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Glossary / Sourcing

Sourcing

The process of finding and buying items to resell.

Sourcing is how resellers find inventory. Common sourcing channels include thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, retail clearance, liquidation pallets, online arbitrage (buying from one online marketplace to sell on another), and wholesale. Your sourcing cost directly determines your COGS — and your ability to find good items cheaply is the single biggest driver of reselling profit.

Example

A reseller's sourcing routine: Goodwill on Tuesday (discount day), Facebook Marketplace pickups on weekends, and checking liquidation sites monthly for electronics pallets.

Related terms

Haul

A batch of items bought together at once.

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Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

What you paid to acquire the item you sold.

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Flip

Buying an item and reselling it for more than you paid.

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