Yard Sales Series - Part 3

If you want to make some extra money, you can scope out yard sales for items to resell. It's a way to acquire cheap inventory. Go with products you know about. For example, if you're a parent, then you're quite up-to-date on the hottest toys and their price range so keep an eye out at each sale you go to.

Do a little research first by checking out completed ebay auctions for items that you're "in the know" about. If you come across something at a yard sale and you aren't 100% sure about the profit potential, don't buy it. Instead, make a mental note to go home and research it. You have to make sure there is enough profit to make it worth your while. If you plan on putting the item on ebay, remember to consider the auction and paypal fees. Personally, I don't feel like it's worth my while to go through all the time consuming activities of ebaying (taking pictures, uploading them, making sure you have accurate description) for just a buck or two profit.

A great site to check out is http://www.resalequeen.com/. She has great tips mostly on children's items to resell. She hasn't been posting much lately but check out her archives. She'll crack you up too.

And lastly, a warning. If you want to maybe try reselling hangbags, MAKE SURE THEY ARE AUTHENTIC. If you don't know how to check for the authenticity of a certain "brand", google for direction. I got a Kate Spade hangbag at a yard sale for $1...or so I thought. The bag was in like new condition and I had every intention of putting it on ebay. It occured to me a couple of days later that I might better check and make sure it was a really a Kate Spade and not some knock-off. I googled "authentic kate spade" and it led me to a site that instructed how to check my purse out. As I was checking out the little tag that seemed to be sewn on, I noticed a little bit of the thread was unraveling. From the advice of the site, I decided to make sure the tag wasn't glued on and sure dang enough, that sucker peeled off. I was so disappointed. LOL The dollar signs diminished but my little girl did inherit a cute play purse in the process. Can you imagine if I'd put it up on ebay and this happened to the person who purchased it? And they would probably not believe it was just my sheer ignorance! So heed warning and be careful.