In today’s independent workforce made up of freelancers, contract-workers and on-demand workers, you can make money in a variety of ways. Whatever your skills or interest, you can find a way to generate additional income.
Many have found great success in refurbishing and recreating popular items to sell. You can take something with little value, work with it and then create something to sell for a profit. There are even television shows dedicated to showcasing the process of flipping a house.
While flipping houses, or taking a run-down house and transforming it into a beautiful home, may be the most common thing to flip, there are many more opportunities. You can use your talents to reconstruct something of great value. Whether you choose to use this method of work as a part-time side hustle or a full-time job, you can boost your income through this method of earning. Here, we share 12 things you can easily flip and earn a big profit.
Appliances
If you’ve got a knack for tinkering with broken down washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and even toasters, you may just have the perfect opportunity to flip appliances for a big profit. Find and buy cheap, outdated or broken appliances and renovate them yourself. Rather than seeing these appliances just go to the dump or to be broken down and recycled, if you see fixes you know you can make, put in the effort and do it yourself.
Where to find
If you know people or can get connected with people who are renovating a home or flipping a house, check to see if they have broken down appliances they’re looking to replace. You might need to do some of the heavy lifting to transport an appliance, especially things like a heavy fridge or dishwasher. But once you get it out and to a place where you can work, you can be on your way to earning a profit. While you often won’t find large appliances like dishwashers at garage sales, you may be able to find smaller appliances like blenders or toasters that you can get back to working condition.
Where to sell
Online websites like Craigslist is a great place to sell larger items like appliances. If you’re already developed a presence on such sites, you can incorporate appliances into your list of things you offer. You can also find opportunities to sell appliances on other local listing sites. Selling local tends to be better as transportation of the appliance must be factored in. But throwing in free delivery and other convenience perks can help you make your sale that much better.
Cameras and Lenses
For those with an eye for technology and photography, refurbishing cameras can be a great way to earn an extra profit. Whether you flip and sell just the lens or an entire high-end camera, you’ll have great opportunity to generate some extra income. Buying these items brand new can be quite expensive for many up-and-coming photographers, so getting used equipment is a common practice. You can help these photographers out by offering used items and while also earning a profit for yourself.
Where to find
Online sites can be a great first stop in looking for cameras and lenses to flip. Your photographer friends might also have resources or cameras and lenses themselves that they no longer use or don’t work anymore. Keep your eyes open for those valuable yet often forgotten items. You may even be able to find lenses and cameras at thrift stores.
Where to sell
Online sites like your Craigslist account can be a great outlet for selling your flipped cameras and lenses. Post on a garage sale Facebook page. Freshen up your eBay profile and see those high bids come in.
Cutlery
Over the years, you may find some forks, knives and spoons missing from your flatware sets. Rather than going out and purchasing an entire new set, some people may simply opt for find replacements that are used. This creates a perfect opportunity to flip dining and dinnerware sets for a profit.
Where to find
Roam the aisles of thrift shops and the clearance areas of home goods stores. Keep your eye out for high-end silver pieces that may just need a little polishing. Collect those straggler spoons and create your own set of dinnerware.
Where to sell
Feel like your very own Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel as you collect, restore and resell flatware that looks just as good as when it was first purchased. Be sure to clean the sets very well and take high quality pictures for posting on online sites or for garage sales.
Furniture
Buying new furniture for a space can get expensive. With buying used tables, chairs and other types of furniture, people can get a new look for their home without spending a great deal. You can meet that need by flipping all kinds of chairs, tables, dressers and more.
