How to Start Reselling Items from Bin Stores

The Economics of Bin Store Reselling

Bin stores create one of the most accessible entry points into reselling because the starting capital is so low. On a Wednesday with $5-per-item pricing, you can buy twenty items for $100 and potentially flip several of them for multiples of what you paid.

The math, at its simplest: buy low from a bin store, sell higher on a platform with a broader audience. The spread between bin price and resale price is your gross margin before fees and shipping.

Resellers who do this consistently have developed three skills:

1. Sourcing — Knowing what to buy and what to pass on at any given day's price
2. Listing — Presenting items effectively to maximize selling price
3. Operations — Managing storage, shipping, and cash flow efficiently

None of these require special credentials. They do require practice, patience, and a willingness to learn from early mistakes.

Getting Started: The Basics Before Your First Trip

Before your first reselling trip to a bin store, set yourself up with the tools:

Install the Amazon Shopping app — Scan any barcode to see the current Amazon price. This is the fastest way to establish a floor value for an item.

Create an eBay seller account — Even if you don't list there immediately, having the account active lets you check sold listings to see what items actually sell for (not just what people are asking).

Create a Mercari account — Mercari is beginner-friendly with a simpler listing process and no listing fees.

Know the day's bin price before you go — Your sourcing math changes completely between a $3 per item day and an $8 per item day. An item worth $20 on eBay is a great buy at $3 but marginal at $8.

Set an initial budget and stick to it — Your first few trips are learning experiences. Don't over-invest while you're still developing your eye. $50 to $100 is plenty to start.

The Most Profitable Categories for Bin Store Reselling

Not every item in the bins has resale potential. The most successful resellers focus on specific categories they know well. Here are the categories that consistently offer the best margins:

Electronics and Accessories

Electronics are the holy grail of bin store reselling when they work. A functional Bluetooth speaker that costs $5 at the bin might sell for $30 to $50 on eBay. A working gaming controller might be worth $40 to $80. A functional portable charger or quality earbuds can flip for 5 to 10 times bin price.

The catch: electronics are also the highest-risk category because they're commonly returned precisely because they didn't work. Test every electronic before buying. Bring a power source (most stores have outlets available for testing) and verify basic functionality before committing.

High-upside sub-categories:

• Bluetooth speakers (Anker, JBL, Bose, Sony)
• Gaming controllers and accessories (PS5, Xbox, Nintendo)
• Smart home devices (Echo, Google, smart plugs)
• Quality earbuds and headphones
• Portable chargers and cables from recognized brands

Toys and Games

Toys are among the most beginner-friendly reselling categories. Value is usually clear (scan the barcode, check Amazon), condition is easy to assess, and shipping is manageable.

LEGO is the undisputed king of toy reselling. Even incomplete LEGO sets have parts value. Complete, sealed sets can sell for 150 to 300 percent of retail. Learn what LEGO sets look like and what they contain — this knowledge pays off quickly.

Board games in complete condition sell well. The key word is "complete" — missing pieces tank value immediately. Learn to quickly assess completeness by checking the back of the box for what should be included.

Collectible toys — action figures, Funko Pops, collectible card games — reward category knowledge. If you know what's rare, you'll occasionally find very high-value items others overlooked.

Books and Media

Books are one of the most accessible categories for new resellers. The resale value is entirely in the ISBN barcode — scan it and Amazon tells you immediately what the market price is.

Textbooks are the highest-value book category. A nursing textbook or engineering reference that sells for $200 on Amazon costs the same as a paperback novel at the bin. Scan everything — you can process dozens of books per minute.

Niche non-fiction on topics like woodworking, cooking, law, medicine, and other specialty subjects often sells for more than popular fiction.

Vintage and collectible books require more expertise but offer significant upside. First editions, signed copies, and out-of-print titles can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

DVDs and video games are declining categories given streaming, but certain titles — especially Nintendo Switch games, GameCube games, and niche retro titles — still sell well.

Tools and Hardware

Tools reward the shopper who can identify quality. Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, Festool, and Snap-on are the brands to know. Even used tools from these brands hold significant resale value.

Hand tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, levels, measuring equipment) in good condition from quality brands sell consistently on eBay.

Power tools are riskier because they need to be tested (similar to electronics), but the upside on a working cordless drill or circular saw from a major brand can be substantial.

Kitchen Appliances

Instant Pot, Ninja, KitchenAid, Vitamix, Cuisinart — branded kitchen appliances sell reliably. The market is well-established and prices are easy to research.

The challenge is testing and shipping. Small appliances need to be tested for function, and many are bulky to ship. Local sale through Facebook Marketplace is often more efficient for larger items.

Clothing (Advanced)

Clothing is a common bin store find but a more complex reselling category. Variable sizing, photography requirements, and lower margins per item make it better suited for experienced resellers.

