10 Ways To Find Cheap Clothing To Sell Online

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Want to start reselling online and make extra money for yourself and your family? Learn the best places to find cheap and free clothing to flip online for a great profit!

This post may contain affiliate links to products and services I’ve tried & tested. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you when you use these services.

If you’ve read my other posts about how I got started reselling online, and how I was able to quit my full time job to resell online, I briefly covered how I’m able to buy inexpensive clothing to resell online for a profit.

I wanted to expand on these points to provide a little bit more help so that hopefully you can find cheap clothing to resell online and start earning as much money as possible for yourself as soon as possible!

I started reselling products online using platforms like eBay, Amazon, and Etsy several years ago. In that time I’ve learned a TON about what works, what doesn’t, and I’m still learning more about selling online each and every day.

Just like everyone else, my selling journey has been filled with lots of ups and downs including tons of amazing purchases that I was able to flip for an amazing profit, and also a bunch of bad buys that I shouldn’t have risked my money on.

One thing is for sure though, I was able to learn lots of great lessons through trial and error and I’m now a much better reseller because of every step that I’ve taken in my online selling journey.

I’ve learned a lot about buying inventory to resell and how to find the best deals while looking to maximize profits, so I wanted to pass my tips on to you so that you can make as much money as you can while you’re on your own reselling journey.

Ways to find cheap clothing to resell online

1. Shop your own closet

What better way to get inexpensive inventory to sell than shopping from the items that you already have?

Selling items online that I already had laying around my house is actually how I got started reselling online, so I can attest to how effective of a method it is.

Everyone has clothing in their drawers and closets that they haven’t worn in ages for a variety of different reasons. Whether your pieces are not your style anymore, don’t fit, or you just haven’t had the occasion to wear it in way too long – do your closet and your bank account a favour and list it for sale online.

It’s been several years since starting my reselling journey and I still regularly clean out my closet to sell the pieces I’m no longer wearing, and it also makes more room for me to replace those items!

2. Family & friends

If you haven’t told the people in your life that you flip clothes online for money, definitely consider doing so!

I’ve found that people in our lives are so happy to help out and pass on their unwanted clothing to us in the hopes that we’ll be able to benefit from their clutter.

Get the word out there about what you’re looking for, and you just may be pleasantly surprised with what comes your way!

3. Shop at thrift stores on sale days

Shopping at thrift stores is how I got my start selling clothing in the reselling world, and it will always be one of my favourite ways to find cheap clothing to resell.

If you love the thrill of the hunt and finding an amazing piece of clothing for just a couple of bucks that you know will resell online for way more, there’s just nothing like thrift store shopping.

The best way to go about this in particular is to seek out all of the thrift stores in your area, and find out exactly when they have their sale days.

Every thrift store has different rules and guidelines, and if you’re hoping to maximize your profits than you’ll need to know how they schedule their sales and what you can expect from them in the future.

I’m incredibly lucky to have several thrift stores within a 10 minute drive from my home. But in order to use my time efficiently and avoid driving to every thrift store each day of the week, I knew that I would need to do some recon work and find a strategy so that I can hit up each thrift store as soon as their sales start in hopes of finding the best products.

A few ways that I was able to achieve scoping out all of the sales was by signing up for the email newsletters of all of the thrift stores that offered them, and this way I was always given a couple of days notice about what sales were happening and when they would take place.

Another way is to follow your local thrift stores on social media and watch for their sale posts. Sometimes my local thrift stores would even have a random spontaneous sale on a Tuesday offering 50% off everything in the store, so I was always happy to spot those social media posts.

Another great way to find out the inside scoop at your thrift store is to just ask one of the employees! I was a regular at all of my local thrift shops, and I started forming little relationships with a lot of the staff that worked there.

A couple of times I asked if they knew of any upcoming sales, and they were always happy to let me know any of the details that they knew. A few times they even came up to me and mentioned that I should come back again the next week because they would be having another sale.

Seeking out the sales in your thrift stores might make or break the profit margin for you on some of the purchases that you’ll be making!

4. Church rummage sales

Church rummage sales have become one of my absolute favourite places to find inexpensive goods to resell.

These sales have been something that I had overlooked for most of my life, until just a couple of years ago when I noticed a sign outside of one of the churches located just up the street from where I live.

