In my previous post, I offer some tips on where you can (re)sell gently used merchandise- anything from clothes to accessories to toys to sporting goods to you name it- to make a few bucks. But selecting the merchandise you sell is of utmost importance if you want to make a profit. It's easy to make money buying things cheaply and selling them for more than you paid, but it's also easy to lose money if you don't choose things carefully.
They always say that drug dealers don't sell the drugs they do. Well, we're not dealing drugs here. And that's really bad advice. If you like something, you tend to be knowledgeable about it. That's why I don't sell sports memorabilia. In the words of unconvincing transvestite Emily Howard, "I am a lady, and I do lady things". I like clothes. And accessories. And shoes. And jewelry. And vintage stuff. I tend to pay attention to these things. I know what is in right now, even if I don't like it. I know what people want, and what they don't want. So, naturally, I buy and sell the things that I, myself, want to buy.
Since I am a lady and I sell lady things, my best advice is on this subject. But, most of these tips can be applied to anything you might want to buy and sell. Just use your imagination and common sense.
First of all, you want to buy things that someone else will want to buy, and that a shop owner will want to sell in their store. Walk around downtown or anywhere that a lot of people congregate and look at what people are wearing. Look at labels. For some reason, people are willing to spend a lot of money for a pair of jeans because of what it says on the backside. I'm not telling you to check out people's bottoms, but be aware of some names. Seven for All Mankind, Coach, Ugg, Hudson, Joe's Jeans, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Kate Spade, Vera Bradley... It's all in the name. It may be helpful to walk through a few high-end shops like Anthropologie or Macy's to look at what designer names are in right now. I do this often, and as a result I know that Moth, silence and noise, kimchi and blue, yellow button and Level 99 are all names I should be looking for when I do my thrift shopping. When you go to a buy-sell-trade shop or consignment boutique, you can also ask what brands are selling the best.
So, you know what you're looking for and you're heading out to your local Goodwill, Savers, or Dig 'N Save. Pay attention to quality of the merchandise. Find a pair of designer jeans that have stains or holes in odd places? Even a designer name on the butt isn't enough to make someone want to buy them. Just today I found a vintage Coach bag at an antique mall for $35. I got all tingly because I felt a profit was to be made. But then I got the shopkeeper to get it out of the display case and not only did it have ink stains all down the back of it, it reeked of cigarette smoke. It wasn't even worth the $35 they were selling it for, in my opinion. A few weeks ago I found what appeared to be a perfect pair of True Religion jeans at Goodwill for $6.99. I snatched them up and took them in to the buy-sell-trade. They passed. It was only then that I realized that the bottom hem in the back was worn about 5 inches up from someone stepping on them all the time. I ended up donating them right back. So, the moral is: Inspect things carefully. I have forgotten to do this many times in the heat of the moment, and I paid dearly. Pun intended.
You also need to watch out for knock-offs. Many upscale consignment boutiques make you sign a waiver stating that the designer items you are consigning are real, and some even require proof of this. Buy-trade-sell stores will take them, but declare them as such when selling them. Some knock-offs are easy to spot, others, not so much. I tend to stay away from designer handbags for this reason.
Once you've found a few things, give them the once-over before you check out. Are there any rips, tears, stains or other imperfections? If you're good with a needle, you may be able to fix small tears, especially on a seam. I do this a lot. I found an awesome Ella Moss dress with the tags still attached and a rip about an inch long on the seam of one of the sleeves. The dress was black, which is pretty forgiving if you are going to attempt to sew. After a few stitches, it was as good as new. Other things are just beyond repair. Leave those alone. Unless you want to repurpose them, which I will get to in a later post.
Once you get your items home, you may need to tweak them a little bit to get them ready to sell. Some things look like they were never worn, others have salt stains or dirt or dust and need to be washed. Of course, you don't want to wash things that shouldn't be washed. You may also want to Febreeze anything that smells like a basement or a bar, and iron things that look like they were wadded up in the back of a closet. A steam presser can be a good investment and your best friend.
The reason why I have put so much emphasis on designer labels is not that I am a fashion victim, but that is what can make you the most profit. My local buy-sell-trade store sells designer jeans for anywhere from $30 to $70. They pay me 35% of that for each pair they buy. So, I'm getting between $10.50 and $24.50 for each pair. If I buy the jeans at Goodwill, I pay $6.99 a pair. So, that can translate to a pretty good profit. On the other hand, a pair of jeans from Gap or Express sell for between $10 and $20. I'm still getting them for $6.99 at Goodwill, but the profit isn't nearly as good. That's not to say that I won't sell things from mall stores if I can get them for a good enough price. My local Dig 'N Save charges a dollar a pound for clothing. If I find them there, I will most definitely snatch them up because I can still eek out a few dollars in profit.
One word of caution: Be careful that your shopping trips don't turn in to shopping sprees. It's easy to want to keep things- I've done it plenty of times. However, this is also a way to feel like a rock star on a limited budget. I once bought a pair of Joe's Jeans at Saver's and wore them out on New Year's Eve, washed them, and then sold them a few days later.
Happy shopping!
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