8 Real Ways To Flip Items for a Profit
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There are several ways you can flip items by buying an item at a lower price and selling it for a profit several days or weeks later. Some are easy to earn a profit from, while others require a bit of research and patience.
Trying several of these ideas can help put your cash to work and help you earn more than the interest from your savings account.
Pursuing several can help pad your annual portfolio performance to reach your financial goals sooner. I try several myself from time to time.
Ways You Can Flip Items For A Profit
When it comes to helping your money make money, you have options. Our flip ideas range in degrees of difficulty and the amount of capital you need to spend upfront. Options are listed alphabetically.
1. Cars
If you possess mechanical skills or love automobiles, you can flip cars that need light repairs or have collectible value.
Cars are inherently a depreciating asset due to aging and routine maintenance. However, you can profit by purchasing used ones at a discount and fixing them up for less than the potential selling price.
You may also decide to rent out your car to make money before it sells. This cash flow helps offset the ongoing maintenance and insurance costs.
Flipping cars can be exciting and profitable but be sure to check your state laws to see how many you can sell per year without an auto dealer license.
For example, I can sell up to five cars annually in my home state, but others allow up to 11 car sales.
2. Collectibles
Antiques and collectibles are some of the best merchandise to sell as their market value is higher than new items using selling apps locally or online.
For instance, you might shop at garage sales and thrift stores to look for undervalued products.
Items to look for include:
Another way to get exposure to this niche is through Rally Rd. This investment platform lets you buy fractional shares of rare books, cars, and pop culture memorabilia.
Personally, I like looking for old books that I can sell for at least $10 in profits. This item usually has low shipping costs due to its lightweight and small dimensions.
3. Dropshipping
Selling merchandise online doesn’t require storing boxes of inventory in your home and having to manually package and mail each sold item. Instead, you can partner with dropshipping suppliers that handle the storage and shipping process.
For example, you may buy a pallet of small toys at a wholesale price to earn a few dollars of profit. You can list the item on Amazon, eBay, and other marketplaces. The supplier stores the items at a warehouse and mails them to the buyer.
You will need to buy a minimum quantity, which can be expensive, and also wait for your inventory to sell to recoup your original investment. In addition, you will provide customer service and need to issue refunds when items arrive damaged.
While this side hustle isn’t effortless, it’s one of the best ways to make money from retail arbitrage as you can automate some of the process to minimize operating expenses.
4. Furniture
Furniture can also be a fun flipping project as you find pieces on closeout that you can quickly sell on Facebook Marketplace for more. Another strategy is refinishing old pieces with scratches, dents or signs of wear.
There are several places to sell furniture for more money. You may consider specialty marketplaces with interested buyers for potentially higher selling prices.
Recently, we sold two bar stools that we bought at a local furniture store on clearance. While they were not a good fit for our home decor, we made a profit by selling them for less than the manufacturer’s retail price.
5. Real Estate
There are several ways to make money with real estate, although many require a long-term commitment to offset fees and taxes. If you have deep pockets, flipping fixer-uppers that are recent foreclosures or need lots of repairs is a good option.
The key is buying properties at a discount and making affordable repairs to boost curb appeal. Your profit margins are higher if you complete most of the work or have affordable contractors.
If you don’t have the cash, time, or skills, you can consider using Groundfloor, which helps fund short-term investments across the country. They introduced a new Groundfloor mobile app available via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for easier access.
This platform isn’t risk-fee but has a shorter investment period than many crowdfunded real estate sites.
6. Stocks
Trading stocks is a popular way to flip money as you can buy shares trading at a near-term low and sell for more if the technical indicators trend higher.
A stock screener makes finding potential candidates easier and minimizes your research time between trades.
To be clear, short-term trading can be time-consuming and challenging to profit from as it’s hard to predict how the market will perform day-to-day.
If you wonder if investing is gambling, a long-term investment strategy can be more productive.
Holding positions for at least 12 months can reduce portfolio volatility and profit if the share price increases long-term.
Additionally, a micro-investing app lets you buy fractional shares, making it easy to diversify and minimize risk on stock trades.
7. Trading Cards
Classic and modern trading cards in high demand can be lucrative to sell, whether you declutter your collection or find a cheap collection at a yard sale or thrift store. Pokemon cards are a popular option for role-playing games. Other strategy games have valuable cards as well.
Sports cards are also valuable. However, you may need to stick to today’s most popular players or go back to some of the game’s legends to avoid the overproduction of cards from the 1980s to the present.
8. Websites
Flipping websites isn’t an overnight success, and it can take months or even a few years of cheating content and building an audience. It’s easy to start a blog but you will need to routinely write new articles to gain traffic.
Another option is buying a starter site already with a small audience and revenue history.
However, you will need to implement ways to make money blogging to increase the monthly income and sell it for a higher premium.
How to Avoid Flipping Scams
There are legitimate ways to make money quickly, yet many prospects are get-rich-quick scams. Here are several things to look out for to avoid losing money:
- Don’t send gift cards: Some scam artists want gift card payments upfront to help fund the transaction. Instead, they take the money and run.
- Only use money you can afford to lose: Only some pursuits make money, especially if there is plenty of risk and you must sell for less than the initial list price. Additionally, be sure to account for selling fees and taxes.
- Protect your data: Individuals and platforms may use transactions to steal your personal details or banking information.
- Research potential risks and rewards: No idea is risk-free and you should decide if the potential returns are worth the risk. If not, consider short-term investments that can earn passive income while you wait for a better opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are several questions about using money to achieve your short-term goals.
Flipping money is when you buy an asset with the intent of selling it within several months or sooner. The holding period depends on the item, current market demand, and if you need to make any improvements to prepare it for a sale.
For example, you can quickly sell a book or collectible that you buy at a garage sale for $1 but can sell for $20 online as soon as you get home.
However, it might take several weeks or months for a stock investment or investment property to appreciate.
Yes, in most cases, you are buying products for less than market value and selling at market value. However, flipping can be unethical if you make excess profits by selling it for more than market value or selling illegal items to an unsuspecting buyer.
Flipping is an excellent money-making idea when you have the time and skill to buy discounted items and sell them for a profit. You may need to be patient if finding a buyer takes longer than expected and have the upfront money to invest in an idea.
Other income streams are better if you need to make money now to pay the bills.
Additionally, you should avoid flipping if you don’t have cash reserves to put into an asset.
Summary
It’s possible to flip physical goods and digital products for a quick profit when you know where to look for high-demand items selling at a discount.
Try selling several item types to diversify your income, and you can pursue a side hustle to earn income while waiting for a sale.