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Starting a second hand online resale business!



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Starting a second hand online resale business!

A family member of mine has started an online resale shop business. She goes to the second-hand stores and she buys items for a few dollars and marks them up 100%+ and sells them on eBay.  So far she has been a couple hundred a month for a few hrs a month.  It's definitely something to consider for someone looking to make some extra side money. 

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jaymish
I agree, the second hand business, even offline is a very lucrative business. I also think it depends on what you're selling. Generally as time goes by and products are produced for the mass market, they tend to be of lower quality. It is not uncommon for example to find vintage clothes of a higher quality. I have noticed, older electronics are of a higher quality. The first Nokia's for example can be dropped a thousand times and still work. The other advantage is that second hand goods will always be cheaper.



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AmieBotella
My brother in law does this and the products he buy are the high end ones and he was able to know the market in which to sell these types of products. For example, he will purchase a second hand Herman Miller chair for a very cheap price and then he can resell it in 100% markup. I think the idea here is to really know the product you're buying and what's their worth in the market. And also know your crowd on where you should sell them.



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overcast
That is very competitive niche. And I am sure he seems to have established by now. I can't imagine getting into that niche. As of now lot of times this type of high end niche has proven to made things a bit harder for me so far.



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AmieBotella
Yes he is established and he's quite lucky to know the perfect people to sell these items. Sometimes items are just posted minutes and then they'll be gone in a few seconds. That's how vain buyers are too and how rich most of them are. But I know also that there are times that an item will just sit around your storage for quite some time too. You just have to have the patience too.



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overcast
That's the best time in that case. I have missed days when the item was placed and sold. Those were old days in ebay i have seen. I guess FBA is something I guess I have to check out. There seems to be lot of competition these days everywhere. Hope things work out though.



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kgord
Yes, I think it helps to know the market and the stuff you are selling. Selling items that have low re sale value are not going to be as helpful as selling items that are high end and worth alot of money to buyers. Doing some research before buying is the way to do it I think.



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overcast
Lot of time small sales don't really convert. And for this reason many stores make website and put their high price items there. And they try to drive the traffic. Some of the time it works and some of the time it does not work. I guess each to their own methods.



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DenisP
Much like with anything else, I think that your degree of success is going to vary depending on your location. My aunt owns and runs a secondhand clothing shop, and while she makes enough money to just about cover the rent for the place, she doesn't make much of a profit. Why? I think it's because of where we're located. The people in my town are snobs, for lack of a better word. Most people here think that they're too good for secondhand clothing, even though a lot of the clothes she sells are wonderful and stylish. People have directly told me "I would never wear secondhand clothing, that's low class", and I just had to stare at them, dumbfounded. Like with everything, it's about location, location, location.



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overcast
I have to agree. Lot of shops perform better in some location. Like say kids uniform may sell in places nearby school. And some of the time the stationary shops too. And the beach and other places should have food and hobby type of shops. So it depends a lot on location. Because without that we don't have much of a shopping context.



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anyone01
While dealing in small items, search for items that you may sell for at the least three to four times what you paid for them. You'll have charges associated with locating the items, with displaying them to clients, and with sales and shipping; not each item you find will sell. That is how my buddy ran his resale business, for approximately five years.



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DenisP
I get what you mean but it’s kind of hard when you’re doing it on a grand scale the way my aunt was. I mean she had a small warehouse just filled to the brim with secondhand clothing, and while she definitely could’ve sold the items for two or even three times the price of the original purchase, the main problem was the customer base.

The people in our community just don’t care to buy secondhand clothing, and shipping items out wasn’t an option for her because our country has export laws and tariffs that could be likened to highway robbery. It’s absurd.

It just goes back to my point that it’s all about location, and what works in one place might not work in another.



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treecko142
Yeah, I sometimes do this when things are on sale on some stores, especially when selling products which are off-season, and then resell them at a later time when these items are on demand and in the right market.



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kgord
Some people are very successful with this sort of thing. IT would be a lot of work for a couple hundred a month though. Plus some buyers do nothing but waste your time. I like selling on local selling apps beter where no shipping is involved.



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Corzhens
Even if it is not a vintage clothing item but if the design is elegant and the material is classy then it wouldn't matter to some buyers. In fact, my sister and her husband are valued customers of second hand stores because they always buy used clothing items and personal accessories like belts, shoes and even hats. There is a market for used items. You just have to connect to them by promoting your business.



