If you’re thinking about starting a reselling business on eBay, then it’s likely that you’re about to find yourself spending a whole load of time scouring through the rails in your local charity shops. There’s plenty of them on pretty much every high street throughout the UK, and there’s loads of potential for picking up items for a couple of quid, and then selling them for a big profit online.
But it’s not as simple as just strolling into your local branch and walking out five minutes later with enough stuff to see you living a life of luxury for the next month. Some are too pricy. Some are packed to the rafters with nothing but tat. Some will leave you feeling like this just isn’t going to work after all.
So if you’re serious about finding the best charity shop bargains to sell on eBay, you need to have a bit of a strategy behind you. Here are the tips I use to make sure that I pick up plenty of quality stock each and every week…
1. DON’T WRITE OFF THE EXPENSIVE CHARITY SHOPS
I made this mistake pretty early on in my reselling business. If a shop seemed to be overpriced, I just overlooked it altogether. When I decided to venture back in though, I was quite often pleasantly surprised. Sometimes there’ll be sales on. Sometimes high value items slip through the pricing net and can be picked up for bargain prices. Sometimes you realise that you just didn’t dig about enough.
I also quickly learned that even if a certain rack is full of high priced items, it really doesn’t mean that’s going to be the case right across the board.
In one of my local shops, for example, the dresses are usually priced upwards of a tenner, even for high street brands – but tucked away at the back of the store are skirts that are all usually just a few quid each. Pricing policies can vary massively even in the same shop, so don’t be scared to have a good old rummage around. Just like we, as resellers, can’t possibly know the value of everything, neither can pricing teams behind the scenes in high street charity shops.
2. VISIT AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY
Sometimes when I visit my favourite 99p charity shop, it’s clear that they’ve just refilled the shelves. I’ve managed to find brands like Boden, Laura Ashley, and Joe Browns, all for less than a quid. Other times when I’ve visited though, I’ve come across nothing more exciting than a bobbled old jumpers sporting dubious stains.
The good stuff sells like hotcakes, so what you find is often just down to whether you’ve strolled into the shop at the right time. Luckily, you can sometimes use this to your advantage. Some shops will restock on the same days and at the same times each week, so if you can, try popping in randomly rather than always sourcing on a Saturday morning, for example. When you get this right, you start to see a totally different side to your local charity shops!
3. WHEN YOU STRUGGLE TO FIND STOCK, TURN IT INTO A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY
It’s just not realistic to expect to find all the reseller favourites every single time you go sourcing. That doesn’t mean though that there isn’t a load of profit in the items that you haven’t even heard of before. I mainly sell women’s clothing, and I’ve now got a good knowledge of the brands to look out for. But you can’t expect to know about every single item you ever come across. This is why it’s important to create your own criteria around what to buy to resell, without just having to rely on favourite brands.
If I’m having a slow day with my charity shop finds, I’ll try to get a bit more creative. I’ll look out for labels that look interesting, or items that just stand out or feel like they’re great quality, and I’ll check the completed and sold listings on the eBay app. This way, you’re continuously building your knowledge, and also making it much more likely that your future charity shop trips will be fruitful.
Just a few weeks ago, I noticed a brand that I’d never heard of. It felt like a quality item, so I did a quick search and discovered that it’d sell for around £40. I paid £3 for it, and it sold the very next day. A decent profit, and also another thing to add to my ‘look out for’ list. There are amazing finds all over the place, if you take the time to educate yourself on what they might be.
4. CREATE YOUR OWN CHARITY TRAIL TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME
If you’re hoping to find dozens of charity shop bargains all in one shop, you’re probably going to be disappointed. You’ll find that even your favourite places can be really hit and miss, so the best way to increase your chances of a good haul is to make good use of your time.
I’ve created my own little route in my local area that means that I can hit three different towns in a day, and visit about 25 different charity shops. I’ve literally never done that route and come home empty handed.
5. BE PERSISTENT
Really, what it all comes down to, is this. You’ll have days where you find nothing worth buying. You’ll have WEEKS even, when you feel like throwing in the towel. Sometimes, you’ll convince yourself that the charity shops are conspiring against you and your eBay days are over. It’s all just part of the five stages of building a successful reselling business.
But if you’re persistent, and you’re willing to build your knowledge and put in the footwork, you’ll find plenty of quality stock along the way. Selling on eBay isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but it can be a genuine opportunity to build a business – and that always takes times, and always has bumps in the road.
Because I implement all the advice that I’ve just shared here, and also because I’m out hitting the charity shops on a regular basis, the good days definitely outweigh the bad. There’s more than enough profitable tat out there, just waiting for you to find it. (And of course, there are plenty of other places where you can source items to resell).
Are charity shops part of your sourcing strategy for reselling on eBay? Do you have any extra tips that you’d add to the list?
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