New to all this, help appreciated.

Steve1871

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I’m completely new to reselling online but have always been fascinated by these people who to me seem like complete wizards which have the ability to buy something then either resell for a profit or dropship without even touching the products themselves. Can anyone who’s done these sorts of things give me some advice on where to start.
 

Jon

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I’m completely new to reselling online but have always been fascinated by these people who to me seem like complete wizards which have the ability to buy something then either resell for a profit or dropship without even touching the products themselves. Can anyone who’s done these sorts of things give me some advice on where to start.
The advice from people like @Dick Barton and co seem to be to go for items that are in an area of expertise for you so you at least know the value of the item when obtaining it.

I’m not sure there’s much value in dropshipping these days but I could be wrong!
 
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Dick Barton

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I’m completely new to reselling online but have always been fascinated by these people who to me seem like complete wizards which have the ability to buy something then either resell for a profit or dropship without even touching the products themselves. Can anyone who’s done these sorts of things give me some advice on where to start.
Hi there
My first piece of advice is, whatever you decide to sell, in the beginning, don't pay more than £3 for it. That way you can't loose much. My second piece of advice is buy what YOU like. The chances are someone else will also like it and offer you more money for it. Can you tell us what your interests are? I might be able to help you further.
 
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emcherry

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I’d say start selling items you already own but don’t want - good way to gauge how much you like the process of reselling. Another thing to remember is keywords. People search for “retro” as much, if not more, than they do “vintage”, if you’re selling something old. Don’t forget to list brand names in the title either as this is all some people search for.
 
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Steve1871

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Hi there
My first piece of advice is, whatever you decide to sell, in the beginning, don't pay more than £3 for it. That way you can't loose much. My second piece of advice is buy what YOU like. The chances are someone else will also like it and offer you more money for it. Can you tell us what your interests are? I might be able to help you further.


Hi, thanks for the reply it’s really kind of you to help. I’m really interested in homely type things like ornaments or artsy crafty things, stuff from Etsy. I also am massively into tech but I’m not sure I would make very much money from reselling that as their sort of fixed in price unless I can get them much cheaper so that’s probably off the menu. I’m not sure if I’ve helped you at all, if you would like me to go into more detail or want more info I’m happy to give you it and really appreciate the help
 

Steve1871

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I’d say start selling items you already own but don’t want - good way to gauge how much you like the process of reselling. Another thing to remember is keywords. People search for “retro” as much, if not more, than they do “vintage”, if you’re selling something old. Don’t forget to list brand names in the title either as this is all some people search for.


Hi, thank you so much for the advice is massively appreciated, are you into resale yourself? If so what sort of things do you do/sell? Just looking to get as much info as possible as find the idea of working for yourself in resale amazing, after years of being in the army and then working at call centres things like this tend to start calling to you
 
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emcherry

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Hi, thank you so much for the advice is massively appreciated, are you into resale yourself? If so what sort of things do you do/sell? Just looking to get as much info as possible as find the idea of working for yourself in resale amazing, after years of being in the army and then working at call centres things like this tend to start calling to you

Yeah, I resell. I do a bit of everything, really. I’ve sold (and will continue to sell again when Black Friday and Cyber Monday are finished) vintage 70s / 80s / 90s / early 00’s clothing, vintage sportswear and vintage / rare Playboy items on Depop.

Then for eBay I sell old / rare records, vintage toys & books and a lot of Pixar/Disney/Pokemon items. Sometimes shoes because they do better on eBay than Depop.
 
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emcherry

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Just read what you said above about being into homely things and tech.

For homely things, if you’re going round the charity shops, Disney / Pixar / UK cartoon characters mainly all do well. Apart from funnily enough, there’s not much money to be made from Winnie the Pooh. George @ ASDA always seems to do well on eBay as well, even if the item isn’t that old. Also know a lot of people that dropship homeware from current ASDA stock - not good for returns though as you have to return in store.

If you have something very unique / visually appealing, Etsy is the best place to sell it for quite a mark up as people go on there looking for vintage one off or hard to get interesting looking type items.

Bit harder with tech because even if you get a good price, you’ve got shipping costs to think of. Best way to get into tech is buying ex stock from places that have closed down (Maplin etc) but the profit you make majorly affected by the cost of postage.
 
