A woman who has made six figures from reselling second-hand items online has shared the one thing that changed the game.
When Sara Bartlett began running her school’s theatre department and was tasked with making up to 80 costumes at a time, she turned to thrift stores for materials.
The 25-year-old ended up flogging leftover garments online and has since become a “professional thrifter”.
Taking to TikTok to share her tricks, she has revealed the most lucrative items to look out for, where to sell them, and – crucially – how to tell if something is worth investing in.
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In a video that has over 237,000 views and over 16,000 likes, Sara explains how she used to pick up items purely because they looked “cool” or “old”.
But when researching them later, she found they were still hit or miss.
Her top trick?
Using Google Lens or another similar app to find the typical resale value from other listings – ensuring a profitable purchase.
Sara demonstrates this in her video by showing a coffee cup, with resale links of the crockery and its average resale price popping up.
“Know how to identify high-end items without relying on a label,” the pro reseller, from Florida, US, told told Absolutely Business.
“Usually these will look and feel expensive.
“It’s also a good idea to familiarise yourself with designers – there are obvious ones which we all know – but there are a lot of others that aren’t as well-known.
“Also, look at which brands hold their value on the resale market.
“Home decor is a bit of a gamble, so I use online reverse image searching or an online appraiser to see if it’s worth any money.
“There are a lot of reproductions of expensive decor out there, so I would be wary.
“I gravitate towards things that appear to be high quality or anything that is signed, as these usually indicate that the find will sell.
“Most importantly, look everywhere – the bottom shelves, back racks, kids’ section – you never know where you will find a random gem that will make money.”
One of Sara’s most shocking resells was a vintage bracelet bought for $6 (USD) (£4) – which she flogged for over $3,000 (£2,300).
She said: “I [used to] work a thrift shop and when I was pricing some jewellery, I came across a simple bracelet with some strange packaging.
“I asked my co-worker for the price and she sold it to me for under 10 bucks – then I got home and did some research and found out it was a Piaget bracelet.
“I sold it on eBay and reverse image searching was definitely my lifesaver in this case.”
Users have flocked to the comments to share their reactions, with many people praising the thrifter for her easy-to-use advice.
“Good info. If you use eBay it has its own identifier,” one person said.
Trisha added: “Wow thanks great info I can use. I am a thrifter and a refab jinkie lol.”
“Yes I use this every time. But you see Etsy listings and eBay that have stuff “listed” for way higher than it would sell for,” another user commented.
Blanca said: “Awesome! I thrift all the time.”
“As a fellow reseller, thank you so much for this! This seems really useful and it’s very sweet of you to pass it along,” Brianna added.
Sara also runs her own shop, Canyon Couture, and is looking at reworking secondhand clothing into brand new pieces.
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