Make Money Reselling on eBay – A Seller's Guide to Flipping on eBay

Online marketplaces like eBay are full of resellers, especially since the popularity of secondhand shopping skyrocketed in recent years. As the original online marketplace for C2C commerce, eBay has long been a hub for resellers, with everything from vintage fashion to refurbished car parts listed and sold on the platform. But reselling on eBay is not as straightforward as listing an item and waiting for it to sell; there is a significant amount of work behind the scenes that makes a resold item attractive to buyers when they would otherwise be able to buy new directly from the manufacturer. In this guide, we'll dive into the world of reselling on eBay, and discover the ins and outs of how to start a reselling business on eBay. We'll start by understanding exactly what it means to resell and flip an item, go over where you can find items to flip and resell, understand how to spot profitable trends and decide what type of item you should resell on eBay, and more. Keep reading for a full beginner's guide to reselling on eBay.

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What is Reselling and How Does it Work on eBay?

While they may sound similar, reselling and flipping are actually two different – yet related – things. Before we dive into how to start a reselling business on eBay or what you should sell, we'll take a moment to understand what the difference is between reselling and flipping, and what makes eBay a good platform for both. In this section, we'll define what it means to resell, what it means to flip, and examine what makes eBay the ideal platform for sellers looking to resell and flip items online.  

Definition of Reselling and Flipping

Reselling is simply buying an item with the intention of selling it for a profit at a later date. Resellers can purchase wholesale stock from suppliers or buy items from other sellers. In other words, resellers sell items that they didn't make themselves, with the intention of making a profit on those items.

Flipping is a specific type of reselling where sellers will buy typically used or damaged items, fix or refurbish them in some way, and then sell them for a profit. Flipping is a term used for everything from houses to cars to furniture, but the concept remains the same – buy a damaged or used item, fix it up, then sell it for a profit.

Why is eBay a Great Platform for Reselling?

eBay has been around for a long time, and is a veteran ecommerce marketplace. It started out as a way for private individuals to sell items they no longer need, and quickly grew into a reselling giant in its own right. Today, eBay hosts over 18 million active sellers on its platform, selling everything from watches to wall art. Unlike platforms such as Amazon and Walmart, in which the platform sells products and competes against its own sellers, eBay is a seller-only marketplace. This means that eBay does not sell anything on its own; it simply provides a platform for third-party sellers to list their items, and for shoppers to purchase from those sellers safely and securely. Furthermore, eBay makes a variety of selling formats available to its sellers, including auctions and best offers, giving sellers more leeway in what and how they sell. Finally, unlike many other ecommerce marketplaces, eBay allows for the sale of used and secondhand goods, and only requires sellers to be honest and upfront about the condition of the item they're selling. All these factors make eBay the perfect platform for resellers and flippers alike.

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Where can I Find Items to Resell on eBay?

Where you'll source your inventory for reselling on eBay will depend heavily on what you plan to sell and how you plan to sell it. While you can theoretically source your stock from your nearest big box or department store, you'll find it difficult to sell these items for a profit on eBay, since buyers could just as easily purchase them first hand. You'll therefore need to source your items from places with attractive prices and worthwhile finds, so that the items you buy have the potential to turn a profit when sold on eBay. In this section, we'll touch on the three main sources of inventory for resellers on eBay: garage sales and flea markets, thrift shops and consignment stores, and retail arbitrage.

Garage Sales and Flea Markets

For secondhand goods, particularly home goods, garage sales are a goldmine for all kinds of items, both new and used. Oftentimes, garage sales will have new items that people have never even used, frequently in their original packaging. The better an item's condition and more complete its packaging, the more profit you can expect to make when reselling it on eBay. Garage sales and estate sales are also a good source of vintage pieces, including currently trending items like mid-century furniture and Y2K fashion.

Flea markets, too, are a good source of a wide variety of vintage items, and they oftentimes offer a wider selection of them. For example, if your eBay Store focuses on reselling vintage wall clocks, a flea market will have a wider selection for you choose from in comparison to a single garage sale. That said, while flea markets are oftentimes more convenient and offer a wider selection of items, they are more often than not more expensive when compared to estate and garage sales.

