Which is a better place to source from for ebay inventory Goodwill, Yard Sales, or Goodwill Bins?

[pigeonpicker]

Goodwill bins is Goodwill Clearance Center. Similar to a pallet. It's even more undesirable junk. But you are buying the stuff for dirt cheap at about $1.50 per pound of inventory. 

[dhbookds]

Impossible to answer........considering variations in stores/areas/local laws...concerning g sales....

[duffy4444]

   For me, in this order:

1.  Estate sales (not fake ones like "living estate")

2. Church rummage sales (God Bless them!)

3. Craigslist yard/garage sales (with photos)

4. Flea markets

4. Thrift stores (visit weekly)

5. Relatives' attics (Love 'ya, Grandma!)

6. Store closings/liquidations (bring your truck)

7. Storage units (too much to discard)

8. Auction houses

9. Wholesale lots online (be careful and research!)

10. Word of mouth

 - I'm not concerned about showing this list... There's enough potential business out there for more than one popcorn stand on the corner.

Cheers, Duffy

[memorymarielane]

It depends soley on what you are wanting to sell. For me Goodwill is the worst place to go as their prices have skyrocketed. They are charging full retail price for all items coming into that store (with the exception of a few items and they are low sellers on Ebay so not much profit there). My local Goodwill store is also not a good option as the store manager chooses items she likes and either sales them on the weekends at her home yard sale OR she will keep them to the side for a few resellers that come to the store daily (I know because I have witnessed this taking place firsthand on many occassions).

In my area yard sales are seasonal and with Covid they are almost non-existent or people selling their items are asking retail as well. It has become difficult to find inventory at the moment; just means you have to dig deeper and be out there more now to find items.

I like the Goodwill Bins pricing, but again it is hit and miss and does take up a lot of time. If you are just starting out it is a good place to find inventory and worth the effort in my opinion. I go every now and then to see what I can find but I dedicate a day to doing so as the ones around me are an hour away and each one offers something different in their options (example: one focuses solely on clothing and has very little home goods/media but another is heavy in home goods and clothing but has no media).

Your area will let you know where the best bargains are for your store. Happy hunting!

[redmodelt]

A friend of mine would go to Phoenix each summer to visit her daughter,  and stock up on winter clothes from Goodwill down there. Northerners would take all their clothes with them and found they didn't need them! Now isn't that strange! LOL

[evelyb30]

My  list in some relative order: 

Church Rummage Sales, when there are any (Covid killed off my best ones for two years running)

Charity fundraiser tag sales (seasonal here no matter what year it is)

Estate Sales run by clearance companies (who want it gone)

Family estate sales (see make it go away!)

Tag sales

Professional estate sales

REAL Charity thrifts  affiliated with a local group or hospital

Fake Charity Thrifts - i.e. Goodwill

For-profit thrifts like Savers

Some antique stores can be good too, if you're an expert on something the dealers aren't.  I've gotten more ooopsies that way.  On the other hand, my big find for the day was a 14k bangle for 75 cents (and it came with a cloisonne bangle too!) at a charity fundraiser tag sale.  God bless little old ladies selling donated stuff!

[dbfolks166mt]

     I find the majority of  items at garage sales and ironically local online consignment auction houses, which I both buy from and sell through. The consignment auctions I am generally looking through the pictures of a bulk lot of various items that the auction house or the consigner didn't take the time to sort through and value individually. The individual items that are ran through those sites usually bring premium prices sort of like the way auctions used to do on eBay. 

     Estate sales used to be a pretty good sourcing venue but most of those have become overcrowded and most of the items are generally either overpriced or priced where there is not much room for a significant ROI. 

[jewelbiz]

[jewelbiz]

Once again I can’t post any pix.  It says constantly I have invalid html…

This time I’m trying to post silly pix of me with red Chinese bathrobe I bought myself at summer yard sale.

[iart]

We buy a lot of our stuff on-line. Even more now with the pandemic.

We save on gas, time and the frustration of rubbing elbows with all the other hungry buyers.

It takes research and a good nose to see value where others do not. And, when everyone else is complaining about poor sales on eBay (and elsewhere), prices drop and we are BUYING!