7 MORE thrift store or yard sale finds you can flip for a profit

If you’re looking to make a little extra cash flipping yard sale of thrift store finds might be a great option. (Or a total risk if you don’t do it correctly.) Today I wanted to share a few MORE thrift store or yard sale finds that can turn a profit when flipped.

You can read my first list: 7 Thrift Store Items you can FLIP for a Profit

Note: I don't want to advocate going into any thrift store and clearing the shelves of all the good stuff in the store. Please be considerate of other shoppers. Personally, I only buy things my family will use and enjoy and when we are done using them then I consider selling those items.

Video games

Video games, particularly vintage video games (pre-2000) are a hot ticket item on auction sites like eBay. The same goes for vintage gaming consoles. The caveat is getting a good price on these items. My best advice is to look for video games at yard sales and not the thrift store.

Vintage board games

Who knew vintage board games had such a big following? Look for good condition early editions of Monopoly, Dark Tower and special editions of Chutes and Ladders. Make sure there are no (or very few) missing pieces and that the box is still in fairly good condition.

Lego

The resale value of Lego is so high it’s almost laughable. Forget gold bars, put all your money in Lego. (I’m joking on both counts!). But Lego does maintain their value and resell quite well. Even if you don’t have a full set you can sell them in lots of 100 or buy the pound.

Trading cards

Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards. Look for cards that have a foiled front. These are the ones people are most looking for on auction sites. But if a card is torn, folded or shows signs of wear, save your money. 

Furniture

Furniture at the thrift store can be hit or miss. But if you have a good eye and you’re willing to clean up a piece and give it a little care you can flip it for a nice profit. You can sell pieces through Facebook marketplace or set up a Facebook business page and establish yourself that way.

Sports jerseys

Hockey, football, basketball, soccer- it doesn’t really matter the sport; if there is a jersey, there is a fan. If it is vintage or if it is new there is a market for it. Even if it’s stained a good wash covers a multitude of grossness.

Overalls

I cannot believe overalls have made a comeback… again. I should have saved my Gap overalls from 1998! Long or short people on the hunt for a good pair don’t mind.

Where to sell?

Poshmark

This is a fashionista favorite. You can sell women's and children's clothing, bags and accessories. The app is super easy to use, just snap a photo, write a description and you're good to go. 

Easy to use, I actually sold a pair of leggings within 10 minutes of uploading. 

Other users can share your listings on Twitter and gain you more traffic to your listings.  Not everything is going to sell. But I don't know of any app where selling is an actual guarantee. 

If you sign up for Poshmark and mention @lydiadebtfree (that's me) I will get a small referral bonus. 

Mercari

Mercari is for the deal seeker. So be prepared to price your items to sell. But they will sell. I actually was about to get in my car to put my sold items in the FedEx drop box when I got a notification that two more of my items had sold.  I've sold clothing, skincare and books on Mercari. 

eBay

Everyone knows eBay. It's the grandfather of selling things online and items range from the ordinary to the obscure.  Everything from clothes to collectibles, everyone knows eBay and goes to them for those hard to find items. But there is lots of competition, eBay does not provide shipping discounts and you just have to guess what it's going to cost you. 

The app is CLUNKY. It hasn't really kept up with the times and isn't as sleek and easy to use as newer selling outlets.

Instagram

Yes, you can sell stuff on Instagram. Just snap photos of your items and the price. Tell people to DM you if interested and provide them with your Venmo. Use hashtags like #shopmycloset, #instacloset, #instasale and #clothesforsale to get noticed.

What about you? Have you sold anything you flipped? Leave me a comment and tell me!

How I started a business for $13

Let’s go back in time. Way back. To February 2012. I had a three month old baby, a pile of my husband’s student loans and zero friends.

We had moved when our baby was six weeks old so that my husband could take an awesome job and we could be closer to my parents. I was looking for ways to make money and still be able to stay home with my son.

So on that chilly Alabama day I decided to buy a domain name and start a blog. My idea was that I could use my new media skills that I had honed in the work force to create at least a part time income. I had decided I would start a blog to house my resume and show my skills (writing, video editing, simple graphics etc.) and that would be a show piece for potential new clients.

So a couple hours and $13 later I had my very simple blog up and running. (Looking back at it now I am surprised anyone would ever hire me based on that. It was pretty ugly.)

I wrote a couple posts, linked to some articles I had written in the past as a journalist, uploaded a basic resume and called it a day. The next day I headed to a website that matched freelancers with people looking for work. I linked my blog to my profile and bid on a few jobs writing copy. As a huge shock to me, I got one of those jobs.

