You Can Make Over $500 Selling Your Old Stuff & People Are Sharing Their Thrifting Stories

How much money can you make by selling your old belongings?

PayPal released its "Resale Renaissance Report" recently which revealed what thousands of Canadians think about thrifting and how much money you can make by selling your old stuff.

Just over 70% of people said that they purchase used items to make their money go further, with clothes, books and furniture being the top items Canadians buy when thrift shopping.

Canadians typically have unwanted and unused items around their homes that have an estimated worth of $571, according to PayPal.

Also, on average, Canadian sellers have earned $167 in the last 12 months from picking up reselling as a side hustle which works out to a profit of $31 per sale.

Half of the people who sell their used items said that putting belongings they don't need anymore up for sale is a good way to supplement their main source of income.

When it comes to which items get Canadian second-hand sellers the most money, 28% of people said clothes have sold for the highest value, 20% said furniture and 16% said gaming consoles and equipment.

Then, with Canadian thrift shoppers, 36% said they've purchased items from an online marketplace — like Depop — in the last year and 34% said they used social media to find second-hand items to purchase.

Despite the popularity of online thrifting, people still have concerns about being scammed by "dishonest sellers" and the quality of the goods they're purchasing when they buy secondhand.

According to PayPal, that could explain why actual thrift stores are still pretty popular, as 48% of people said they have purchased used items from brick-and-mortar shops in the last year.

What are the pros and cons of buying and selling used items?

To figure out how Canadians feel about thrifting, Narcity asked people on Facebook what their experiences with buying and selling secondhand items online are.

"Reasonably good," Miraclewalker Productions commented. "I like that it keeps stuff out of landfills and serves a purpose."

They also shared that most of their interactions with other thrifters have been "very positive."

Jason Schiavo noted that purchasing secondhand items is "awesome" because not everyone can afford to buy new items these days.

Also, Jordana Glassman commented that they used Poshmark for everything, including buying items from their childhood for their daughter.

"Landfills are overflowing. Buy secondhand," Yvele Paquette said.

"I buy used all the time and have found it a great way to save money and reduce consumption," Eden Gebremeskel said.

However, they said they don't sell their belongings because people often ghost them or just don't communicate what they want or need.

"It's such a waste [of] time I don't have," Gebremeskel continued.

Kris Mancuso had a similar experience with buying used items online from other people being worth it but selling their own belongings being difficult.

"I had a hard time getting more than breaking even between keeping competitive and shipping costs, even when the seller paid shipping," they said.

Gloria Suvanto said that it really depends on the items you're buying.

While some people had pretty good experiences with thrift shopping, others didn't feel the same and shared the cons of online thrifting.

Emma Louise commented that a lot of people inquire about what they're selling and then never continue the conversation to actually buy the items.

Also, Bogdan Kosenko said they get messages from people asking if their items are available and when they reply that it's still for sale, all they get in return is silence.

"More hassle than it's worth," Clay McLean said.

Kiara Schiller commented that are a lot of scammers out there when it comes to buying and selling secondhand items online.