Expanding on Frugal Flips for a little side hustle to make some supplemental income…

I recently bought a digital camera at a yard sale for $1. I had no idea what it was worth, only that it was definitely worth more than a dollar. I bought a replacement charger for the dead battery for $8 on Amazon. The battery charged right up. I looked it up on eBay, listed it, and sold it for $250. After eBay fees and shipping, I netted $211. The seller either didn’t know or didn’t care what it was worth. I probably could have put it on FB Marketplace, but may have netted less in that equation. It also sold in less than 12 hours on eBay.

That was huge Frugal Flip, which the basic framework to me means:

-Buying something underpriced

– Reselling it for much more (huge % profit for the camera frugal flip)

-Use the profit to pay for something else in your life!

So how do you know what to buy? Honestly, anything in demand sells.

The more in-demand the item, the better. I lean toward higher dollar items when I can find them, but quick flips add up too. Turning $5 into $20 is a great margin. Turning $10 or $20 into $100+ is even better.

I mostly buy things I’m familiar with, or things that are always in demand. Gen Z is weirdly into digital cameras right now, boycotting smartphones for the real thing, which is exactly why that $1 camera worked. So I look for items I know someone else would want, or that I’d pay for myself on Marketplace if I needed one.

The more ‘in demand’ an item is the better (and faster) the flip.

I personally look for higher-dollar items when possible. But quick smaller flips work too (even if higher volume).

Trading $5 for $20 is a great flip margin (4x). Trading $10-20 into $100+ is even better (5-10x).

For the camera example, Gen Z is really into digital cameras (they seem to be boycotting smartphones for digital cameras). So I look for items that I know others would want or that I might pay for myself on FB Marketplace if I was in need (or want) of the item.

Here’s an example short list of some items that I look for (not exhaustive by any means):

• Gym equipment (rubberized weights, Pelotons, Hydrow rowers)
• Cordless Power tools, if they aren’t beat up, especially with lithium-ion batteries.
  • The batteries are the expensive part.
  • DeWalt, Kobalt, Greenworks.
  • Even standalone batteries sell well because people already own the tools and need spare batteries.
• Metal rolling toolboxes (Kobalt, Craftsman, etc.)
• Hitch bike racks (Thule, Kuat, etc.)
• Small stainless appliances (Cuisinart and Breville toaster ovens, air fryers)
• Golf clubs or golf shoes, if like new. Newer sets with a bag and head covers sell well. (Think Callaway, Ping, etc. for clubs; Nike, adidas, etc. for shoes.)
• Quality outdoor / workout or luxury clothing brands (Fabletics, Lululemon, Kuhl, Patagonia, Columbia, etc.)
• Baby gear (strollers, wagons, carriers)
  • I haven’t tried baby clothing yet, but like-new or new baby shoes move fast because kids outgrow them so quickly.
• Newer smart TVs (if cheap enough) (within the last 5-7 years). Think Samsung, LG, Sony flat-screen HD –typically over 36″– but if they’re cheap enough, any size will do.

Another real-time example: I bought and sold three Hydrow rowing machines in a month. $290 total for a total of a couple of hours of work. The $300 buy wasn’t amazing, but the $220 and $250 flips carried much better margins and averaged out the group.

Another real-time example of my tracking:

• $368 profit from one yard sale morning plus a couple of hours coordinating Marketplace sales.
  • Average profit was 3 to 5x what I paid.
  • One item, a metal Disneyland license plate frame, was free at the yard sale. The seller just wanted to purge items from their house. I sold it for $40. Fun frugalizer find. I knew Disney fans would pay for it to put on their car, and it was metal, not a plastic frame.
• See below for other examples. This grouping ($368 profit) was one of my smaller yard sale hauls in one morning, plus a few hours coordinating sales after listing the items on FB Marketplace. This also did not include any of the value of items I kept for my own use (I don’t really track those– they’re basically free, subsidized by my profits).
  
  

These are some examples – literally anything sells, as you can see above. Tools sell really well (socket sets, power tools (corded and cordless), Harley stuff, football jerseys… you name it.

Buy what you think will sell.

As I’m looking around my kitchen as I type this, I’m looking at a few small appliances that would be perfect frugal flips if I found similar items to them at yard sales, thrift stores, or even buying/flipping on FB Marketplace (buy and sell for higher). (Note, I have seen all of them and sold many of them before– I’ve even traded up items when I find something better and sell my old one to upgrade items in my house). I’m looking at my Ninja Creami, KitchenAid stand mixer, Cuisinart air fryer/oven combo, coffee grinder (Breville), Vitamix blender, etc. All great candidates for frugal flips as side hustle income.

Here is my general frugal flip buy/sell process:

Step 1: Buy quality items that aren’t beat up, broken, or trashed.

Step 2: List on FB Marketplace.

Step 3: Price aggressively but fairly. A quick sale beats waiting a week or two for a buyer at your “ideal” price. The Shark vacuum above cost me $20 and sold for $60 the same day. Easy $40. I could have asked $80 or $100, but I don’t think it would have moved as fast.

Step 4: Have the buyer meet you at your house to save time. If you’re in an apartment, or just don’t want anyone inside, meet in the parking lot.

Step 5: Make the sale. Quick sales, quick profits. I’m always clear up front: “Please bring cash.” Venmo works for me on smaller transactions. And if an item is getting a lot of interest, I’ll say “price is firm, I have a lot of interest” so that people don’t show up and demand a lower price. Pre-set price, pre-set time for pickup.

Step 6: Use the side income to spend on what matters, or to help with the bills.

If you happen to buy a “loser item,” worst case: you can sell it for what you paid and get your money back. Or if you only spent a buck or a few and the item doesn’t move, donate it to your local thrift store and move on with your life. Let the thrift store make a few bucks and just write it off as upcycled. Profits from other items cover the small “loss” (which I don’t really count as a loss anyway). Just make a mental note not to buy that type of item again.

You can do this frugal flipping at whatever scale works for you.
Even $100-$200 a month helps with groceries or towards a car payment (if you have one). One yard sale Saturday morning can net me several hundred dollars to upward of $1k+. My tracking spreadsheet proves it.

Replicate this where it makes sense for you. It is a side hustle and can be adapted to whatever your geographic area provides. Maybe yard sales are better than thrift stores in your area. It isn’t “passive,” but the per-hour profit is definitely worth it if you find the right items (or volume of items). Community yard sales, moving sales, or high-quality thrift stores can result in a good volume of items.

What frugal flips have you found in your area? Any luck lately?