The Thrift List is a directory of businesses that I have sourced goods from for my eBay business.
This collection of Pages had originally been created for a separate website I was working on, but I found it too difficult to keep my focus working on two sites. So, I am moving the content here to fatwalletrefugee.
eBay Blog Posts
Personal Goals
As a full-time reseller I still have a ways to go. There is still much to learn and profits to be made. My hope is that the resources provided here will aid others in starting their own journey.
Disclaimer: Affiliate links on page generate revenues for this site.
The Sourcing List
The Purple Shoe (Specialty Women’s Apparel)
Category: Thrift & Consignment Store
Description: A non-profit thrift store. All profits go to benefit state-wide domestic violence programs.
| Address: 407 W Gannon Ave, Zebulon, NC 27597 |
| Phone: (919) 269-0109 |
Pricing: $$
| Hours |
|---|
| Fri: 10 AM–4 PM |
| Sat: 10 AM–4 PM |
| Sun: Closed |
| Mon: 10 AM–4 PM |
| Tues: 10 AM–4 PM |
| Wed: 10 AM–4 PM |
| Thurs: 10 AM–4 PM |
Safe Space Inc.
Category: Thrift Store
Description: Safe Space is a non-profit organization that is committed to reducing relationship violence and sexual assault in Franklin County, North Carolina and nearby communities.
| Address: 304 E Nash St, Louisburg, NC 27549 |
| Phone: (919) 496-7777 |
Pricing: $-$$
| Hours |
|---|
| Fri: 10:30 AM-4:30 PM |
| Sat: 10 AM-5 PM |
| Sun: 10:30 AM-4:30 PM |
| Mon: 10:30 AM-4:30 PM |
| Tues: 10:30 AM-4:30 PM |
| Wed: 10:30 AM-4:30 PM |
| Thurs: 10:30 AM-4:30 PM |
Cause For Paws
Category: Thrift Store
Description: Cause for Paws of North Carolina is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, nurturing, and finding loving homes for animals in need.
| Address: 1657 N Market Dr, Raleigh, NC 27609 |
| Phone: (919) 790-8599 |
Pricing: $$-$$$
| Hours |
|---|
| Fri: 10 AM–5:30 PM |
| Sat: 10 AM–6 PM |
| Sun: 12 PM–5 PM |
| Mon: 10 AM–5:30 PM |
| Tues: 10 AM–5:30 PM |
| Wed: 10 AM–5:30 PM |
| Thurs: 10 AM–5:30 PM |
Other Locations:
- 1634 S Saunders St, Raleigh, NC 27603
Treasure Hunt Bin Megastore
Category: Retail and eCommerce Liquidator
Description: Sells customer returns from big box stores and online retailers and marketplaces (Amazon, Target, Home Depot, etc.).
| Address: 4522 Capital Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27604 |
| Phone: (919) 896-6027 |
Pricing:
- Friday: $12 / $8 for Clothes
- Saturday: $10
- Sunday: $7
- Monday: $5
- Tuesday: $3
- Monday: $1
| Hours |
|---|
| Fri: 10 AM-7 PM |
| Sat: 10 AM-7 PM |
| Sun: 10 AM-7 PM |
| Mon: 10 AM-7 PM |
| Tues: 10 AM-7 PM |
| Wed: 10 AM-7 PM |
| Thurs: Closed for restocking |
Other Locations:
- Greensboro: 1312 Bridford Pkwy #101, Greensboro, NC 27407
- Goldsboro: 1318 W Grantham St suite D, Goldsboro, NC 27530
- Concord: 545 Concord Pkwy N Suite B, Concord, NC 28027
- Norfolk: 5957 E Virginia Beach Blvd #11, Norfolk, VA 23502
Goodwill (GIENC)
Category: Second Hand Goods, Thrift Store
Description: Proceeds from stores fund grants given to community partners, aid in combating food insecurity and homelessness, provide free educational resources and support employment program initiatives.
| Address: 12269 Capital Blvd, Wake Forest, NC 27587 |
| Phone: (919) 570-8292 |
| Hours |
|---|
| Fri: 9 AM–8:30 PM |
| Sat: 9 AM–8:30 PM |
| Sun: 12 PM-6 PM |
| Mon: 9 AM–8:30 PM |
| Tues: 9 AM–8:30 PM |
| Wed: 9 AM–8:30 PM |
| Thurs: 9 AM–8:30 PM |
Other Locations:
- Very-North Raleigh: 11031 Wakefield Commons Dr, Raleigh, NC 27614
- North Raleigh: 4401 N New Hope Rd, Raleigh, NC 27604
- North Raleigh: 1677 N Market Dr, Raleigh, NC 27609
- Louisburg: 136 S Bickett Blvd, Louisburg, NC 27549
Operations
My Workspace
I have my setup split between a bedroom and an office space which includes my computer. I also have a Lenovo Tab 9 tablet and two phones that are signed in to different eBay accounts for each of my stores.
In the bedroom I have a two-sided clothing rack with wheels, a really sturdy heavy duty plastic shelf, and lots of coat hangers.
I bought a 50 pack of hangers from Target for around $10 on sale last year. I also got lucky and found another 50 pack for $1 at my local Treasure Hunt Liquidators store.
I use cardboard boxes to hold items that I have pre-packaged for shipping. I write the numbers on the mailer bag with a magic marker and then then number the boxes 100s, 200s, etc.
I use a SKU system to keep track of half of my inventory. Some items I leave on the clothing rack if I think I’ll need to redo the photos or if I haven’t weighed and measured the items for shipping.
I started taking photos using the backside of my bedroom door. I also tried using a brown glossy countertop for smaller items and colored objects.
Getting the proper amount of lighting and in the right shade and consistentcy was difficult. Often I would have to do all my photography in the morning when the sun was brightest.
eBay does now include some tools to adjust colors and brightness in uploaded images. You can also replace the background image thanks to AI enhacements.
In June of 2025, I purchased a hollow backed female mannequin to help fill out the women’s apparel items I had been collecting. I think it makes a big difference in being able to show a garments shape and appearance by having it on a model.
Taking the advice of numerous YouTubers, I purchased two white foam poster boards from Walmart. I taped them together using clear packing tape and then used some clips and 3M wall hooks to create a filming station in the office.
The board can be taken down and the clips repositioned to then hang the board on the back of my bedroom door. This gives a much better white surface for filming.
For lighting, I use a single free standing box light from a set of two that I used for making videos and doing zoom calls. This provides a great deal of light and can easily be repositioned.
Shipping Supplies
I started shipping out products using recycles boxes from Amazon and Walmart orders. I also had a large inventory of padded foil bags from a food delivery service a relative uses.
To hold smaller objects and items that did not need padded packaging, I use Poly Mailer bags from KK Best Pack. I like both the 16×12 bags and the 4×6 in white/gray.
The poly bags are self-sealing but for boxes and the padded foil bags I use HD Duck Tape. I purchased a tape dispenser from Amazon and a set of replacement rolls in a kit for fairly cheap.
I have found the regular clear packing tape is too thin and doesn’t adhere well to cardboard and it is prone to peeling on foil surfaces.
Accounting & Budgets
While studying business, I learned to use Microsoft Excel to manage and edit spreadsheets for use in Accounting and Logistics.
I keep an omnibus spreadsheet with several internal sheets linking data sets together. This allows to me catalog all of my data such as Cost of Goods, Taxes, Shipping, and Payouts. Everything gets filtered and then output on a cover sheet.
It can get a little chaotic, but each year I improve the layout and it gets more efficient.
Fat Wallet Refugee 