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10 common yard sale items to resell at a profit

U.S. News & World Report

March 13, 2017, 8:00 PM

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**ADVANCE FOR MONDAY, SEPT. 15, AND THEREAFTER** Eric Hultgren, 22, a senior at UMass-Lowell, rides his bicycle on campus in Lowell, Mass. Friday, August 1, 2008. Hultgren can't afford high gasoline prices, so he's ditched his car for a Mongoose 8-speed. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)(AP/Elise Amendola)

One common way to earn extra cash in the springtime is to visit yard sales, find items that are worth substantially more than their sale price, buy them, then sell them online for a profit. This is a simple way to make money in a situation where people don’t adequately evaluate their items before putting them on sale. They get the return they want, and you get more for putting in that extra legwork.

So, which yard sale treasures can you flip? There are several categories of items that you can often easily resell online at sites like Craigslist and eBay. All you really need is some time, patience and a cell phone. Here are 10 moneymakers to look for.

[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]

The newly unveiled Nintendo 64 video, the world's first true 64-bit home video game, is displayed during a news conference Wednesday, May 15, 1996, in Los Angeles. The introduction of the Nintendo system will be a big event as developers and marketers gather in Los Angeles for the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Nintendo 64 will be available for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $249.95. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
1. Vintage video games from pre-2000 video game consoles often command a premium price on eBay, particularly from Nintendo systems like the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy. If you find cartridges for those systems, especially for just a dollar or two, you’ll often be able to make a nice profit, especially if the cartridges come with their original packaging. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian
** FILE ** In this Sept. 8, 1999 file photo, a selection of Pokemon trading cards are displayed in Scituate, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)
2. Trading cards can sometimes be worth a premium, particularly Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards. Cards with a foiled front usually have additional value, but cards with any noticeable wear are generally worth a lot less. If you notice quite a few cards with a foil front and with distinctly different face designs than the other cards on offer, and you can buy the entire collection for a pittance, you’ll probably have some value. Look up individual cards online using eBay, particularly foiled ones or cards with distinctive designs. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file) [See: 10 Money Leaks to Shut Down Now.] (ASSOCIATED PRESS/CHARLES KRUPA)
ASSOCIATED PRESS/CHARLES KRUPA
Fieldwork tools along with gentlemen's hats are displayed for sale on a blue tarp by a street vendor in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, Wednesday, July 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
3. Tools that are in good working order can almost always be flipped locally unless the yard sale prices are exorbitantly high. This is particularly true with corded power tools and full sets of tools that are in great shape, as they’re often priced low just to get them out of a garage. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd
In this April 14, 2015 photo, Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy poses for a portrait in New York. Joy released his debut album, “Dream Your Life Away,” last year, and he recorded some vocals and drum tracks in a tree house at the studio of Ryan Hadlock, best known for his work with the Lumineers. (Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP)
4. Musical instruments that work and are $20 or less are almost always flippable for a nice profit. Parents may purchase musical instruments in the hopes of a child’s great musical career, then sell them for next to nothing when the child moves on to other activities. (Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP)
Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP
In this Wednesday, June 18, 2014 photo, Jake Willis, center, home theatre supervisor at the Best Buy store in Greenwood, Ind., talks with customer Landon Leichter, of Spencer, Ind., at a display featuring a Samsung 78-inch curved television on display at the store in Greenwood, Ind. The 78-inch television is flanked by 65-inch versions. Americans increasingly are replacing their once-enviable 50-inch TVs with even bigger screens. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
5. Electronics that work and are on deep discount can also be flipped for a profit pretty easily. You’ll probably want to check your local Craigslist before jumping in here because local prices for such used items can vary a lot from region to region. Test any such electronic item before buying it. Don’t just trust the seller’s promise that it works. (AP Photo/Collin Binkley)
AP Photo/Collin Binkley
Aaron Crowley vacuums at the Sturgis Veterans' Club on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 in Sturgis, S.D. Volunteers from Craftsman and Rebuilding Together helped make renovations to the Sturgis Veterans' Club before the annual motorcycle rally. (Photo by Toby Brusseau/Invision for Craftsman/AP Images)
6. Vacuum cleaners are often sold because “they don’t seem to pick up as well as they used to.” But they almost always just need a thorough cleaning to work as good as new. If you can find one that works when plugged in for under $10 and are willing to spend the time to clean it up, you can almost always double or triple your money. (Photo by Toby Brusseau/Invision for Craftsman/AP Images)
Photo by Toby Brusseau/Invision for Craftsman/AP Images
**ADVANCE FOR MONDAY, SEPT. 15, AND THEREAFTER** Eric Hultgren, 22, a senior at UMass-Lowell, rides his bicycle on campus in Lowell, Mass. Friday, August 1, 2008. Hultgren can't afford high gasoline prices, so he's ditched his car for a Mongoose 8-speed. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
7. Bicycles are similar to vacuum cleaners: They often work wonderfully if you put in the time to clean them up. You can similarly double or triple your money quite easily with an hour or two of careful cleaning. Functional bicycles that are better than department store quality under $40 are almost always worth it. Even department store bikes under $10 or so can be profitable. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
