Believe it or not, re-selling is a hot, new way to earn a supplemental income. People all over the world are using re-selling as a way to generate a side stream of extra money that they can use as disposable income, or even pay the bills in many cases. There are re-sellers out there that cash out each year in the millions of dollars.
Here we are going to break down a few of the best practices if you want to make money re-selling things that you have found at estate sales. What to look for, what to stay away from, and how you can generate some serious coin!
The early bird gets the worm
Getting to a sale early is the best way to scope out what is available see what you have your eye on. Collectors and re-sellers exist in every vertical imaginable from fashion items to video games and old school camera gear. You have the potential to find all of these things at estate sales at any time. If you have not been having luck finding things that fit your online selling persona, you should consider showing up a bit early.
Showing up late is actually another strategy!
On the other side of the same coin, showing up LATE to a sale is another viable strategy. Some of our most infamous buyers are latecomers. The ideology here is that at the end of a sale, sellers are generally trying to move as much product as possible. This is a good opportunity to get your desired items for less than the price tag says.
It doesn’t always work, but it can. It depends on how valuable the item and how badly we need to sell it! Size can factor in for this type of strategy. If you are after larger items like furniture, for example, this can work quite well.
Do your homework
Most, if not all estate sales in the modern environment offer pictures to you along with the listing. You can see some of our upcoming sales right here to see what we mean.
You can use these pictures for two strategies:
Scoping out what is there
The more obvious strategy here is to see what the sale has to see if you are interested in any of the merchandise the sellers deem to be the most attractive. Most of the time these will be the hot items that sell the most quickly. The pictures can also give you an idea of the style of the estate that is up for sale.
You can get a clue into the lifestyle of the person whose belongings are being sold. This can give you a good idea of other things that may be at the sale that were not pictured.
Finding hidden items that weren’t featured
The alternate strategy here is to go to the sale to shop for the items that were NOT featured in the photos.
Oftentimes this is a way you can tell which items have flown under the radar of the sellers. Items that were not pictured might be things that have hidden value that only experienced collectors would appreciate. You could snag a hidden treasure at an incredibly low cost.
Smartphone searches on the fly
The hidden weapon of any good treasure hunter is the good old trusty smartphone. You can use your phone to pull up listings for items that you see for sale at the estate sale. Pulling up sites like eBay, PoshMark, Kixify, and more can help you to discover what items are worth. Often, you will be able to find items that are trading for more than their price at the sale you are shopping. These are what we call “wins.”
Try to keep your searching out of sight when possible. Sellers aren’t big fans of the experienced re-sellers in their midst!
There are plenty of hidden treasures out there
Keeping these few things in mind while you shop will turn any amateur adventurer into an experienced re-selling pro in no time at all. There are tons of things out there that have incredible value to the right collector. Many of them sell incredibly low at sales like this.