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PaleShade
It's very important the type of product which you wanna sell



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overcast
I think resale online shop is a good idea. Though earning regular from it may not be that easy. So you may have to find out if the earning from such business is going to be sustainable. And also one has to consider how good and easy it is going to be in that sense. I guess if we are to be considering the decent earning online. I'd say even if it breaks 10 sales a day that would be good enough.



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Soulwatcher
Its very sustainable, people bring things to the resale shops every day. And a lot of people are into buying used to save money. And a lot of what she buys are antiques and people are always on the hunt for antiques. Especially people looking to relive their childhood.



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overcast
I wish to try out the flea market too someday. I heard a lot of positive things about it. I am sure that it may help me with the shop and the product sales. That's something I may have to do in order to socialize with other sellers and buyers. I think that way the exposure for more products and sales would be there.



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JoeMilford
I am re-visiting this post, and the more I read over this, the more and more I think that this is a great idea! I don't really have the storage space for the merchandise though, so I would have to make sure that I could get a quick turn-around on whatever item or items I was selling, but other than that obstacle, I think that this idea could be quite profitable. Have you already had some luck with it if you are also trying it, like your relative? There are some great thrift shops in my area which would be an awesome source for merchandise for an enterprise such as this.



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overcast
I think it's not just about storage space. Also the margin while reselling the stuff. That is something I am struggling with as well. I am trying to understand if it can be done with the options like selling on the ebay and the amazon. That is something that needs to be understand here in this case.



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ballyhara
Here in my country people tends to do that for extra income. They even create some online profiles, some kind of online garages, and they offer all those vintage things they found. You can buy lot of items from 70's, 80's, and collectors literally rip them out of your hands. So yes, that's a profitable business, but it also requires a picky hunt to find some valuables to offer.



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overcast
Looks like a good idea of creating profiles and then trying to reach out to new people. Some of the time people just don't know how and when they want to work around. I personally have seen that things are not that easy. And we just work with what we can do in that context. So starting with selling something small and then building on top of that is a bit harder.



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ballyhara
That's honestly the best way to start. In fact, my sister and her boyfriend just wanted to sell some items of their own, which they weren't using, so they thought maybe someone could be needing them, and in a couple of months, now they're are attending big vintage garage sales, with a name of their own, people know them from their social media account, and they just started with a small selling.



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fishbate
I think its quite profitable, specially when you know your product. When i was still studying i tried buying second hand devices electronic devices and sell them online. Of course there are some items that needed some repairs, luckily i know electronics and i repair them myself. This helped my with my school expenses at that time. A full time re seller is a different space, i'm just waiting for the right time and money to start my own.



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overcast
I think starting business in anything for which you have idea. That helps a lot. So the electronics knowledge helps with selling accessories. I think a lot of people learn from their mistake in that case. I have known many people who make use of the low cost products and then they sell to high cost, you can learn a lot in that way.



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leeyong88
In my opinion, it's a very profitable job as the ROI is really high, and lesser expenses and maintenance are needed, unlike having an actual store. If the quality of the second-hand items is good, then I should say it's not a bad business at all. It is because they are used already, and then you priced them almost like a brand new, it could be unfair to the customers. Business may be like that, but let's not forget the welfare of our buyers as well.

Anyway, I'm not discouraging you to start, actually, I'll be very happy because as I have said, it is a very profitable job.



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vinaya
That's a great idea, however, it is also very tedious work. You have not only go searching for a second-hand item that is still in a good condition but also market your product that you have listed on ebay. If the products go unsold, your inventory will continue to pile up.



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overcast
I agree real life brick and mortar business and side hustles can be tedious. And they can add up a lot of pain into the mindset of the people. And if you compare the way resale business work these days. I'd say real business takes time to establish. And you have to work towards small goals and it can then work out in such case.



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vinaya
Everything has a price to be paid. There is no such thing as free lunch. Therefore, if you want to do business and make money, you must be ready to invest your time and money. You will have to work hard to establish your business. However, some businesses are riskier than others and I think second hand resealing is risky. You don't know what sells and what does not. You will have to acquire a lot of things and in most cases, only few things get sold. Your investment will continue to rise and your inventory continue to pile up.



