These days, people are often looking for ways to earn some extra money on the side. But did you know that there could be items lying around in your house that could help you do just that? Buying and flipping items online has become a popular hobby for some, and a way to generate some extra cash.
We’ve analyzed over 17 million online sales to put together some of the top items you can sell in 2023 on eBay, America’s second most popular online marketplace. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/270884/most-visited-websites-in-the-retail-sector-in-the-us/
In simple terms, flipping an item means buying or acquiring it for a low price at one place and then selling it for more money elsewhere. An example could be finding an item like an antique vase or a vintage sports shirt at a thrift store and sell it online for a higher price to a collector.
There are plenty of different products that you can resell in this way and generate some additional cash. For some, it can be a long-term way of supplementing their income.
Selling items online can be a great way of making some extra money, some people even build businesses around it. If you have things in your house you think might be worth something, or you like digging through thrift stores and yard sales, reselling goods can become a lucrative side hustle.
It’s also a flexible way to earn money, and if you enjoy fixing up old furniture or refurbishing electronics, you can combine a hobby with the potential to make a bit of extra cash.
Below are the item categories with the highest number of sales on eBay. In the last 90 days (as of December 2022), books was the highest-selling category with over 2.8 million items sold. The second best-selling category was collectible card games with almost 2.4 million items sold.
Other popular items to sell on eBay include DVDs and Blu-Rays, comic books, vinyl records and coins.
| Most Sold Categories by Volume (Top 30) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Volume Sold (in a recent 90 day period) | |
| 1 | Books | 2,800,951 |
| 2 | Collectible Card Games | 2,397,613 |
| 3 | Individual Collectible Card Game Cards | 2,060,099 |
| 4 | DVDs and Blu-ray | 1,646,347 |
| 5 | Comic Books and Manga and Memorabilia | 1,407,683 |
| 6 | Vinyl Records | 1,367,016 |
| 7 | Pokémon Cards | 983,468 |
| 8 | U.S. Coins | 961,531 |
| 9 | Action Figures | 864,907 |
| 10 | Sports Fan Apparel Souvenirs | 858,547 |
| 11 | Diecast Cars Trucks Vans | 854,788 |
| 12 | Women’s Shoes | 853,693 |
| 13 | Action Figures | 819,341 |
| 14 | Dolls, Clothing and Accessories | 792,776 |
| 15 | Women’s Dresses | 778,412 |
| 16 | Women’s Coats Jackets and Vests | 685,186 |
| 17 | Decorative Collectibles | 655,565 |
| 18 | Fishing Equipment Supplies | 650,478 |
| 19 | Textbooks Educational Reference Books | 581,437 |
| 20 | Hunting Equipment | 580,656 |
| 21 | Vintage Antique Jewelry | 568,159 |
| 22 | Nintendo Products | 561,958 |
| 23 | Model Trains | 542,518 |
| 24 | Men’s Shoes | 534,077 |
| 25 | Golf Equipment | 530,790 |
| 26 | Decorative Cookware Dinnerware Serveware | 530,586 |
| 27 | Railroads Trains | 521,269 |
| 28 | Men’s T-Shirts | 496,859 |
| 29 | European Stamps | 495,060 |
| 30 | Watches | 485,509 |
Things sold on eBay can sell for very small amounts or huge sums depending on the item, its rarity, and the kind of person who’s looking to buy them. Certain things may not be worth much to the average person, but a collector might be willing to spend a lot more. Some items can even end up selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Of the top 10 best-selling items on eBay, the one that sells for the highest average price is collectible U.S. coins with an average sold price of $205.32. This included individual coins as well as bundles of multiple coins. Other items with the highest average selling prices include sports fan apparel and souvenirs ($59.47), action figures ($56.92), and Pokémon cards ($40.10).
| Item Category | Average Sold Price Per Listing |
|---|---|
| Books | $22.05 |
| Collectible Card Games | $19.20 |
| Individual Collectible Card Game Cards | $11.87 |
| DVDs Blu-ray | $16.90 |
| Comic Books and Manga Memorabilia | $8.46 |
| Vinyl Records | $38.55 |
| Pokémon Cards | $40.10 |
| U.S. Coins | $205.32 |
| Action Figures | $56.92 |
| Sports Fan Apparel and Souvenirs | $59.47 |
You may see a lot of listings for different items on eBay, but not all of these end up in a sale. This analysis looked at all of the completed listings and compared which item categories had the most listings that actually made a sale.
The table below shows the item categories which had the highest percentage of listings completed with a successful sale.
The category with the most successfully sold listings was Samsung products with 97.35% of these completing with a sale. This was followed by 1/24 scale slot cars (94.40%), vintage antique collections lots (93.55%), and game consoles (93.36%).
