I still have the screenshot on my phone from August 2017. It details a sale that changed my brain chemistry. I had walked into a local charity shop, feeling a bit silly digging through a bin of tangled electronics. I pulled out a vintage Sony Walkman—scratched, dusty, and looking like it belonged in a landfill. I paid $3 for it. Two days later, it sold on eBay for $125.
That profit margin didn’t just pay for my groceries that week; it proved a concept.
Most people look at a shelf of used goods and see junk. A reseller sees margin. Whether you are flipping sneakers, vintage tees, or old electronics, the fundamental skill is arbitrage: finding value where others miss it. And once you see the world this way, you can never turn it off.
What Does "Resell" Actually Mean?
At its simplest level, resell means taking a product and selling it again. But if you type this word into a search engine, you might get confused by the corporate jargon mixed in with the side hustle content.
Here is the distinction. In the tech world, you might hear about a large account reseller. This is a massive company (like CDW or Insight) authorized to sell Microsoft or Adobe software to big corporations. That is not what we are talking about here. Unless you have a few million dollars in capital and a corporate sales team, you are not a large account reseller.
We are talking about the "individual reseller." The flipper. The person who scours garage sales, liquidation pallets, and clearance aisles to find reselling products that are undervalued. It is the most accessible business model in the world because it requires zero product development. The product already exists; you just have to move it to a market where it is wanted.
How to Start Reselling Without Losing Your Shirt
The biggest barrier to entry isn't money; it's knowledge. People think they need to buy a pallet of Amazon returns to start. Please, do not do that.
How to start reselling begins in your own house.
I started by selling things I already owned but didn't use. A pair of boots that pinched my toes. A textbook from a college class I barely passed. This serves two purposes. First, it costs you nothing. Second, it teaches you the mechanics of the platform (eBay, Poshmark, Mercari) without the risk of losing investment capital.
Here is where it gets interesting. Once you sell your own stuff, you have "seed money." My rule for the first six months was strict: I could only buy inventory with money I made from reselling. I didn't touch my paycheck. This forced me to be disciplined. If I made $20, I could buy four $5 items. If I made $0, I couldn't source.
How to Buy and Resell: The Sourcing Strategy
If you want to know how to buy and resell, you have to become a student of value. You need to know what things are worth, not what they cost.
The Thrift Store Grind
This is the classic path. You go to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or local church shops. You scan barcodes with the eBay app. You check sold listings.
We all dream of being that viral story: the reseller finds gold bracelet thrift store for $5 and retires. It happens. I have a friend who found a legitimate 18k gold necklace in a bag of costume jewelry for $4.99. But chasing that lottery ticket is a bad strategy.
The reality of how to resell consistently is finding the bread-and-butter items. The Lululemon leggings for $6 that sell for $35. The TI-84 calculator for $3 at a yard sale that sells for $50. These aren't viral moments, but they pay the bills.
Retail Arbitrage
This involves buying new items from retail stores (Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx) on clearance and selling them online.
My Honest Failure: In 2020, I bought 15 pairs of clearance sneakers from a mesmerizing display at an outlet store. I thought I struck gold. I didn't check the "sell-through rate" (how fast items are selling). I sat on those shoes for 14 months. I eventually broke even, but I tied up $400 for over a year. Opportunity cost is real.
Online Arbitrage
This is buying from one website to sell on another. You might see people hunting for a delta 8 resellers coupon code or deep discounts on vape products to flip locally or on niche sites.
Parenthetical aside: (I generally advise staying away from regulated categories like supplements or hemp derivatives unless you really know the legal landscape. The margins can be high, but the risk of getting banned from platforms is higher. Stick to hoodies and handbags when you are new.)
Identifying the Best Resell Items
Choosing the right resell items is personal. You should sell what you know, or at least what you are willing to learn about.
Clothing and Fashion
This is my main lane. Brands like Patagonia, Carhartt, and Ralph Lauren have massive liquidity. They sell fast.
I use Google Lens constantly. If I see a weird pattern on a dress, I snap a photo. Lens tells me it’s a "Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress." Suddenly, a $8 purchase becomes a $60 sale.
Electronics
Old tech is gold. VCRs, DVD/VHS combos, Walkmans, and vintage cameras. The tricky part is testing. You cannot sell a VCR as "working" if you haven't put a tape in it. I learned this when I sold a pristine-looking DVD player that, it turned out, wouldn't open its tray. The return process ate all my profit.
Hard Goods
This includes mugs, board games, and sporting goods.
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Pro Tip: Look for sealed board games. Even unsealed ones can be profitable if you count the pieces. I once sold a vintage version of the game "Mall Madness" for $120. It took me 20 minutes to count the pieces to ensure it was complete. That's a good hourly rate.
The Logistics: Listing and Shipping
Sourcing is the treasure hunt; listing is the chores.