Exceptions: Designer brands (find the interior label), athletic wear from premium brands (Lululemon, Patagonia, Arc'teryx), and children's clothing (easier to photograph, consistent demand) can work well for resellers who put in the time.

Where to Sell: Platform Comparison

eBay

Best for: Almost everything. eBay has the broadest reach and the most sophisticated buyer base.

Fee structure: Approximately 13 to 15 percent of the final sale price (varies by category). No listing fees for most sellers.

Auction vs. fixed price: Auctions can get you more for genuinely rare or in-demand items where buyers compete. Fixed price is better for common items where you know the market rate.

Pros: Massive audience, robust buyer protection, good for rare/niche items, best platform for research via sold listings.

Cons: Competitive marketplace, higher fees than some alternatives, can take longer to sell.

Mercari

Best for: Casual sellers, beginners, mid-range consumer goods.

Fee structure: 10 percent selling fee, no listing fees.

Pros: Simple listing process, strong mobile app, good for clothing and household items, quick sales on popular items.

Cons: Smaller audience than eBay, lower price ceiling on most items.

Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)

Best for: New or like-new branded products in categories Amazon actively sells.

How it works: You ship inventory to Amazon's warehouse; Amazon stores, packs, ships, and handles customer service. You pay storage and fulfillment fees plus referral fees.

Fee structure: Referral fees (8 to 15 percent by category) plus FBA fees (varies by size and weight).

Pros: Highest prices of any platform for the right items, Prime shipping makes items sell faster, passive once inventory is in the warehouse.

Cons: Not suitable for used, incomplete, or returned items. Requires more capital and operational setup. Ungating requirements for certain categories.

Facebook Marketplace

Best for: Large or heavy items (furniture, appliances, tools) that are expensive to ship.

Fee structure: No fees for local pickup sales; 5 percent fee for shipped orders.

Pros: Zero fees on local sales, ideal for bulky items, fast local transactions.

Cons: No buyer protection, requires meeting strangers (use safe locations), limited reach outside local area.

Pricing Your Items for Sale

Pricing is where many new resellers leave money on the table — either pricing too high and not selling, or pricing too low and missing margin.

The right research process:

1. Search the item on eBay
2. Filter to "Sold listings" (not active listings — those don't tell you what buyers are actually paying)
3. Look at recent sales in similar condition
4. Price at or slightly below the median recent sold price to move inventory reliably

Factor in your costs:

• Bin price (your cost of goods)
• Platform fees (10 to 15 percent typically)
• Shipping cost (build this into your price or offer "free shipping" funded by the margin)
• Packaging materials (boxes, bubble wrap, tape)

Target minimum 3x multiple on bin price to start. If an item costs you $5 at the bin, aim to sell it for at least $15 before fees. After a 13 percent eBay fee and $4 in shipping on a $15 item, you'd net roughly $9, a profit of $4 on a $5 investment. That's modest but sustainable.

As you develop expertise, you'll identify items with 5x, 10x, or higher multiples that dramatically improve your average.

Building Systems for Scale

The limitation most resellers hit isn't sourcing or selling — it's the operational work in between. Photographing, listing, packing, and shipping takes significant time.

Batch your work. Don't list one item and ship it the same day. Instead: source a batch → photograph a batch → list a batch → pack a batch → ship a batch. Batching reduces context-switching and is dramatically more efficient.

Build a listing template. For common categories, develop a standard description format. The more systematized your listing process, the faster you go.

Invest in packaging materials. Buying bubble mailers, poly bags, and boxes in bulk from a wholesale supplier dramatically cuts your per-item packaging cost. A bubble mailer bought from a wholesale pack costs a fraction of one bought from a retail store.

Track your numbers. A simple spreadsheet tracking what you paid, what you sold it for, platform fees, shipping cost, and net profit tells you which categories are actually working. Many new resellers are surprised to discover their "best" category is less profitable than they thought once all costs are counted.

Realistic Expectations for Year One

Bin store reselling as a side hustle typically goes through three phases:

Months 1 to 3 (Learning): You'll make mistakes. You'll buy items that don't sell. You'll misprice some things. You'll discover your category knowledge gaps. This is tuition, not failure. Keep your buy-in low and focus on learning.

Months 4 to 9 (Pattern Recognition): You start recognizing valuable items on sight. Your sourcing hit rate improves. You develop a sense for which items will sell quickly versus which will sit. Revenue starts becoming consistent.

Month 9+ (Optimization): You have a system. You know your best categories, your best sourcing days, your best platforms. You can make go/no-go decisions on items in seconds. This is when reselling starts generating meaningful income.

Most people who try bin store reselling quit during the first phase. The ones who stick through the learning period and build category knowledge typically find it becomes sustainable and rewarding.

The bin store supply chain isn't going anywhere. As long as Amazon processes returns at scale and retailers need to move overstock, there will be pallets flowing into bin stores — and opportunity waiting for shoppers who know how to see it.