Buy low, sell high. It’s one of the simplest yet most effective pieces of business advice, however, not everyone knows the best way to do this. Flipping is the art of buying low and selling higher, and it’s a skill that you should pick up if you want to make money in a fun and interesting way.
As a flipper, the number one thing you will need to build in your knowledge base is the type of item you need to buy in order to make a profitable flip. Once you know what to flip, you simply need to hustle to find it at a good price and sell it at a fair markup, which is easy to do if you have the hunger and drive.
Keep reading for a list of the best items to target as a flipper, as they have a hot market and will sell quickly, so all you have to do is find them at a price that is below the market rate.
But first, let's quickly go over what flipping is before diving into the list.
What is ‘Flipping’?
Flipping is the act of acquiring an item and then making a profit from it. It is similar to reselling, but there is a subtle difference.
While all reselling is a form of flipping, not all flipping is reselling–if you get an item for free or if you trade an item up for a higher value item, you are flipping, not reselling. Thus, flipping is a broader money-making skill set to build, and success can be had once you have the knowledge combined with an action plan.
Best 20 Items to Flip for Profit
Here is a list of easy items to flip for profit that you can use as a reference so that you have an actionable resource to use at any stage in your flipping journey.
Watches
In general, shipping cost is a big factor to consider when creating a business where you flip items. One of the best items that is high in value with low cost to ship is watches. The value of watches can range drastically, with some models like the Richard Mille RM-010 easily reaching multiple six figures while some like a Casio A100 (worth under $100) are both active on the watch aftermarket.
When approaching the watch flipping game, be sure to have a budget in mind based on the models you intend to target. Do as much market research as you can on the brands that you want to sell, and especially if you choose to deal with more expensive watches, secure any licensing necessary in addition to specific knowledge regarding the brands and models you are selling.
Sneakers
Sneakers are an awesome item to flip, especially if you are a sneakerhead yourself. Despite the market having ups and downs, there’s still a huge demand for them that will continue indefinitely even if there are fluctuations.
Be sure to target popular models such as Nike Jordans and SBs, and keep an eye out for limited edition or vintage sneakers that are hard to come by and desirable amongst collectors.
You’ll want to mix a strategy of getting brand-new hot drops and scouting various marketplaces for previously released models that still have a strong demand if you want to make the most money in this realm.
Furniture
Homeowners and apartment dwellers will always be looking for furniture to adorn their living spaces, whether they’re at a new place or if they’re just looking for an interior refresh. At the same time, people are looking to unload their old furniture to make room for the new. This dynamic creates an opportunity to match the demand of the sellers and the buyers.
Flipping furniture should be done primarily in person because of the cost and difficulty of shipping it. Since it’s so hard to move, you can often find free or close to free furniture, so you can have the budget to buy or rent a truck in addition to any physical help that might be needed.
Vintage Clothing
While many people love to hit the mall for the newest trends, a growing number of people are looking for vintage clothing for reasons relating to both sustainability and personal taste.
You can find vintage clothing pretty much anywhere, from thrift stores to boutique consignment shops and local marketplaces in addition to online sources like eBay.
Finding vintage clothes is like going on a treasure hunt, and you’ll need to have a good idea of what brands and styles are in demand, in addition to thoroughly checking and accurately describing the condition of the clothes that you are selling.
Streetwear
Within the broad niche of clothing, a relatively new but super hot category is that of streetwear, which is basically classic urban wear that commands designer price tags. To those on the outside, the market might seem strange, but for streetwear fans, finding these goods and spending bank on copping fits is a lifestyle. This fuels an incredibly active market that shouldn’t be overlooked if you want to flip items for profit.
If you’re not a fan yourself, be sure to study up on lookbooks and the latest trends to get an idea of what’s hot, and you can either seek these items on secondhand marketplaces or you can keep an eye out for limited drops that resell for a higher value than the retail price.
Sports Cards
Another category that checks the box of being cheap and efficient to ship is that of sports cards. There is a highly active market for limited edition cards, often from legendary late players. The most popular sports categories for these are basketball and baseball in the US.
