Does anyone buy things from charity shops cheaply and sell them on eBay?

jadex91

I am thinking of doing this, does it work for making a profit?

Matthew.Glass

It is possible but id recommend doing a lot of research on what sells well and looking into different brands of each type of product that will sell better or for higher profit.
You will need to take travelling expenses and paypal fees etc into consideration when you look at profits.

Lube

Also take into account tax as your buying to sell at a profit

googler

Yes, the woman featured in the Daily Mail yesterday does this.

Oh, and coincidentally enough, she has a book out on the subject.

DKLS

It used to be very good, but most charity shops have wised up on anything possibly valuable.


Main problem is stock, when I was in Antiques I had no problem selling the stuff the hard part was finding stock especially anything new to the market.


So far removed from going to a wholesaler and picking stuff from a shelf.

motorguy

As above really.

Anything valuable is usually sifted out either by the donor or by the charity shop staff.

Then on top of that they'll have "regulars" who'll they'll keep stuff aside for.

Then you'll have people who have little else to do other than be at the right place at the right time.

Then you have ebay and paypal fees.

So there could be an awful lot of hassle for buying something at a tenner and getting £20 less fees for it.

Probably still doable, but much harder than it looks.

patman99

A large number of charity shops do actually check prices against ebay & will list unsold stock & items of value on ebay themselves.

lincroft1710

Why not spend a few days checking out what's in the charity shops in your area, you'll get an idea of what they stock and prices, then do your research and see if it makes economic sense.

BJV

Had not thought of it but good idea!

Mayflower10cat

I did this on an ad hoc basis a few years ago - but I tended to find the best bargains at car boot sales. Also, check out White Elephant stalls at local fetes/fayres. Charity shops I feel, have put their prices up in recent, harder times.

Nebulous2

An acquaintance of mine claims to have made a fair bit of money by doing this while he was a student. Specifically selling golfing clothing / jumpers, especially pringle ones.