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overcast
I agree the time investment often is more crucial. And we don't know what type of the output this may bring. So we just keep on working and working harder and we don't know where things go ahead with that. I guess those who are into resale business know about this as well. So we make choices based on that.



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vinaya
Whether your second-hand resale business works or not depends on the market condition. Your items must have some selling potential. You might try yard sale. If the people in your locality are interested in buying second-hand items, a yard sale can bring you a lot of sales.
There is a lot of interest in second hand mobile set in my town. Since some time I am brooding on the idea to open a shop for second-hand mobile sets, where people can buy and sell second-hand mobile sets.



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Soulwatcher
That's just it a lot of what she buys are antiques and they sell like hotcakes on eBay. Around here there are a lot of estate sales and whatever doesn't sell they donate it to second-hand resale shops. And plus people donate to clear clutter.

P.S. its not like she is selling second-hand coffee pots. =)



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Martinsx1
Between staying idle doing nothing and putting my free time into doing something that would earn me a good living like such business as starting up a second hand resale online store, I would completely take the latter option because it pays to be hardworking. Also looking at the situation of our country today with increasing rate of unemployment and lack of job opportunities, taking up such route to fend for myself seems to be a good plan.



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vinaya
If you want to star reselling second-hand item business, you will have to take a lot of care in choosing an item. As long as you are paying for the item you have to remain modest. I once bought a scooter in a hope to resell. I bought it because the item was used only for few months and did not have any signs of wear and tear, it looked like almost new. It was priced half. I could have made a lot of money, however, I did not find buyer and I ended up using it for myself.



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Martinsx1
That's quite a sad experience, and I'm sure that it's going to be very frustrating for you as you would have been filled with positivity of selling the item easily.

I actually had a friend who bought two gown and a wrist watch. She was able to sell the watch for almost the cost price as she didn't a lot of better offer. As of the gown, she ended up using them herself.



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vinaya
Second-hand resale works better if you are trying to sell your own items. For instance, I have about half a dozen second mobile handsets. The handsets are in good condition, therefore, I might find buyers. Since these handsets are mine, I don't have to spend money on acquiring the items. What ever I make will be my own profits. Eben if I cannot sell, I have nothing to lose. If I have to acquire items by paying money, I might be making a loss when I am unable to sell.



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ballyhara
You are completely right about this. For sure my sis and her boyfriend, are doing great with their vintage selling, but it takes a lot of time. Usually when they have to attend a big vintage garage sale, they have to spend the whole week deciding what popular items to bring, putting proper prices on those, cleaning and fixing the ones that need a hand of care. So, it has its benefits, but it also requires time investment, and that can be tedious for sure.



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gelotologist
This is probably a good business or a side business to make extra money. Reselling would be the job that I would want to take as well and for me to also gain an experience that is probably needed in terms of making a business in the future. Some of my friends are already in a business like this and they are paid decently each time they sell some items, even my friends little sister had a reselling business which mostly are about make-ups, make-up kits and other that my friends little sister's same age would buy.



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augusta
This has always being a lucrative business even in my home country, people that sell second-hand stuff makes good money because the products are always very cheap to sell and because of this people buys very quick and the turn over is quick as well.I think this will be a very good idea for those seeking out new businesses to invest in.



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overcast
Yes the resell cost and buying it cheap. Makes such products a must have option in such case. I am thinking in the direction where the resale business can be helpful. You can see that it can be really hard to see how the resale business have worked over a period of time. Some people manage it fine and some people require a lot more effort to handle it.



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vinaya
I have been buying second-hand items for a long time. I have bought electronics (TV/mobile phones), furniture and books. The first thing I consider while buying second hand is the condition. If the signs of wear and tear are clearly visible I will not buy it. Another point I consider is pricing. I will buy a second hand item only when the price is half. I think these conditions also apply when we are trying to sell second hand items. The buyer will always buy items in a good condition and the price is low.



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nolipangda
This kind of business is good whenever you try to get rid of your old stuff. However, you need to make sure what your selling is fully functional and still appealing to the eyes of the market.



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Destiny00
This is very true; presentation is important. When posting pictures of your merchandise, make sure to use good lighting and try to find a bland, neutral background. Paying attention to these simple details can really help to best present your product and spark the interest of the consumer.