If you hate data entry, this business will test you. You have to photograph the item, measure it, write a description, and price it.
When I started, I listed only on eBay. Then I realized I was leaving money on the table by not being on Poshmark and Mercari. But listing the same item three times is a nightmare.
I use Closo to automate cross-listing my inventory to other platforms – saves me about 3 hours weekly. It takes my eBay listing and clones it to Poshmark in seconds. This puts my item in front of different audiences without triple the work. It’s the only way to scale without hiring an assistant.
Common Question I See: Is It Scalable?
People always ask me... can this actually replace a job?
Yes, but it changes the nature of the work.
When you resell as a hobby, you pick and choose. When you do it for a living, you are a logistics manager. You need storage units. You need a shipping station with a Rollo printer (a thermal printer that saves on ink). You need inventory systems.
I know sellers who move 5,000 items a month. They don't source at thrift stores anymore; they buy wholesale truckloads. They are essentially running a miniature Amazon warehouse.
Personally, I prefer the middle ground. I keep about 300 items in stock. It brings in a solid side income without taking over my entire house.
Honest Failures: The "Death Pile"
Every reseller has one. A "death pile" is the pile of unlisted inventory that sits in the corner of your room, mocking you.
I have a bin of clothes I bought in 2022 that I still haven't listed. Why? Because they are flawed items I promised myself I would fix. A sweater with a hole I said I'd darn. A leather bag I said I'd condition.
The Lesson: Do not buy projects. Unless you are already a seamstress or a cobbler, you will not fix that item. You will let it sit there until you eventually donate it back. Buy items that are ready to sell.
Navigating the Platforms
Where you resell matters as much as what you resell.
eBay
The king of everything.
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Best for: Electronics, obscure vintage, men's clothing, collectibles.
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Cons: Returns are common, and the interface is complex.
Poshmark
The social queen.
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Best for: Women's fashion, trendy brands (Lululemon, Zara, Anthropologie).
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Cons: High fees (20%), requires social engagement.
Mercari
The digital yard sale.
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Best for: Toys, clearing out household junk, mid-tier clothing.
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Cons: Buyers there are looking for bottom-dollar prices.
Depop
The Gen Z haven.
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Best for: Y2K fashion, streetwear, unique vintage.
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Cons: Trends move incredibly fast.
I sell on all of them. It diversifies my risk. If eBay bans me tomorrow (it happens to good sellers for weird reasons), I still have income from the others.
The Ethics of Reselling
There is always a debate online. "Are resellers gentrifying thrift stores?"
Here is my take, backed by numbers. Goodwill and other charities are drowning in donations. They send millions of pounds of textiles to landfills or overseas crushers every year because they cannot sell them fast enough.
When I buy a shirt, I am saving it from that fate and extending its lifecycle. Plus, I am paying the charity the price they asked for.
However, there is an unwritten code. I don't clear the shelves of essential winter coats in a low-income area during a blizzard. I don't buy the baby formula to flip (that’s actually illegal in many places now, and morally bankrupt). Be a decent human.
Tools of the Trade
You don't need much, but a few tools make reselling products easier.
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Shipping Scale: Don't guess. You will lose money. I use a cheap Accuteck scale.
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Poly Mailers: Buy them in bulk on Amazon or eBay. Do not buy them at the post office; you will pay 10x the price.
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Lighting Kit: I used sunlight for years, but a simple ring light allows me to work at night.
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Scotty Peeler: A little plastic tool for removing price stickers without damaging the box. Essential for board games.
Financial Reality Check
Let's talk about the money.
Gross Sales is a vanity metric. "I sold $10,000 this month!" sounds great. Net Profit is sanity.
If I sell a pair of boots for $100:
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Minus $13 eBay fees.
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Minus $15 shipping (if I offered free shipping).
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Minus $15 Cost of Goods Sold (what I paid).
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Minus $30 for taxes (set aside 30%, trust me).
My actual profit is $27.
You need to sell a lot of boots to quit your job. This is why volume and speed matter. It is also why tracking your numbers is non-negotiable.
Conclusion
To resell is to take control of your income. It is one of the few side hustles where effort directly correlates to reward. There is no boss deciding your raise; the market decides.
It isn't passive income. It is active, sometimes sweaty, sometimes frustrating work. But the feeling of finding that diamond in the rough—whether it’s a metaphorical "gold bracelet" or just a really nice vintage Levi's jacket—never gets old.
If you are ready to start, go to your closet. Find three things you haven't worn in a year. List them. See what happens.
If you want to dive deeper into specific platforms, my guide on Selling on Depop is a great primer for the younger fashion market.
And once you get those first few sales and feel the chaos of managing inventory across different apps, you might want to read about Cross-listing to keep your sanity intact while you scale.