Where to find
You can find furniture to flip in many ways. Oftentimes, you can pick up unwanted furniture pieces that just need a little bit of love at places like thrift stores and garage sales. Due to the sometimes large size of furniture, it’s often better to buy and sell locally so you don’t have to deal with costly transportation and shipping costs that cut into your profits. Keep your eye out for cheap furniture on sites like Craigslist and eBay that are just waiting to be renovated. Find a cushioned chair with ripped or dated fabric and redo it with a modern and comfortable look. Tables and chairs made of real wood are also hot items that people crave for their homes but don’t always want to spend the price of brand new pieces. Find broken or worn down wood furniture items at thrift stores, online sites and garage sales and with a little bit of care and attention, you can transform those pieces into a set that’s perfect for someone’s home.
Where to sell
Because these furniture items can be quite large, such as full dining room table sets, it’s best to go local when looking to sell your refurbished items. Posting your new and improved furniture items on local garage sale Facebook pages and Craigslist can help you generate awareness about what you’re selling. And the close proximity of buyers helps you cut down on transportation costs.
As you’re looking to sell on these online sites, it’s important that you take good photos of the furniture. From a picture of the item, customers determine the quality and value of it, so better photos may just lead to them putting more value on the item. Another thing to remember as you look to sell furniture is making sure it’s clean and in the best condition it can be. Presenting the item or set well will increase its value and appearance, attracting more buyers.
Home Decor
From lamps to picture frames to rugs to so much more, people are always on the lookout for new additions to their home without spending a lot. You can help others breathe new life into their space with revamped home decor you can flip for a profit.
Where to find
You can find home decor items, whether big or small, in many places. Thrift stores and garage sales tend to be your best bet for home decor items that are in good condition and just need a little touching up before reselling. You can usually find a wide variety of items at these types of stores including picture frames, rugs, lamps, coffee table books, vases and jars, garland, paintings and much more.
Where to sell
You can sell your newly revamped home decor items online – Etsy works especially well for home decor items. You can also set up your own garage sale or Facebook page to share your items. For larger items, Craigslist and eBay are also popular sites for people to find what they’re looking for and get you a profit in return.
Power tools
Whether a contractor or someone just trying to fix some things up around the house, power tools can really come in handy. But with the frequency contractors use tools or the budget many homeowners live under, buying new power tools for all projects can get expensive. Luckily, you can refurbish power tools to both help customers and make a profit.
Where to find
Know any contractors or home builders? These workers go through power tools frequently, so they’re always looking for new things. Check out thrift stores that are dedicated to home building projects. Before you make the investment, make sure you know the problem of the power tool and know how to fix it up to make a reasonable profit.
Where to sell
Gather up those contractor friends again and let them know you’re refurbishing power tools. They may have a job or two where you’ll have just what they need. You can also post your findings on resale sites and social media pages to reach a greater number of customers.
Record players
Put your love of vintage music players to use as you flip record players for a big profit. These hot collectible items can sell for a lot of money, depending on its functionality and condition.
Where to find
Keep your eye out for these vintage music devices at estate sales, storage auctions and online resellers. Before making the investment, make sure you do your prior research on the prices and values of record players and vinyl records in order to get the best return.
Where to sell
Post your offering at auctions, whether in-person or online. These antique items are in demand as collectible items, so set your price accordingly. You can also sell on eBay and Amazon and other websites to share the love of music.
Retro video game consoles
Channel your inner child as you reminisce over classic video games that actually can be worth a lot of money. By investing in some time in researching and looking out for the right kinds of video games, you can make a huge profit on flipping games.
Where to find
You may just find a popular, classic video game in a thrift store, but you may also need to do some digging. Talk to your friends and friends of friends who are gamers to see if they have any games they’d part with. When looking for video games that may be worth a lot, choose either very dated games, such as those for Atari, or current new games. Do some research and know which titles to pay special attention to.
Where to sell
Post online, share collections at garage sales and let your gamer friends know what you’ve found. Many kids and teens are often looking for new games but don’t always want to pay the high prices at retailers. By doing the searching, you can help them discover new games while also making a profit for yourself.
Sporting Equipment
Playing sports can be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, sports equipment can be expensive for parents and kids who are looking to stay active. From football helmets to baseball cleats to volleyball knee pads, sporting gear is an important part of playing. With the demand for affordable equipment, and often not much attention to used or new, you can fix up old sporting equipment to get players back in the game.
