How to Sell Clothing From Thrift Stores on eBay
by Tom Graber
Every day someone comes to eBay for the first time and is astonished at the vast
variety of things for sale. It is truly overwhelming the amount of goods being sold on
eBay every day. Supporting the massive amount of items listed is an even more massive
number of buyers out there looking for stuff to buy. These buyers all are looking for a
bargain but at the same time when they do find something that interests them, they will up
their bid to win it. That is the brilliance of an auction rather than a straight sale.
Competition. It is what drives prices up on eBay.
There are many people who wish to take part in this whole process but have no idea
where to start. What to sell on eBay is the first question everyone asks themselves when
they first want to learn how to sell on eBay. You want a product that is in demand, is
easy to find and is in constant supply and has no minimum order. There are many shady
wholesale and drop ship list sellers who will just leave you more frustrated and broke
than with sales and profits. You only need to look as close as your local thrift store.
Thrift stores are filled with name brands that people are actively seeking to buy. They
have thousands and thousands of potential items to stock your eBay business. The trick is
to know what is in demand and will sell. This is done by research and study. By studying
closed auctions, you will get very familiar with what sells and what doesn't. Department
store and chain store clothing is a dime a dozen and not worth buying to sell. Other
designer labels and brands are better to look for. the key is to look at enough auctions
that you know a particular category very well.
Lets take jeans for example, they are a favorite among eBay buyers. The trick is to
know what will sell and what won't. As you research, you must take notes on everything you
study. I suggest you use a notebook and start a new category every few pages to give you
room to take plenty of notes. As you go on you will notice a pattern of certain brands
selling for a premium price and others not selling at all.
This does take some time but is well worth it. You don't want to just go out there and
start buying every big name brand you find. There are other factors that will determine
if something will sell. Age, condition, style and material are all factors of importance.
But soon, you will see these patterns and start to be able to find these good pieces on
the racks at your local thrift stores.
The best way to know what to look for is by getting familiar with just a few categories
at a time. Get to know winter apparel because it will be in high demand in the fall and
can sell for quite a bit of money. A North Face jacket will sell for far more than a pair
of shorts. Get to know several areas like sweaters, jeans and shirts for example. As you
go into the thrift stores, you will be knowledgeable in more and more categories and be
able to find more and more items that will sell at a nice profit.
As you know more and more categories, you can expand your scope and look different
sections of the store for the opposite sex. Take sweaters. Once you know womens sweaters
and what to look for and what to stay away from, you can do the same for mens sweaters as
well. It is surprising what some people will pay for used sweaters. It is very possible to
buy a sweater for $2 and sell it for $75-$100. The key is knowing what to look for and if
you study womens sweaters, you might as study mens as well. And what about childrens
sweaters? Children grow so fast that parents are constantly buying new clothes for them.
As you can see there is a huge potential from learning eBay by selling used clothing.
It is a great way to learn to sell because the prices are so low at thrift stores and
there is a ready market out there waiting for you to list their favorite brand name
clothes or collectible item.
Tom Graber is the author of Thrift Store Profits, a book about how to sell thrift store
clothes on eBay. You can get a free report which reveals which brand names are in demand
on eBay at his website which is
Thrift Store Profits
|