Why resellers need to learn about toys
Why would you ignore the most playful and colorful section of the entire thrift store?
I get it - adding anything new to your reselling repertoire can feel intimidating. You don't know where to start. You don't want to look like an idiot, standing there, checking sold comps on your phone for hours. But where some might scare off, you can profit. I can promise you there is gold in them hills, you just need to mine them.
Why do you need to know more about reselling toys?
People don't know what they have.
You might be able to say this about any profitable item on a thrift store shelf or garage sale table, but toys pose the biggest challenge.
Most adults can recognize hundreds of brands. It's not hard to spot a Starbucks mug or Nike Air Jordans. But that also means it's easier for sellers to price them high or, if they don't, for your competition to buy them before you do.
Used toys don't have barcodes and, sometimes, they don't even have brand names stamped or stickered on them. This is the challenge we want. Because when others see a hunk of plastic meant for children, you can see the profit.
Big wins on small things
When you're able to start identifying valuable toys, even through the plastic bags hanging on the thrift store wall, you'll see that toys can pack a serious profit. And not just the vintage stuff!
It's not uncommon to sell a single action figure for $10 and, naturally, way more!
This is no Beanie Babies bubble. It's just a matter of your customer. With used toys, you're generally selling to a few types of people eager for what they want:
parents buying for their kids, sometimes desperate to replace a lost favorite toy
adults with disposable income, buying back their childhood
collectors filling up their shelves
Easy to ship
The profit doesn't end with the sale, toys are often easy to ship too! They are so lightweight when it comes to shipping, you have a great chance of keeping it USPS First Class.
I've easily packed and shipped action figures, stuffed animals, and especially LEGO pieces, with confidence, in under a minute. Think about that the next time you need to bring a VCR to FedEx.
Flexible quality
We all remember how we treated our toys. Every day was a battle.
People buying used toys, though, can be much more forgiving when it comes to scratches, scuffs, or loose joints. All you need to do is disclose imperfections in your listings.
I don’t want to toot my own horn, but my eBay rating is a testament to the toys I sell. My only negative ratings ever came from a scratchy video game (which was my fault) and shipping delays.
I've sold action figures with loose or missing limbs, incomplete playsets, and stuffed animals with stains. Never an unhappy customer!
Less competition
I'm no scientist and I have no experiments to back this up but I think lots of resellers simply avoid toys altogether. As adults, we've bought clothes and electronics so we know how much they can fetch in profit. But with toys, our parents shelled out the shekels, so it can be a bit more of a mystery.
And, hey, you're reading this because you have a hunch that toys are profitable and because of that I happen to think you're the smartest person I know.
Q4 Boost
People always joke that Christmas arrives earlier every year. That's good news for us toy resellers!
Q4 can be an avalanche of profit. Parents are desperate to spoil their children and they'll pay wild prices. Plus, I don't need to tell you - online shopping is the new standard. No one needs to wake up before dawn on Black Friday and trample their neighbors at the local Toys R Us. They just need to buy from you!
It's fun
I'm totally biased. What can I say?
If you know, you know, and now you do!
And if you’re eager to learn more, follow me on Instagram. I’m constantly offering tips, tricks, and advice on how you can better sell used toys, plush, games, and more!