While it isn’t totally consistent, there are sometimes limited, highly anticipated drops that will sell out and have an aftermarket markup.
Tickets
Event tickets generate over $80 billion dollars in revenue annually and are expected to continue to grow as the demand for in-person activities stays strong.
Music events in particular generate a large percentage of that revenue. Nearly all of these tickets have dynamic pricing on the aftermarket, leaving room for ticket flippers who make profit each time they sell a ticket that they bought for less.
Pay attention to seasonality as well: tickets, especially for sporting events, are often most active during summer months.
Luxury Handbags
When it comes to signalling and social status, few products generate the clout that luxury handbags do. The market has a diverse set of opportunities, and is much more nuanced than just the household brand names–certain models like the Hermes Mini Kelly have a strong demand and are hard to come by, driving up their price drastically.
In addition to having a budget, you’ll want to build knowledge on which bags are currently hot and what their fair market price is. It’s also highly important to understand the bags that are commonly counterfeited and how to look for giveaway signs for fakes.
When it comes to selling your handbag, you can use luxury consignment stores or marketplaces both in person or online at a website like Farfetch.
Funko Pops
Funko Pops are small figurines which were first produced in 2011, and in recent years, they have risen to great heights in terms of appeal in pop culture. Each figure represents a familiar character from a movie, TV show or comic. While the retail prices are between $10-$20, resale prices can reach hundreds or even multiple thousands for sought-after, limited-production models.
Because of their profitability, small size, and strong demand, they’re a great item to target as a flipper.
Used Cars
Although this realm requires a higher budget and some mechanical knowledge, flipping used cars is an excellent hustle, with tons of potential. The best cars to target are reliable and budget friendly as these will always have a demand for younger drivers or financially prudent buyers.
You can seek out cars that need relatively simple repairs, or those that are listed at below market prices with a seller who simply wants to cash out quickly.
Keep in mind your local laws and regulations here–if you exceed a certain amount of volume or are flipping cars without assigning the title, you might be entering legal grey areas.
Paintings
If you want to go on a real treasure hunt in local markets, you can target paintings. Several stories have been told of a legendary work of art showing up at a thrift store or garage sale simply because the owner had no idea who the artist was.
You don’t have to be an art history major either to do research: simply look for a signature on the painting or somewhere on the back of the frame for a name and Google it. If you can’t read it, you can take a picture of the painting and search Google for a match. The best strategy for flipping paintings is sourcing from thrift stores, garage and estate sales, then selling them on eBay or a website that is dedicated to paintings.
Kitchenware
Another group of items in the houseware category that are excellent to target as a flipper are products that you find in the kitchen.
Within this broad category, you’ll be able to discover a vast array of items, including those with hot demand such as designer cookware and vintage appliances. Brands like Pyrex, Kitchenaid and Le Creuset are among the most desirable.
Be sure to thoroughly inspect the item condition if it’s electronic, and also make sure it is safe to use or sell.
Fitness equipment
Health and wellness is one of the largest consumer categories, and if you want to flip items in this niche, you can target fitness equipment.
From yoga mats to dumbbells and exercise machines, there are many pieces of fitness equipment to choose from. Keep in mind that if your chosen item is big or heavy, shipping can be both costly and difficult. Sometimes it is best to flip fitness-related equipment in person, where buying and selling doesn’t require any shipping.
GPUs
Graphics cards, also known as GPUs, have a growing demand for both consumers and businesses. They may be best well known for enhancing gaming experience, but they’re also used extensively in both AI and crypto.
Nvidia, the primary manufacture of GPUs, has had an astronomical rise in valuation, which further solidifies this trend of them being an excellent item to flip.
You can flip them new if you’re lucky enough to grab them before they sell out, or you can sell these used. Keep in mind to check and accurately describe the condition if selling these used.
Gaming Consoles
The demand for gaming consoles remains consistently high, making them a great item to flip. Since it’s not often that a new version of a console is released, when it happens, it is a prime flipping opportunity. This was the case in 2020 with the PlayStation 5 which went for a profitable premium over its retail price.
