How to make money buying and upselling cheap items

Looking for your next money-making project? Buying things from cheap high-street shops and reselling them online is a surprisingly effective way to make some quick cash.

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There's no denying you can pick up a bargain at a charity shop or car boot sale. And it's actually possible to make money from your eye for great deals.

Buying items for a low price and selling them on eBay for a profit can be a good way to make money, and we're here to show you how to do it. You just need to choose your items carefully and know how to work the eBay selling game like a pro.

Here are some upselling tips to get you started.

Best things to buy and sell for profit

While there are no limits to what you can buy and resell for money, here are some of the best items:

• Books – Selling old books can be a real money maker, especially if you can find rare or old ones. Check out our guide on how to sell old textbooks to maximise your profits.
• Branded clothes – Charity shops and car boot sales can be a goldmine for branded clothing, and our guide to reselling your clothes can help you.
• Furniture – You can usually find cheap furniture to resell on sites like Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. If you upcycle them to add value, you can make a nice profit.
• Limited edition items – As you can probably already guess, limited edition items can be quite rare, which drives up the price. Especially if they're no longer available in stores, prices on eBay will soar.
• Toys and board games – Old toys and board games can be a real winner online. Just have a look at these valuable toys from your childhood.
• Trading cards and comics – If you can find the right buyer, you can make quite a bit of cash reselling trading cards and comics. You do have to know what you're looking for though, as some may be worthless. Check out this student who sold some Pokemon cards for 10x the price she originally paid.
• Video games and consoles – Similar to toys, video games and game consoles can go for a lot of money online, especially if they're rare.

Is it legal to buy and resell items?

It's generally legal to resell items you've bought on the high street. Once it's yours, it's yours, and you can do what you want with it!

But be honest about the fact it's second-hand, and list any damage or faults with the item. And if you start making enough money, you'll have to pay tax. Check out our simple guide to tax facts and make sure you know how to submit a self-assessment tax return.

Is it ethical to resell items from charity shops?

There has been some debate online about whether it's ethical to resell items from a charity shop for a profit. By doing this, are you harming the charity shops?

While everybody has their own opinion about this topic, it's important to keep in mind that charity shops set their own prices. Staff are trained to value items, and if something appears to be particularly valuable, they can decide to put it up for auction (or list it on their eBay stores, like the British Heart Foundation).

Whether you're buying something from a charity shop to use at home or to resell, it doesn't change the profits for the charity shop. Once you buy it, it's yours to use however you like. Plus, buying from a charity shop encourages stock rotation. This way, more new items get to be on the shop floor and charity shops can avoid having to dispose of items that aren't selling (which can cost them money).

On top of that, reselling items isn't an easy task. Looking for the right items, adding value by fixing/cleaning them up, taking photos, listing them on eBay, packaging, shipping and dealing with customers takes a lot of effort. So, there's definitely an argument that you're entitled to some profit.

How to start buying and reselling items online

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Here are some easy steps on how to start reselling:

1. Choose what to buy

   Bog standard items aren't going to fetch much interest online, so keep an eye out for the more unusual items.

   Topical, trending, limited or niche products will generally bring in the most cash. For example, Disney-themed items will often sell well online, particularly if the products coincide with the release of a new feature.

   Do some quick price comparisons as well. Just because it has a £1 price tag, it doesn't mean it's a bargain. You might be able to get some items cheaper elsewhere.

2. Check the market value

   When you come across an item in a charity shop or at a car boot sale that you've sniffed out as a potential money-maker, look it up on eBay.

   On the eBay app, you can scan the barcode with the camera on your phone and it will automatically show you listings of the same item (you can do this by tapping the little camera icon in the search bar). A lot of items at charity shops won't have a barcode, so you can also type in the name of the item instead.

   Doing this will show you how much competition there is for the item and you'll also indicate how much it will sell for on eBay. If loads of sellers are listing it at low prices, this is a sign the item isn't worth your time.

   If you turn on the "sold items" filter, you'll be able to see if the item has been bought recently and for what price. If nobody has bought it in months, it may not be worth your time. Check out our eBay buying guide for more tricks!

3. List the item online

   All that's left now is to part with your pounds and head home to list your items on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

   If you find an item that seems to be particularly valuable, there's no harm in scooping up a few to sell on if you can find them. But don't go overboard – you could end up with a box full of Disney pencil cases that nobody wants if you can't sell them quickly enough.

   For the key things to know about selling your items, read our guides to selling on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

How much money can you make from reselling?

We've heard of people making anything from £100 to £2,000 a month by reselling stuff online. But, this won't be the case for everyone. It can take a while to find your niche in the market and for the money to come rolling in.

There is a risk that you'll lose money if you buy something you're unable to resell. Do lots of research and think carefully before buying anything.

Be prepared for a bit of trial and error at first. Some items might make a small loss or only break even, while others could make you some serious cash.

If you've got any of these valuable childhood toys in the attic you could be sitting on a small fortune.