Make Money Selling Pre-Owned Plush on eBay

I've been selling on eBay since 2003, but only started dabbling in selling pre-owned plush (stuffed animals) last year. Many people I talk to about "What to sell on eBay" are surprised to learn how well pre-owned plush sells. Collectors are often looking for an addition or replacement for their collection. A child may lose or destroy his favorite plush and mom, instead of going insane, buys him a replacement - sometimes the toy isn't made anymore and a used version is all that's available. Hard to find plush make great romantic gifts. (I've seen feedback comments referring to this.)

Plush is often very inexpensive to purchase at garage sales and thrift stores. We find plush prices starting at 10 cents at garage sales, and our Goodwill sells most plush for $1 - over-sized for around $3. Plush is very easy to ship - it isn't breakable or fragile. The only downside to selling plush is storage - the over-sized pieces can take up a lot of room. To wash used plush, just put it in a pillow case and wash it in the washing machine. Let it air dry on a towel. It will look (and smell) as good as new!

A recent search on eBay shows over 15,000 pre-owned plush items sold in the last 30 days in the categories of toys, collectibles, and dolls / bears. I like to help sellers learn what to look for when they are sourcing for eBay and Amazon. I generally focus on items that are actually "findable" - meaning things you are likely to see over and over again, not so much those once-in-a-lifetime finds that sell for hundreds of dollars. (I guess I take a practical approach - repetition of an item selling at a moderate price is more likely to happen than a rare score that sells for hundreds.)

Here are some examples of items you might find at thrift stores or garage sales, that you can flip for good money on eBay. Notice all of these are used and nothing too extravagant or rare.

Large Barney plush sold for $60

Target brand horse sold for $49.99

 And this lobster for $49.99. 

You wouldn't think a plush lobster would be a cute and cuddly toy, but somebody liked this enough to pay almost $50 for it.

Plush to look for:

African animals (elephants, lions, giraffes)

Any character in a current movie or recently released DVD

Barney

Beatrix Potter characters

Breed specific dogs and cats

Care Bears

Disney

Dr. Seuss

Elmo

Frogs (don't ask me why, but frogs sell!)

Hello Kitty

Holiday themed plush (Santa, elves, reindeer, snowmen)

Horses

Peanuts

Sesame Street

Serta Sheep (promo items)

Scooby-Doo

Superheroes

Teddy Bears

Always look up the items on your mobile phone before making a purchasing decision, if at all possible! Plush is a huge category and we really can't generalize and say something will definitely sell. Here is a video about how to research items on the eBay Mobile app.


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Top 5 Thrifting Tips


Top 10 Women's Clothing Brands to Sell on eBay