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PapayaSF · 01-13-2010, 05:42 AM

Wow, that's a very general question! The basic answer is "it depends."

A lot depends on where you are. Here in San Francisco, we have a number of used bookstores that pay cash for books, and more that trade for them. Because I've been doing this on and off for years, I'm pretty good at buying books at flea markets and garage sales and thrift stores for $.25-$2, and selling most of them for $1-$8. Sometimes I find ones worth $50 or $100 or more, and those usually get sold on Ebay or Amazon. (A few top finds have been worth $800-$1200.) But you really have to know what you are doing, and there are other book scouts doing the same thing. It helps that I like looking through stacks of old books.

Other items people do this sort of thing with: vintage clothing, antiques, records and CDs. Again, it takes a lot of experience before you can consistently make money (on average), so it's usually a hobby that makes some money.

It would be interesting to know where she sells the bracelets: at her store? Someone else's store? At street fairs? Obviously, you need a reliable place to sell for this to work at all. And what prevents your outlet from buying wholesale themselves and cutting out the middleman (you)? In the case of book scouts etc., it's that used bookstores usually count on customers coming in with books to sell or trade, and don't pay employees to go to the local Salvation Army (or wherever) to look for books.

Other ideas: My ex makes custom photo albums and journals and such. She has an arrangement with a local art supply store, so someone can buy special paper and have it used to cover a book. There's a local boutique that sells interesting old lamps, and lamps made out of old plumbing parts and such. They're all by one guy who buys junky things at flea markets and spiffs them up and assembles them in interesting ways.

So I guess it comes down to: 1) What knowledge do you have that you can use to buy items somewhere that can be resold at a profit? 2) Where can you reliably resell them? 3) How much time and effort are you willing to put into the project? Remember, if it's easy and lucrative there are probably other people out there trying to make a go at the same thing, so the more special knowledge or skills you have, the better.

01-13-2010, 05:42 AM	#2
PapayaSF Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Francisco Posts: 29 iTrader: (0) Photo Gallery	Hmmmm Wow, that's a very general question! The basic answer is "it depends." A lot depends on where you are. Here in San Francisco, we have a number of used bookstores that pay cash for books, and more that trade for them. Because I've been doing this on and off for years, I'm pretty good at buying books at flea markets and garage sales and thrift stores for $.25-$2, and selling most of them for $1-$8. Sometimes I find ones worth $50 or $100 or more, and those usually get sold on Ebay or Amazon. (A few top finds have been worth $800-$1200.) But you really have to know what you are doing, and there are other book scouts doing the same thing. It helps that I like looking through stacks of old books. Other items people do this sort of thing with: vintage clothing, antiques, records and CDs. Again, it takes a lot of experience before you can consistently make money (on average), so it's usually a hobby that makes some money. It would be interesting to know where she sells the bracelets: at her store? Someone else's store? At street fairs? Obviously, you need a reliable place to sell for this to work at all. And what prevents your outlet from buying wholesale themselves and cutting out the middleman (you)? In the case of book scouts etc., it's that used bookstores usually count on customers coming in with books to sell or trade, and don't pay employees to go to the local Salvation Army (or wherever) to look for books. Other ideas: My ex makes custom photo albums and journals and such. She has an arrangement with a local art supply store, so someone can buy special paper and have it used to cover a book. There's a local boutique that sells interesting old lamps, and lamps made out of old plumbing parts and such. They're all by one guy who buys junky things at flea markets and spiffs them up and assembles them in interesting ways. So I guess it comes down to: 1) What knowledge do you have that you can use to buy items somewhere that can be resold at a profit? 2) Where can you reliably resell them? 3) How much time and effort are you willing to put into the project? Remember, if it's easy and lucrative there are probably other people out there trying to make a go at the same thing, so the more special knowledge or skills you have, the better.