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Steve1871

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Ah ok, so you’ve definitely seemed to find your sort of area then for selling. See I would love to do that myself don’t think I have the expertise in knowing what to buy for reselling purposes when it comes to old clothing. Definitely think going to charity shops and looking for good items there for resale may be the best bet. I’ve also been loving the idea of getting into making things myself and selling rather like Etsy, however, I don’t reallt have the know how for that or wouldn’t even know where to begin on what to try and make for resale. Production costs would also play a major role in that to so whatever I decided to try and make I would have to make the production pretty low to actually have a chance of turning a profit. Where do you sell to? Do you use mainly eBay or do you sell through Facebook or anywhere else?
 
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emcherry

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Ah ok, so you’ve definitely seemed to find your sort of area then for selling. See I would love to do that myself don’t think I have the expertise in knowing what to buy for reselling purposes when it comes to old clothing. Definitely think going to charity shops and looking for good items there for resale may be the best bet. I’ve also been loving the idea of getting into making things myself and selling rather like Etsy, however, I don’t reallt have the know how for that or wouldn’t even know where to begin on what to try and make for resale. Production costs would also play a major role in that to so whatever I decided to try and make I would have to make the production pretty low to actually have a chance of turning a profit. Where do you sell to? Do you use mainly eBay or do you sell through Facebook or anywhere else?

If you’ve got carboot sales near you, as far as I’m aware, tomorrow is the last day they sell through the winter for most of them.

Recently just moved house and I was selling TV units and curtains and blinds and things on Facebook buy and sell and gumtree but that was more for the ease of them being local to me so I didn’t have to post anything.

You should look around on YouTube at arts and crafts videos and see what takes your fancy! You can get a lot of cheap materials from hobbycraft or The Works (the Works always seem to be having some type of sale no matter what day month or year it is, I don’t even know how they’re still in business honestly lol). I’ve been thinking of the same sort of thing. Kind of want to get into making vegan / cruelty free candles and wax melts but I’ve been so busy selling at the minute I haven’t had the time to sit down and buy everything for it.
 
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Steve1871

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If you’ve got carboot sales near you, as far as I’m aware, tomorrow is the last day they sell through the winter for most of them.

Recently just moved house and I was selling TV units and curtains and blinds and things on Facebook buy and sell and gumtree but that was more for the ease of them being local to me so I didn’t have to post anything.

You should look around on YouTube at arts and crafts videos and see what takes your fancy! You can get a lot of cheap materials from hobbycraft or The Works (the Works always seem to be having some type of sale no matter what day month or year it is, I don’t even know how they’re still in business honestly lol). I’ve been thinking of the same sort of thing. Kind of want to get into making vegan / cruelty free candles and wax melts but I’ve been so busy selling at the minute I haven’t had the time to sit down and buy everything for it.


That’s a really good idea, yeah I’ll jump
On YouTube then and see what I can find, thank you you’ve honestly been a massive help
 
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emcherry

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No problem! Feel free to get in touch if you have any more questions. Would love to see how you get on with the arts and crafts side of things.
 

Dick Barton

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Hi, thanks for the reply it’s really kind of you to help. I’m really interested in homely type things like ornaments or artsy crafty things, stuff from Etsy. I also am massively into tech but I’m not sure I would make very much money from reselling that as their sort of fixed in price unless I can get them much cheaper so that’s probably off the menu. I’m not sure if I’ve helped you at all, if you would like me to go into more detail or want more info I’m happy to give you it and really appreciate the help
Etsy sounds as though it might be the place for you. I have sold on ETSY, mainly prints from books. On the home made front jewelry is very popular. You see these small bottles connected to a chain and sold as necklaces. they can sell at over £10 a go. I did a rough costing and you can make these for under a pound if you buy from China. Have a look on Youtube to see how.
 

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YouTube is a great idea to watch resellers hauls and things, particularly UK ones, as you get an idea of clothing brands that do well and you might stumble across a gem while browsing!
 
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Annie Beau

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look in your area for charity shops which have a £1clothes rail. But dont buy anything just cos its a quid. If you see something unusual or a good brand name, nip out side and see if a similar item is listed on ebay (make sure you select 'sold' listings when refining your search - this will tell you what the item actually sold for).
I do okay with clothes if theyre a brand name and not run of the mill stuff ..;BEIGE SIZE 12 BLOUSE probably isnt going to get much of a profit. LONG CARDIGAN WITH RED AND BLACK STRIPES... may or not sound delightful to you but you dont find them on every single market stall. I sold one of these for £12 recently, having paid £1 for it. Larger sizes tend to sell quite well.