A quick phone call later to flesh out what the client wanted and I was in business. By Friday I had turned in my work and gotten paid $150. In just one week I had started a business and earned a profit. Now, it wasn’t a huge profit and certainly not going to change anyone’s life, but it gave me the confidence to keep going.

And thus began my life as a work at home mom.

What is a virtual assistant?

When I began to grow and expand this little freelance business. I was what one client called “a virtual assistant.”

I had never heard that phrase before and had no idea what it was. A virtual assistant is someone who remotely helps clients with whatever task they need help with.

I personally helped my clients with social media, copy writing, article writing, video editing, email marketing, workbook design, Power Point presentations. If I didn’t know how to do something I got a book from the library or watched some YouTube videos until I felt confident and then I added that service to my resume.

By September I had four clients and had more than replaced the income I was making as reporter. By the following spring I had doubled it. There are so many opportunities for virtual assistants, whether it’s helping bloggers use Pinterest, scheduling appointments, handling people’s bookkeeping, social media, travel arrangements, medical records. I could go on and on about all the services a virtual assistant could offer.

Here I am seven years later with a thriving business (and employees!), making a consistent full-time income. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of trial and error and during the first few years I had no idea what I was doing.

But I don’t have the skills to do that.

I hear this a lot. “But you have a new media background. I don’t.” So? I don’t have an education background, but I still taught my child to read. We can learn new skills if we’re motivated.

But also, I guarantee you that you have the skills to get started. If you know how to set up a Facebook page and make a spreadsheet you can be a virtual assistant. The biggest skill you need to have is a willingness to train yourself in new things. (Note: train yourself BEFORE you offer any new services to a potential client.)

And it doesn’t just have to be a virtual assistant

There are endless opportunities out there for people looking to do something from home. I have friends who resell things on Ebay, tutor English to children overseas, transcribe medical reports, teach piano, take wedding photos, provide customer assistance, conduct real-estate closings, drive Uber or Lyft on the weekends (I met a woman at the bank to drives people from the airport to the beach while her kids are in school. She said it’s the best job she’s ever had.)

If you’re willing to do the hard work there are opportunities out there!

Why your stuff isn't selling: selling your clutter for cash

In case you didn’t know, I am a HUGE advocate for selling the stuff inside your home that you don’t need and putting that cash toward debt of other financial goals.

Americans have more stuff than we could possible need. I read a statistic recently that said that we buy 30% of the world's stuff. If you need some cash fast, selling your things online or on Facebook Marketplace or in a yard sale will help you make money in a few days.

But I've heard from a lot of you that your stuff just doesn't move like you want it to. So I'm going to help you troubleshoot that situation.

 1. Make sure you're actually charging a fair price for your stuff.

 Unless that item is highly collectible and really sought after, you're not going to make as much as you spent on that item. Sixty-five percent is a good place to start. So charge 65% of what you paid for that item.

2. Look at where you want to sell and see what similar items have sold for.

Look on eBay's complete listing (that means an item that sold) and see what that person got for it and what kind of condition it was in.

 Look on Mercari or Poshmark or Facebook Marketplace and see what items are actually moving for.

 Also, your area is going to depend on that. I might be able to sell something higher in my area than you are in yours.

 I know that sometimes baby gear can fluctuate in price. Bicycles. That sort of thing. So you really need to keep that in mind.

3. Make sure you're taking good photographs of it.

 If you are taking a photo of something in the back of your garage that's poorly lit and it's dirty, you're not going to sell it. Take the stuff outside. Wipe it down; clean it up. Take a picture of it in natural light.

 If you have clothing items, lie them flat on the floor or hang them in front of a white background. Take a picture of them. Take it from different angles.

 Photograph the defects. Photograph the unique things about that item.

 Don't just lay them on the floor and take a picture where I can see your feet (that's gross; I'm not going to buy it). Put some effort into your photographs.

You don't have to have a fancy camera. You can just use your phone. But put forth the effort to make it look nice.

Now that doesn't mean to hide flaws. You need to always be honest and not be shady. But make your items look good. So make sure it's in good condition. You're not going to get top dollar for items that are damaged, scratched, broken and dirty.

 4. Know where to sell it.

 I have found — after years of selling — that not every place is equal.

 For example, you used to be able to move clothing and handbags on eBay, but that's just not the case anymore. And eBay has gotten harder to use. Their app is kind of clunky, outdated and it's not user-friendly. I would use eBay for rare and hard-to-find items like toys, books and records, or technology. You can sell your broken cell phone or laptop on there.

