It can be tempting to rush out to a garage sale or thrift store right away to start picking items to flip, but I don’t recommend it. 

Instead, start small and just look for things around your house you can sell—things you don’t use anymore.

This way you don’t have to spend any money upfront and won’t take on any financial risks—especially if you don’t really know what anything’s worth.

Start Small With Items You Already Own

You probably have plenty of things lying around your house you can sell. It can be anything—a popular kitchen gadget you don’t use, a pair of shoes you rarely wear, an old gaming console, or maybe even something you bought but never opened.

For example, the first three things I sold online were:

• A pair of dress shoes I wore maybe twice.
• Two Amazon echo buttons.
• A leather wallet that had been sitting in my garage for two years unopened.

Why Start Small?

• Low risk: Selling what you already own means you’re not spending unnecessary money before you know what you’re doing. 
• Clearing space: It’s a win-win—you declutter your home and get money to invest in new items. 
• Practice: You’ll learn how to take quality photos, write good descriptions, and determine what fair prices are at your own pace—without the pressure of making your money back. These skills will come in handy once you start creating your inventory.
• Test Platforms: Try selling on different platforms (eBay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace) to see which one fits your style and what types of items sell best.

The Best Items Around the House to Start Selling:

• Clothing: Especially name brands or vintage clothing. Think lightly worn items—jackets, shoes, hats, etc.
• Electronics: Old smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, and even accessories like headphones or chargers sell even if they’re a little outdated. 
• Books: Rare or out-of-print books, Textbooks, vintage editions, or anything with collector value can sell quickly. 
• Collectibles: Old action figures, trading cards, vintage or limited edition toys, or anything that has nostalgic appeal sells well. 
• Household items: Kitchen appliances, cookware, or home decor you don’t need longer need.

As long as what you’re selling is in decent shape, there’s a good chance it’ll sell. 

Your goal at first should be to gain some experience and cash to reinvest into a new inventory.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of selling your own items, it’s time to start looking at other places to source.

Sourcing from Garage and Yard Sales

Garage and yard sales are some of the best places to find items to flip for a really nice profit.

Think about it—most people who have these are doing it because they want to clean out their homes. That means most of the time, just about everything is going to be priced to move. I’m talking $0.50 to $2 items. 

You should take advantage of these low prices whenever you can. You can easily find items that end up being worth way more than you paid.

How to Find Local Garage and Yard Sales

There are many ways to find garage and yard sales in your area. During the week, I’ll usually look through a couple of websites and marketplaces so I can plan my route for the weekend. Doing this helps me prioritize the sales I’m interested in. Here’s what I use to find them:

1. Garagesalefinder.com or Yardsalesearch.com

These are my favorite websites to use for finding sales. You just enter your zip code, and they’ll show all the sales in your area on a map and in list format.

Sellers can add a description and photos to their listing so most of the time, you already know what will be at each sale. This information is great because you can decide if it’s worth your time to drive out there ahead of time.

Both sites also let you build a route directly from the listings, so you can hit several sales without doubling back.

Garagesalefinder.com | Yardsalesearch.com

2. Facebook Groups/Marketplace

If you’re not already in a local garage/yard sale group on Facebook, search for it and join. A lot of people will post their sales in these to get the word out, and they’ll also have some pictures you can look at ahead of time.

I’m in several buy/sell groups for different counties near me, and they’ve been a great source for finding sales. Plus, sometimes you can message the seller and they’ll let you buy before the sale starts.

3. Craigslist

You won’t find as many sales posted here as other platforms but some of the best sales I’ve found have come from a Craigslist ad.

For example, I found a guy who was selling his entire collection, which filled up an old gas station in a nearby town. I spent hours picking through what he had, and since no one else showed up, I was able to find some of my highest-profit items.

You won’t always find sales like this on Craigslist but it’s worth it to at least check weekly, especially if you’re not seeing a lot of sales advertised on the other platforms.

4. Yardsale Treasure Map App

This app used to be able to pull garage sale listings directly from Craigslist but they’ve since ended their license agreement.

The app itself is great—has built-in navigation, lets you route up to 24 addresses at a time, and you can search by keyword or sale type—but now it relies on the users to add sales. I just check it to make sure there aren’t any sales I’m missing.

Best Days and Times to Hit Sales

Timing is extremely important at these sales. If you find a one with items you’re interested in, go early. 

That doesn’t mean go stand in someone’s yard an hour before it starts. Just make sure it’s first on your route. 

You’ll probably have competition from others who noticed those items too, so do your best to arrive as soon as it starts so you don’t miss out. 

I’ve had some luck with waiting in my car and the seller telling me I can come look ahead of time, but you don’t want to be knocking on doors or looking through stuff when the owners aren’t outside.

Even if you aren’t able to get to a good sale as soon as it starts, keep going through your route. The later it gets, the more sellers will be willing to make deals just to avoid having to bring things back inside. 

Saturdays and Sundays are usually peak garage sale days, but some sales might start as early as Thursday and run through the weekend.

Tips for Negotiating Better Deals

Negotiating is part of the game at yard sales, but there’s an art to it:

1. Bundle Items

I’ve had sellers give me discounts when I bundle multiple items together. If there’s something you’re really interested in but the price is a little high, try finding a few more items. Then, offer a combined price that’s a bit lower than the individual totals. Sellers are more willing to cut a deal when you’re buying several things at once.

2. Be Polite But Firm

Don’t lowball, but be comfortable offering a lower price. A good approach is to ask, “What’s the lowest you could go on this?” or “Would you be willing to take (lower amount) for this?”. One thing you don’t want to do is demand a discount. 

