How much can you make owning a thrift store? (2024)

How much can you make owning a thrift store?

Those expenses chip away at thrift stores' profits, and as of 2016, used merchandise retailers made a pretax profit of 3.3 percent – meaning that an average 10-person thrift store might generate only $11,880 in annual profits. That said, the average annual salary for a thrift shop manager hovers around $52,000.

Starting a thrift store can certainly be a lucrative business as the thrift industry continues to boom. According to market analyst IBISWorld, the size of the thrift store market is expected to grow by 2.4% in 2022.

Believe it or not, you can make meaningful money as a thrift store flipper. The most successful flippers make over $100k per year reselling their thrift store finds. If you do a quick Google search, you'll find many stores of people pulling big numbers from reselling all sorts of items.

Clothing. Clothing is an item that sells best in thrift stores. Accounting for 31.8 percent of industry revenue, clothing is the largest revenue generator in the Thrift Stores industry, according to IBISWorld. Instead of paying higher retail prices, many people are switching to thrift stores for their clothing needs.

The average profit on thrift stores is pretty low because of all the costs to having a physical location. Data shows that the general retail industry makes a profit of about 5% on sales, which would mean income of just $5,000 for every $100,000 in sales.

Most thrift store inventory comes from donations. Many people own products like clothes, furniture, home decor, etc that they have never used or do not make use of anymore or have too many of. To make space, they tend to give away these items.

Thrift store flipping can be a great way to make some extra money while giving a new life to used items that might have otherwise gone to the landfill. You can resell your thrift store items at garage sales, online, or through apps!

A thrift store makes money by selling merchandise. This process begins by finding merchandise for sale that the businesses can buy at the right price. These businesses need to acquire merchandise for a low enough price to turn a profit when they resell it.

How do you flip at a thrift store?

The target market for thrift stores predominantly includes people looking for a good deal on used items. But it also includes people who want to support a cause if that cause benefits from their buying at a thrift store. Many people simply go to a thrift store because they don't know what they are going to find.

Expert clothing resellers advise pricing second-hand fashion items at an excellent price-quality ratio. On average, pre-loved clothes sell for between 30% and 40% of their original retail price. As a rule of thumb, price your used garments for a third of new similar items cost.

Thrifting or thrift shopping is when you opt to buy second-hand or pre-loved items, like clothes or furniture. Even though these products are not brand new, most are in good condition. In fact, more and more people are thrift shopping for various reasons, and it is going to be the way of the future.

Those expenses chip away at thrift stores' profits, and as of 2016, used merchandise retailers made a pretax profit of 3.3 percent – meaning that an average 10-person thrift store might generate only $11,880 in annual profits. That said, the average annual salary for a thrift shop manager hovers around $52,000.

Donations are one of the main ways that thrift stores replenish their inventories. These donations can come from individuals or organizations. People often donate clothing, furniture, household accessories, decorations, appliances, and more.

Typically, a thrift store sells used goods donated by anonymous people. These stores may or may not specialize in any product. But, the goods they sell are refurbished to look like new. Usually, the stores sell items at rock-bottom prices to make them available to everyone, since, the motive is not to earn any profit.

How do I start a thrifting business?

According to America's Research Group, a consumer research firm, about 16 - 18% of Americans will shop at a thrift store during a given year.

It's also great for the environment. If you choose thrifting over fast fashion, you are helping cut back your fashion-footprint. There will always be a concern when it comes to second-hand shopping, but the real concern should be aimed at the unnecessary waste. Nowadays, second-hand shopping isn't only done in-store.