Thrift Stores and Consignment Shops

If you plan to resell secondhand fashion, thrift stores and consignment shops are a great place to find all kinds of inventory to list on eBay. As a general rule, the majority of the stuff you're likely to find at an average thrift store will be fast fashion and mall brands (which may be harder to resell on eBay), though this depends heavily on the area and the thrift store in question. For more exclusive, higher end pieces, consignment shops are the better option. While consignment shops tend to be more expensive – both because they tend to sell higher-end goods and because they are always for-profit – you'll still be able to resell items purchased from consignment at a profit on eBay if you go about it correctly.

Retail Arbitrage

Finally, retail arbitrage is another way sellers on online marketplaces source items to resell for a profit. The idea is simple – buy an item at a low or discounted price, then resell it on eBay for a profit. Many factors need to be taken into account when sourcing and reselling through a retail arbitrage model, including shipping costs and returns, in order to ensure you have worthwhile profit margins.

Today, retail arbitrage is done mostly online with tools that monitor prices on various retail sites in real-time, then automatically purchase items at a low price whenever you sell an item. It's similar to dropshipping on eBay, but with inventory sourced from other sellers rather than from a supplier.

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How to Identify Profitable Items to Resell on eBay

As a marketplace for anything and everything, it can be difficult to know what to sell on eBay. There are endless options for what you can sell, but finding the perfect reselling niche can be particularly challenging for new sellers. The items you choose to resell must be practical for you to source, as well as profitable enough to actually list and sell on eBay. In this section, we'll go over how to explore potential reselling niches to find the one that's right for you, and learn what factors you need to take into consideration when deciding on your product niche.

Research Sold Listings

Whether you have a general idea of what kind of items you want to sell or are going in completely blind, we recommend you begin by doing your homework on recently sold listings. In our experience, going immediately for the best-selling items on eBay is not always the wisest choice, especially as a reseller. That's because these product categories are highly competitive, and are particularly challenging for resellers since they oftentimes require them to compete against sellers who already have established business relationships with wholesale suppliers.

Instead, explore sold listings to get a better idea of kind of things buyers are looking for, rather than for exact items to sell. If you want to sell secondhand items, focus your search on things that shoppers usually look for second hand by filtering your search by item condition. Simply filter out conditions like "New with Tags" for clothes or "New with Box" for shoes, and start browsing. This will give you an idea of popular brands, as well as a ballpark range of what prices different items usually sell for.

Know Your Niche

After you've decided on a general product niche, it's important to be well-informed about the products you sell, because your customers certainly will be. In fact, your key to profit is knowing what you have and what it's worth, particularly when dealing with vintage or collectible items. Knowing what you're looking for will help you find something at a thrift shop for a steal, then sell it for a significant profit on eBay since you (and your buyers) know what it's really worth.

Look for High-Demand Items

How much you can make reselling on eBay will depend heavily on how in-demand your items are. If you choose to focus on a product niche that yields relatively low sales, you'll need to expand your eBay reselling business to higher turnover adjacent niches in order to ensure a steady revenue stream. Try to hone in on a product niche that strikes a balance between high customer demand and low seller competition, one that is both specialized enough to be a practical reselling niche while still being diverse enough to ensure consistent sales.

Consider Shipping Costs and Fees

No matter what you sell on eBay, shipping costs and selling fees will have a direct impact on your bottom line. It's important to take both of these into account when deciding on items to resell on eBay. For example, vintage furniture is very much in demand, but shipping prices often make selling it quite difficult on eBay. On the other hand, eBay's selling fees vary by category, so you'll need to make sure you can make a profit on your sales even after eBay's selling fees are deducted.

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What’s the 10 Best Profitable Items to Resell on eBay?