I Googled the church when I got home, and I saw that they were having their semi-annual rummage sale in a couple of weeks.

That was the first rummage sale that I went to, and it definitely wasn’t my last.

I spent a total of $15 for a full box of stuff at that sale, and I was able to make my money back from the first thing that I sold on eBay just a couple of days later.

My tips for attending Church rummage sales are:

get there early – I’ve had to line up at almost every sale and it’s much better to be at the front of that line
bring a couple of bags with you to throw things in easily as you pick them up throughout the sale
look for signs posted near the entrance or cash tables. Every sale prices their goods differently, so it’s good to know up front whether each category has its own price (i.e. pants are $3, shirts are $2) or if you pay by the bag or box. Knowing the prices ahead of time helps you decide if the item is worth the price or if you should pass on it
bring enough cash with you to cover everything you may want
decide which tables/areas you want to check out first so you don’t miss out on the categories that you like to sell in
don’t be afraid to dig through the piles on the tables. Just because a table might look picked over doesn’t mean that all of the good stuff is taken. Everyone is looking for different things, so dig in and keep your eyes peeled for anything you might want

Every community and church will be different, but I’ve noticed that my local churches tend to have these rummage sales every Spring and Fall. I always do a Google search for the sales a couple of times a year so I can scope out when and where the sales will be happening.

5. Garage Sales

Garage sales can be really hit or miss with the hidden gems that you find, but the gems can be really good and really cheap when you do find them.

I find that at most garage sales people just want to get rid of their old junk so they don’t have to lug it to the donation bin, so most items are priced extremely low and can usually be bundled for an even better price when you buy a couple of things from the same person.

A good strategy with garage sales is to get in and get out so that you can hit up as many sales in a day as possible. You’ll leave many garage sales empty handed, but it really only takes a couple of great finds to score a huge profit.

I like community garage sales and group garage sales because it cuts down on travel time when you’re moving between each sale.

The first day of garage sales that I ventured out to when I first started reselling was definitely a mix of fruitful finds and a bunch of duds.

A lot of the sales I attended had tables upon tables of old romance novels that were falling apart.

Another sale that I went to however, had a mixture of items including a pile of clothing. In that pile contained a bunch of Gap jeans that I left behind, but it also had one pair of great condition Rag & Bone jeans that I scooped up for $2.

I later sold that pair of jeans on eBay for $40. Stay the course and don’t get discouraged by the romance novels that you can’t resell. There just might be a hidden gem waiting for you at the next sale!

6. Estate sales

If you’re living in a climate that is less than warm during all 12 months of the year, consider estate sales to fill in the gaps during the months that you’re unable to attend garage sales!

Estate sales can be run in a variety of different ways, but the purpose of these sales is for the sellers to clear out either the entire contents of their house, or a good portion of it.

Estate sales usually take place right in someone’s home, or the items may be moved to a larger location like a warehouse or hall of some sort.

Since you’re shopping throughout the entire house contents, the likelihood of finding amazing pieces is generally a lot higher than if you were to shop at a garage sale.

Some estate sales run on a first come first served basis, so always be sure to find out the exact start time and arrive early in case a line starts to form outside.

Some estate sales are run online as an auction and you pick up the items at the house or a designated spot on a designated day.

Estate sales can be great, but they might not be for everyone. The prices are often higher than what you would pay at a garage sale, but the items opened up to you are also more diverse.

The first estate sale I attended was online, and it ran as a week-long auction that had some frenzied bidding at the very last minute and was a pretty exciting experience.

I won 2 auctions lots and went to pick up my winnings from the house they were clearing out on the weekend following the end of the auction.

The first lot was one that I shouldn’t have even bid on, but it does make for a bit of a funny story now.

I won a briefcase full of cassette’s, a mountain of VHS tapes, and a sturdy wood table all for the hefty price of $1.

I was the only person who bid, and I won this giant pile of outdated merchandise that would later end up taking up my entire spare room because I had no idea what the heck to do with it all.

Turns out VHS tapes aren’t actually worth any money nowadays, and I struggled fitting everything into my small Honda Civic just to turn around and donate everything in the end.

I do still use the wood table today though so I guess the $1 I spent wasn’t a total loss!

