resell

Best Money Tips: Best Thrift Store Goods to Resell

Amy Lu — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 08:30:15 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found articles on the best thrift store goods to resell, strategies to avoid work burnout, and landscaping trends to try this year.

Best Money Tips: 15 Best Thrift Store Items to Resell

Amy Lu — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 10:30:30 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found articles on the best thrift store items to resell for a profit, self-care tactics to get you through the holidays, and tips for traveling alone.

Reselling Antiques: The Five Principles of Power Picking

Kentin Waits — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:00:09 +0000

Picking shows are fast becoming ratings cash-cows for networks like the History Channel, HGTV, and A&E. It seems the next generation of bargain-hunters who cut their teeth thrift-shopping and selling on eBay have moved on to higher-stakes games like cross-country picking trips and buying the entire contents of unclaimed storage units. From Storage Wars to American Pickers, the digs are going deeper, the audience is getting broader, and the ratings are going higher.

But what are the key principles of successful picking? How can newbies get started and how can experienced pickers up their game? After nearly 20 years of buying and selling and with the help of a few great picking colleagues, I’ve boiled down the five principles of power picking:

1. Research

Successful picking is predicated on one fundamental skill: seeing the value of an item that others cannot see. Identifying value and knowing the market potential of an item is all based on a simple (but exhaustive) research. A broad knowledge of many categories of items can increase your odds of stumbling upon a rusty treasure in almost any environment. I scout completed eBay auctions, Craigslist, and high-end auction house records to see what’s hot, what’s selling fast, and what might be hot tomorrow. Any source that can give you a leg up on fashion trends and design trends can help too. Begin to look at magazines and all media as a potential research tools. What are people clamoring for? What’s the gracing the walls of Park Avenue crowd? What are the trendy kids in LA and New York wearing? What vintage sounds are musicians trying to recapture with old instruments?

2. Network with Other Pickers

Picking is a lonely sport — pickers tend to be creative, fast-moving, slightly obsessed, and when we’re “in the zone,” not too social. But on those casual Friday nights, we love to talk about our latest finds, what’s flying off our virtual shelves, and what we think is going to be the next big trend in the business. Many pickers focus on a single spectrum of items like books, vintage concert tee-shirts, bikes and scooters, etc. These folks can be walking catalogues of information that you can sample from to increase your knowledge — get to know them and work to establish a reciprocal relationship of shared tips.

3. Network with Buyers

It’s much easier to buy an item if you know you have a customer waiting in the wings. A wide network of solid buyers can give you the comfort and confidence to purchase more and purchase more often. Work to be a great supplier — be consistent, fairly priced, and able to deliver unique items that other pickers can’t. Buyers are much like sellers; they are intricately connected to one another. Once word gets out that you’ve got the goods, buyers will refer you to other potential customers when there’s something that doesn’t fit with their shop or client-base.

4. Market

Once you’ve found that rare grime-covered bicycle, that piece of vintage Italian pottery, or that antique lunchbox, you need to sell it. Taking an item out of one context (an old dirty barn) and selling it for a 2,000% profit in another context (the stark white walls of a high-end antique shop) is what marketing is all about. Learn to clean items gently (when appropriate), learn the art of digital photography and staging, write compelling and accurate descriptions, and be ready to promptly answer questions and negotiate a bit on price.

5. Get Creative

Picking can be competitive; there are limited venues to source goods from and you’ll begin the see the same faces over and over again at the hot spots. Staying a friendly step ahead of your colleagues will serve you well. Depending on the time you have available, travel off the beaten path to source your items. Be the first customer at that estate sale or yard sale. If you decide to do "cold calls" and approach property owners directly, call first and always respect posted "no trespassing" signs.

Picking isn’t driven solely by cold economic calculations. The best pickers are motivated by the thrill of the hunt and a true love of the items we buy and sell. We consider our work not only commercial, but archival. Rescuing items from the recesses and trash-heaps of the American landscape is our work. Giving them new life and making a buck or two in the process is our livelihood. When we find that little treasure rusting away in some anonymous garage, we save it, we get it into the hands of someone who will restore and appreciate it, we spare it from the landfill, and we preserve a bit of our collective history.

This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Extra Income Online: 5 Websites That Can Seriously Pad Your Pockets

Mikey Rox — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:00:09 +0000

With the national unemployment rate creeping toward 10%, it’s fair to reason that some of us could use extra cash.

Frankly, even if you’ve still got a 9-to-5, more money in the bank is never a bad thing. Instead of taking on a second, or in some cases, third job to elevate your earnings, consider making use of these websites that can take you from rags to debatable riches. (See also: 9 Ways to Earn Extra Cash When Money Is Tight)

Craigslist

Craigslist has long been a freelancer’s dream, and there are always tons of projects listed in every region that are ripe for the picking. But the classifieds site isn’t just for scoping out potential work. Think about the converse, too — placing ads touting your services. For instance, I run a home-based copywriting and creative consulting business on a limited advertising budget. To expose myself to prospective clients who are seeking someone like me, I create posts in relevant sections describing my capabilities. As a result, I receive at least one inquiry a week, many of which have turned into steady work.

