Updated March 2026 · 8 min read
Where to Find Stock to Resell: A Sourcing Guide for Every Country
The reselling business model is the same everywhere: buy items below their online value, sell them for more. But where you find those items depends entirely on where you live. Here's a breakdown of the best sourcing locations by country, plus online sources that work globally.
Universal Sourcing Principles
Before the country-specific breakdown, three rules apply everywhere:
Go where pricing knowledge is low. The best sourcing happens where the person selling doesn't know the online value of what they have. Charity shops, estate sales, and garage sales are run by people clearing out - not eBay experts.
Arrive early. Every experienced reseller knows this. The best items go first. If a car boot opens at 7am, the serious buyers are there at 6:30. If an estate sale opens at 9, the queue starts at 8.
Scan before you buy. A pricing tool pays for itself the first time it stops you buying something worthless. Don't trust your gut on pricing - check the data.
United States
Thrift Stores
Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers, and Value Village are the bread and butter of US reselling. Prices are set low and inventory rotates constantly. Most successful US resellers visit 3-5 thrift stores per week on a regular circuit.
Goodwill Outlet stores (also called "the bins") sell items by weight - often $1-2 per pound. This is where serious flippers source in bulk. It's competitive, messy, and incredibly profitable if you know what to look for.
Garage Sales and Yard Sales
The American garage sale is one of the best sourcing opportunities in the world. Families pricing items to clear space, not to maximise profit. Use apps like Yard Sale Treasure Map or Garage Sale Finder to plan your Saturday morning route.
Estate Sales
When an entire household is being liquidated. Estate sales often contain decades of accumulated items - vintage electronics, collectibles, tools, furniture, clothing. Check EstateSales.NET for listings in your area. Day two and three often have 25-50% discounts.
Flea Markets and Swap Meets
Rose Bowl (Pasadena), Brooklyn Flea, First Monday Trade Days (Texas) - large flea markets attract both junk and treasure. The key is arriving early and scanning everything that catches your eye.
United Kingdom
Charity Shops
The UK's equivalent of thrift stores. Oxfam, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, RSPCA, Sue Ryder, and hundreds of independents. Prices have risen in recent years as shops get smarter, but deals still exist - especially in smaller towns where turnover is high and pricing knowledge is lower.
Car Boot Sales
The UK's answer to garage sales, but bigger. Hundreds of sellers at one event, usually on Sunday mornings. Prices are rock bottom because sellers want to clear everything by lunchtime. The early bird gets the deals - arrive at setup time if the organisers allow it.
Auction Houses
Local auction houses sell mixed lots - boxes of random items grouped together. A box might sell for £5 and contain one item worth £50. Check SaleRoom.com for upcoming auctions near you.
Facebook Marketplace
Massive in the UK. People list items daily below market value because they want a quick local sale. Set up alerts for your target categories and check new listings daily.
Australia
Op Shops
Vinnies (St Vincent de Paul), Salvos (Salvation Army), Lifeline, and Red Cross shops. Australian op shops often have better stock than their UK and US equivalents because donation culture is strong and pricing tends to be lower. Regional op shops in smaller towns are where the best finds hide.
Garage Sales
Check GarageSaleFinder.com.au for weekend listings. Australian garage sales tend to be well-organised and heavily attended in suburban areas. Arriving early is essential.
Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace
Gumtree is still widely used in Australia for local sales. Combined with Facebook Marketplace, these are your primary online sourcing channels. Set up saved searches and check daily.
Markets
Trash and treasure markets, swap meets, and weekend markets run year-round in most Australian cities. Camberwell Market (Melbourne), Rozelle Markets (Sydney), and Suitcase Rummage events are popular sourcing spots.
Germany
Flohmärkte (Flea Markets)
Germany has an incredible flea market culture. Mauerpark (Berlin), Flohmarkt am Rathaus Schöneberg, and hundreds of smaller local markets run every weekend. Pricing is generally fair but negotiable.
Second-Hand Shops
Oxfam, Caritas, Sozialkaufhaus, and Humana stores are widespread. German second-hand shops often have higher-quality stock than other countries due to a strong culture of donating usable items rather than discarding them.
Online Sourcing (Works Everywhere)
You don't need to leave your house to source stock:
- Facebook Marketplace: the biggest online sourcing platform globally. Set alerts for your categories and check daily.
- eBay mispriced listings: sellers who don't know what they have list items below market value. Search for misspelled brand names and vague descriptions.
- Online auctions: liquidation sites sell returned goods, clearance stock, and business closures. Often below wholesale cost.
- Freecycle and "free stuff" groups: people give away items they don't want. One person's rubbish is another person's £30 eBay listing.
Profit Prophet includes Local Sourcing - finds charity shops, thrift stores, car boots, op shops, and second-hand shops near you, wherever you are. Plus AI scanning to price-check anything you find.
Download Free on iOS & AndroidThe Best Sourcing Strategy
Regardless of country, the most profitable resellers share one habit: they source regularly and scan everything. Not everything will be a winner. But if you check 50 items and find 5 with good margins, those 5 pay for the trip and then some.
Build a circuit of 3-5 regular sourcing locations and visit them weekly. Get to know the staff and the restock schedules. The reseller who shows up consistently finds more deals than the one who shows up occasionally.