Teacher's college or side hustle school?

How I used a thrifting hobby to pay for teachers’ college

I have always loved yard sales, auctions, flea markets and thrift stores, cause, you just never know. Maybe I get it from my dad who got it from his mum who used to go to auctions and collect all kinds of old antiques of varying value, side note some of them were of no value and some of them ended up selling for big money years later, but that is another story….

Growing up it was not uncommon for my Dad take me and my brothers and head to an auction sale on a Saturday morning or Sunday after mass, usually it was an old farm with everything going from a box of nails to a classic car (we were usually shopping more in the box of nails sort of category). In fact, the auctioneer knew my dad so well that one time he rolled out a greeting right in middle of his chant without losing a beat, “hup da di de da and ten, and fifteen and, hi Chris how are the kids? And twenty, hup da di de da thirty…”

All this is to say I was no stranger to the thrill of the chase at a secondhand sale when you just never knew what might be at the bottom of that box of tools that you just purchased for seven dollars. And the same thing goes for yard sales, where else could you turn $3.25 into a thermos, a typewriter and fishing rod, it was like Christmas!

So yes, it’s fair to say I already had the thrill of the hunt in me when I grew to the age where I had the freedom to bid for myself and hit up the odd yard sale or thrift store for buried treasure. But this is only half the story. Sure, it’s fun to find cool stuff but sometimes you just don’t need more stuff, which usually doesn’t stop me, but it can put a damper on the sport if it becomes a concern. It wasn’t until a few years later during university that I started to realize that I there was more to the story. You don’t need to keep the stuff; you can turn around and sell it again! And with any luck for more than you bought it!

That was all it took, the challenge was too tempting to let the old habit die, so as a financially embarrassed student with a monetary incentive it was time to go full mercenary on the passion of my childhood.

I had a few different goes at this through the years but never really buckled down until I was faced with the possibility of needing a part time job to get me through my time in teacher’s college. And with the rise of Facebook Marketplace the market was ripe for my talents!

So I went to the streets, and by that, I mean the auctions, yard sales and thrift stores that were available.

The key to this game is simply listing items and iterating on the feedback, you just don’t know what will sell but you start to learn pretty quickly about whole industries that you just never really thought of, I have sold a lot of things, but I’ll just a highlight a few. You win some and you lose some but over all I did ok, and I believe that anyone who is up for the challenge can do $100 to $200 in profit per week with a few hours of hustling, and if you enjoy it like I did, then it’s like getting paid to play!

So what did I sell?

Well here are my personal favourites. The best-case scenario are the items you can pick up for free because then it’s all straight profit, so with that being said here a couple unicorns that highlighted my thrifting carrier.

First there was the golden dump run. I headed over to the used drop off shed and picked up a cool looking wheelchair, a bench press and an old pool pump (I had to google it to see what was), to be honest I think it was a month before I started striking a deal with these guys but sometimes that’s how it goes, sometimes it a hold and sometimes it’s a quick sale, some of that is up to you with the pricing, but back to the story, I sold the bench press for $60, not bad, the pool pump for $100, and the wheel chair well it just wouldn’t sell… at first that is… I had checked the model online and seemed like it was pretty expensive model brand new… after a couple months I had pretty much given up when I decided to throw it up on eBay, I put it up for $460 plus $50 shipping and basically forgot about it… I think it was the next day or two later when I got the email… SOLD! I couldn’t believe it! And you might not either, so I’ll drop the screenshot down below!

Anyways that was fun and it sure fueled the fire. They are not always big sales but hey even a few $30 profits a week starts to add up when you’re in the narrows. So, I kept at it and had some fun and made enough cash to pull through. Another favorite was a little tykes playhouse I picked up at the end of someone’s driveway for free and turned around for $100 bucks the same day! I also tried to double down on the wheelchair market and sold two more that I thrifted for about $200 profit each, although one had to sit in my brothers basement and at one point on his lawn for a little bit… which he wasn’t too happy about considering it was the kind with the toilet seat on it… but I digress…

It’s a fun gig and a good challenge if you’re in a pinch, I didn’t have to get a job in the end and I also learned a lot about what people value and what sells fast versus what takes longer, you just start to get a sense….

I think this is the best side hustle to dip your toes in if your wanting to get started, the barrier to entry is so low and you don’t even need money to get started, heck there is stuff lying around in your room that could make you a few bucks and clean the place up, and it might just whet your appetite for business, you might just find that you love it, you might just pay off some debt and you might just find a niche that brings you a lot of joy that you want to double down on and maybe even turn into a legitimate business! (I thought very seriously about establishing an online retail store for used wheelchairs, these are hot commodities especially in the US! You make a fair profit and save people thousands on the new machines, I didn’t pursue it in the end so this idea is all yours!) But anyways there you have it!

Love it hate it, or laugh at it, this a great side hustle to jump into starting today, don’t be bored, go out and give it a try!

Well hope you enjoyed that folks, let me know if your inspired to make a sale or have any questions, I have moved onto some other projects, but I am always just intrigued enough that I can’t help checking the sold listings on eBay when I see a good deal, or a free giveaway, you might just pay for a night out!

I thought it would be fun to show some pics of other things I sold, for the most part I aimed for at least a 2 to 1 profit to cost ratio, this is good rule of thumb to have if you’re going to be buying your inventory.

Pics are attached below,

Yours in the Hustle,

Ben

P.S.

If you want to learn more this guy does this sort of thing for a full time living as do many others! https://fleamarketflipper.com/

Free pickup

Thrifted for 30 or 40

Free pickup ( sold for 50)

Free pickup ( sold for 70)

Thrifted ($7)

Free (Sold for 75)

Thrifted ($10) same day sale!