Barnardos website has a postcode search for your nearest shop - their items in standard shops can be too expensive for reselling but they have discount stores listed too . I have two near me and the items (adult clothing, electricals, homewear etc) are £1.99 at one shop and 99p at the other.
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/shops
 
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emcherry

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look in your area for charity shops which have a £1clothes rail. But dont buy anything just cos its a quid. If you see something unusual or a good brand name, nip out side and see if a similar item is listed on ebay (make sure you select 'sold' listings when refining your search - this will tell you what the item actually sold for).
I do okay with clothes if theyre a brand name and not run of the mill stuff ..;BEIGE SIZE 12 BLOUSE probably isnt going to get much of a profit. LONG CARDIGAN WITH RED AND BLACK STRIPES... may or not sound delightful to you but you dont find them on every single market stall. I sold one of these for £12 recently, having paid £1 for it. Larger sizes tend to sell quite well.

Barnardos website has a postcode search for your nearest shop - their items in standard shops can be too expensive for reselling but they have discount stores listed too . I have two near me and the items (adult clothing, electricals, homewear etc) are £1.99 at one shop and 99p at the other.
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/shops

Definitely good advice with the clothes. Another thing to remember is listing the size in the title as both the word and the number. So if it’s size 18, put EIGHTEEN and then (18) in brackets as well as the colour and brand name as some people search only for the word and some only for the number.
 

Dick Barton

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It's always a good idea to put as much information in the title as possible. Some people don't search, they browse!
 
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homie

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Etsy sounds as though it might be the place for you. I have sold on ETSY, mainly prints from books. On the home made front jewelry is very popular. You see these small bottles connected to a chain and sold as necklaces. they can sell at over £10 a go. I did a rough costing and you can make these for under a pound if you buy from China. Have a look on Youtube to see how.

I'd just say be careful if buying from China because the quality is very hit and miss. I bought a couple of watches from Ali Express and they were very cheap and plasticy when they arrived, and the tick was louder than most wall clocks. I also bought some hip flasks to resell last year. They were actually well made but it looked like no care had been taken with them after manufacture or during shipping because most were scratched up. I ended up selling them as factory 2nds because I didn't wan't to risk my ebay feedback. Just about managed to break even on those.

Best advice is just order one of something in the first instance so you can assess quality, then go for a bigger order if you're happy with them.
 

Dick Barton

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I'd just say be careful if buying from China because the quality is very hit and miss. I bought a couple of watches from Ali Express and they were very cheap and plasticy when they arrived, and the tick was louder than most wall clocks. I also bought some hip flasks to resell last year. They were actually well made but it looked like no care had been taken with them after manufacture or during shipping because most were scratched up. I ended up selling them as factory 2nds because I didn't wan't to risk my ebay feedback. Just about managed to break even on those.

Best advice is just order one of something in the first instance so you can assess quality, then go for a bigger order if you're happy with them.
I was buying small, corked bottles of a particular size for a project and they were very good and very cheap. Obviously, depends on what you are buying.
 

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Just read what you said above about being into homely things and tech.

For homely things, if you’re going round the charity shops, Disney / Pixar / UK cartoon characters mainly all do well. Apart from funnily enough, there’s not much money to be made from Winnie the Pooh. George @ ASDA always seems to do well on eBay as well, even if the item isn’t that old. Also know a lot of people that dropship homeware from current ASDA stock - not good for returns though as you have to return in store.

If you have something very unique / visually appealing, Etsy is the best place to sell it for quite a mark up as people go on there looking for vintage one off or hard to get interesting looking type items.

Bit harder with tech because even if you get a good price, you’ve got shipping costs to think of. Best way to get into tech is buying ex stock from places that have closed down (Maplin etc) but the profit you make majorly affected by the cost of postage.
If you’re not in rush - place shipment to Nimber.com, I cover certain UK area, and you can set price yourself. It’s shared economy, similar to BlaBlaCar or ViaVan, where people help each other when shipment on their way. I’m on Nimber just because I travel a lot within UK
 

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