Buying bundles of baby clothes on ebay, and selling them on. Would this work at all or am I mad ??

[MrsMorgan]

I have noticed that bundles of baby clothes don't seem to sell for very much, and was thinking that if sold seperatly at somewhere like a car boot/table top sale, then more money could be made.

For example, if I got a bundle containing 13 items, and I paid £6 inc the p&p, then thats roughly 50p per item. If I then sold on for £2 per item i'd make £1.50.

Do I sound like I am talking rubbish ? Please feel free to say so.

I have found a company that organises a used baby items table top sale roughly once a month, and I think the stuff would probably sell ok there. Might also know of an indoor carboot that runs quite often.

I am currently an unemployed single mum, and if I could make enough money out of it to come off income support then that would be fab.

I might be living in cloud cukoo land though.

I can't see how you'd sell stuff for £2 each at a car boot tbh.

Really ? I'd pay £2 for a nice top/dress/trousers or whatever.

Tbh i'd not be doing the outdoor carboots, more table top sales.

I did think it was a slight shot in the dark, but nevermind.

Bumping for more opinions.

How about if I sold the stuff slightly cheaper ??

Maybe thinking I could make enough to come off benefits was daft, but not even to make a bit of extra cash ? Declared of course.

Sure you might get £2 for a nice dress/trousers in a good make, but you won't get 13 of those for £6 inc P&P on ebay!

Ok, it was just a thought. Back to the drawing board.

Sorry, meant to say thank you

It could work but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle or potential expense. You are buying second-hand stock (I assume it isn't new) and reselling it, for 100% or more profit. You have costs though to take into account... such as the cost of your 'pitch' at which you sell the items, your time, cost of any packaging needed, cost of any laundry of the items needed.

It's something to do... there is potential risk - such as you will buy stock and not be able to sell it - not sure how much you would make... as your large cost will be your pitch, which could be £10 for 2 hours... during which you may sell say 10 items making £1 profit per item, resulting in... Zero after taking off the cost of the pitch.

You will never know unless you try... those who start a business take risks and it is a risk. The key thing I expect will be in finding pitches which cost very little yet give a good number of sales, plus having items which get a good sale value... so if you are buying the item for 0.50 and selling for 2.50 say. When doing small volume of sales you need lots of profit per item.

Thank you Nick.

Doesn't look like I thought it through very well. I think I will carry on looking into it a bit more first before I decide to take the plunge.

What about selling them online ? Not on ebay but my own site ??

Would that be too costly too ??

I just think it is something I would really enjoy doing. I'd not be looking to make millions, just break even really.

Much better to buy cheap stuff at a car boot then ebay them I would have thought?

My sister does this the other way round, although not with children's clothes buys stuff cheaply at car boot sales and resells on eBay. She has an eye for what will sell on eBay and (I think) only ever buys stuff priced at 50p-£1. Then she photographs it nicely and writes good eBay copy. It only makes her a bit of extra cash, though certainly not enough to live off.

MrsMorgan, I have had some sucess at buying at boot sales and selling on on ebay. You need to have an eye for things that will sell for high value, ie things that are very expensive to buy new.
You also need to find an affordable way to post stuff, e.g. cheap dhl courier for £6 or similar. That way, you can make up a massive bundle of stuff and post it out, if you notice on ebay alot of people won't post big stuff or heavy stuff... but you will pick up buyers if you will.
The sort of stuff I found sold well was heavy toys e.g. fisherprice peek a blocks, you buy a selection of it from boot sale for £1 a piece and then put it in a big box and sell on for a lot more. this hippo i bought for £1 and it costs £35 in the shops. if you get some extra stuff from same range you can collect a good bundle.
the other thing that i found sold well was stuff for kids/babies bedrooms e.g. a matching cot bumper, sheets, blanket, quilt, lampshade etc especially if it is pooh bear or a popular design from mamas and papas etc. you can buy the whole lot for £5 and sell on for £15 or so? That pooh bear stuff costs more than a tenner just for one blanket in argos so you can see how it would appeal as a bargain.
Best of luck, it's not easy but it all adds up!

Thank you

I'd not thought of doing it the other way round but that could work I think.

Lots to think about.

If you stick to lego and playmobil stuff you can make a fortune, they are very in demand and small and lightweight so cheap to post.

My bil also buys stuff at boot sales and then sells it on Ebay. He doesn't make enough to live on but enough to pay for a few luxuries. Have a look in charity shops too, I've bought a few things just lately which are going for much higher prices on Ebay. Don't forget the tax implications though.

Oh if I thought it would work, then i'd register with tax people, thats fine, i'd not be looking to do anything shifty.

I suppose i'd have to do it for a while to know if it was gonna work though.

It's complicaed isn't it lol.

Even if you don't make enough to pay tax then you still need to keep records to prove you don't have to pay tax. Try calling Business Link they run free courses on this sort of thing.

Thank you, you have all been really helpful.