In between new releases, you can target used consoles in good condition, particularly those that are considered collectibles such as the Nintendo 64.
Retro electronics
Technology has made incredible advancements today, and while it’s nice to have superior performance, some individuals feel that newer gadgets lack the soul that their former counterparts have.
From film cameras to CD players and early generation iPods, the demand for these retro electronics is strong among many consumers, including millennials craving nostalgia and Gen-Zers who are jaded with new tech.
A simple eBay search of an item can reveal its popularity and going price, and it might surprise you–for example, a first generation Sony Walkman cassette player can easily fetch a few hundred dollars.
iPhones
When it comes to phones with an active aftermarket, it’s hard to beat the iPhone. Many of the newest models will sell out quickly, and with long wait times to get their hands on them, some consumers are willing to pay a premium to get the model immediately from iPhone flippers who acquire them early.
You can also engage in the business of fixing up iPhones to flip them or you can even profit from charging service fees to make repairs.
Antique home goods
Although you may not personally be a consumer or understand the market, the demand for antique home goods is incredibly consistent, especially with certain brands and items, particularly on eBay.
These goods have gained the reputation of having desirable characteristics that newer products simply don’t have, such as manufacturing quality, durability, and classic aesthetics.
Estate and yard sales make for great places to find these. Some of these pieces might require some cleaning or light restoration, but be sure not to modify anything too drastically as some imperfections are welcomed.
Books
Amazon, the biggest online marketplace in the world, started off as an online marketplace for books. Some sellers on the platform today have entire businesses built on the buying and selling of books.
Some books, such as those that went out of print, are hard to come by and thus might command a high price tag on the aftermarket. Additionally, some academic textbooks can be quite valuable.
The best places to find books include thrift stores and local marketplaces or garage sales. EBay and Amazon are great places to sell books.
Limited Edition Goods
In every category, there are limited edition goods. Most items that were produced in limited quantities will end up being worth more than their retail price on the aftermarket.
Some positive characteristics that apply to many products and categories include numbered items produced in limited quantities (e.g. 17/1000, number 17 of 1000 produced), highly anticipated celebrity collaborations, and discontinued items or editions.
Where to Find Products to Flip
Now that you have a list of hot items to flip, you have to know where to buy them before you can go about flipping them for a profit.
Online:
Wholesalers
Acquiring an item in bulk and flipping it for an individual markup is one of the most traditional business models in the flip game. If you want to engage in this model, you’ll need to find and contact wholesalers.
Keep in mind any prerequisites that a wholesale supplier might have, including the potential need for a resale license and an established business history.
In addition to ensuring that you are purchasing at prices that will produce good profit margins, you’ll also want to make sure that your items have enough demand to sell within a reasonable timeframe. Even if you have 100% profit margins, if you buy 1000 pieces of an item that only sell 10 per month, you don’t have a particularly attractive or sustainable business model.
Liquidators and return pallets
One of the best times for finding items for below their retail price is when a business enters the need for liquidation, which might happen because they have become bankrupt or are going out of business. Sometimes, businesses will resort to liquidation companies which will publicly list bulk inventory that can sell for far less than what they are individually worth.
Items that are in need of liquidation can also include return pallets, and there are also public websites that you can find with a quick Google search. Keep in mind though that this inventory is almost always sold as is, with no returns, so you have to be willing to take the gamble of accepting the product in any condition, even when it’s not accurately described.
EBay
If you are a niche expert and know exactly which items to target, you can keep an eye on eBay listings for profitable opportunities. EBay is an established marketplace in so many categories that no matter what you’re looking for, someone will probably end up listing it on the platform.
One feature of the platform that you should take advantage of is the ability to receive live notifications for new listings so that you can quickly act on opportunities as they arise.
Be sure to check the seller’s reputation and the condition of the item before committing to a purchase on eBay.
Clearance sections on retail websites
Sometimes the greatest opportunities for flipping are hidden in plain sight, and one of these realms is the clearance sections of retail websites. Opportunities exist for both big box stores and smaller boutiques.
