Reselling/Auctions

I have been doing a side business of buying from auctions (mostly online and liquidation type) and reselling. Would people be interested in learning about this?

 

So as an introduction.

Today, I just sold this dollhouse for $120. I bought it for $56.

 

The entire point of reselling is to exploit a mismatch of information between buyers and sellers, while also acting as a warehouse and assuming risk in the event that the item isn't as described or has some other defect that was not known at time of purchase.

If you are going to do this, be sure that you understand that your house may be filled with useless things or that you just don't make money. It can take awhile to find what sells and where to sell in in your area, as well as minimizing risk to yourself.

In general, I find consumables (paper, batteries) to be quite good. Children's items (like the dollhouse) also tend to do pretty well. I live in a relatively rural area though, so it's possible other things move better in a more urban area (at the very least things would move faster).

 

Some general things to be aware of:

1. Different things sell faster on different platforms (for example, kid's stuff tends to sell faster on local FB Marketplaces, but electronics seem to move faster on eBay)
2. Different things sell for more on different platforms (local people don't tend to care as much "New In Box" and won't pay a premium for it but open boxed/mint stuff will go for more on eBay)
3. Some things literally won't sell locally but will sell on eBay (for example, old computer parts like RAM and video cards are regularly purchased on eBay, assuming they are functional, but is basically garbage on local trade/sell boards)
4. Price check everywhere - eBay, Craigslist, FB groups, OfferUp, etc.
5. On eBay in particular, there is a useful feature that lets you filter only sold items (be sure to check the sold dates)
6. Craigslist and FB tends to be where people want deals and will haggle. eBay tends to be closer to list prices but people also expect the quality to be higher.
7. Don't use Amazon for pricing - people who are willing to buy "full price" on Amazon won't buy it from you for the same amount
8. Be careful with Amazon - many branded items are restricted or have copyright hawks watching and you can get suspended if you didn't get prior permission to sell (even if you did Amazon might not care unless you have an invoice from the manufacturer/distributor)
9. Heavy items cost a lot to ship - the dollhouse in the above example would cost more than what it costed me to buy to ship, thus all the listings sold at $140ish with free shipping would be not making any money at all if I had sold it there
10. Don't forget to factor in fees (both on the auction house side as well as the selling platform side)
11. You need a car (living near the auction places also helps)