Everyone has that one category that they enjoy selling,

For us: clothing

It’s what we mostly buy & sell, but for you, it can be anything.

This list should give you an idea of what to start selling online or locally. 

This is a snippet from our
Starter Guide to Reselling…
Access the FREE course HERE

Sell things that people NEED

This is the best place to start since it’s not a frivolous purchase, say like a motorcycle is usually not “necessary”. 

No one really needs one of those, but most people need a car, clothing & home goods.

• Car parts
• Yard equipment
• Ink toner for printers
• Computers
• Cell phones
• Quality baby/kid stuff (avoid junk)
• Furniture
• Clothing

Car parts

This category has a million SUB-NICHES in it.

We will just stick to car parts here but remember this… 

Anything with a motor will need repair, upgrades, & usually have people buying that stuff regularly. Motorcycles, RV’s, & personal vehicles (utv, snowmobiles, etc) are just some of the other markets you could look into when it comes to vehicle parts.

Back to cars…

From parts for super rare Japanese-only release car models to expensive aftermarket add-ons. You can go down a rabbit hole of specialty markets, but let’s just stick to OEM (original manufacture part/spec).

The fun stuff is great, but the basic parts market for replacements is amazing & you capture a way bigger audience. 

You need headlights more than upgraded exhaust systems.

People with money go to the dealership to fix their cars. Normal folk go on eBay, buy the part used, & do it themselves or get someone cheaper to do it.

Best car parts to flip:

• rubber floor mats – cheap usually at stores, easy to ship
• headlights – look for high-end/European vehicles/large truck
• steering wheels – always getting replaced due to sun damage
• original wheels (rims) – some original wheels from stock vehicles are very desirable, people usually get rid of these cheap when upgrading wheels
• OEM in-dash display (radios with screens/navigation/etc) – some of these original units are very expensive, people will even buy them not tested.
• performance / off-road parts – people spend a ton of money on upgrading their vehicles. Lots of specifics to learn in this area.

Think about this the next time you go to the store & see a car part laying around, It may be worth looking up the value of it.

Use the same logic for boat parts, these things are even worse on maintenance than cars.

I once found this old weird water pump from a Volvo boat engine.

It was just an old, heavy, metal thing with holes.

Paid $4 for it, sold it for $150 in a day or so. Never underestimate what you’re looking at! Always look up propellor model numbers when you find them at a thrift store. Some go for hundreds of dollars.

Yard Equipment

Commercial gear is a whole ‘nother topic in & of its self, this is a bit more of a basic overview.

If there is one thing old men love more than a young woman, it’s yard tools. 

These men are an EASY way to make money in the spring & summer. Even broken stuff they will buy, because let’s face it, those guys love to tinker!

I’m serious, stuff that is used for lawn work is one of the fastest-selling items you can list. Whether broken, old, or new someone out there will want it.

I have sold a chainsaw for $400 2 hours after I bought it for $150, multiple lawnmowers the same day & even just basic fertilizer spreaders! 

Now, this stuff is super seasonal, but some will translate into the winter as well. Think saws, spreaders (for ice melt), leaf blowers, & chainsaws.

All of those things are used year-round.

Don’t skip on stuff like batteries for electric lawnmowers. The chargers alone from those things go for $60+ and the batteries go for about the same.

This doesn’t exactly fit here, but it may be in the same store section. Yard decor.

Buy this stuff whenever you find it. Fountains, gnomes, rusty wheelbarrows, rusty carts, etc. Things that people may use to decorate a garden or outdoor space.

Ink for printers

These things can go for great money and sell literally instantly. 

Once I listed these two toners on eBay, within literally 30 seconds, they sold. 

How? People hire assistants & use software to search listings to find stuff that is underpriced. They then buy this stuff to re-sell, or they just drop ship it to a customer that’s lined up already.

The next time you go to a big box office supply store, check out the toner section. The ones for larger printers are REALLY expensive. Offices go through these things often & are always looking for cheaper options.

DO NOT BUY NON-OEM TONER!

With ink you will see two types:

– OEM (genuine by the company) – brother, canon, dell, hp, etc

– 3rd party – non branded toner, typically looks like the brand it’s copying

Only OEM toners are worth your time, the 3rd party ones are not worth the headache unless you can get them super cheap.

Now for these, it doesn’t even have to be commercial office printer toners, small inkjet cartridges sell as well! Out-of-date ones will sell, but I wouldn’t waste my time unless they are more recent or higher-end.

My biggest tip is to learn what each companies branding looked like throughout the years. This will speed up the process, older tones arent worth nearly as much as newer ones.

This is a snippet from our FREE Starter Guide to Reselling, want more? Access that here!

Computers

People always need computers or replacement parts, large market if you are tech-savvy & can fix basic things.

This field is easy to get into, offer people very little money for broken computers & start parting them out. The general public has no idea how to fix basic computer issues, let me tell you, it’s not that hard usually.

Computers are composed of a handful of components, which anyone can figure out in a few hours.

If you’re not into repairing things or parting them out, start buying & selling previous generations of laptops that people are getting rid of due to upgrades. Most desktops are NOT worth your time, but even older laptops can be worth reselling.

For some reason, people still buy really junky, outdated laptops. I have no idea why you would pay $100 for something that is 12 years old, instead of just buying a new laptop for $300 at the store.

It’s not even a cool factor, I’m talking about just really basic junky mid-2000’s computers, people STILL buy them.

Now, for me, I would stick to gaming stuff & Apple products. Forget everything else, those two subcategories of computing will make you enough money. Say what you want about Apple, but their items typically hold value well, unlike their competitors.

The gaming community is a huge one & now we are expanding into more people working from home than ever. You should look up how many keyboards there are on the market that cost over $100, it’s crazy & you need to know how to identify those items.