 I would use Poshmark and Mercari for selling clothing — Poshmark for higher-end items and Mercari for everyday (like Old Navy, Target, those sort of things). A tip on Poshmark: You can actually bundle items. If you see someone that's selling, like, three dresses from Nordstrom, you can ask them to bundle those items and maybe give you a little bit of a discount. I personally do that on mine — if you ever want to buy something from me, make me an offer.

Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are the go-to (in my opinion) for selling larger items and furniture, that sort of thing. Because you don't want to pay to ship that across the country. You can move a nice piece of furniture on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.

 You can also sell stuff via Amazon. If you have games, gaming system, DVDs, books, that sort of thing, you can actually ship them to Amazon's warehouse and they will take care of the shipping for you. And the payment is really easy because it is through Amazon.

5. Focus on your descriptions.

 Put as much detail in there as possible — what the item is, what it is made out of, where it was made, what condition it's in, was your house pet-free and smoke-free.

You want clear and concise writing. You want lots of questions answered before they are ever asked — so lots of details in there.

 You want it free from grammatical and spelling errors. You want to come across as professional, like you know what you're doing.

 I got a comment recently that said that the person got annoyed because so many people were asking questions about what they were selling. One, that is part of the deal. That is part of it. You are selling something, so you are in the customer service business whether you like it or not. And, two, that may be a sign that your description is kind of crappy and you need to rewrite it.

 6. You need eyeballs in front of your listings.

If you are selling on Craigslist, make sure to post a link to all your other listings. Make sure that you go in and edit it periodically so people can see it.

Same thing with Facebook Marketplace. Edit your posts frequently so it gets bumped back up.

7. Make sure to be smart.

If you are selling physical items on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, make sure that you meet in a public location, like a police department or library parking lot. Be safe about what you do. If it feels like a scam, it probably is one.

Join me for Sell Your Stuff September! Let's declutter and make money

Do you have too much stuff in your house? If you're like most American's the answer is yes. We accumulate. Why not declutter and make som cash this month?

I asked for post and video suggestions on Instagram last week (because this is a community and I want to hear from you!) and overwhelmingly y'all asked for tips on saving money and making money for the upcoming holiday season. I asked and you have spoken.

Let’s do #sellyourstuffseptember! Who couldn’t use some extra cash? Especially with the holidays around the corner. So decide on a goal, declutter your house and let’s get some stuff sold.

My personal goal is $250, which will be added to our Christmas envelope. What’s yours? Use #sellyourstuffseptember and tag me on Instagram. 

 

Declutter and make money off Amazon: How I made $155.78 in Amazon Gift Cards in ONE DAY

It seems like everyone I encounter, or at least every MOM I encounter, is trying to do the same thing, find ways to save money and declutter their home. 

Yes. I get it. I am always trying to do the same thing. 

And one of my favorite ways to declutter and MAKE extra money is by using the Amazon Trade -In program. In fact, I earned $155.78 in gift cards IN ONE DAY simply by getting rid of DVDS, books and video games that I no longer wanted, needed or used. 

That stack of "Friends" DVDs you've been hanging onto? Get rid of them! That show is now on Netflix! That cookbook collection you never use? Get rid of them! Ree Drummond (love you!) already got her money, now someone else can love all those recipes you will never make. 

So here is how it works. 

Step one: Go through your house and find unwanted books, DVDs, and old electronics. 

Old electronics and box sets of DVDs are what make the most money. You can trade-in an old iPhone 5 for around $100. 

Step two: See what your items are "worth." Now, obviously you could sell your old junk on eBay and probably make a little bit more money, but it would take more time, and you could be dealing with a person who doesn't pay and then you have to relist your item. Been there, done that. 

Step 3: Determine the quality of your item. Usually Amazon will give you a few options to choose from when you are trading in your items. They are usually "like new," "good," and "acceptable." The quality of your item obviously impacts what you will be paid for that item. 

Be honest about the condition of your item. If your iPhone has a massive scratch across the screen, don't choose "like new" condition in an effort to get more money. It's not just dishonest, it also won't work. (See step 5.)

Step 4: Ship your items. Amazon will give you a shipping label so that you can ship your trade in items for processing. This is at no cost to you and you can schedule a pick up at your home or office. 

Step 5: Wait to be paid! Once your items get to wherever they are sent (I picture a massive warehouse with Amazon robots) the items will be assessed and Amazon will then send you a gift card via email. 

If your item is rejected it will be returned to you. 

There you have it! It is so simple. And then you have an Amazon gift card to spend however you wish. 

I used mine to supplement our diapers and wipes. 

What about you? Are you decluttering? Have you ever use the Amazon Trade-In program.