The ULTIMATE Thrift Store Guide for eBay Resellers (2024)

The other YouTube channels I mention in the video are:

- Thrift School @ThriftSchool (Media)
- Back From Burnout @backfromburnout (Books)
- Thrift a Life @ThriftALife (Clothing)

My favorite reselling tools that I use:

Some of the links above contain affiliate codes, which means I may get a cut if you decide to make a purchase. And Flipwise is an app that I co-founded. Thank you for your support!

[wwz]

A couple things I like finding: vintage books and vintage auto repair guides. Vintage books do not have bar codes. So the typical book buyer misses them. If you know literature, you can find what they miss. Bought a Spensers Mountain, 1st edition, at the bins while three other people ignored it while they scanned other books. Sold for $100. Bought a 1st edition Atlas Shrugged at a church sale, paid $1, sold $300. On auto repair guides, the best are from the manufacturers and the worst are the Haynes and Chilton brands. Just sold a BMW manual, in German, $200. Bought about 30 repair guides at a bag sale for $1. I've sold about $500 from that bag. I even bought a few Chilton/Haynes. At 3 cents each, I'm OK selling those for $10 to $15. While these finds are rare, the vintage book lots are not rare and you can sell a set of 20 for $50 to $60. Just sold 31 pulp fiction PB lot for $72, paid 25 cents each.

[mikeoxbig]

This video is a game-changer for a newbie like me who just stepped into the world of eBay selling a month ago. Your content is a goldmine of authentic and valuable information, and I can't thank you enough for sharing your insights.

Your sincerity and professionalism shine through, making the learning process enjoyable. I appreciate your positivity and the absence of negativity towards different selling approaches. It's refreshing to find such a supportive and informative space.

In the short span of your video, I've gained an incredible amount of knowledge that's immensely beneficial. Consider me a new subscriber, eagerly looking forward to more of your invaluable content.

Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for being a guiding light for us new eBay sellers!

[TheWildwoodPicker]

I have no idea what thrift stores you’re shopping at or where they’re located at, but the Goodwill stores here in NJ and PA are through the roof. I’ve even talked with the Region Manager for my area and he tells me the Goodwill is spending a million dollars a month to BUY merchandise? Buy Merchandise?!?! Since when does the Goodwill buy merchandise? I thought everything was donated to the Goodwill? The Goodwill stores have caught on that there are lots of resellers out there making lots of money from buying at thrift stores. Now they want in on the action too. Then you have Mom and Pop thrfit stores, they're so small if they don't have higher prices they will go under. I don't want to be negative, but I think Flea Markets, Yard Sales, and Estate Sales are going to be the best places to find great items to sell. It's cold here now so there are no yard sales happening in my area. That's the bad part of living in the NE part of the US.

[DuffyHomes]

I walked into a Goodwill and bought 64 pairs of underwear from 1987 to 1992! paid $1 per package. I sell them for $25.00 and I am down to four packages in less than two months.

[PickingVegasandBeyond]

The misc section of the thrift store is a goldmine. I probably find the most valuable items in that section.

[patland]

At the thrift one day I picked up 10 bathroom plumbing items. Turned out they were new and high end, $50 into $2, 100 in two months.

[heatherbrenner]

One of the best finds I got from Goodwill were these little golf trainer things. They were little things that go on the club and measure your swing. Never heard of such a thing before but they had 3 of them for $5 each so I bought them all. Sold then ask for $90 each and it only took about 2 weeks.

[heidihicks]

Man I love your information and fast talking. Super satisfying for my ADHD 😊

[susanb]

I sell vintage and not so vintage handbags and small leather goods. I clean, refresh, and recondition them. I never buy unless I can sell between 3x-5x cost which is a great turnover. They do take a while to sell, and some never leave my house (but that's a whole other issue lol).

[pwcudoi]

I was at a Goodwill store when a cart was rolled out, and there were signs on both sides of it that said "STAND 10 FT AWAY, OR YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE STORE! I witnessed a crappy diaper pulled out of a bin, and the man was NOT wearing gloves! Yard sales are much better, with best prices..IMO

[Rescued_Goodies]

Most resellers' BOLO videos are a waste of time, but this video is very high quality content! Thanks for putting this together. Lots of great info.

[ghssama]

Mugs are definitely a good buy. I’ve been seeing/grabbing a ton of Anthropologie mugs and they’re worth a ton.

[RetiredResell]

I'm a fairly new full time reseller and this is just a great list of products to look for, you nailed it with the VCR DVD combo players, those things sell so quickly! Thanks for the videos!

[heatherbeach]

"Look for underwear, tell 'em Justin sent ya" 😂😂😂😂😂 LOVE IT! LOL

[happycowgirl]

Great video. Big tip: The shampoo tray is very popular for people in wheelchairs. This is how my mom's hairdresser shampoos her hair.

[ellenm]

I found that in general Mondays are the worst days to go.

Weekends are big thrift store shopping days, a lot of stuff has been picked over and Sunday is often closed and they haven't processed anything that's been donated over the weekend yet.

By Tuesday there will usually be new inventory out.

[arbyharwig]

I used to be a driver helper at a thrift store chain doing collections. Like he said electronics may be thrown around in back.... we tossed them in trash bags and heaved them in with eveythibg else. At the end of each day we'd sweep the truck out of all the crap we broke.

[korban]

Thrift stores around here in Texas hard to find either good shape, and price too high. Even finding some garage sales pricing in at ebay prices. Have to keep pushing through and get to know items. And keep going to other sales till find the right one. And the last day doesn’t mean the good stuff is gone either. People miss items.

I got my skill up by going to the hardest place the pawn shop. They should know prices for everything. But often found at least one item. All the searching over and over got me to spot deals easier. Then started other places than pawn shops, and thrift stores and do good at garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets. Even bulk trash can have items along with supplies for your business. If feels like their isn’t anything out there, you still early in what to look for valuable. Don’t be desperate and if I started over I’d get to know one category as can speed your knowledge at the same time be equipt to ship the same type of items. Everything sellers may be the hardest way to go, just expect longer learning periods. Good luck 👍🏾

[irisdown]

The stock in Goodwill depends on the area. I went in one in SC the size of an aircraft hangar. The whole floor was clothing with a tiny section for suitcases, small furniture items and a few golf clubs etc. There was one small wall area for electrical items household and glassware. I saw nothing that was remotely collectible nor resellable .mostly junk..

[fpgaruda]

I agree it’s important to have some knowledge about what has value. One of my favorite things about thrifting is taking some time outside of what I know and just looking closely at the things I’d normally pass off as junk. I end up doing some research and discover history of items. A tip I’ll share is if you found something that’s worth much more than you expected, sell it and take the profit. It’s been 15 years since I last sold items and I had a few things I didn’t post, things have sat packed in a box those years. Recently I thought I’d take some time and start selling again. I found the items to sell that I boxed so long ago. Mostly media items, I have a few Wickerman collectors edition wood box dvd that in 2011 were selling for around $150, now they sell for $20. That’s about what I paid for them back then. I’d say from that 15 year old box, 5% has gone up, 50% stayed stagnant and, 45% decreased in value.