| Most Sold Categories by Percentage of Completed Listings (Top 30) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Percentage of Listings that Completed with a Sale | |
| 1 | Samsung | 97.35% |
| 2 | 1/24 Scale Slot Cars | 94.40% |
| 3 | Vintage Antique Collections Lots | 93.55% |
| 4 | Game Consoles | 93.36% |
| 5 | Digital Cameras | 93.11% |
| 6 | Victorinox | 92.86% |
| 7 | ATV Accessories | 92.74% |
| 8 | Vintage Stuffed Animals | 91.78% |
| 9 | Golf Gadgets | 88.60% |
| 10 | Aircraft Models | 87.72% |
| 11 | Tablets and eReaders | 86.91% |
| 12 | Buses | 86.82% |
| 13 | Remote Controlled Toys | 85.63% |
| 14 | Collectible Card Games | 85.34% |
| 15 | Warhammer 40K Miniatures | 82.77% |
| 16 | VR Headsets Accessories | 80.63% |
| 17 | Action Figures Supplies Storage | 80.05% |
| 18 | Whelen | 79.39% |
| 19 | RC Simulators | 77.82% |
| 20 | Control Line Freeflight Models Kits | 76.90% |
| 21 | Individual Collectible Card Game Cards | 75.04% |
| 22 | Snap on Tools | 74.98% |
| 23 | Vintage Fishing Equipment | 73.16% |
| 24 | Smart Speakers, Hubs and Accessories | 73.10% |
| 25 | Shure Audio Equipment | 72.15% |
| 26 | Slot Cars | 71.69% |
| 27 | Electric Oral Dental Care | 71.67% |
| 28 | Tonka | 69.73% |
| 29 | Herman Miller | 69.09% |
| 30 | U.S. Coins | 68.80% |
As we mentioned before, not all items that get listed on eBay end up getting sold. This could be for a number of reasons:
From the data gathered in this analysis, vintage and antique jewelry was found to have the highest percentage of unsold listings, with 95.93% completing with no sale. Other categories with a high percentage of unsold items include pottery glass lamps and lighting (95.92%), decorative pottery and glassware (95.87%), and sideshow collectibles (95.82%).
| Most Unsold Categories by Percentage of Completed Listings (Top 30) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Percentage of Listings that Completed Without a Sale | |
| 1 | Vintage and Antique Jewelry | 95.93% |
| 2 | Pottery Glass Lamps and Lighting | 95.92% |
| 3 | Decorative Pottery Glassware | 95.87% |
| 4 | Sideshow Collectibles | 95.82% |
| 5 | Car and Truck Security | 61.74% |
| 6 | Industrial Hand Tools | 53.19% |
| 7 | Ty Plushies | 39.74% |
| 8 | Movie Film Stock | 38.37% |
| 9 | Inflatable Bouncers | 38.09% |
| 10 | Mixed Watches | 35.14% |
| 11 | Beanbag Plushies | 33.80% |
| 12 | Vintage Antique Cast Iron Toys | 32.83% |
| 13 | Food Trucks and Concession Trailers | 30.18% |
| 14 | Vintage Luggage and Travel Accessories | 27.12% |
| 15 | Vintage Antique Play Sets | 26.70% |
| 16 | Steiff Stuffed Animals | 25.58% |
| 17 | Vintage and Antique Cowboy Western Toys | 25.25% |
| 18 | Pedal Cars | 24.79% |
| 19 | Collectible Card Game Mixed Card Lots | 24.27% |
| 20 | Vintage Antique Toys | 24.20% |
| 21 | Bammers Beanos | 23.53% |
| 22 | Food Trucks Trailers Carts | 23.27% |
| 23 | Antique Primitives | 22.57% |
| 24 | Asian Stamps | 22.41% |
| 25 | Indoor Roller Skates Wheels | 22.34% |
| 26 | Individual Collectible Card Game Cards | 22.25% |
| 27 | Model Railroads Trains Mixed Lots | 22.18% |
| 28 | Pokémon Cards | 20.25% |
| 29 | Fashion Necklaces and Pendants | 20.21% |
| 30 | British Colony Territory Stamps | 20.03% |
If you’re thinking about finding items to sell on eBay, it’s probably best to avoid categories with a high percentage of unsold listings as you might find yourself being unsuccessful.
There are lots of ways people find items to flip and sell to make some extra money. Many people sell things that are lying around in their homes, or visit thrift stores and yard sales to find low-priced items that might be worth more to the right buyer. Something that seems worthless to one person might be just what somebody else is willing to pay good money for.
Let’s take a look at some of the places you could consider looking to find your next flip.
A great place to start when looking for items to sell online is your own house, particularly if you’ve lived there for a long time. Check your attic, basement, garage, and anywhere else in your house that might be harboring some hidden gems.
Lots of people have had clothes, toys, and electronics lying around their houses for years which may now be classed as vintage and be worth something to a potential buyer. A recent study of 90s collectibles found that some items were now worth thousands of dollars.
Yard sales are great places to find hidden gems that might have been sitting in someone else’s house. The great thing about them is you can haggle the price with the owner who’s usually just trying to get rid of their unwanted stuff.
By doing this you might be able to get an item for $5 or even less which you could sell to an interested buyer for much more than that. Sometimes yard sale sellers will allow you to get extra items for free if you’re already buying something. So before you throw these things out, consider whether you might be able to sell them for some extra cash.
You can find a wide range of items at thrift stores from clothes and shoes to ornaments and toys. Since most of the items for sale in thrift stores have been donated, they’ll typically be cheap to buy, and you might happen to find a piece of designer clothing or a rare antique you could sell online for a higher price.
A top tip is to check out thrift stores in more affluent areas, you might be more likely to find brand-name items that have been donated by local residents.
Similar to garage sales, church rummage sales typically include goods that have been donated by people who are clearing out unwanted items from their homes. Check out your local churches to see if there are any sales coming up, and again, consider visiting those in more wealthy areas for a chance of some higher-value items popping up.
Online platforms like Craigslist often have items for free or at very low prices because people are trying to get rid of items they don’t want. Sellers may offer an item for free if you collect it yourself, or be willing to haggle on the price.
Craigslist is also a way of selling items online if you’ve found something you want to sell, so consider this platform for both buying and selling.
If you’re new to selling items online, it can be tough to know where to start and how to list your items on selling platforms. You want to make sure you’re picking items that will be popular with potential buyers, and displaying them in a way that attracts someone to buy. Here are some top tips to help you get successful results when selling things online.
This analysis used eBay current listings and sold items to determine how many items in each category were currently for sale, and how many had been sold in the last 90 days as of December 15th 2022. Categories included were the ones with the most sales, listings, or unsold items.
To work out the number of unsold listings in each category, we subtracted the number of sold items from the number of completed listings.
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