Team Brandori, Lori and Brandon Bernier are well known for their success on hit TV show Storage Hunters. They spend a lot of their time trawling auctions for treasure which they can sell at a profit. Check out our post on finding second hand goods to ensure you find the best bits to sell on.

Given that this dynamic duo do buying and selling so well, we asked them to share some of their secrets on how to make money from second hand goods.

Do your research on where to sell

It's important to find the best place to sell as it can take time to prepare and price up your items. Do want to maximise your time by selling online, or do you prefer to sell face to face? It does depend on the item you're selling - if it's something popular or well-known like DVDs or jewellery, it may be quicker to sell online through auction sites like eBay or if you're happy to haggle face to face, a car boot sale may be more suitable.

If the item is quite niche such as rare books, instruments or coins, it's worth looking for a specialist buyer or auction house. Do consider selling through classified ads in local papers or through sites like Gumtree and Preloved. With no selling fees, local Facebook groups are rivalling eBay as a place to sell stuff.

Take time with your listings

Think about what you'd like to know about the item as if you were buying it yourself. Team Brandori spend just as long if not more time on listing their items for sale as they do buying them. Lori says 'it's really important to get your items listed correctly so that buyers can find what you're selling. Take good quality photographs, carefully list all the product details and give good titles and descriptions of the items as there's nothing worse than getting negative feedback from buyers'. Consider listing things like the brand name, model, condition (new or used), dimensions, style and colour etc.

Build relationships with buyers

Over the years, Team Brandori have made lots of contacts to which or through whom they can sell items. A simple Google search such as 'who buys XYZ' can yield a whole host of potential buyers or you can even look on LinkedIn or Facebook for specialist buyers. It's important to find the right market to successfully sell your items. Get to know buyers so you can shift niche items quickly. Take time to find and get to know buyers for things like antique furniture, paintings, vintage clothing, jewellery etc - more time spent on this can mean more cash.

Become a specialist seller

Selling specialist or high value niche items like car parts, coins, celebrity outfits etc could pay off as buyers or collectors of these items could be willing to pay top dollar. Lori suggests setting prices higher for items only a few specialist buyers are after, which then gives you room to haggle. She says 'whilst these items can bring the most income, at the end of the day, the item is only worth what the buyer is prepared to pay for it. So really think about what you'd be prepared to let it go for'.

Sell in the right seasons

Make sure you consider seasonality when it comes to selling things. No one is going to want to buy camping gear in the winter or fur lined designer boots in the height of summer. Getting the season right will help you maximise your profits.

The price is right

Setting a price to sell an item can be tricky - if you're not careful, you could undercut yourself and lose money. If you set the price too high, no one may be willing to pay it. Team Brandori's advice is to do your research. Check out what the items are worth and what buyers are willing to pay for things, and look at what other similar items have sold for too. Your selling price is a balance between what you want for the item and how much a buyer will pay for it.

Watch your costs

Selling items isn't just about making money - you'll lose some money too. Think about shipping and packaging costs when sending items out to buyers. Consider any travel expenses if you have to take the item to a specialist buyer. Don't forget to account for any fees for selling on sites like eBay or for using PayPal. You don't want your costs to outweigh your profit so do take these into account when selecting items to sell or when setting your price.

Be realistic about what you can sell - having too much stock around means needing somewhere to put it, especially if you can't sell it quick enough. Safestore self storage has over 100 centres nationwide where you can store your items for as long as you like in a variety of room sizes at a price to suit you.

Team Brandori have been in the auction and selling business for over 20 years and have found that selling items can be worth serious cash. Brandon added 'if you're going to do this work, buying and selling, expect that you'll have to work really, really hard and sometimes for little return. Keep at it though, it can pay off big time! Happy selling!!'

If you have any tips for selling second hand items, do let us know below.

Safestore Holdings plc issued this content on 2016-01-22 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-22 08:04:03 UTC

Original Document: http://www.safestore.co.uk/blog/2016/01/team-brandori-making-money-from-second-hand-goods/