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leeyong88
Most people buying from a second-hand store would actually ask for warranty, which is just a natural thing to do. But for me, I advise not to give one because it might be exploited by some people. So it is very great idea to make the stuff appealing so that customers will not have doubts about the product.



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Martinsx1
I strongly doubt that anyone buying a second hand product would ask for warranty because that's never going to happen. If you need any warranty, then it's best to go for a brand new product instead of second hand used ones.



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Adesuwa08
I have never thought about this, because it really sounds weird to me, like who still loves to buy second hand stuff out there? I am just amazed that this kind of sales still exist though I often hear about.

If following your description of online second hand tale then I will surely like to venture into such business since I can eaen money from it still.



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Barida
There are many people that are still interested in buying second hand goods as long as those products are in good condition. If you have noticed, the manufacturers of products always make quality products at the beginning and with time, adjust things. So, the thing is that some prefer to buy those early products even if it is second hand.



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Rumu
That is a very good approach towards making or earning a living via such channel.

Not just online resale, even offline resale is a very huge market base so it's likely to be successful for anyone who branches to earn in that manner. Good idea i must say.



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Barida
That's what I was saying in the sense that one should even make bigger sales offline as well. Telling neighbors and colleagues at the workplace is a good point to start off as well.



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Rumu
I like the point you made on informing friends and family of a new venture or business in an attempt to grow and widen your buisiness market place. This is a very clever move especially when you're just starting out.



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mildredtabitha
It is really a good idea to start a second hand online business. I would consider starting a similar business but not online since I will be guaranteed to have offline buyers.



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Tronia
Offline is good as well but if you do both you can reach offline and online markets. You're missing a big potential by not including online selling. Just imagine how many people use the internet for looking for all sort of products every single minute of the day Starting a second hand online resale business!



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mildredtabitha
Thanks for mentioning this. I did not think about it earlier and you are right. I will definitely follow your advice and I now agree that online business is equally important.



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narutos3nn1n
Well I remember some of my neighbors who were a distant relatives of mine having a garage sale of some clothes and some items that they have brought from another country on which they are working. Most of them are clothes and some appliances or tools for home. Their not second hand though but most of it must be bought cheap or maybe old enough and they haven't use for quite some time so they just decided to sell it to our neighbors.



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Barida
The electric iron that I am using at home at the moment was gotten via the stores that sells old products that were imported. The thing is that this appliance has lasted for years now and still strong unlike thr previous one that I used that could not last for that long. So, it is all about the quality of those items.



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Baburra
It really is a great way to get some side income. I think it's even fair the way they do it because if you really think about it, even if they just get the items from the thrift stores and double the price, it's basically just upping the price for the service you're doing of going through shops and finding these items so it really comes out fair in the end because the people who end up buying them are probably the people who would like to get these types of items from thrift shops but are not able to do it by themselves so they are willing to pay a bit extra to get something that is still probably relatively cheap in the end anyway.



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Barida
This is a good way to start earning, but one has got to market so much about the products offline as well for that is a good way to start selling offline as well.



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wallet
A friend of mine did something similar here but he bought electronic devices from second-hand stores and seel them online. He made a lot of money until now and what is really amazing is that he had never complainings from its buyers about the items he sells.



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leeyong88
I think your friend really knows the products he sells, that is why he is able to choose only those good ones. It is, therefore, a must that when you start this kind of business, you have a knowledge or background about the products you will be trying to sell.



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overcast
How much profit did he make? Also where did he sold? Like online or offline? I think it'd be something to consider in such case. I have learned through hard way. And trying to understand how the business works for some.



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Tronia
Yeah, it definitely works but one thing you have to take into consideration is also that you have to be prepared to make investments of your own first. So, you need to spend your own money buying the items and products that you will be reselling. Also, there's obviously some competition on the mentioned sites so look what you want to sell, see how competitive it is, what margin of profit you can make and more. Be prepared!



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Pixie06
I am an online seller and I mostly sell handmade products on eBay. I think a second hand online resale business is a very good thing. He will be able to sell his products worldwide and reach many customers. I guess advertising will help him get more customers. He can create a Facebook page for his business and advertise on the different social networks. I don't think this idea will work in my country though. We don't really have second-hand stores over here.



