5 Yard Sale Finds Worth Reselling For Profit On eBay

Have you thought about reselling items you find at yard sales on eBay, but you are not sure what would sell? Learn about five items that are generally priced low enough at yard sales to make a profit reselling them on eBay. 

Back before I started a blog, and even before I renovated three homes with my husband in four years, I sold items on eBay on a fairly regular basis to help pay for my children’s activities or I would save it up and pay for something bigger like a family camping trip.

 

I still do list the odd item on eBay now and again, but it is usually items that we already own and no longer need. When I was doing eBay more regularly, it was yard sale items that I bought intending to resell for profit.

Related Post: The Resell It Challenge: Generating Income From Clutter

5 Yard Sale Finds Worth Reselling For Profit On eBay

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It took me a bit of trial and error to figure out what sold on eBay and what didn’t. In time I began to stick to the five items I am going to mention below.

Before I Share My List of Top Items To Resell On eBay, I Want To Make Something Clear

What I find in my area to be low-priced enough to resell for profit might not be what you can find in your area.

Below are the items that I found low-priced enough over and over again to resell for profit and I mention them because I believe them to be available almost everywhere. However this list is not exhaustive, you are probably going to be able to find more than five items.

For instance, I know of women who resell yard sale found clothing on eBay and do fantastic with it, however, when I tried it, I flopped. Looking back it is probably because I am not a fashionista so I don’t know the popular brands that people want, you, however, might be a fashion queen and therefore reselling clothes will work for you (if you are, you might want to check out Poshmark as an alternative to eBay that deals exclusively with reselling fashion items–use my referral code SNAILPACER during sign up and save $5 off your first Poshmark purchase).

What I Suggest All People Do Before They Begin Buying Items At Yard Sale To Resell For Profit On eBay

My suggestion is to study eBay completed listings and sold listings for at least a few hours before you head out your first-time yard sale shopping with the intentions of buying things to sell on eBay. I also suggest that you take it slow. Invest perhaps $5 to $10 the first time you buy specifically for reselling and then don’t buy more until you list and sell those items.

There is a learning curve to eBay, but thankfully it doesn’t have to be expensive to get into it and start learning. My rule was never to buy an item I couldn’t resell at my next yard sale for the same price if it didn’t sell like I thought it would on eBay.

Check out my post: Successfully selling on eBay for a few pointers to get you started on your eBay selling adventures.

That said, here is my list of five items I have bought from yard sales and resold on eBay for profit over and over again and I am fairly certain most people could have success with reselling these items too.

1. Books

I have always had the best of luck with children’s books, especially selling about a dozen books of either the same author or the same subject and reading level if non-fiction. Another type that does well are the leveled readers such as Step Into Reading books like this one.

If you put around a dozen of these leveled readers in a lot on eBay right around the time teachers are stocking their classrooms for fall (July and August) or homeschoolers are getting ready for the new school year, they will usually turn a tidy profit, especially if you were able to pick them up for .25 cents each–which is the going rate at yard sales around where I live.

Board book sets also do well. Just make sure they are from quality authors and not the ones you find at the dollar store. A few good ones are titles from the Bright and Early Board book series, as well as those by Max Lucado and Sandra Boynton. I always found I made more per book when I sold them in lots of four or more titles at a time.

Always make sure the books are free of creases, rips, writing, and musty or smoky smells. They should be in like new condition to obtain the most profit.

Another great idea that works for bookselling is to browse through what book series are popular currently and then look for those at sales. Don’t buy them unless you have the whole set unless you get a steal of a deal because partial sets do not sell as well and you could end up with books that either won’t sell or sell for very little profit.

2. Maternity Clothes

Maternity clothes are about the only clothes I have ever had luck selling. Look for classic pieces women could wear to work like black skirts and pants, as well as trendy items. Jeans do well too, just make sure they are the current style. I always stuck to brands like Old Navy and always managed to sell them.

I found that items like dresses sold best separately, however, if you find a bunch of clothes that are all the same size and make into mix and match outfits, then selling them as a lot might be best as first-time moms who are starting their maternity wardrobes from scratch will buy them. Again, condition is everything. You want the clothes to be free of stains and rips and to be current styles.

3.  Current Homeschooling Curriculum

I wouldn’t go older than three years if you are taking your first chance at selling homeschooling curriculum. You have to know what is popular and what isn’t before you get into reselling homeschooling curriculum.

You run into homeschooling curriculum more often than you would think at yard sales and it is usually undervalued. You might want to dig in those piles of old textbooks a bit more closely because that is often where you will find current homeschooling curriculum mixed in.

For instance, I once found a family selling two entire years worth of Alpha and Omega Lifepacs and 90% of the booklets were still sealed in their original packages. They had them right beside a bunch of books that were old and outdated and were asking such a low price that I questioned the seller on it. I even went as far as telling her she would get way more for them on eBay, and she said she didn’t want to take the time to do that but I could if I wanted to–and so I paid her every penny she wanted and did just that.

4. Vintage And Classic Toys 

The vintage Little Tikes Doll House Pieces (look up on eBay to view) are hard to find, but even if you see only one in a $0.25 bin, pick it up because it could be worth between $5 and $20 depending on how rare the piece is.

The houses themselves are expensive to ship and therefore usually don’t sell well on eBay, so I usually sold those separately through another avenue of reselling since you often have to buy them with all the pieces at a yard sale.

The vintage Fisher Price dollhouse pieces also do well, but you don’t find those at yard sales as readily as you do the vintage Little Tikes doll house pieces, at least not where I live.

You will make the most profit by selling these pieces individually as buyers are usually trying to complete sets.

Other types of toys that do well are classic toy sets like authentic Brio train pieces and of course Lego, but that deserves a section all on its own.

5. Lego

All types of Lego generally sell well, but I had the best of luck selling Duplo figurines. Winnie the Pooh, Dora, Buzz Lightyear, basically whatever figure is based on a popular children’s movie or TV show generally sells well. Duplo Train tracks and vehicles also do well.

I would often buy a box or two of Lego during one day of yard sale shopping, spending perhaps $5 to $10, then go home and divide it into several different eBay auctions, one for the figurines, one for the cars, and all the bricks went into my children’s Lego and Duplo buckets.

I can think of only one time when I had an auction for Lego that didn’t sell, and it was a substantial piece (an alligator that picked up blocks when you pushed it along the floor). Lesson learned — stay away from the large Lego items like tables and such, at least for eBay.

These five items have turned me a profit time and time again on eBay for very little investment; the best part is if they don’t sell on eBay I can sell them off at my yard sale for what I paid for them, and I am out nothing but some time.

Have you ever sold on eBay? If so what has sold well for you? Share in the comments below.

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