Ever see a deal that you thought was too good to be true?  You grab one for yourself but then thought maybe your friends or family might need one too.  Have you ever thought about buying and selling it for a profit?  Buying and selling online is not a new concept, millions of people do it daily on eBay, Amazon, Etsy…anyone can do it including you!  Anything can be ‘flipped’ for profit because almost everything goes on sale and can be bought low and resold high. What separates the profits and losses when it comes to buying and selling online often depends on the right tools and tricks of the trade.  Just like a handyman is nothing without his/her tools, a flipping is nothing without the right tools as well.  Let’s get started!

How To Buy and Sell Anything Online For A Profit

Step 1:  Get the tools ready

• Amazon App –  Anytime you come across something you think might be worth selling, pull out the Amazon app and see how much it’s going for.  The app allows you to scan barcodes directly from the box.
• Amazon Mobile Site – Works almost as good as the app.
• eBay App –  eBay isn’t as easy as Amazon’s but if you ever come across anything not sold on Amazon, be sure to check on eBay.  eBay is also great for reselling of Amazon items.
• Profit Bandit App – This paid app ($9.99) is an easy way for you to check for profit margins, stock, price history and rank of items on Amazon.  The limitation is you must have an Amazon sellers account for it to be used and plus it is not free.
• BookScouter –  This awesome site lets you see what new and used books are worth in seconds.  The site is lightweight and can be pulled up on your phone easily.

Step 2:  Get the coupons and cash back rebates ready

• Rakuten – The best place to earn cash back on all of your online purchases.  Cash back ranges from 1-25%.  Click here to learn more.
• MyPoints – Earn points for all of your purchases and redeem for cash.  MyPoints offers unique discounts that no one else has, for example, $15 dollars off Amazon Prime.  Check them out here.

Step 3:  Sign up for store credit cards for instant discounts

• Amazon Rewards or Store Card – Instant 5% savings on all Amazon purchases made on the card.  Special financing options too.
• Target RedCard – Instant 5% savings on all purchases made on the card.  This is a no brainer when making any purchases with Target in-store or online.  You also gain a month longer return period and free shipping.
• Walmart Card – 3% savings on all Walmart purchases in-store or online.
• Almost every single big box store has a credit card offer for instant discounts.  Check online or in-store for more details.

Step 4:  Scout these places for low, clearance or mistakes on prices

Ok with steps 1, 2 and 3 out of the way, you are ready to start buying!  Buy and selling for profit really comes down to buying items for low prices and selling it for higher.  With the right tools, the right coupons/cash back rebates and the right credit cards with discounts, you are making sure you are buying at the lowest price.  Remember those savings are stacked on top of discounts, clearance and price mistakes. Below is just a small sample of where to look for items to sell.  Be creative and and get out there!

• Garage sales – Don’t forget about those garage sales.  Look for items still sealed and ready to be listed.
• Thrift stores – Look for clothes with tags on them so that they can be resold as new. Also, 6 Things To Look For From Thrift Stores.
• Flea markets – You might get lucky if a business owner is unloading all of his/her products at a flea market after closing down. The Dos and Don’ts of Flea Market Flipping.
• Wholesale companies – Wholesale companies like DollarDays allow you to buy in bulk and resell individually.
• Going out of business sales – You see these all the time as more and more retailers close down.  Take advantage of the huge savings especially towards the end.
• Outlet Malls – Tons of stores for you to grab clothes and other discounted items for fraction of their normal cost.  Take a look at How To Resell Clothes From Outlet Malls.
• Craigslist – You can make a killing just from the stuff being given away in the free section.  Flipping Free Stuff on Craigslist.
• Dollar Tree – Dollar Tree’s online site allows you to buy dollar items in bulk.  You can easily resell the individual items.
• Toys R Us – Non-seasonal or unpopular toys is often sold up to 75% off.
• Costco / Sam’s Club – Member-only items are sometimes being sold below market value.
• Target – Go to the back of the aisles and check out all the clearance items at the end racks.  Sometimes up to 70% off on great flippable things.  Check out the online clearance items too.
• Walmart – Check out the clearance aisles but mostly browse Walmart’s online store.  Many items have prices slashed often and there are exclusive online items only not sold in stores.
• Walgreens / CVS – Clearance items and season items are great places to look for items to flip.
• JCPenny / Kohls / Macys – Clothes are often slashed up to 90% off and coupons can be stacked on top.
• eBay / Amazon – Sometimes there are deals on one and not the other.  Buy on eBay and sell on Amazon or vice versa.
• Groupon – Check out Groupon Goods.  Sometimes there are items sold massively discounted off msrp.  Great flips are sold very quickly.
• Woot! – Daily deals site that is now owned by Amazon.  Great items that can be flipped sometimes.
• Amazon Goldbox Deals – Exclusive deals for members and sometimes items offered are gone within secs.  Claim your items fast.

Step 5:  Don’t miss Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

There are a ton of items being sold every Black Friday and Cyber Monday that can be bought and sold for profit.  Sites like Slickdeals have Black Friday Ads and Cyber Monday Ads weeks and sometimes months before the dates.  Check out what you want to buy and set a schedule.  People often only focus on the doorbuster items which tend to run out very quickly.   The trick is to focus on the things most people miss which can still net you a healthy profit.  I recommend doing all of your shopping online to maximize your time and it allows to be buying from multiple stores at once.

Step 6:  Sell for Profit

• eBay – eBay can be used to sell anything.  But it doesn’t always get you the highest profit since competition is high but on the flip side, there is no other marketplace that has as much buying power either.
• Amazon – Amazon is great when you are selling new things that you’ve purchased elsewhere.  If you can search and find the product on Amazon then that means you can sell it too.
• Swap – Great specialty shop for selling new and used clothes.  They send you a box and you ship them the clothes and they take pictures and display it for you.  All you have to do is set the price and away you go.
• Bookscouter – The best site for selling books.  They show you prices from book buyers from over 10 different sites who are all competing for your business.
• Garage Sales – Garage sales are always great for selling things.  But due to the limited geographic area, don’t try to sell rare items that could fetch a much higher price on eBay.
• Craigslist – If you want to sell locally for cash, Craigslist is the place to do it.  The reach is enormous and everything is local.  Just be careful extreme hagglers that eat away your profits.

Buy and Sell Anything For A Profit

Congrats, you now have the right tools and knowledge on how to buy and sell anything online for a profit!    Word of caution, start small when first getting started and don’t end up buying a lot of stuff for yourself! 🙂 Good Luck!