Where to buy
Be on the lookout for old sporting equipment at garage sales and thrift stores. These locations often offer great items that just need a little attention and minor fixes. As you search for the right items to flip, be aware of strong odors or signs of wear that you won’t be able to fix, as they may lower your chance of being able to earn a big profit from all your work you put in.
Where to sell
In addition to selling sporting equipment at garage sales, you can also post your remodeled gear online and on social media sites. Bundle equipment for the same sport into a group to sell as a whole set. Even if the buyer doesn’t need every item included, they may just go for the convenience of the set. You can also connect with local schools and community centers to get them new gear for their teams while also making a profit.
Sports Memorabilia
As you’re keeping your eye out for sports equipment, also see if you can find other memorabilia items from a wide range of sports. Jerseys, posters, figurines of top players are collectible items that people may be willing to pay big money for.
Where to find
Peruse your local thrift stores and look around on resale sites like Craigslist. You can also find sports memorabilia items at garage sales. When you’re on the lookout for these particular items, you never know what kinds of popular antiques and collectibles you’ll find. Make sure you know values of particular item categories like jerseys and posters so you know you’re getting the best deal you can.
Where to sell
Clean up your memorabilia find and resell it online or at local resale locations. Post on online resale sites and tell your sports fanatic friends what you’ve found. They may just need to add another item to their collection, getting you a profit.
Tech Devices
Laptops, tablets, smartphones and computers have become essential pieces to our everyday lives. With such devices, people get work done, connect with others and can continually learn. But with frequent use, sometimes these valuable tech devices simply don’t work anymore or show major signs of wear and tear. You can use this demand to your advantage as you flip hot tech devices for a profit.
Where to find
You can find technology devices to flip at places like garage sales and online sites like Craigslist. When picking out an item to flip, make sure you know what the problem is with the device and know that it’s something you can fix. It would be a bummer to buy a broken laptop only to realize that you don’t know or have the resources to repair it without additional investments. If you have friends who are updating their technology for something brand new, ask if you can have their old items to repair and resell.
Where to sell
Sell those repaired laptops, smartphones and tablets for a large profit margin on online resale sites and local pages. Many people want the features of the latest technology but often don’t want to pay for new gear at brand new prices. You can help them afford refurbished laptops and other devices so they can succeed in work, school and life. Post your revamped devices on Craigslist or other online sites – just remember to include quality pictures with your postings to get the best shot at high margins.
Vehicles
Put your mechanic skills to work and fix up cars to sell for a profit. While this type of flipping may require some additional skills and investments than others, the return on such flip can be great. Whether the car or truck just needs a few clean-up tasks or a greater overhaul, if you’re willing to put in the work, you can offer customers used cars while still making great margins. To grow in your knowledge of vehicles and upgrading them, you can always take online courses and trainings to be even better equipped to make a big profit on flipping vehicles.
Where to find
Chances are, you won’t find used cars at garage sales or thrift stores. But, you can find them at online sites like Craigslist. You can often find vehicles that are are in fair condition for a fairly low price. You can also connect with people you know and local listings of people planning on purchasing a new vehicle and hoping to get rid of their old one.
Where to sell
Once you’ve updated and improved the condition of the vehicle, you can have opportunities to generate that profit through used car sites like Craigslist. Post high quality photos of the vehicle to enhance its value. You can also connect with your network of friends and friends of friends for anyone looking for a quality used vehicle that’s recently been renovated.
What will you flip?
With so many opportunities to take discarded, unused items and revamp them into an everyday item with great value, you can start flipping for a big profit today. Follow what you’re skilled and interested in to match a hobby with earning an extra boost to your income. Whether you choose to flip things for a profit as just a fun activity, a part-time side hustle or pursue it as a full-time gig, there’s something for everyone.