🔍 Sourcing
No inventory = no business. Sourcing is the foundation of reselling. You can have perfect photos, compelling descriptions, and fast shipping—but if you're buying the wrong items at the wrong prices, you're working hard to lose money. This guide covers every major sourcing channel and how to maximize each one.
📊 Sourcing Fundamentals
Sourcing Channels Ranked
Not all sourcing is equal. Here's how each channel stacks up:
🏷️ Thrift Stores
Best for: Clothing, shoes, home goods, books, vintage items. Low cost of entry, high potential margins, but requires time and knowledge.
🏠 Estate Sales
Best for: Vintage, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, high-end housewares. Often better quality than thrifts, negotiable prices, especially on final day.
🚗 Garage/Yard Sales
Best for: Everything. Highest potential ROI because sellers just want stuff gone. Requires weekend time, early mornings, and lots of driving.
📦 Bins (Goodwill Outlet)
Best for: High-volume sellers willing to dig. Pay by the pound ($1-2/lb), find hidden gems. Physically demanding, competitive environment.
💻 Online Arbitrage
Best for: Scalable operations, Amazon FBA sellers. Buy clearance/sale items online, resell at full price. Lower margins but more predictable.
📦 Liquidation/Pallets
Best for: Experienced sellers with capital, storage space, and ability to handle volume. High risk of damaged/unsellable items. Not for beginners.
Thrift Store Mastery
Thrifting is where most resellers start and many stay. Here's how to do it right.
Best Days and Times
Timing strategy: Go Tuesday-Thursday mornings when new stock is out but crowds are low. Weekend sales (like 50% off color tags) can be good for bulk buying, but expect competition.
Store-by-Store Strategy
| Store | Pricing | Best Categories | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodwill | Variable by region | Clothing, shoes, housewares | Learn your local pricing. Some regions are gold, others overpriced. |
| Salvation Army | Generally cheaper | Furniture, appliances, vintage | Often less picked over. Check color tag sales. |
| Savers/Value Village | Higher, but better stock | Brand name clothing | Better curation means faster hunting, higher prices. |
| Local/Church thrifts | Often cheapest | Vintage, unique finds | Hidden gems. Build relationships with staff. |
| Habitat ReStore | Fair | Tools, building materials, furniture | Great for specific niches like vintage hardware. |
What to Look For
🎯 Thrift Store Scanning Checklist
💡 Pro Tip: Develop a "route" of 3-5 thrift stores. Hit them in order on the same days each week. You'll learn each store's rhythm—when they restock, what they price well, where the good stuff hides.
Estate Sales Strategy
Estate sales offer higher-quality items than thrifts, often at negotiable prices.
Finding Estate Sales
- EstateSales.net — Largest listing site, set up alerts for your area
- EstateSales.org — Secondary site, different listings
- Craigslist — Search "estate sale" in your area
- Facebook — Local estate sale groups, company pages
- Newspapers — Old school but still works, especially for older sellers
Estate Sale Tactics
| Day | Prices | Selection | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Full price | Best selection | Go early for high-value items. Worth paying full price for rare finds. |
| Day 2 | 20-25% off | Good selection | Sweet spot for most items. Good balance of price and availability. |
| Day 3 | 50%+ off | Picked over | Bulk buying opportunity. Grab everything left in your category. |
⚠️ Estate Sale Etiquette: Don't arrive before posted start time and block driveways. Don't haggle rudely on Day 1. Don't cherry-pick from other people's piles. Bad behavior gets you banned.
Garage Sale Domination
Garage sales offer the highest ROI potential because sellers just want stuff gone.
Planning Your Route
- Thursday night: Search Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, Garage Sale Finder apps
- Map your route: Group sales geographically, prioritize by listing quality (photos = serious sellers)
- Set alarm for early: Best finds go in the first hour. Serious sellers start at 7-8 AM.
- Bring cash in small bills: $1s, $5s, $10s. Makes negotiating easier.