However, even if you find an item that is a large percentage off of the MSRP, be sure to check on platforms like EBay and Amazon for the current market rate—if it’s on sale everywhere, you might not have a profit margin.
Signing up to a store’s email list to be notified of new and significant sales will give you an edge as well if you are using this strategy.
You can also scout out clearance sections in person, which we’ll dive into right now.
In Person:
Thrift stores
If you enjoy digging a bit to find potential gems, the thrift store aisles might become your favorite spot to source items. While a good bit of your success will come down to luck, you will have an edge if you’re already a niche expert who knows the value of an item instantly without having to do potentially difficult research.
Over time, you’ll develop your realm of interest or expertise, and you will be able to identify valuable items more quickly without needing to do extensive research. You should always check for recently sold comps of a specific items on EBay to gauge the fair market price and the demand of any product. If you don’t recognize an item but think it might be valuable, you can use Google Lens to help identify it.
Local Marketplaces
Marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp will allow you to reach an audience that you can deal with locally.
Doing deals in the flesh allows for numerous advantages, including the ability to thoroughly inspect items for accuracy, a chance to negotiate, and develop a continued relationship more easily with the buyer if there might be an opportunity to do so.
You also don’t have to worry about shipping or platform costs when dealing in local marketplaces. However, you may have to be cautious when it comes to cash or money transfer deals, as these could hold potential for scams or even robbery, especially if you are dealing with a particularly desirable item.
Garage, Estate and Moving sales
Some of the best prices to be found are when sellers are unloading items that are no longer wanted. This is most often the case when it comes to garage, estate and moving sales.
Negotiating in these situations can be quite easy, particularly because of the short timeframe that these events operate in. If you come towards the end of the sale, you will likely get heavily discounted or even free add-ons to your purchase.
Coming with a high budget and buying in bulk can also get you an incredible deal. You may have to do some driving around to find these as they are sometimes not advertised beyond a simple handmade sign.
How to Profitably Flip Items
There are two sides to master if you want to be a profitable flipper: buying and selling.
In order to create a thriving business as a flipper, not only do you need to know what items to buy and where to buy them, you need to know how to move them as efficiently as possible so you can create a sustainable and profitable business. This means that you have to do constant pricing and demand research, particularly if your niche is volatile.
The most successful flippers are highly familiar with the products they deal with. You’ll always need to individually inspect each product for condition and authenticity before listing it for sale at a good price, which is sometimes subject to change. There are many niches that you can choose from, so you might as well pick one that you already have an interest in, given that the market is there for it.
Joining a private community of dedicated flippers is one way to always be in the loop in terms of the hottest current items.
You’ll also want to know the best places to flip, which are both online and in person.
Where to Flip Items
Online:
Amazon
One of the greatest modern day opportunities in ecommerce is becoming a seller on Amazon, which has onboarded individuals who have gone on to become six or even seven-figure sellers, some of whom are simply flipping inventory that they have acquired elsewhere.
If you want to sell on Amazon, it is important to do research on both pricing and market demand. Additionally, to sell a specific product on Amazon, you’ll need to check if you are eligible, as the platform holds a high standard for sellers in order to preserve their reputation and prevent any low quality or potentially malicious sellers from joining.
EBay
Selling on EBay has far less restrictions than Amazon, so it’s a great place to start especially if you have a wide assortment of items or product that you aren’t yet approved to sell on Amazon.
In contrast to Amazon, which has sales data that is more opaque, the historical sales data on eBay is readily displayed. In addition to seeing all of the active listings of an item and which sellers are listing them, you can use filters to display sold listings which include both the price and the date.
Be sure to accurately describe items, take good pictures, answer any inquiries or concerns promptly and ship quickly so that you can build and preserve a good reputation which will help you to sell more items.
Ecommerce Storefront
If you want to own your customer base and avoid platform fees, you can build up your own storefront that you can get direct sales from. The challenge with choosing this channel for flipping items is that you will have to do all of the legwork to get customers to your store, unlike with platforms like Amazon and EBay that already have significant traffic.
