As a young couple, we had just upgraded from a condo into a house. During the cleanout I found an old fishing reel. Not being a fisherman and having just heard of this new place on the interweb called eBay, I thought I'd give it a shot. This was in the good old days of dial up, and before most anyone owned a cell phone. So, no picture, just descriptions. I opened an account and spent half an hour crafting the perfect ad. It was irresistible, no one could possibly not buy this fantastic fishing reel. Just before I was ready to post it, my 7 year old son picked up the phone, and everything was gone..just gone. After a second attempt with a not quite so perfect ad, the reel was online and available to anyone with a computer. That old reel sold for $57. US, which in Canada was like $100. That was real money! Within a week my wife and I had gone through the junk drawers and old boxes looking for unused merch to sell. An old green handled egg beater, a metal woodpecker toothpick holder, old kitchen cutlery. We sold it all. I was hooked.
Over the next 35 years, through trial and error including a $15,000 mistake (I'll tell you later) the part time hobby has become a full time passion. I wrote a best selling book on Amazon in 2013 that would allow you to turn your hobby into your business. The platforms have morphed, the tools have become so much more valuable and easy to use and the competition has become fierce!
I still thrift today, in fact, I thrift harder but smarter. I have specialized in one particular area because I understand it, it's an investment segment in collectables and it's esy to ship. I can buy in bulk and sell individually. I have also found a way to sell my comic books at 3 and 4 times the price others can.
So, to answer the question: can I make any money thrifting? The answer is a huge yes. I surprised my wife at Christmas in 2018 with a 12 day holiday in Mexico in a luxury condo with a swim up pool at the door. I paid for flights, excursions, car rental and all spending money with 2 months part time sales. We didn't have to use one penny of our personal money. In January of 2022, in a pandemic, my part time income was over $5000. If you're interested in learning how to do this, I'd be happy to help. Cheers