14X Return Thrift Store Flips Complimenting Recycling Efforts - $1,325 Revenue From 9 Items @ $94.58 Cost

$1 spent for a $312 sale? Yep... see below.

I realize that many people don’t have access to the same quality and quantity of household items on my city’s curbs.

While the majority of my focus has been on selling salvaged recyclables, I still thrift occasionally and will try to inspire in that realm as well.

If you aren’t able to find things for free like me, you can easily find things for almost no cost from high volume thrift stores. I’m talking about larger chains that have lots of donations and don’t research pricing for each item. I’m not talking about smaller shops that fall in love with their slower inflow of items to grossly overprice.

Thrifting was a huge part of my income stream before curbside recycling. At my peak, I made enough from thrifting to justify quitting my full-time corporate job almost 6 years ago. I used to hustle to 8-15 stores a day, sometimes getting up to 18 stores! Now think about why I was able to quit, and why casually going to 1-2 stores on a weekend doesn’t cut it.

While the game has gotten harder (higher prices and better items reserved for online auctions), it’s still a great way to supplement income and have fun. This is the case if you’re dedicated, consistent, and make good purchase decisions. You can get lucky at times, but it’s a decent commitment to generate meaningful revenue.

—————

Here are a few recent sales to show that you can make nice profit at minimal risk from thrift stores. My costs remain especially low because I pass on items that I’ll make 2-3x on. I want better returns to justify my time and the storage space. I also walk to many stores, and/or take public transportation with free transfers between subways and buses. This keeps other costs down and saves me tons of time.

Mega Rare Sega Dreamcast Game:

• Bought for $1.08.
• Sold online for $312 with positive customer feedback.
• Yes, $312.00.
• I found this in a huge stack of Dreamcast games that were clearly from the same donor. I bought about 10 games for $1 each and have had no trouble selling them.
• I left about 10 behind since they were reselling for $20-$25, but realized that I should’ve sold them as a set for $150. Stupid me. They were all gone the next day when I went back to try to fix my error.
• The store manager who likes to help me went to the basement and brought up the Dreamcast console I bought for almost nothing. Bingo.

Sega Dreamcast Game #2,

• Bought for $1.08.
• Sold online for $58.
• More proof from story above.
• Disc was flawless.

Rare Kasparov Electronic Chess Trainer:

• Bought for $7.64.
• Sold almost instantly online for $175. Boom!
• This was a special wooden set in perfect condition.
• I’d just sold a lower level Kasparov trainer set from the curbs for cash that week, so I was all over this one... as soon as the fool debating it on the shelf decided to pass, letting me swoop in immediately as he stepped away.

First Gen Apple iPod From 2002:

• Bought for $27.21.
• Sold for $280 cash.
• In shockingly excellent shape with tons of music and a great battery.
• I considered keeping this as an investment since it was a strong collectible that’d appreciate, but I also like cash to buy crypto.
• This was a very very rare find with the larger 10 GB data size.

Sealed New Spy Goggle Toy:

• Bought for $32.65.
• Sold online for $165.
• This took a while to sell, but I held my ground on the price.
• I was a bit unhappy with my purchase cost, which was high for my taste, but the margin was still worthwhile.
• I was surprised that the store charged that much for it. It’s usually something they’d charge $15 for, but they now have people researching items (often doing a bad job to overprice) before the shelves.

Sealed New Covid Rescue Worker Figure:

• Bought for $5.44.
• Sold online for $102.
• I also found a second one of a different worker type that’ll sell any time now for slightly higher.

Sealed New Beauty Product:

• Bought for $6.52.
• Sold right away online for $85.
• I love finding items like these that are factory sealed, not expired, and high-end quality brands for layup income.

Modem/Router:

• Bought for $4.25.
• Sold online for $75.
• A very popular model sold with a replacement power supply I found on the curbs.
• Good modems/routers sell very well if they’re relatively current.

Rare Looney Tunes Taz Polaroid Camera:

• Bought for $8.71
• Sold online untested for parts/repair For $73.
• If this was tested with an expired film cartridge, I’d have been able to get $75 more.
• It likely worked, but investing $20 into film to try wasn’t worth it.

—————

Summary:

• $94.58 spent.
• $1,325 revenue before fees and shipping when not sold for cash.
• I made 14x in initial revenue vs initial cost.
• 9 items for $1,325 = $147.22 revenue per.

—————

While these numbers are strong, I don’t find thrifting to be worth the hustle these days. I find plenty more for free by walking around my neighborhood a few weeknights a week to pluck valuable household items from the curbside recycling. There’s almost no competition on the curbs, where there’s constant competition at thrift stores. I also appreciate my environmental impact far more than shopping for deals.

Plus, why pay when I can source for free?

Again, the main point of this post is to relate to those who can’t salvage recycling, but have strong interest in reselling. Feel free to image search for my name and thrifting to find plenty of prior examples I’ve blogged about over the years if it’s too hard to scroll down my blog.

Thanks for stopping by and please do share any thoughts or questions. I’m here to help and motivate.

Matt