While the demand on eBay is always changing, there are certain categories that almost always offer attractive reselling prospects. In this section, we'll review ten of the most popular – and profitable – product categories for reselling on eBay, along with concrete examples of items you can buy and resell on eBay for a profit. As you read through them, remember that this is not an exhaustive list of items you can resell on eBay, nor will these categories necessarily be the best choice for your eBay reselling business. Instead, use this list as a starting point for finding the best items for your unique selling needs, and make sure to take into account the factors we discussed in the previous section.

1. Vintage Clothing and Accessories

By far the most popular product category for online resellers, secondhand clothes and accessories are easy to sell and ship. As such a popular category, there's no shortage of competition, which is why it's important to know your specific fashion niche inside and out, and to make sure you stick to it.

Some popular items in this category include vintage handbags, Y2K clothing, costume jewelry, and accessories like sunglasses and scarves.

2. Collectibles and Antiques

In-the-know collectors of vintage and antique goods hold eBay in high regard, as it's consistently proven to be a great place to find unique items to add to their collections. This makes the collectible and antique product categories particularly profitable for resellers, but there's a catch – your buyers will be knowledgeable, and you'll need to be at least as knowledgeable as they are in order to make a profit.

This category is extensive, and includes collectibles like baseball cards and sports memorabilia, antique jewelry, art, and more.  

3. Electronics and Gadgets

Phones, tablets, laptops, and even vintage tech are frequently bought and sold on eBay. As long as you're upfront about the condition of the item you're selling, you can be confident that you'll have no shortage of buyers in this product niche. You can even sell through the eBay Refurbished Program to give your buyers peace of mind and boost your profit potential.

Popular items in this category include smartphones, smartwatches, laptops, cameras, and more.

4. Brand Name Clothing and Shoes

For fashion-forward shoppers, eBay is the place to go to find name brand clothing and shoes at attractive prices. Both women's and men's fashion are in demand, making this a lucrative slice of the eBay reselling market.

Popular brands include mid-range fashion brands like Anthropologie, athleticwear and sneaker brands like Lululemon and Air Jordan, and higher-end fashion brands like Gucci and Luis Vuitton.

5. Home Décor and Furniture

A popular niche on practically all ecommerce marketplaces, home décor and furniture of all kinds are sought after by shoppers on eBay. A selling niche that spans everything from placemats to patio furniture, you'll have no shortage of selling opportunities to expand to as your business grows. In our experience, however, the most profitable products are those that are priced at a low enough price to qualify as an impulse buy for the average eBay shopper, while also being simple and cheap enough to ship out quickly.

Some popular items in this category include art prints, throw pillows, wall decals, and vinyl stickers.

6. Sports Memorabilia

There's no shortage of sports fans for practically every sport under the sun, which makes sports memorabilia a product niche with virtually endless opportunity. Although it is a smaller product niche, exclusive, rare, or signed sports memorabilia can go for very high prices, especially when sold using eBay's auction selling format.  

Ideas for what to sell in this category include fan apparel and souvenirs, jerseys, autographed memorabilia, and autograph reprints.

7. Toys and Games

Toys and games are popular with shoppers on eBay, geared towards adults and children alike. With so many specialized hobbies and interests, focusing on selling items from this category will oftentimes include close interaction with a relatively small base of returning customers, so good customer service is key.

Popular subcategories in the toys and games niche include classic board games, model vehicles like RC cars and model trains, dolls such as Barbies, puzzles for both children and adults, and stuffed animals.

8. Auto Parts and Accessories

eBay is a hub for all things car parts, with eBay Motors being one of the more popular destinations among car enthusiasts for finding everything from parts to aftermarket upgrades.

Ideas for items to sell in this category include car mats, stereo wiring harnesses, car batteries, and emblems.

9. Baby Gear and Kids' Clothing

Two distinct yet equally popular item categories, baby gear and kids clothing will never not be in demand. Due to the high turnover nature of kid's and baby's clothes, your selling strategy in this category should optimize for sales volume over high profit margins.

Popular items in these include solid color children's t-shirts, pajama sets, Croc charms, baby toys, infant onesies, and baby shoes.

