Yes, I used Kate Upton as clickbait, but it's actually relevant.
I don't thrift much these days since I prioritize recycling for profit, but I still do occasionally when in the mood or passing by a few stores.
To show people how there's overlooked value sitting in thrift stores, which I used to make a killing off of before crypto, here are 8 examples that caught my eye when looking through my picture files.
Note: I may have posted on ~2 of these over the last two years, but it was a long time ago, so forgive me...
Buy Low-Sell High Thrift Store Flips:
3 sealed Sports Illustrated swimsuit DVDs bought for $2.18 each, sold for $99, $98, and $95.
3 sealed Sports Illustrated swimsuit DVDs bought for $2.18 each, sold for $45, $45, and $42.
Doing the math on the 6 DVD units above, that's $13.08 spent for $424. Layup.
Culinary software bought for $1.08, sold for $200.
Wilson tennis racquet bought for $13.61, sold for $140.
Another Wilson tennis racquet bought for $3.28, sold for $95.
New discontinued Lego set bought for $3.27, sold for $84.
Sony microcassette player bought for $3.26, sold for $64.50.
SnowShark mono-ski bought for $27.21, sold for $435. You learn something new every day...
Revenue is before fees and shipping.
Tip: Certain tennis racquets and Sony microcassette recorders are good niches.
Morale of the story: if you're not happy with your income, or having a hard time making ends meet, thrift stores are a good way to supplement. Effort = results.
Heck, even a few thrifting flips can be swapped for crypto as an investment.
I hope this gave you some ideas and inspiration. Ask any questions below.
Thanks for your interest and support,
@steemmatt
damn!!! 2$ to 95$?!!!!!! I am speechless! :O
you really can make good money doing this huh!
$2 to $99, $98 and $99 on those DVDs. I found 3 of them. $1 into $200 on the software too. Spent $9 today at a thrift store on two items that will sell for a combined $210. It's easy when you have a sharp eye and know what to look for in my city.
Damn son!!! good for you bud. :)
Amazing as usual. So much to learn from you! Do you usually know your stuff or you did the research when you saw the item? (I do the latter)
Btw did you also see my tag? Haha
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It didn't show up in my Ginabot alerts for some reason. Maybe you added the tag after the post was already launched. I'll give it a listen when I have a few mins to focus. I often know stuff by memory/experience, but quickly look stuff up in seconds online to see what it's selling for (not what people are asking for in their listings). Thanks for reading my post.
Ah I did tag you after I guess it doesn’t work later.
Ooh is seconds online a website? I usually look it up on eBay haha
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I look it up on eBay within a few seconds under the recently sold items tab. If I can't find enough info, I'll dig deeper on the web until I can some type of sales history.
I pretty much do the same!
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That Belville Lego set is a cracking find. 2001 release and still sealed? Well done.
Seems like you have “the eye” too. I actually have a second one of these still that’s sealed but the box has some shelf wear. Given your name, are you a Lego fan? I’ve flipped some crazy Legos in my day, both from thrift stores and my curb recycling. One was $10 cost, sold for $500+.
I am indeed a Lego fan, and also sell a bit online. It's pretty rare to find any Lego in thrift stores and the like around here, especially still sealed.
Over the years I've had my share of success from thrift shop flips, though not to your level by the sound of it.
Welcome to the club. They're not super common, but some stores will have them and price them like general toys without any research. If they're open, I usually don't buy them unless they're an expensive kit I can part out. For example, I recently bought Mindstorm #8527 for $10 and confirmed all parts are there except 4 tiny pieces. I also just found this one sealed on Thursday:
My best one was a large sealed Harry Potter set for $10 that sold for about $530.
😱😱
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I’ll keep an eye out for Wilson racquets at my op shop too.. hehe.
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100$ for a DVD? America the land of opportunity or like P.T. Barnum might have said: A sucker is born every minute.
Coming back to the main idea. Yes your flips are very good example on how to make good profit if you put some work in it. A lot of people put so much energy in complaining without thinking about actual work.
Thanks for sharing.
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Sports Illustrated Swimsuit stuff can be a cult following. Since all 6 were sealed new, it turns into a celeb collectible, versus just media. Thanks for appreciating the message here. I post on this stuff and my recycling sales often enough, so feel free to check back.
I was analysing it from my point of view and you are right, value is done by the market.
I will drop more often. 😀
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Nice work...With the flipping and the clickbaiting. Kudos. 😬
eBay is where you flipped them?
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Usually. I do sell on Craigslist for certain larger items or where I want a cash and carry deal with no shipping damage/return risk. Cash is often a little less revenue for the larger/heavier things, but it washes out with saved shipping and fees.
Ah ok, I don't think we have that here (Craig's) on Australia. We have gumtree though...Same sort of thing I guess.
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Where are you listing these? Obviously you cover shipping as noted at the end. Just curious. Congrats and thanks for sharing!!
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Mostly eBay. Cash is Craigslist.
So good man!
Just to let everyone know... it's the @steemmatt tag that's the click-bait, not no supermodel.
Well that's the comment of the week. Clever as ever.
Wow this is pretty cool! What's the average time for selling an item after you pick it up from the thrift store?
It really depends on the item. Some things can literally sell in 30 minutes of listing them, most usually 4-14 days, the slower ones a month, and the stragglers can take a year if it's a premium item, but not much demand (or I want a high price).
@swayzilla this is the dude I was talking about! Wild lol
Awesome sales man. With bitcoin so hot I flipped most of my litecoin into bitcoin, hoping to sell a bit when it’s reached its peak and then buy back later when it comes down.
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I want to know where he's selling these items for a profit and what he uses to conduct market research before buying possible junk at a thrift store lol. Might have to look into this.
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I think we're all assuming eBay but he may not want to divulge his sources and lower his profits!
Per my other comment here...
"I've been doing this for years, so I have experience. I also look each item up on eBay before I buy them. I filters the search to see what they recently sold for to get an idea of market price, or since I see a lot of the same things, know by memory/rough range. If something is scarce, I make up my own price and force the buyers to spend to get it."
I also sell stuff I find for free on the curbs in my city's recycling (I mainly do that these days). I did drop by 2 thrift stores on the way home from baseball practice today and found a used tennis racquet for $6 that regularly sells between $140-$200, and a sealed Lego set for $3 that sells for $65-$70. I was familiar with the Lego set and recognized the tennis racquet's value by eye since it was a good brand and oversized head. I then confirmed on eBay's recently sold search and made the buy with confidence. It's a simple process once you develop the eye and know how to spot the value in stores when most is junk.
The tennis rackets you find are in MUCH better condition than the ones I usually see. :-)
Well there usually are a bunch of lousy beat up ones, but I grab the gems when I see them. I bought one for $6 today that sells for $140-$200 used!
I've been teaching myself the golf club category and I'm finding the same thing there: Most of them are beat to hell and back. :-)
Some clubs are sneaky expensive so that's a good niche. I've found some gems before in stores and on the curbs. The only catch is that shipping can be a little expensive. All it takes is one good putter or driver and the digging through the crap is worth it.
Sounds real good but how did you know that these items were valuable to even begin with??
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I've been doing this for years, so I have experience. I also look each item up on eBay before I buy them. I filters the search to see what they recently sold for to get an idea of market price, or since I see a lot of the same things, know by memory/rough range. If something is scarce, I make up my own price and force the buyers to spend to get it.