spelling mistakes, which most buyers will miss when they’re browsing the site. Recently, I’ve been using a free app to quickly locate the best deals to resell for a profit.
HIGH STREET STORES
This is what’s known as retail arbitrage. You source stock on the high street, and then sell it on via a different platform at a higher price. This is usually something that’s more popular when selling via Amazon FBA – a platform that I don’t use – but it can also work on eBay.
Last year, I bought some Stars Wars toys in the Argos sale that I 3x my money on, and I’ve currently got my eyes open for the Marks & Spencer clothing sale to hit 90% discounts. This way, you’re buying brand new items with the tags still attached, and that has obvious benefits.
A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT WHERE TO SOURCE ITEMS TO RESELL ON EBAY…
These methods right here and the ones that I’ve personally tried and tested, but they’re by no means the only options when you want to source items to resell on eBay.
I know resellers who successfully use tons of different sources of stock, including:
- Auction houses
- Facebook Marketplace and selling groups
- Gumtree
- Shpock
- Buying unwanted items from friends and family
There’s really no shortage of options, is what I’m saying here. It’s just about doing some experimenting, establishing which ones work for you, and keeping in mind that relying on one source is never going to be wise if you want to build a sustainable income from reselling.
Where do you source items to resell on eBay? Will you be adding any of these to your list this year?
Interesting, thank you. Just wanting to start dipping my toes in to reselling as am a stay at home Mum and this would fit perfectly. Looking forward to reading through your blog more x
Fab! Let me know how you get on 🙂 x