However, if you already have a large organic reach with something like an existing social media audience or if you’re willing to build one up, creating an ecommerce storefront can be extremely rewarding.
If you want to sell digital products, whether it’s eBooks, SaaS, a paid Discord community or anything in between, you can become a seller on Whop’s thriving marketplace.
In Person:
Craigslist
One of the most prolific marketplaces for in-person deals is Craigslist, which operates worldwide in over 70 different countries.
It can be a great place to find deals in numerous categories, and even though the platform is somewhat dated, it can be a great place for discovering undervalued gems, so it continues to have a high volume of shoppers as well as sellers.
Keep in mind though that you have no way of viewing a buyer’s history or reputation, so you have to be careful not to fall for any scams or counterfeits.
As a seller, you can stand out and attract good customers by creating good listings with quality photos, clear descriptions, and a fair price.
Facebook Marketplace
One of the additions to the platform that gained significant traffic is Facebook’s Marketplace, which has quickly become an active place to flip items.
Since many people see Facebook as a place to deal with friends, there is a higher degree of familiarity and personal accountability when it comes to making deals on its marketplace.
Every time you make a sale, you’ll get a rating that you will carry with your profile forever, so be sure to stay true to your word and be pleasant to deal with.
Offerup
A great alternative to Facebook’s marketplace is Offerup.
The platform is known for its easy browsing with its to-the-point user interface that makes it an enjoyable place to both sell and find deals. It’s particularly optimized for mobile use, with an app that has a huge user base that scrolls its feed in a way similar to a social media app.
One of Offerup’s strongest features is the reputation system which helps to rank sellers based on history and trust. Additionally, you can communicate directly with buyers without having to give up any personal information.
Offerup currently only serves the US market.
Consignment store
Consignment stores, where individuals bring products to be sold, are mutually beneficial because the store doesn’t have to buy inventory and the supplier of the items doesn’t have to worry about displaying it to a relevant audience.
Since these stores are heavily curated, you have to keep in mind the specific taste and theme of a store, so your product might be denied if it does not match their standard.
You won’t have to pay anything up front for handing over your item, and you will get paid whenever the item does sell, so it’s quite convenient as a seller. When calculating our potential profits, take into account the store’s commission, which is typically between 15%-30%.
Pro Tips for Flipping Success
If you want to reach the upper echelon of people that flip items for a living, you will need to operate with a strategy that puts you well above the average person. Here are some pro tips that can help you get there:
Become a niche expert
While some amount of luck will be involved in the game of flipping items, particularly in thrift stores or estate sales, the top earning flippers aren’t there because of sheer luck. They have a repeatable formula that is built on the foundation of their expertise in a certain niche. The more you know about a niche, whether it’s sneakers or electronics, the more you’ll be able to uncover low key, profitable opportunities.
Make strong connections
Flipping is highly competitive, so you need a strong edge that is hard to fight against if you want to rise to the top. One of the biggest advantages you can create is in having exclusive relationships with suppliers so that you can have access to deals that no one else has. This can come in the form of knowing a store owner or a supplier of inventory. You can start simply as a customer who does business as usual with them, but if you are communicative, easy to deal with, and express interest in exclusive deals, over time, you’ll be able to get first dibs on rare items which will give you an enormous advantage.
Look for free items
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and while this can literally be true with dumpster diving, you can find free items from better sources. Cragislist has a dedicated section for free goods, as do other selling platforms. Keep an eye out as well for local garage or estate sales as any unwanted items might end up being given away for free if the organizer of such sales needs to move on within a specific timeframe. However, keep in mind that even though these items may have some value, you’ll want to get free items that have market demand so that you don’t end up sitting with piles of inventory that take up room without moving.
Engage in trading
There’s a story of someone who flipped their way up from a pen to a house, trading for items with incrementally higher value until they could achieve that feat. While that is an extreme example, trading up is entirely possible. The biggest advantage of trading is that you don’t need to spend any additional money to secure something of greater value. Most trading is a win-win relationship as both parties don’t want the additional step of having to cash out before getting the item they want, so there is almost always an opportunity here in terms of securing something worth more than the item you traded.
