5 Ways to Find More Profitable Items from Thrift Stores to Sell on eBay & Amazon

Reselling, especially from thrift stores, was at the foundation of my humble  beginnings. Along the way, I’ve learned quite a few tips—some very useful ones—that will really help you out if you’re just getting started in this business of thrifting to resell. Let’s dive into this!

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#1: Be in Attack Mode
Say you’re at Goodwill or the Salvation Army, and you spot a staff member bringing out a couple bins of new inventory. What do you do? You want to attack. You want to dive into that new, untouched inventory. No other resellers or customers have gone through it—unless there’s a sneaky little guy or gal who visits the back room, which does happen (more on that later). But for the most part, when that new inventory is getting wheeled out, it’s going to be untouched, and there will be a lot of great opportunities there.

Don’t be shy. Put some stuff into your cart. If there are seven or eight things that you are unsure whether they are profitable, then just bring your shopping cart over and put them in. You’ve got to do this because if there are any other resellers there and they’re smart, they’re going to attack the new inventory as well. So you want to grab it, analyze it, and then if it’s not a profitable deal, you can put it back.

#2: Pay Attention to Color
When I tell you to focus on the latest color, I’m not talking about the color of the item. I want you to see the color of the tag. Many thrift stories will have tags of different colors and will run sales depending on the color of the tag.

They might have a day a week when a certain tag color is some huge percentage off or selling for a low flat cost. Maybe they have a weekly color that is, say, 30 percent off all week. Different thrift stores do it in various ways, so you just need to figure out how your local stores do it.

Paying attention to tag color is not only helpful in finding that one, unique item that had been too expensive to snatch up earlier. It’s also good to know which group of items has been likely picked over already. You see, thrift stores generally tag items in a certain order of color. If you know that, for example, green tags were brought in this week and blue tags were brought in two weeks ago, then you can be pretty sure that the items with blue tags have been gone through a few times by some resellers. How do you figure this out? No problem; just ask an employee of the store.

#3: Find Your Store’s Secret Hiding Spots for Overflowing Inventory
Let me give you an example. I have a Goodwill in my area where they have this big countertop where they display all the DVDs, CDs, video games, and all kinds of media. Well, there’s a little storage compartment underneath that has two doors. When the top area is fully loaded, they actually put the items underneath. The doors are closed, but they are not locked. I always make sure to open those doors up. I never know what I’ll find there!

So don’t be afraid to look around your store. Browse through every corner. It may be that they keep, for example, men’s ties where you wouldn’t expect them.

#4: Build Relationships with Thrift Store Employees
Why should you build relationships with the people working at the thrift stores? You want them on your side. Say you resell clothing, and your favorite store employee knows it. The next time you walk in, maybe that employee will say, “Hey, check out the men’s shirts. We just got a whole bunch of Pendletons in. I know that you like that brand.”

Also, if you know the employees and maybe even the manager, one day they might be willing to bring out some new inventory early they know you are interested in. It’s something that an employee might do for a friend but not someone he doesn’t know.

#5: Take It Slow Sometimes
When I got my start in reselling clothing, I learned quickly that if I sped through a thrift store and just flipped through everything way too fast, I was missing out on a lot of opportunities. I found so many more great items when I slowed things down and went through inventory at a slower pace.

Now, of course if you already have a ton of knowledge in a variety of areas, this might not be the best move for you. But if you’re new or just branching out, take a deep breath and slow things down. Look behind certain items on the shelf. Go through all the clothing items. Really take your time, and you’re going to notice that you find more items.

Tuck These Tips into Your Hat
So take these tips with you the next time you hit the thrift stores. You are sure to be more successful if you keep these in mind.

#1: Be in Attack Mode
Say you’re at Goodwill or the Salvation Army, and you spot a staff member bringing out a couple bins of new inventory. What do you do? You want to attack. You want to dive into that new, untouched inventory. No other resellers or customers have gone through it—unless there’s a sneaky little guy or gal who visits the back room, which does happen (more on that later). But for the most part, when that new inventory is getting wheeled out, it’s going to be untouched, and there will be a lot of great opportunities there.

Don’t be shy. Put some stuff into your cart. If there are seven or eight things that you are unsure whether they are profitable, then just bring your shopping cart over and put them in. You’ve got to do this because if there are any other resellers there and they’re smart, they’re going to attack the new inventory as well. So you want to grab it, analyze it, and then if it’s not a profitable deal, you can put it back.

#2: Pay Attention to Color
When I tell you to focus on the latest color, I’m not talking about the color of the item. I want you to see the color of the tag. Many thrift stories will have tags of different colors and will run sales depending on the color of the tag.

They might have a day a week when a certain tag color is some huge percentage off or selling for a low flat cost. Maybe they have a weekly color that is, say, 30 percent off all week. Different thrift stores do it in various ways, so you just need to figure out how your local stores do it.

Paying attention to tag color is not only helpful in finding that one, unique item that had been too expensive to snatch up earlier. It’s also good to know which group of items has been likely picked over already. You see, thrift stores generally tag items in a certain order of color. If you know that, for example, green tags were brought in this week and blue tags were brought in two weeks ago, then you can be pretty sure that the items with blue tags have been gone through a few times by some resellers. How do you figure this out? No problem; just ask an employee of the store.

#3: Find Your Store’s Secret Hiding Spots for Overflowing Inventory
Let me give you an example. I have a Goodwill in my area where they have this big countertop where they display all the DVDs, CDs, video games, and all kinds of media. Well, there’s a little storage compartment underneath that has two doors. When the top area is fully loaded, they actually put the items underneath. The doors are closed, but they are not locked. I always make sure to open those doors up. I never know what I’ll find there!

So don’t be afraid to look around your store. Browse through every corner. It may be that they keep, for example, men’s ties where you wouldn’t expect them.

#4: Build Relationships with Thrift Store Employees
Why should you build relationships with the people working at the thrift stores? You want them on your side. Say you resell clothing, and your favorite store employee knows it. The next time you walk in, maybe that employee will say, “Hey, check out the men’s shirts. We just got a whole bunch of Pendletons in. I know that you like that brand.”

Also, if you know the employees and maybe even the manager, one day they might be willing to bring out some new inventory early they know you are interested in. It’s something that an employee might do for a friend but not someone he doesn’t know.

#5: Take It Slow Sometimes
When I got my start in reselling clothing, I learned quickly that if I sped through a thrift store and just flipped through everything way too fast, I was missing out on a lot of opportunities. I found so many more great items when I slowed things down and went through inventory at a slower pace.

Now, of course if you already have a ton of knowledge in a variety of areas, this might not be the best move for you. But if you’re new or just branching out, take a deep breath and slow things down. Look behind certain items on the shelf. Go through all the clothing items. Really take your time, and you’re going to notice that you find more items.

Tuck These Tips into Your Hat
So take these tips with you the next time you hit the thrift stores. You are sure to be more successful if you keep these in mind.