Does anyone make extra income from selling on finds in charity shops/boot sales?

gemini12

My only contribution to this is to say I have found that different things sell at different car boot sales. It is worth finding out what sells where probably by trial and error and then sticking with the place you can sell what you have.

Hoody

familyguy12 wrote: »

Yeah from what I've read it seems the charity shops use Ebay as a guide these days to price their items to stop people 'shortchanging' them so to speak.

Not only this, but the larger charities also have their own ebay shops. So that all of the decent stuff goes to a central warehouse and ebayed and the shops are left with the dross that is left. Added to this the prices of charity shops around here have increased significantly lately. Just a few weeks ago i saw one trying to sell some primark clothes for more than primark sells them for when new...

Charityworker

Years ago I made loads from doing this. Every day going round the charity shops, spending all afternoon listing stuff on ebay and then packaging parcels all afternoon. My best finds were a really detailed diary of someone living in London during the war which I bought for 50p and sold for £77, a first edition Casino Royale James Bond Book for 10p which I sold for £3700. Now I work full time but I still occasionally scour the charity shops on my day off and I'm also now a manager of a charity shop. Theres not so many pickings to have now because of programmes like cash in the attic. People now have a better idea of what to look for.

sambamamba

Charityworker wrote: »

a really detailed diary of someone living in London during the war which I bought for 50p and sold for £77, a first edition Casino Royale James Bond Book for 10p which I sold for £3700.

:T well I know what I'll be looking out for now :beer:

soolin

Just remember to register with HMRC and not wait to get a nasty surprise, but yes, buying and reselling 2nd hand items can make money.

TamiBolton

It definitely works but it is a commitment. I used to sell books on Amazon by the hundreds. Even if you sell a book for 1p the postage the customer pays make you a bit of profit. the trick is to open it up for international audiences which you have to pay a fee for but it is worthwhile. you can make a tidy profit off some books if you know what to look out for. The more obscure the better. I have made £40 off a book at times but inventory is a pain if you end up with (once) popular books that nobody wants or is in huge supply.

Great little earner if you have the space and patience. After a while you get to know which books do well. Also you can always use a smart phone and check it on amazon with an iban number. If very few people are selling it, the price goes up. Never discriminate though, some of the books you think would never sell do and sell for the most amount of cash.

emmaglet

I find that the way charity shops price things it is very rarely worth it from them, but I do okay from bootsales.

Every month I start with a £50 float and I just try and buy what I can. Some items I know will sell well because I've sold my own of whatever it was for a bit, and other times I just use the app on my smartphone.

I'm going to be blogging about this, so I really don't see any problem with sharing what I buy and sell on this thread - might help someone!

Computer games - I've got a gamer boyfriend who helps, but there's a few very rare games around. I bought some old Windows 98 games for £1 each at a charity shop - brand new in the box, individually they were selling for £40 EACH on eBay. I've also picked up Sims 3 or expansion packs for £1.50 which have gone on to sell for £15+.

Before the postage changes I did quite well with clothes - 20p or 50p from a bootsale and they would sell for anything from £6+. Not masses of profit, but decent. I generally look out for anything with tags still on and plus size (18+) clothes even from places like Primark (size 20 Primark dresses have sold well for me). Another great find was a charity shop having a 'fill a bag for £5' day. I managed to grab about 6 bags and made a fortune on the vintage dresses in there, as well as plus size dresses. I added international bidding to my auctions and they skyrocketed.

Wallpaper - bit of a weird one but I've somehow managed to do well with wallpaper. My recent find is some Laura Ashley wallpaper.

Warhammer models - again, something I mostly leave to my boyfriend.

Lego - most people such as families know it's worth, but sometimes you find a house clearance guy selling bags cheaply. I often snap them up for a discount - I spent £10 on some Lego that sold on Facebook for £35.

Make up and cosmetics - the decent stuff like MAC, Philosophy, Benefit, Lush, Nails Inc and OPI.

Shoes - Irregular Choice!

Another great find was a bag full of Sizzix die cuts for card making at a bootsale. I asked if they'd sell the whole bag to me, they said yes, for £3. I paid before they could realise anything. The items in the page were all new and priced between £200-£300 individually!

Ink cartridges new for 50p. They've always sold well for me.

Badge it makers - I pick them up for anything from 50p-£2 and make around £10-£15 on them.

Old tables or shelves to shabby chic up.

I try to stick with things I know. Having a smart phone definitely helps though, as I can look whilst we're out and about. That's all the things I can think of for now, but I'm sure there's more.

Also be sure to keep records for HMRC. I believe you can claim relief on your entry fees and mileage to bootsales, so bear that in mind. Feel free to PM me (OP or anyone else) if you'd like more information.

JimmyTheWig

familyguy12 wrote: »

Yes thanks, I'm trying to consider what might be the best niche market for me, cheers.

I think it's a case of going for what you know.
If there were markets out there where a novice could make easy money, everyone would be doing it.
If you go for a market that you know about then (a) you will have a better idea already of something's value, (b) you will be interested in it and more likely to remember the important details and (c) if you like it then the chances are other people will like it.

MKeynesMoneySaver

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are selling limits on new accounts so your sales may be limited to start with.

If you are paying to list you have to be certain to sell because the listing fees can soon add up. Otherwise list at 99p (100 items per month) or on free listing weekends.

A friend of mine makes money on the side buying from car boots/charity shops and selling on, but she has a niche which she sticks to.

I've been selling anything that isn't nailed down on eBay the last couple of years. I started selling magazines which I had read for 99p, and got a few sales off that, asked friends and family for any old magazines and have made a small amount out of that. A couple of magazines even sold for £8.50. Not amazing but better than recycling.

My advice would be to start with a small float, say £20, buy items which you feel will make money taking into account fees and postage costs. Getting down early would also be advisable as there seems to be a few people in 'your line of work'

Good luck

soolin

MKeynesMoneySaver wrote: »

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are selling limits on new accounts so your sales may be limited to start with.

If you are paying to list you have to be certain to sell because the listing fees can soon add up. Otherwise list at 99p (100 items per month) or on free listing weekends.

A friend of mine makes money on the side buying from car boots/charity shops and selling on, but she has a niche which she sticks to.

I've been selling anything that isn't nailed down on eBay the last couple of years. I started selling magazines which I had read for 99p, and got a few sales off that, asked friends and family for any old magazines and have made a small amount out of that. A couple of magazines even sold for £8.50. Not amazing but better than recycling.

My advice would be to start with a small float, say £20, buy items which you feel will make money taking into account fees and postage costs. Getting down early would also be advisable as there seems to be a few people in 'your line of work'

Good luck

If properly registered as a business on eBay there are no free listings so you need to build in listing costs as well when working out if it is worth it.