Sell in a hot industry
While this may be somewhat obvious, it’s worth a reminder that you’ll make more money if you choose to engage in an industry that is currently trending. In order to do this most effectively, you’ll have to be on the pulse of the latest flipping news so you can know what is hot right now and what may have recently lost its steam. This sometimes isn’t readily obvious to someone on the outside, as some trends happen quickly and end or change abruptly.
Check for real time comps
One way to manually check if a specific item of interest is currently selling is by checking for recent sold comps. This is specifically useful if you are thrifting and treasure hunting for rare items. You can do this by typing the item into eBay and filtering by “Sold” listings, which will show you how much something sold for and when it sold. You should compare this metric with how many active and unsold listings there are, and make a judgement call if the reason those listings are unsold is because of the price, or if it’s because the market isn’t hot anymore. If you are struggling to find the exact name of an item, you can perform a Google image search of the item using Google Lens, and this will bring it up for you.
Gather your own customer base
As a flipper, you’re often listing items on a public marketplace that could potentially be saturated with many competing sellers. Gathering and owning a loyal customer base will allow you to avoid the competition and bring direct sales, which extremely valuable as it makes for easier sales forecasting. One way to get your own customer base is to create social media profiles for your business where you promote your own store and gather an email list. You can do this in tandem with selling on public platforms, but the end goal should be direct customers as you will save on platform fees among other benefits.
Set and achieve goals
If you don’t know where you’re headed, you won’t be able to make it anywhere meaningful. Setting goals for you to achieve is helpful advice generally in business, and is also relevant to flipping. Having concrete goal that are realistic based on the industry you are in and the items you are flipping will help you to achieve success. Whether you want to make $100 per month or $10,000 per month, your goals will help you to flesh out your strategy and establish your amount of commitment when starting off in this business.
Join a Whop Reselling Group to Find Items for Flipping Success!
Finding success on your own can be difficult in this realm as profitable flipping takes a high degree of research, planning, calculating and uncovering of opportunities.
If you want to shorten your time to make money and drastically decrease the learning curve and potential costly mistakes of embarking on the journey of being a part or full time flipper, joining a dedicated community is a great call.
Whop has a growing assortment of high-quality groups in all online money making industries so that you can level up your skills in no time.
You can check out all of Whop’s best and latest reselling groups right here.
FAQs
Where is the best place to flip items?
Depending on the product category you are in, the best place to flip items will vary. For example, flipping retro electronics is often best done on eBay, and new or good condition kitchenware often move faster with more demand on Amazon. You’ll have to do the research and observe what platforms successful sellers in your niche are using.
Can I flip items on Amazon?
Amazon is a great place to flip items, and while anyone can sign up for an account, you’ll often need to be approved to sell certain products or within a particular category, especially if it’s a brand name, in demand item. Sometimes, it’s easy to get approvale quickly, while other times, you’ll need to seek expert advice or establish a business and seller history to be approved. Amazon will tell you whether or not you can list a product for sale, and you’ll also be able to see the steps you need to take to gain approval.
Is it easy to flip items online?
Flipping items online can be easy, but only if you are selling a product that is currently in-demand on a marketplace that is well known to have the item. If you have an item that does not have any search volume or current interest, you will struggle to sell it online on a braod marketplace. Finding specific marketplaces for your niche, for example, GOAT for sneakers, will help make flipping online easier.
How much money can I make flipping items?
The amount of money that you can make flipping items can vary drastically, with some people making inconsistent pocket change while others establish consistent six figure businesses. Your ability to make money will have a strong correlation with your commitment, your niche expertise, your initial budget and the goals you set out for yourself. You will have to be patient and stick to a calculated plan before expecting to make significant income from flipping items.
Is flipping the same thing as reselling?
Flipping and reselling both involve selling an item for a greater price than it was acquired for, so the terms are often used interchangeably. However, with flipping, items can be acquired without any previous monetary transaction, such as with free or traded products. Reselling by definition only involves product that has been previously bought by the seller.