Negotiation Scripts
💬 Phrases That Work
💡 Pro Tip: Ask "Is there anything not out that you're selling?" Many sellers have items in the garage or house they forgot to display. This is where you find the best stuff.
Bins (Goodwill Outlet) Guide
Bins are not for everyone. It's physically demanding, competitive, and unpredictable. But the margins can be incredible.
How Bins Work
- Pricing: Pay by weight ($1-2 per pound), not per item
- Rotation: New bins rolled out throughout the day
- The rush: When new bins come out, experienced diggers converge fast
- Categories: Clothing bins, housewares bins, sometimes electronics/books separate
Bins Survival Tips
- Wear gloves — You will find gross stuff. Protect yourself.
- Bring hand sanitizer — Use it constantly.
- Wear closed-toe shoes — Heavy items fall.
- Bring your own cart/basket — Store carts fill up fast.
- Learn the schedule — Know when new bins rotate in.
- Work systematically — Section by section, not random grabbing.
- Be respectful — Don't reach over people, don't hoard items you're unsure about.
⚠️ Reality check: Bins are not passive income. You will spend 4-6 hours digging through literal piles of stuff. Your back will hurt. Some days you'll find nothing. It's high effort for high reward.
Online Sourcing
Online Arbitrage Basics
Buying discounted items online to resell at full price. Most common for Amazon FBA but works for eBay too.
- Clearance sections: Target, Walmart, Kohl's, department stores
- Coupon stacking: Combine sales + coupons + cashback for deep discounts
- Price trackers: CamelCamelCamel, Keepa for Amazon price history
- Scanning apps: Amazon Seller app, Scoutify for quick profit calculations
Buying from Other Resellers
Sometimes the best deals are from sellers who priced wrong or need quick cash:
- eBay auctions: Ending auctions with low bids, misspelled listings
- Facebook Marketplace: Underpriced items from people who don't know values
- Mercari: New sellers often underprice significantly
- OfferUp/Craigslist: Local deals, no shipping, can inspect before buying
💡 Pro Tip: Set up saved searches with common misspellings of valuable brands. "Lulu Lemon," "Northface," "Patagonica" — these often have fewer bidders.
Building a Sourcing System
Random sourcing = random results. Build a system:
Weekly Sourcing Schedule
| Day | Activity | Time Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | List items from weekend sourcing | — |
| Tuesday | Thrift store run #1 (morning) | 2-3 hours |
| Wednesday | Thrift store run #2 or estate sales | 2-3 hours |
| Thursday | Plan weekend route, online arbitrage | 1-2 hours |
| Friday | Prep for weekend (cash, car space) | — |
| Saturday | Garage sales (early AM), estate sales | 4-6 hours |
| Sunday | Estate sales (discount day), listing | 3-4 hours |
Track Your Results
Know which sources actually produce profit:
- Track where each item was sourced
- Calculate ROI by source monthly
- Double down on what works, cut what doesn't
- If a thrift store never produces, stop going
Sourcing Mindset
- Pass on most items. If you're buying everything, you're buying wrong. Be selective.
- Research BEFORE buying. Quick phone check saves bad purchases.
- Know your niches. Specialists beat generalists. Deep knowledge = better picks.
- Relationships matter. Staff at thrifts can tip you off to good stuff.
- Condition is everything. A $100 item with a stain is a $20 item. Inspect carefully.
- Leave money on the table. You can't buy everything good. Focus on great.
ℹ️ The 1% Rule: For every 100 items you look at, you might buy 1-5. If you're buying 20%, you're not being selective enough. Quality over quantity always.
Related Guides
- Thrifting Deep Dive — Advanced thrift store strategies
- Estate Sales Guide — Complete estate sale tactics
- Garage Sales Guide — Maximize yard sale finds
- Bins Guide — Goodwill Outlet strategies
- Liquidation Guide — Pallet and wholesale buying
- Online Arbitrage — Digital sourcing strategies