One persons junk is another persons treasure. That in essence is what made eBay the powerhouse that it is today. People discovered that there others out there who are willing to spend money on the things that they no longer want. Things that would have been thrown out in the garbage wind up in the hands of collectors who consider them treasure. That in essence is why thrift stores make such a great source for items to learn how to sell on eBay. A thrift store is just a place that people can take their unwanted items and every day millions of people do. Much of that clutter is name brand clothing that is in big demand on eBay.
Now, most of the clothing items in thrift stores are not going to sell on eBay. These are the common names that you can find by the thousands. Names like Faded Glory, Croft & Barrow and Sonoma just are not in demand because they are not a bigger name brand and they are carried everywhere. But there are other names like Ralph Lauren, North Face and Lacoste and many more that are in demand on eBay. These are brands that the manufacturer spent tens and hundreds of millions of dollars over the years building a brand name that people want to own.
Brand names have a certain status symbol, better quality and functionality of lesser brands. People want these brands but also want a bargain. They look on eBay to find those bargains. They also want vintage clothing and harder to find names and styles. This is the market that you are after, but first you must know what it is they want and are looking for.
This is the key to selling on eBay, knowing what names people are looking for.
Thrift stores are filled with thousands and thousands of pieces of clothing. Only a small percentage will be worth buying to sell, but they ARE out there. You just have to hunt them out. And the way to know what to hunt for is by being well prepared by first studying what people want. This takes some time but is worth it or you will just waste your time and money by buying stuff nobody wants. That isn't any fun. What is fun is when you find an item you KNOW will sell on eBay. This is because you know the market and have done your research.
The only way to know what to look for is by studying closed auctions on eBay. You MUST get to know different categories of clothing and what sells and what is in demand like jeans, sweaters and jackets as well as the gender group like mens, womens, boys or girls. Keep a notebook of all your searches. As you go on, you will start to see patterns emerge of certain names that are in demand. You also will gain knowledge and start to find more and more items that sell at a very nice profit on eBay. Your thrift store is full of them, you just have to be selective by being well armed with knowledge when you go into your local thrift store.
What is unknown is how much your items will sell for. That is the brilliance of eBay, it is an auction. The price is determined by the market and how determined each individual bidder is. This is great for you because the sky is literally the limit for some items. I have seen sweaters sell for $1,500 even $2,000. Leather jackets like East West Musical Company can sell for many hundreds of dollars and even old Red Wing boots can sell for $300.There are collectors who will bid what it takes to add something to their collection and clothing is something there are rabid collectors out there waiting to find the next piece to their collection. Think about that when you research closed auctions on eBay.