How to Source Your First 10 Items for Resale
Starting a reselling business or side hustle can feel overwhelming at first especially when you focus on finding items people actually want to buy. Which is exactly the mindset you want to be in if you actually want to make sales, by the way.
So how do you learn to source profitable inventory? If you take your time, do your research, and stay intentional, you’ll find items that sell and start building the confidence to do it again and again. It may even become your favorite part of reselling!
Let’s talk about how you can source your first 10 items to resell without wasting money or feeling like you’re drowning in unsellable stuff.
Before You Start: Sell What You Already Own
Please, I beg you, don’t spend a dime on anything until you’ve sold some of your own items. Of course, this only applies if you have some items you’re willing to sell. Selling items you already own helps you learn the basics of reselling without risking a dime. You’ll figure out how to research and price items, photograph and list items, etc. Even if your first few sales only earn you $5 or $10, the experience you gain is priceless. And hey, you’ll clear some clutter AND make a little money to reinvest. Win-win.
So before you head to a thrift store or yard sale, take a look around your house. Most of us have items we don’t use. Things like clothes that don’t fit, kitchen gadgets we don’t use, books we’ve already read, or random tech that’s been sitting in a drawer. These are your best first items to resell, and they’ll cost you nothing!
What to Buy and What to Avoid
Once you’ve sold a few things from home, you’re ready to start sourcing inventory with the purpose of reselling. The key here is to be selective. Extremely selective. Which is, honestly, hard for even experienced resellers sometimes.
So put it in your head now what you can’t just grab every cheap item you see because not everything will sell, and you don’t want to end up with a pile of regret purchases. Even if they cost a dollar. Trust me.
Good Categories to Start With:
- Clothing and Shoes: Thrift stores are full of them. They’re easy to list, store, and ship.
- Books: Textbooks, non-fiction, and popular fiction can sell well.
- Small Electronics: Think headphones, calculators, or old gaming accessories.
- Niche or Unique Items: Vintage decor, limited-edition items, or collectibles can be great categories to focus on.
What to Avoid:
- Bulky or fragile items that are expensive and confusing to ship.
- Items in poor condition unless you’re comfortable with repairs.
- Overhyped trends like Squishmallows or Pokémon cards unless you’ve done the research or already have extensive knowledge.
The goal when you start is to find items that are easy to sell and ship. You can always branch out into riskier or more complicated categories once you gain experience.
Set a Budget and Stick to It
It’s really easy to overspend when you’re sourcing. You’re at the thrift store, everything seems cheap, and before you know it, you’ve spent $100 on items you’re not sure will sell.
Set a small budget—$20 to $50 is plenty for your first sourcing trips. Honestly, those first few trips are more about learning than buying. With a small budget, you’ll be forced to think carefully and only grab items that you’ve researched and feel confident about selling for profit.
Where to Source
Now that you’ve set your budget, let’s talk about where to find inventory. You don’t need to hit all these places at once, but it’s good to know your options and start to get to know which places are best for sourcing. This might take you weeks, months, or even years depending on how many places you have to source at.
Thrift Stores
These are a go-to for most resellers. There’s a little bit of everything: clothes, shoes, books, electronics, home decor. Take your time and check multiple sections. Some of my best finds came from digging through random shelves I almost skipped.
Pro tip: Don’t feel like you need to go through the entire store, some are so big it’d take you all day. As you get more experience, you’ll figure out categories are more profitable while others have little to no profit and you’ll learn which to focus on and which to skip.
Yard Sales & Garage Sales
During good weather, I love sourcing at yard sales. These are hit-or-miss (just like anywhere really), but when they’re good, they can be really good. And often, if someone has one profitable item, they may have more similar items. That’s the best part of yard sales. It only takes one good one to make the whole day worth it.
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to negotiate or bundle items for a better deal! People are often willing to sell things for dirt cheap just to get rid of them.
Facebook Marketplace
Local sellers often list things they don’t want to bother donating or selling elsewhere. I don’t have as much with this personally, but I know of reesllers who are VERY successful with sourcing on Facebook Marketplace.
Pro tip: Set alerts for keywords like “moving sale,” “free,” or “clearance” or any other items you’re interested in so you can catch them as soon as they’re listed.
Estate Sales
These are very similar to yard sales, but usually run by a company. If you’re into vintage or unique items, you can usually find that kind of stuff at estate sales. They can be a bit pricier, but if you know what you’re looking for you may be able to grab some valuable items.
Pro tip: The last day of the sale is often discount day. For example, the estate sale companies around me usually have 50% off on Sundays.
Clearance
Anytime you’re in a store, see if they have a clearance section. I do this almost everywhere I go and many times I walk out with brand new inventory to resell. The best part is when you can multiple of a profitable item so you only have to create one listing.
Pro tip: Keep an eye out for clearance tags as you shop too. Some stores won’t have a section, but will have clearly marked tags and I memorize those so I can spot clearance as I’m doing my regular shopping.
Buy Based on Research
This is where many beginners go wrong. They buy items without knowing if they’ll actually sell. Usually because it’s something cheap or something they personally like. Please don’t make that mistake. You should research items while you’re sourcing. Every item you buy should be because you looked that item up and you’re certain it will sell at a good profit.
Some tips for researching on the go:
- eBay sold listings: Use the app on your phone to search items to see if it’s selling consistently and for a decent profit.
- Google Lens: Snap a photo of an item and compare prices online. You can also use this if you’re not sure what an item is to see if it’ll pull it up and help you search further.
If you’re unsure about something, take a photo and research it later at home. It’s better to leave an item behind and learn from it than to waste money on something that’ll sit in your inventory for months.
It’s Okay if You Don’t Find 10 Items in One Day
Now it’s time for a little pep talk. The truth it, you’re not always going to walk out of a thrift store with a cart full of treasures. In fact, I often walk out empty-handed. And that’s okay! Sourcing is a combination of skil and luck. It takes time to develop an eye for valuable items and sometimes the store just doesn’t have much worth flipping.
If you only find 1-2 good items during a sourcing trip, consider that a win. It’s better to be intentional and confident about your purchases than to grab things just to feel like you didn’t waste your time looking around.
Build Relationships for More Opportunities
One thing I need to work on more is building connections and networking! Thrift store employees, estate sale organizers, and even people you buy items from via Facebook Marketplace. This can be delicate because some people don’t understand or appreciate resellers, but when the situation seems appropriate, let them know you sell items online for a living and you’d love to give them your contact info.
While I haven’t been good at doing this regularly, I still have had people contact me to help them sell items. Once was a family member who was cleaning things out and sent me home with a truck full of items she planned to donate. Another was a family friend who knew someone moving out of state and wanted to give us the entire contents of her apartment to sell on consignment! This included very expensive kitchen items that we profited hundreds on! You never know what other opportunities are out there.
Final thoughts
Don’t stress about finding the “perfect” items to resell at first. Reselling is a learning process, and every sourcing trip is a chance to improve your skills and knowledge. In the beginning, the key is to be patient, trust your research, and take your time building up inventory that’s worth your time and money to invest in.
