My Thrifting Challenge!

I am going to experiment. Usually my experiments don’t end up well. My usual way of doing things is to do a knee jerk reaction to something going on in my life.

We are struggling financially. It is the reason I am starting my journey to blog but I am looking for other income streams. I also work full time as a graphic designer in a low paying job that I love. Sometimes it is worth the sacrifice of a lower pay to have peace of mind. Plus I adore my work family. But we just need more income.

The point being my knee jerk reaction right now is to blog but also try thrifting for resale. To make a profit.

I enjoy thrifting. It always seems a bit like a modern day treasure hunt. Either you buy junk that should have be melted down to recycle or you on occasion stumble upon a pot of gold.

I am always surprised by what people get rid of. I have found complete sets of high priced cookware that I still use to this day. I paid around $40 for a complete set of pots, pans AND lids. New it can retail for $200+ easily. I struck my pot of personal gold.

I have also sold a few times on Ebay items I have found for a generous mark up. I have learned a few things about selling for a profit.

You need to find in demand items. Quality items.

You need to have space to store the items you buy.

You need to ship and charge for it.

You need to have a quick turn around on shipping.

Some of those listed items can be difficult at times. Things such as packaging and getting to the post office to ship can be a pain when you work full time. Having the space is always a challenge where we live. I can’t have a large inventory of items that collect dust while I await someone to buy it.

One of the modern day thrifting advantages is the cell phone. The ability to look items up while you are standing there. For me, Google Lens App is awesome! You take a photo of the item, search the images and you can get ballpark prices and how in demand it is. I am not a tech person though so you can look into it. I may do another post at another time about it.

What I decided to do was buy a few items this past week at the thrift store. I purchased several types of items.

Bookbag. Volcom brand. I love the colors! I would be shocked if it was ever used.

Two hand thrown pottery chalice. I several other pieces already of this potter.

A San Diego Glass keepsake piece.

A Calphalon 10″ pan. This needs cleaning and seasoning of the cooking surface. This sells on Amazon at the Calphalon Store. (Affiliate link)

A Breadman bread maker. It looks like it was never used, but you can see the loaf I made in it last night. I may keep this but storage, once again will be the deciding factor. Not bad for $10! Here is a link to one on Amazon used.

My receipt for the purchase. Take out one item for $3. Dan found something he liked. My total spent was $26.50 with tax.

Can I make at least double the amount on resale in the right market. That would be at least $50. Hoping to triple to make it worth my time.

I will keep you posted.

Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com.