10. Watches and Jewelry

Easy to ship and with high profit margins, watches and jewelry are perfect for selling online. This category encompasses a wide range of price points and subcategories, and has something for every seller and every buyer.

Watches to sell in this category include fashion brands, like Swatch, mid-range brands like Casio and Seiko, high-end brands like Movado, and even luxury brands like Omega. For jewelry, you can sell from budget, handmade, vintage, fine, and even branded jewelry, making for a wide range of selling opportunities.

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Things to Consider When Buying Items to Resell on eBay

Finding the best product niche for reselling on eBay is just the first step to launching a successful eBay reselling business. Once you've determined what it is you want to sell, however, you need to know how to source items that are worth reselling. In this section, we'll examine some key considerations you'll need to take into account when sourcing inventory, so you can ensure that the items you list on your eBay Store are not only worth selling, but also safe to sell on eBay. These tips are based on our many years of experience with eBay, and we recommend beginner sellers use them as a checklist when sourcing items for their eBay reselling business.

Condition of the Item

If you plan to sell vintage or secondhand items, it's important to ensure that the stock you source is in suitable condition to sell. Even if your listing is entirely honest and upfront about the item's condition, you'll be hard pressed to find buyers willing to purchase an unusable smartphone or a vintage ottoman that requires a professional reupholstery job. If you don't want to get into flipping, pass on items that are not worth reselling in the condition they're currently in.

Authenticity and Counterfeit Concerns

Arguably the golden rule of eBay selling, it's crucial that the item that arrives with the buyer is exactly as you described it in the product listing. This mean more than just disclosing any defects; above all, your item should be authentic (assuming you're selling a branded item). Selling replicas, dupes, our outright counterfeit items is prohibited on eBay, and can even result in a lifetime ban from the platform for repeat offenders. Don't risk your eBay Store by purchasing inauthentic items, and do your homework to ensure that the items you source are 100% authentic.

Shipping and Packaging Costs

Your eBay reselling business should sell things that strike a balance between shipability and saleability. Some items, no matter how popular they may be, are simply not worth reselling on eBay because of their potential shipping and packing costs. Heavy items, bulky items, or hazardous items (like lithium batteries) may require extra shipping costs, which need to be taken into account when determining if the item is worth reselling on eBay.

Your Profit Margins

The aim of starting a reselling business on eBay is to make money, and you won't be able to do that if you can't turn a profit on your sales. When you source your items, be sure that the cost of the item is low enough for you to remain profitable after accounting for shipping and packaging to your buyer, eBay selling fees, and potential listing promotion costs. New sellers often struggle with this, which is why we recommend using our eBay profit calculator and PayPal fee calculator to ensure that you have enough leeway in your desired listing price to remain profitable before adding an item to your inventory.  

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Listing Your Resale Items on eBay

All eBay sellers can benefit from adhering to good listing practices, but resellers on eBay in particular stand to gain a significant boost in sales and visibility from applying them to their eBay Store. Below, we'll give you a general overview of eBay's listing types and their features, go over how to take the best photos of your items for your listings, understand how to write listing descriptions with keywords, and learn how to manage your listings and inventory in a way that prioritizes sales and prevents stale stock.

Listing Types and Features

eBay makes several listing formats available to its sellers, with each listing format including a selection of customizing features. We'll focus on the two types of listings that are relevant for reselling on eBay: fixed-price listings and auction style listings.

Fixed Price Listings

An eBay listing with a set price for the item. The seller determines a selling price, and buyers can choose to buy at that price.

Best Used For: Selling contemporary items, selling items where you have more than one unit available.  

Fixed Price Listing Features:

• Best Offer: Sellers can choose to add a bargaining feature, known as Best Offer, to their eBay listings. They'll be able to accept, reject, or send counteroffers to buyers through this feature.
• Multi-Quantity Listings: Sell multiple items in one listing, including multiple units, item variations, and kits. This is made especially easy when you use 3Dsellers to list on eBay.
• Seller Hub Discounts: Create sales and promotions such as bundle discounts or category-wide sales using eBay Seller Hub Promotions.