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Martinsx1
You mean hand made products like crafts, paintings, artifacts, beads etc? I'm sure that such commodities would get a lot sales online because it's not something many people are into.

I actually how how to make beads especially for necklaces and bangles but I haven't really thought about taking its sales to online stores. Maybe I should give it a trail and see how it goes. What do you think?



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Neutron04
I have an online business and I sell out fastfood toys from fastfood restaurants. At a cheaper price some of them are second hand. A lot of my clients are toy enthusiast that would make a collection out of fastfood toys. Second hand resale business is definitely good once you have the right clients for your business. What I did was made a facebook page to promote the product. It took sometime for me to establish but in the long run it worked well. The only problem is that it is not growing much as I started so that is a big challenge for me to promote more and to create new approach to sell out my products.



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kaka135
I did not know second hand resale business can make such a good profit. I have a friend who is thinking of starting a second hand book resale business, and I am not sure how it works as I am not familiar with this. Thank you for sharing this and it is encouraging to start a business like this. I am happy to read so many ideas from others too. I will share these with my friend, and hope this helps her to set up her business.



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Judas2018
I think this idea is most effective with electronic devices and tech items. Might be a bit trickier with clothing, apparel and things of that nature.



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Martinsx1
You are right, people hardly buy clothing materials or stock from second hand online selling stores. Personally, I'm not the type to wear any second hand clothes, so I wouldn't consider buying anything of sort online. But if it's tech or electronics, there is every good chance of someone buying it as long as it's still in a good functioning condition.



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JoeMilford
A friend of mine was telling me about this just the other day, actually. She follows a young lady on Pinterest who is a fashion major. This student knows a great deal about vintage fashion, so she will go around to thrift stores and find bargains. The idea is that she buys the garments for cheap and then basically triples her profit in other markets because she knows the true value of the product. I think doing things like this is so smart, and this is a great idea for a side gig, side hustle, or side business. I wonder if I could do this on a search of first edition books at thrift stores?



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mar06
I would love to grab this opportunity like this though it is a second hand business I will still get it. And I will apply some good things about it something that can catch attention of people then I will do that. Starting a second hand online resale business!



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fishbate
Second hand products are quite profitable specially furniture's and decorations. This type of business is trending nowadays specially those reclaimed furniture's, they are times that you could double your profit if you have skill in restoration and repair .



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henrywilson
I totally agree with you. My aunt started reselling jewelry that she buys in second-hand stores in different countries. She always buys unusual jewelry that can't be found in our city. That's why her business is in demand. And she started this business completely by accident. Once she went to San Diego business listings and she really liked one store with jewelry. She was so inspired that she decided to start the same business. But since she doesn't have the money to rent space and pay employees, she decided to do online business.



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Striker1s
If you want to start a small shop that will bring you a sort of a fortune, I recommend you to open a multi-vendor shop. It is the best thing that you can do to your shop and it will be a lot easier to buyers to see what are you selling. And for that I suggest you to contact the guys from https://www.cs-cart.com/how-to-bui...marketplace.html. They will give you the opportunity to open an online shop with the best tools that they have. You will have your own store with a unique design that will look awesome. You will have a mobile app for your own shop. You will have a lot of ways to promote your online shop. And believe me you will have a lot of buyers.



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M1ndPrototype
That is really good to know!



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Miniana
I run an online store where I sell fastfood toys that have been donated by fastfood restaurants. Any of them are secondhand and can be bought at a reduced price. Many of my clients are toy collectors who would like to start a collection of fastfood toys. When you have the right customers, the second-hand resale company can be very lucrative. In order to advertise the product, I have found this website setting up your business and it’s really worth checking. The amount of good advises on how to set up a new business is really big. You will be able to set it up by yourself and that is really precious.



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PaleShade
It's very important the type of product which you wanna sell



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PaleShade
They're some kind of products which will be hard to sell, so you have to make a plan and a small research about which second hand products sell the most of all. This business has a huge potential, you can always find costumers who cannot afford to buy the new products, so they prefer to buy them from second hand. My friend managed to recover in this way after the pandemic, with the help of https://www.antonybatty.com, and alongside with the experts from there, they managed to get even bigger results than before the pandemic.



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