How to Start Flipping Stuff: Your First Flip, Step by Step

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Flipping works because sellers want items gone fast, and buyers are willing to pay for them. Your profit is in the middle.

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On one side you've got people who just want something out of their garage. They're not trying to squeeze out every dollar. On the other side you've got buyers who will happily pay a fair price for something in good shape that's cheaper than new. The gap between those two prices is where you make money.

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You don't need special skills, a big budget, or years of experience. Here's the exact process for your first flip.

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Step 1: Pick your niche

Pick something you already know, or that you can move and work on by yourself. Don't start with cars if you've never worked on one, and don't start with patio furniture if you don't have a truck. Good starting categories: furniture, appliances, video game consoles and small electronics, tires and wheels.

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Step 2: Study the niche on Facebook Marketplace

Spend some time on Marketplace before you buy anything. What do things usually list for? Are new listings popping up constantly, or is it a rare find?

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Step 3: Get alerts so you aren't scrolling all day

Set up a deal alert app so you get a push notification when something in your niche gets listed. Freebie Alerts is great for free stuff, and DealScout lets you set price filters so you also catch cheap paid listings. Go wide on price and radius at this stage.

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Step 4: Train yourself to spot a deal

When something looks like a deal, message it. You're not committing to buy, you're collecting reps. Facebook notifies you when a listing you messaged gets marked pending, sold, or drops in price. If it's gone in a few hours, it was a real deal.

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Step 5: Learn what it resells for

Also message the nicer, cleaner listings, the ones that look like flippers posted them. If they sell within a week or two without a price drop, you've found the top of the market.

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Step 6: Tighten your filters

Once the stuff you think is a deal keeps going pending within a few hours, narrow your price filter and radius so you only get pinged on real deals.

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Step 7: Go buy something

When something hits that you know is underpriced, message fast and go get it. Check the item in person, every time, before you pay.

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Step 8: Clean it up and stage it

At minimum, clean it, stage it well, and take good photos.

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Step 9: List it for what you know it's worth

Price it on the high end, write a detailed description, and be patient. Reselling at a higher price can take a week or two.

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Step 10: Drop the price if you need to

If nobody serious bites for a week or two, drop the price every few days until messages come in. Even $20 more than you paid is a profit.

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Bottom line

Pick a niche, learn prices for free, move fast when a deal hits, and don't get greedy on your first one. Once you've done it once, it's repeatable.

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