3. Know How Much Something is Worth Before Discussing Price

I’m seeing more and more sellers who know the value of their items and will price them just a little under their full value. Some will even price them based on what they sell for on eBay. This can be frustrating but just remember, they still want to sell it. Also, don’t be afraid to walk away from an item that’s priced too high. Knowing the real value and how much profit you could make flipping it gives you leverage to negotiate a fair deal for both parties.

Estate Sales

Estate sales are larger sales that happen when the owner of a home is moving or has passed away. They usually include most, if not all, of a person’s belongings. 

Because of this, you’re more likely to find higher-quality, valuable, or rare items compared to a typical yard sale. And there’s a lot more to pick through.

You’ll notice each sale is either run by family members or managed by a liquidation company.

In my experience, I’ve had better luck finding good items for cheap at family-run estate sales. They seem to be more focused on clearing things out quickly, which also leaves room for negotiation.

When a professional company is involved, prices are usually higher because they’re getting a percentage of the sales. They’re also the ones who organize everything, stage the items, and price each item.

How to Find Out About Estate Sales

Unlike garage or yard sales, estate sales aren’t always as heavily publicized. You might come across some while searching for yard sales, but you’ll usually need to do more digging. Here’s where I find them:

1. EstateSales.net or EstateSales.org

These are two of the best resources for finding estate sales in an area. You can filter by location and preview photos of the items that will be available for sale.

EstateSales.net | EstateSales.org

2. Search for Local Liquidation Companies

Many companies that manage estate sales will list their upcoming events on their websites. Find the most popular ones in your area and bookmark their sites so you can check them weekly.

Estate Sale Tips

1. Bring something to carry items in: If you’re picking through an entire house, you don’t want to be limited to only the items you can hold. Bringing a container or large box with not only will let you carry more but it’ll also make it easier for you to dig through boxes, shelves, etc. without having to worry about someone else taking your stuff. 

2. Look for price sheets: Most estate sales will have sheets posted around the house with pricing for different items. If you don’t see a price sheet, that’s a good sign you might be able to negotiate. 

3. Go through every room: Check everywhere—attic, bathrooms, basement, etc. You’re already there, so take the time to look where others won’t. 

4. Go early if you’re after high-value items: Serious collectors and resellers will get to the sale early and wait in line to try and get the item they’re looking for. If you’re after something specific, it’s worth getting there an hour or so before the sale opens.

5. Go the last day for deals: Most Estate sales are scheduled for multiple days or the entire weekend. If it’s a company-run sale, they’ll usually reduce prices after each day—with markdowns of 25% to 50% on the last day.

Sourcing From Thrift Stores

Thrift stores can be another good place to find stuff to flip—as long as you have the time and patience for them.

They’re a bit tougher than yard sales because you’ll have to dig through a lot of stuff that isn’t worth much just to find one thing that is.

Some days, you might walk out with a handful of items capable of bringing in a profit. Other days, you’ll spend 30 minutes to an hour and leave with nothing. 

That’s just how it goes. 

Making things even harder, many thrift stores have recently started raising their prices, and unlike at yard sales, negotiating isn’t really an option. So finding something worth buying and still turning a profit can be tricky.

That said, sourcing at thrift stores does have two big advantages over sourcing at yard sales:

1. They’re open almost every day.
2. They’re constantly rotating inventory.

This means there’s always a chance you’ll find something. And you can stop by during the week, which is great if you have a little time to source during lunch or after work. 

It might take more time and effort, but with the ability to visit often and get access to fresh inventory makes thrift stores a good enough resource not to pass up. 

I wouldn’t go and expect to hit the jackpot, but if you go enough, the small wins will add up. It’s a good place to grow your inventory and make some decent profit. 

Thrifting is a long game. But when you eventually find that one item that’s a fraction of its resale value, you’ll realize all the time spent digging through shelves and racks can be worth it. 

The more consistent you are, the more success you’ll have, and those occasional big finds can make a significant difference in your bottom line.

Where to go Thrifting

Goodwill and Salvation Army

These big chains are everywhere and have a wide variety of items—clothing, toys, electronics, books, and household goods. Also check to see if you have a Goodwill outlet near you. These have a ton of bins full of random stuff you can go through and you pay by the pound.

Local Thrift Shops

Smaller shops can have more unique stuff to look through, and their prices are usually less expensive than the larger chains.

Use Google Maps

A quick search for “thrift stores” will pull up all the nearby shops. It doesn’t matter where you are. Where there’s a thrift shop, there’s a chance for profit.

Best Days and Times to Go Thrifting

Thrift stores restock regularly, but the best days to go will vary based on each store. Some restock midweek and others will only bring out new stuff over the weekend. Ask the staff when they typically restock, so you can show up when fresh inventory is available.

If you want to avoid crowds, try going during weekday mornings when it’s less busy.

Tips for Sourcing at Thrift Stores

1. Visit Often: If you have multiple stores nearby, check them out regularly. Some resellers visit thrift stores several times a week—or even daily—to catch new stock before it’s picked over.

2. Know Discount Days: Many stores will have half-off days or color tag sales. Learn when these happen to increase your profit margins. 

3. Condition is Key: Thrift stores generally price based on condition, but it’s up to you to judge if something is really valuable. A small flaw on a vintage piece might be fine for collectors, but you need to know the difference between “wearable” vintage and “beyond repair.”

4. Check the Tags: When it comes to clothing, knowing high-end brands and quality materials gives you the upper hand. Some stores don’t recognize certain brands, so you can scoop up designer pieces for cheap.

5. Get to Know the Employees: If you’re able to build a good relationship with employees, you might get a heads-up when new items are being put out—or even a tip on something valuable.

6. Play the Seasons: Thrift stores tend to put out items based on the season (coats in winter, shorts in summer). But buying off-season is a great way to make a profit. For example, pick up coats in summer when no one’s looking for them, and sell them in the winter for a higher price.