Know what crappy generic looks like vs a niche specialty company.

Computer parts & technology, in general, are easy because their value can be determined quickly. These things have somewhat set market values online and looking them up can be done in seconds. You will notice most items in tech sell for around the same price as their competitors.

Cell Phones

I HATE selling these things, in fact, I won’t touch them anymore.

I’m suggesting them here because they can be great cash & sell quickly.

Three things to worry about with phones:

1. stolen
2. blacklisted IMEI
3. still on a payment plan

Were not going to dive too deep into this, but these things do carry more risks than the normal product. If you get the IMEI number and try to call the service provider, they won’t help you as they cannot disclose personal amount information.

People often don’t pay off their plan, but still, try to sell their phone. This happened to me once, the phone looked new, but she had a payment plan on it that I didn’t check for. Typically at that point, the only options are for the original owner to pay it off, export the phone overseas, or part it out.

Now sure, you can go to the store with the person and wait to have the phone checked out & cleared, but who has time for that? There are paid apps that can help you determine if phones are clear, but I’ve had mixed results with those.

Look for phones with broken screens, typically the easiest to get for cheap since the person is no longer attached to it!

Again, I’m an Apple fanboy so that’s what I would stick to. 

Baby/kid stuff

As a new baby daddy, the world of kids stuff is profitable in many ways.

Two things here…

1. Avoid MOST kids clothing

2. Look for quality stuff that’s clean

Nothing has been harder for me to sell besides kid clothing. Just never had much luck with it. When you can find things like sports jerseys & Carharrt, pick it up. Also, quality winter jackets sell well.

People give away too much of it and parents know that thrift stores have cheap clothes. Plus kids grow so fast that most parents really don’t buy anything decent the first few years.

When buying anything kid-related, make sure it’s clean and doesn’t sell for $8 at Walmart. Kids’ stuff is cheap & plentiful, but there are plenty of niche high-end brands. Learn those.

This is a snippet from our FREE Starter Guide to Reselling, want more? Access that here!

Some car seats & strollers sell for hundreds of dollars used, others won’t sell at all. If you’re not a parent, go on Amazon and see what the best-selling baby brands are, when you see those in stores, look them up!

I personally avoid the toy section completely & know very little about that niche. It’s not something I’m even remotely interested in pursuing or learning about. Not sure why, I’m a big kid at heart, but toys & games do nothing for me.

Now that’s not to say you should skip the toy section. There is so much money there, just takes a certain type of person!

One thing to note… car seats & safety stuff typically have an expiration date. Be VERY careful selling used kid’s car seats.

Furniture

This is one of the BEST categories to sell because often you can get inventory for FREE.

The amount of furniture I have picked up for free on the side of the road is crazy. Sure some of it required a bit of TLC, but you have nothing better going on & need cash!

Mid-century stuff is really what you’re after. 

Everything else is okay, but anything in this style will usually bring great money. People always need dressers, dinner/coffee tables, & bed frames.

Don’t forget about decor, lamps & artwork is a great way to make even more cash!

Fixing & refurbishing furniture is not rocket science. Painting something white may take you 2 hours, but that item may be worth $150 now instead of $25.

Remember, a bit of marketing & all of a sudden something that is just junk from the side of the street turns into

“Rustic Farmhouse Distressed Kitchen Table” 

If you do get into refurbishing furniture get these three things right away…

1. Respirator (don’t be stupid)
2. Paint sprayer
3. Electric sander

Save time with a paint sprayer

Painting furniture by hand is not how the pros do it. Get a sprayer asap & change the way you work. For just $70 you can get a brand new machine that will work well enough until you have the cash for a nicer one.

I’m serious, these things will change your life.

Instead of taking 1 hour to paint a cabinet by hand, do it in 5 min with a sprayer (literally).

You can spray all sorts of stuff through them from thicker paints to thin oils, just depends on your unit & nozzle.

This is the paint sprayer I had for a while when I was flipping furniture. 

You can read more about it on Amazon!

High-end office brands are something to get familiar with as-well

This stuff is not cheap & people buy it often locally. Office chairs can go for hundreds, so can desks. Don’t forget about monitor mounts, desk accessories, etc.

Clothing

This one is last because it typically is the slowest to sell. 

It’s on the list because it’s SO easy to find & so cheap to buy. Plus it’s easy to store tons of it at home. We base the majority of our course on just clothing, we LOVE it!

Now this category can go two ways… Basic clothing & high end. 

The way we sell: BASIC

There are two types of people out there, people that LOVE clothes & ones that don’t care at all. Selling to the ones that don’t care at all makes our lives a bit easier. No trends to follow, dealing with older folks typically, & it’s just easier to find.

After working in the NYC fashion world, I saw a lot of high-end stuff. My friends would flaunt their thousand-dollar shoes like they were nothing. I didn’t understand it, but to them this world was normal.

Though it’s cool to sell items that are expensive, it comes with WAYYY more risk. 

With my $20 basic brand t-shirt, I don’t have to worry about fakes or getting scammed. With that rare $1000 Supreme t-shirt, you have a much larger chance of those things happening.

Now that’s not to say that you should avoid this market. If you have an “in” & can get the latest releases, you have a great opportunity to make money. This niche of clothing is large, always growing, & has tons of money behind it to support their habits.

Clothing like anything will be seasonal, winter stuff sells better when it’s cold. 

We have sold puffer jackets in the middle of summer, so weird stuff does happen. Selling workwear, hunting, or activewear is a great place to start.

The information above is just a small percentage of things you can sell.

Figuring out what you wanna hustle is up to you, just know pretty much anything can make you money!

This is a snippet from our FREE Starter Guide to Reselling, want more? Access that here!