Otherwise, Craigslist is a great way to get rid of unwanted-but-still-valuable junk. Whenever my husband and I upgrade any device — like our iPhones — we list the old ones on Craigslist. They’ve sold quickly every time and at the listed price, which is set at what we paid for the new devices. To be honest, there’s a buyer for just about anything you list, so long as the item is desirable and in good-to-great condition. Best of all, you get the full amount of your proposed price (even if you have to negotiate here and there), whereas you’ll have to pay listing and other fees elsewhere.

Airbnb

Let me start by saying that I think Airbnb is one of the best new websites in recent years — and I’m not the only one: the San Francisco-based startup recently received $7.2 million in Series A funding from investors. The concept is so simple, too, that it makes you wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The concept is that if you have extra space in your home, you can turn it into guest quarters for tourists who will pay you to stay there. All you have to do is list your vacant room, add photos, and complete a profile. Airbnb does the rest, including blocking off reserved dates on your calendar to avoid double bookings and holding rental fees in escrow until guests arrive, at which time you can have the funds sent via check or direct deposit.

In the interest of full disclosure, we’ve been listing our guest bedroom on Airbnb since its launch in February 2009. To date, we’ve made more than $19,000 in extra income (that we duly pay taxes on, by the way. Don’t get all hot and bothered, IRS). It’s become such a success for us that my neighbors have hired me to manage their properties on the site, resulting in even more dough in my pocket because I charge them a percentage. Winner-winner, chicken dinner.

Agent Anything

If you have ample space in your schedule (and if you’re unemployed, you do; playing Angry Birds is not your new job, just so ya know), check out Agent Anything, a service that allows any college student (verified by having a current dot edu college email account) to register to run “missions” that can include grocery shopping, pet sitting and walking, house cleaning, etc. As a mission runner, you can set your fee by making an offer on a listed task. If the mission poster thinks your fee is reasonable, you’ll be hired. Agent Anything currently only serves the New York City area, but it promises to expand soon.

RentAFriend

When I saw RentAFriend posted on a friend’s Facebook page, I laughed. "Who rents friends?" I thought. As it turns out, plenty of people want a paid, platonic companion. According to Out of the Storm News (in which I was quoted about my participation on the site), 2,700 lonely folks are seeking play pals. Registering is a breeze and the site allows you to set your fee from $10 to $50 per hour of your time, depending on how much you think you’re worth. My fee is set middle of the road at $30 because I’m not greedy or an egomaniac, though some may beg to differ.

In addition, the renter is required to pay any other fees associated with the outing — bar tab, tickets, whatever. Although I haven’t had any confirmed bookings, I did have one inquiry from a guy who was coming to Manhattan on business and wanted someone to go to dinner and a movie with while he was in town. In the end he didn’t hire me, so I’m still looking forward to my first RentAFriend experience. Which means that you should pass me along.

Amazon.com & eBay

Much like Craigslist, Amazon.com and eBay can help you rid your home of unwanted clutter and get you paid for it. Still, there are differences between the former and the latter. Craigslist is great for selling electronics and furniture locally, while the other two sites are more conducive to shilling CDs, DVDs, books, and other shippable wares.

When my husband and I moved in together, I had rows of media that I no longer wanted. Hours after listing the items, they were flying off my shelves. I’ve been a consistent user of the sites for years now, and in the past 12 months alone I’ve pocketed about $500 in cash. In my opinion, that’s much better than $500 worth of dust collecting paraphernalia hiding around my house. Translated, the moolah I made paid my cell phone bill for six months. Not too shabby.

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This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Buy. Sell. Make a Profit. Thanks Office Depot.

Paul Michael — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:00:03 +0000

I've finally found a store that, regular as clockwork, puts great items on sale. And when I say sale, I don't mean 20% off, or even 50% off. I'm talking about 75%–90% off. The store is Office Depot, and it's a terrific source of resalable items.

Now some people may snub their noses at the idea of buying items on sale and then selling them for a profit. To those people I say, why? That's the entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country great, and the foundation for millions of businesses. So, with that small hurdle out of the way, let me just say that if you're looking for cheap gifts, bargain office supplies, or simply a steal that you can resell and make some extra cash, Office Depot is an oasis even more reliable than Target, Ross or TJ Maxx.

I pop down to my local Office Depot once a week for office supplies, and I never fail to find incredible bargains when I'm there. Recent purchases have included two Olympus Voice Recorders for less than $4 each (they retail at $35), several hole punches for $1.84 (retail price $19.99), combination padlocks for 94 cents ($10 retail) and most recently, a few handheld 3.5" TVs for $19.99 (Amazon has them for over $100 right now).

As these are all brand new, flawless, and still in their boxes, it's no hassle to sell them for a sizable profit. The voice recorders sold for a very nice profit. The TVs will sell for $50 easily, which is $30 profit on each. I'll get $10 for the hole punches, and $5 for the locks. With eBay and Craigslist at my disposal, I don't have to do much to make my sales. I just post the ads, sit back, and wait for a buyer.

I've done this before in the past, but Office Depot continues to surprise me with these huge discounts every single week. And it's not on poor quality goods, these are products that are still retailing for full price, and selling well, in other stores. But, as long as Office Depot continues to do this heavy-handed discounting, I'll be there every week to pick up some bargains and sell them for a little extra cash. And trust me, it can easily add up to a few hundred dollars profit every month.

So, pop down to your local Office Depot when you get the chance, and try your hand at some "buy low, sell high" wheeling and dealing.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: