How to Find the Best Items to Resell

Reselling 101

By RC Staff

03 March 2023

In order to sell any good, you first have to acquire it. Successful resellers operate by purchasing goods and reselling them for more than they paid. Of course, there are many ways to make this equation work out.

You could simply buy an item at retail price and sell it to an interested party for a markup, which is the most common way to resell goods. Other times you may be able to acquire products at a discount price, and sell them for less than retail. As long as your money out is less than money in, you’re making a profit by reselling.

Whether you go after hyped releases or combing vintage shops, learning where to find items to resell is a vital part of your business.

First, let’s look at why reliable sourcing is so important:

Why you should research your reselling items

Without a solid idea of where to buy your items, you may be left empty handed. Can’t really resell an item if you can’t find someone to sell it to you in the first place.

Additionally, you need a solid grasp of an item’s retail price and avoid buying marked up products. Protecting your profit margin is critical. If an item you want to resell has an established aftermarket, you won’t be able to sell it for more than other resellers. In these cases, your potential profit is entirely reliant on how much you buy a product.

Knowing where to find cheap items to resell, as well as the best places to find resell items is critical to staying profitable.

What are the best items to resell?

Now, this is a subjective question. For one, the best items to resell are always changing.

During 2021 and 2022, you’ve likely heard all about how graphics cards were great for resellers. At the time, this was undoubtedly true. Demand for GPUs was through the roof, with consumers willing to pay significantly over the retail price. At the time, snagging $500 or more in profit was easy.

If you tried to resell a GPU at that premium in 2023, you would never make a sale. The supply and demand has shifted enough to make this untenable.

Consoles on the other hand are still hot. While the profit has dipped, it’s still possible to buy a PlayStation 5 and resell it for a profit in 2023, going on three years after its launch. Consoles are still great to resell because demand remains strong. Consumers want them, they want them now, and they will pay a reseller for one.

When you’re trying to find items to resell, you’ll want to balance profit, speed, and risk.

Profit is obvious. If it’s not profitable, it’s not worth selling. You’ll oftentimes see extremely hyped releases of shoes and clothes resell for extremely high prices. Consumers will buy these goods at inflated prices because the demand around them is intense, and they’ve been produced in such limited numbers that there simply aren’t enough to go around. In these cases, the highest bidder wins.

Speed is also important. Maybe you’re only interested in easy items to resell (no shame in that!) If you work a full-time job or simply want your cash today, longer holds are probably not what you’re after.

And with speed, comes risk. How much money, time, and effort are you willing to risk on any particular flip? Risk is unavoidable, but as a reseller you can choose to what degree you are putting yourself on the line. Risky items to resell include those produced in greater numbers, or without an established aftermarket.

Alright, that’s a lot. Let’s keep things simple. First, let’s dive into profit.

How to find profitable items to resell

If you’re looking for the most profitable items to resell, you’ll generally be looking at expensive items. Not only that, but items that are produced in limited numbers, targeted at adult, wealthy consumers. Think of collectibles, limited edition vinyl pressings, or cards. These are profitable items to resell because consumers already anticipate paying a significant amount up front, and won’t balk at buying from a reseller.

Alternatively, you can secure a handy profit by buying profits at a discount, and reselling them to interested parties.

Where to find cheap items to resell

For newer items, you’ll generally be trying to buy direct from the manufacturer when possible. Pay attention for drops in price. Sometimes, manufacturers may choose to discount certain products to make room for new products. Other times, a price error results in items being sold for significantly less than expected.

If you’re selling older or discontinued items, you may have luck at local stores. Doing a simple web search for “where to find vintage goods” in your area will typically come up with plenty of shops specializing these items. Combing through their stock can be a great way to find hidden gems. Some of the best vintage goods to resell are collectible vinyl records, shoes, designer clothes and handbags, or books.

It will be harder to get a good deal when buying online. If a seller is listing their vintage goods online, they’ve likely already had a chance to research how much they are worth. It’s generally much rarer to find an underpriced item online, so you’ll want to emphasize local options.

Where to buy items to resell for huge profits

High profits will come from the most hyped products. This is the stuff produced in limited numbers and sold to large audiences. When you have enough buyers competing against each other, you’ll see resell prices tend to rise.

Unfortunately, these items will often be the hardest to buy. When you go after a hyped shoe drop for example, you’re competing with all the people trying to buy a pair for themselves, as well as a legion of other resellers. Many of these drops are dominated by bots as well, so it can be extremely difficult to secure any product manually.

RC Elite members often target items outside of mainstream reselling. Instead of the high profile drops on everyone else’s radar, the goal here is to find dedicated communities with fans willing to pay extra for their hobbies and interests. Craft whisky, knives, leatherwork come to mind.

Trading card games like Magic: The Gathering or Pokémon are well known for their insane aftermarkets, but there are lesser known opportunities as well. One of RC Elite’s best cooks came in 2021, after RC correctly predicted the future success of the Metazoo IP. Members got in on the ground floor of the Kickstarter edition, paying $100 for boxes that would reach almost $10,000 at their peak.

The best part? These boxes were EASY to get. Other reseller weren’t interested in taking a gamble on the product, so RC Elite members who bought in had little competition.

The best items to resell fast

If you want to make repeated, regular profits through reselling, you’ll want to target fast flips. These tend to useful items, rather than collectible ones. Electronics are a great idea. Consoles are obvious, but some hardware accessories like computer mice and headphones have dedicated consumers looking to buy up stock. Bitcoin and other crypto miners represent an opportunity as well; buyers have to regularly update obsolete devices, so there’s always demand for the latest model.

When an item is functional rather than collectible, you have time on your side. A buyer who wants to use a particular product is motivated to buy one as soon as possible, and these items resell very fast. Conversely, you may have to hold a product for some time if you’re trying to sell to a collector. In these cases, a collector doesn’t necessarily need to make a purchase immediately, so they can afford to wait.

Finding items to resell you're passionate about

Considering how hard it can be to get into on the most hyped items, reselling more niche products can be just as profitable and far more reliable. Your hobbies may be a source for items to buy and sell.

Do you like video games? Collector’s editions can resell for thousands, and certain merch is produced in limited numbers and sells out fast.

What about music? You might already have a line on an upcoming album drop that no one else is watching,

Maybe you build legos, collect plushes, or you love a particular comic character. You may not think it, but you might already have a great idea of what products will resell. By taking leveraging your own interests, you can actually get a head start over other resellers.

Where to find vintage items to resell

Try to stay local when looking for vintage goods. Online sellers will typically have a better idea of what their items are worth than a local store. Additionally, garage and estate sales can be an opportunity to score some vintage items to resell. Flea markets, collector’s expos, and thrift shops can all have hidden gems waiting for you.

Follow other resellers on social media

If you haven’t already, we recommend giving Fat Kid Deals a follow on Twitter. This account is a great resource for a wide variety of discounted items. While not everything posted can be resold, its a great demonstration of how many items can be found at lower prices.

Follow other knowledgeable people in your hobby’s community. Pay attention to upcoming events, and collaborations. If a content creator announces they have an upcoming project, learn more about it and see if it could be an opportunity to resell. While it’s impossible for any one reseller to keep an eye on every potential cook, you should always be looking for new opportunities and places to find resell items.

Join RC Elite to find items to resell

When you join a community of resellers, you’re opening tons of doors. Of course, you’ll have advanced knowledge of upcoming drops and all the information you need to take stock. In addition, you will meet other resellers with tons of experience. You’ll realize there’s an entire world of products that can resell.

Items posted in RC feature a handy breakdown of reselling profits, as well as the potential risk. You will have all the information needed to resell an item at your fingertips, as well as the advice of experienced resellers for every situation.

If you want to start or build your reselling business, make money from home, and never miss out a new opportunity to resell, subscribe to our newsletter, and join RC Elite.