Most of what I thrift, I plan to at least try to resell. And yet, I haven't done a ton of research on what sorts of items are hot sellers, and I don't go looking for particular brands/marks/designers/etc. Maybe I should. Maybe if I did, I'd be already making money at it. But I admit I haven't ever been all that motivated by money. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have money. I'd like to make money off of my obsession with vintage things, particularly. But money has always seemed more like an unfortunate necessity that forces me to spend 40-50 hours a week in a cubicle than something I want to someday swim around in like Scrooge McDuck.
I don't care about the best cars or big houses in perfect neighborhoods. And so like everything else in my life (the French lit degree, trying to move to Mauritius, getting involved in urban ministry...), I know I probably could make choices that would make more money thrifting. For instance I keep reading about people making money off of certain Starbucks mugs. But I can't be bothered. I keep passing on the mugs, for $.10 at St Vincent de Paul, because they just... don't interest me.
So I buy what I like. Sure, I keep my phone handy and Google the names on labels sometimes, but for the most part, if I don't get excited about it personally, it's not coming home with me, and if I do get excited about it, I don't care what Google says. I'm hoping that "what I like" (which is a very, very broad category) translates into "what people want to buy", but I'm not trying to force it. Which in one way is nice, because... at least if nobody does want to buy it, I'll be stuck with a bunch of stuff I like, instead of a bunch of stuff I hoped other people would like.
But if you are, or are thinking about being a reseller, do you have a coherent philosophy for what you buy? Do you stick to a certain type of thing, or a certain era, or a certain aesthetic? Do you buy only what is in a certain price range, or what you think will sell for X amount more than what you pay, or, like me, do you just blunder around without a plan, buying what pings some pleasure center in your brain and hoping it will do the same for the next person?
I don't care about the best cars or big houses in perfect neighborhoods. And so like everything else in my life (the French lit degree, trying to move to Mauritius, getting involved in urban ministry...), I know I probably could make choices that would make more money thrifting. For instance I keep reading about people making money off of certain Starbucks mugs. But I can't be bothered. I keep passing on the mugs, for $.10 at St Vincent de Paul, because they just... don't interest me.
So I buy what I like. Sure, I keep my phone handy and Google the names on labels sometimes, but for the most part, if I don't get excited about it personally, it's not coming home with me, and if I do get excited about it, I don't care what Google says. I'm hoping that "what I like" (which is a very, very broad category) translates into "what people want to buy", but I'm not trying to force it. Which in one way is nice, because... at least if nobody does want to buy it, I'll be stuck with a bunch of stuff I like, instead of a bunch of stuff I hoped other people would like.
But if you are, or are thinking about being a reseller, do you have a coherent philosophy for what you buy? Do you stick to a certain type of thing, or a certain era, or a certain aesthetic? Do you buy only what is in a certain price range, or what you think will sell for X amount more than what you pay, or, like me, do you just blunder around without a plan, buying what pings some pleasure center in your brain and hoping it will do the same for the next person?
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