The second auction lot that I won that day was well worth my money and turned the whole experience into a success.

I bought a media lot of a couple hundred CD’s for the great price of $28. The genres varied a bit but were mostly bands that I listened to regularly, so it wouldn’t be a total loss if I didn’t make much money from them.

However, I was successfully able to make my money back shortly after the purchase when I sold a Gord Downie solo CD for $53. I was ecstatic to be able to sell a used CD for so much, and my customer was able to get a rare CD for a fair market price. Everyone won that day!

My tip with estate sales is to really evaluate what you’re purchasing and to not just buy something because you’re caught up in the moment and it seems like a good deal.

7. Consignment stores

Consignment stores can be great sources to find fantastic inventory, but you can’t just go in on any random day and expect to find a cart full of items to flip for a huge profit.

The key with these stores is to go when they have their sales. My Plato’s Closet and Style Encore always dwindle their clearance items down to 90% off their tag prices.

I’m always able to get almost every single item in my cart for less than $2, sometimes under $1, which makes my profit margins for all of these items huge and well worth it!

Earlier this year I went to a clearance sale at Plato’s Closet just like I always do. I had no idea the day that was about to unfold for me.

They were clearing out racks upon racks of athletic clothing, dresses, shirts, shorts, everything! I was able to score 332 items for a total price, including tax, of $715.

In that giant bundle of items was 101 Lululemon tank tops, leggings, shorts, sports bras, and sweaters. Along with a couple hundred other items full of amazing mixed brands that I was ecstatic to find.

I couldn’t believe my luck that day, and I was barely able to fit all of the overflowing bags into my car (which is now bigger than the Honda Civic but still a sedan). I only put a small dent in their clearance section that day which left thousands of other clearance items for other people to buy.

I started sorting and listing my purchases as soon as I got home and I was able to make my money back in just a couple of weeks, and I’m still profiting from those items all of these months later!

My favourite part about shopping at these consignment stores is that they often have the same buying standards for clothing items that I have. So it’s essentially like they’re weeding out the bad buys and only providing us with the best options!

8. Resell lots on eBay and Poshmark

Another great way to find cheap inventory is to buy a bulk lot of clothing on eBay or Poshmark with the specific intention to resell it online.

Other people will do the legwork for you and bundle together a bulk lot of clothing and sell it to you at a heavily discounted price so that you can resell it for a profit.

There are a variety of reasons that someone would sell bulk lots instead of reselling it themselves. A few of those reasons could be that they don’t have the time or energy to put into listing the items individually, they don’t have the space to store everything, or they could be closing up their own reselling business and clearing out their inventory.

I’ve sold many bulk lots on Poshmark before, and the reason was simply that I had too much inventory and my space was becoming too cluttered and inefficient.

Always check the description looking for whether or not the seller included a note about the condition of the clothing, and if the items are in great condition than that bulk lot may just be perfect for you to resell!

9. Reseller clothing lots on Facebook Marketplace

Similar to sourcing bulk clothing lots on eBay and Poshmark, some people list their clothing on Facebook Marketplace.

I’ve found in my experience that a lot of people who aren’t resellers will list their clothing in bulk on Facebook Marketing in hopes of clearing out their closet.

Some people don’t care about getting a lot of money for their clothing, they’re just happy to get rid of it and get a few dollars to buy some new items for themselves.

A lot of great deals can be found on Facebook Marketplace, so it’s definitely worth taking the time to browse the deals regularly!

10. Goodwill Bins

The Goodwill Bins are often the overflow locations of the clothing that either doesn’t make it to, or didn’t sell, at the regular thrift store locations.

The set up of these stores is very different than regular thrift stores because instead of browsing clothing in racks and aisles, the clothing is piled into large bins that customers sift through to find what they want.

The bins are refilled throughout the day, so you could easily spend large amounts of time here finding new and amazing items.

People seem to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this set up. The prices are great because you usually pay by the pound for all of the items that you find – which can often provide you with clothing for less than $1 per piece.

The downsides, however, are that the locations do seem to often be crowded with everyone trying to find the best pieces first. Some locations also don’t tend to be the cleanest, so a lot of people suggest wearing gloves to keep your hands clean.

If you have a location near you and you’re willing to get your hands dirty, you could find amazing inventory for incredibly cheap prices!