Auction Style Listings

Auction style eBay listings are listings in which eBayers are able to place bids on a listed item. These listings run for a predetermined amount of time, and the highest bidder at the end of the auction wins the item.

Best Used For: Reselling vintage, collectible, trending, or rare items.

Auction Listing Features:

• Reserve Price – Sellers can add a reserve price, which is the lowest price they're willing to sell the item for. This price is not visible to bidders; they will only know whether or not the reserve price has been met after the first bid is made.
• Buy It Now – Sellers can choose to add a buy-it-now price to their auctions. The buy-it-now price must be at least 30% higher than the auction's starting price.

Taking the Best Photos for Your Listings

Unless you have a selection of catalog images for each item you sell, you'll need to take photos of your items yourself to use as listing images. Resellers often don't have catalog images, which is why you'll need to be familiar with how to take the best photos of your items. Including high-quality item images in your listings is essential for your listings' SEO and conversion, and in our experience, are the best way to make a good first impression with potential buyers.

eBay allows sellers to upload up to 12 pictures to their single item listings, and 24 pictures to their variation listings in order to showcase each product variant. We recommend making full use of all your available image slots to showcase your product from a variety of angles and illustrate details like scale and texture. Your first image, however, should always be of the item head on and against a neutral background.

Another important thing to keep in mind when photographing your items is consistency in styling. Your listing images should look intentional, and, with the exception of your main listing image, should make use of styling and props to establish a consistent look and feel for your brand. Plan ahead by establishing a color palette for your brand, and source props and backdrops that align with your brand's aesthetic.

Listing Descriptions and Keywords

Buyers on eBay will usually search for a specific item rather than click into and browse through a product category. Because the majority of sales start out with buyer searches, the importance of eBay SEO cannot be overstated. While including plenty of listing images and making full use of product identifiers is a significant part of a solid SEO strategy, an equally important aspect is knowing how to utilize keywords to ensure better performance in buyer searches.

For every item you sell, you'll need to conduct a thorough keyword research to give you a selection of search terms buyers are likely to use when looking to purchase an item like yours on eBay. With a list of keywords in hand, use them to create optimized eBay listing titles on your own, or use our free eBay listing title generator tool to create optimized titles using keywords. When writing your item descriptions, make sure to work the keywords naturally into the text. Don't shoehorn them in, and don't use irrelevant keywords – you may find your listing penalized by eBay if you do.

Managing Your Listings and Inventory

Having established listing and inventory management systems in place is important for every kind of online selling, eBay reselling included. If you plan to sell more than a handful of items, an eBay listing manager like 3Dsellers is an integral part of an effective and efficient eBay listing strategy. 3Dsellers enables you to edit product listings, manage your product data, and list products in bulk with optimized listing templates proven to convert for as many eBay selling accounts as you need from one simple, user-friendly interface.

In terms of inventory management, it's important to store your items securely and in an environment that keeps them in pristine condition, especially when you're dealing with vintage items, collectibles, textiles, and electronics. If you don't have somewhere suitable to store your inventory, consider investing in a warehousing service for storing inventory and fulfilling your orders. Furthermore, it's important to monitor your inventory to see what items have a hard time selling, and take that information with you as you source new stock for your eBay store so you don't continue adding inventory that you can't easily sell.

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Final Thoughts & Key Takeaways: The Potential of an eBay Reselling Business

How much you can make reselling on eBay depends not only on what you sell, but how you approach your eBay reselling business. If you plan to run a hobbyist business where you sell your own secondhand items, your earnings potential will be limited, but if you plan on buying inventory and reselling it on eBay, your chances of establishing a profitable eBay reselling business are high.

Starting and running a successful eBay reselling business requires more than just sourcing inventory and listing it on eBay – you'll need to carefully craft your listings with well-researched keywords, utilize responsive and optimized listing templates, and select listings to promote in order to boost your visibility and increase your sales. The best way to do this is by utilizing an eBay listing management tool like 3Dsellers, which will enable you to efficiently manage multiple eBay Stores, and facilitate strategic scaling as your eBay reselling business grows.