In this photo made Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, customers brows Blu-ray movies at Best Buy in West Hollywood, Calif. Although prices for some Blu-ray players dropped below $100 this holiday season, customers are hesitating to jump into the next-generation video format. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
8. DVDs and Blu-rays can be profitable if you stick to new releases, Pixar films and box sets and don’t pay more than a dollar or two apiece for them. Many people just put out their full collection for $1 each. If you dig in there, you can often double your money afterwards (or more) with a quick trip to eBay or Craigslist. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
AP Photo/Jason Redmond
Aron's Records owner Jesse Klempner sorts CDs before restocking them at the Los Angeles store Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. Sales of music albums in the United States fell about 7 percent in 2005 even as the number of singles purchased online more than doubled over last year, a mixed bag for the recording industry but little encouragement for embattled retailers. Aron's is going out of business after 40 years because of declining sales after a major competitor opened nearby, music downloading from the internet, and file sharing. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
9. CDs and books can be profitable when bought in bulk, then split up and sold individually. If you can find someone selling a giant box of books or CDs for just a few dollars, it’s almost always worth picking them up because you can split them up individually, sell the ones that have individual value, then just bulk sell the unsellable remnants. [See: 10 Foolproof Ways to Reach Your Money Goals.] (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
AP Photo/Nick Ut
A woman looks at snowboards on display in a booth at the International Trade Show for Mountain and Winter Technologies in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Foreign and local winter sports equipment and technologies companies has gear up preparing events or expo to attract visitors as Beijing will be the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
10. Sports equipment from a quality brand will often retain most of its value, so don’t be afraid to do a quick Google search when you come across sports gear in good shape. Again, poorly made entry-level equipment probably won’t retain as much value, but most sports gear in really good shape for just a few bucks will make you some money upon resale. If you find these items, don’t hesitate to jump on board. At worst, you can sell them at your next yard sale for exactly what you paid for them. At best, you’ll turn a nice profit for just a little bit of effort. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
AP Photo/Andy Wong
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The newly unveiled Nintendo 64 video, the world's first true 64-bit home video game, is displayed during a news conference Wednesday, May 15, 1996, in Los Angeles. The introduction of the Nintendo system will be a big event as developers and marketers gather in Los Angeles for the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Nintendo 64 will be available for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $249.95. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
** FILE ** In this Sept. 8, 1999 file photo, a selection of Pokemon trading cards are displayed in Scituate, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)
Fieldwork tools along with gentlemen's hats are displayed for sale on a blue tarp by a street vendor in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, Wednesday, July 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this April 14, 2015 photo, Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy poses for a portrait in New York. Joy released his debut album, “Dream Your Life Away,” last year, and he recorded some vocals and drum tracks in a tree house at the studio of Ryan Hadlock, best known for his work with the Lumineers. (Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP)
In this Wednesday, June 18, 2014 photo, Jake Willis, center, home theatre supervisor at the Best Buy store in Greenwood, Ind., talks with customer Landon Leichter, of Spencer, Ind., at a display featuring a Samsung 78-inch curved television on display at the store in Greenwood, Ind. The 78-inch television is flanked by 65-inch versions. Americans increasingly are replacing their once-enviable 50-inch TVs with even bigger screens. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Aaron Crowley vacuums at the Sturgis Veterans' Club on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 in Sturgis, S.D. Volunteers from Craftsman and Rebuilding Together helped make renovations to the Sturgis Veterans' Club before the annual motorcycle rally. (Photo by Toby Brusseau/Invision for Craftsman/AP Images)
**ADVANCE FOR MONDAY, SEPT. 15, AND THEREAFTER** Eric Hultgren, 22, a senior at UMass-Lowell, rides his bicycle on campus in Lowell, Mass. Friday, August 1, 2008. Hultgren can't afford high gasoline prices, so he's ditched his car for a Mongoose 8-speed. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
In this photo made Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, customers brows Blu-ray movies at Best Buy in West Hollywood, Calif. Although prices for some Blu-ray players dropped below $100 this holiday season, customers are hesitating to jump into the next-generation video format. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
Aron's Records owner Jesse Klempner sorts CDs before restocking them at the Los Angeles store Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. Sales of music albums in the United States fell about 7 percent in 2005 even as the number of singles purchased online more than doubled over last year, a mixed bag for the recording industry but little encouragement for embattled retailers. Aron's is going out of business after 40 years because of declining sales after a major competitor opened nearby, music downloading from the internet, and file sharing. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A woman looks at snowboards on display in a booth at the International Trade Show for Mountain and Winter Technologies in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Foreign and local winter sports equipment and technologies companies has gear up preparing events or expo to attract visitors as Beijing will be the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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10 Common Yard Sale Items to Resell at a Profit originally appeared on usnews.com

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