CHARITY shops can be real treasure troves for savvy resellers looking to save or make some easy cash.
But it can be tricky working out what is a savvy find and what isn’t worth your time and money.
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I recently discovered a little-known app which is meant to make the whole process much simpler and I was keen to give it a go.
It could be a handy tool if you’re looking to sell your items on sites like eBay, Vinted or Depop.
Despite being around since at least 2018, the Google Lens feature is relatively unknown in the retail world.
Through research, I found that people actually tend to use it mainly to translate languages and identify plant species.
But it turns out the nifty little feature can actually be used to hunt down big value second-hand items and tell you instantly how much they’re worth – making it a handy shopping companion.
Simply download the Google app, point your phone camera at the product and the search engine will bring up similar items listed on Google Shopping.
Once you have an idea of how much they could go for, you can decide whether it’s worth the purchase.
That’s exactly what I did this week when I headed into my local village near Brighton and put the app to the test.
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I chose a variety of items from clothing to crockery and used the Lens to find how much I could make by selling them online.
Of course, remember you’re never guaranteed to sell the items meaning you may not make the money back.
What did I find in charity shops and how much did they cost?
My little village isn’t a bustling shopping haven but one thing it does have is charity shops.
There are five shops, some big well-known charities and some independent ones, each with shelves and rails filled with bric-a-brac, clothing, DVDs and books.
I tried to find the bits which looked expensive and could get me the most bang for my buck.
This meant I was looking for designer brands and fancy looking homeware.
The first shop ended up being a treasure trove for valuable bargains.
The first item I picked up to scan was a large crystal bowl with a lovely pattern, it was in pretty good nick and cost just £2.
Then, sticking with the crockery theme I picked up a unique looking Asian-style bamboo kettle with letters etched into it.
This had a £3 price label on it.
Next up was a six-piece set of china spoons with a Chinese design, they were particularly striking and there was a wider selection sold separately of various plates and bowls too.
The spoons in particular were sold together for £1.50.
After that, I veered away from the bric-a-brac selection and headed for shoes, which is where I feel I hit the jackpot.
I found a pair of Hunters wellies for £15 and a pair of Dr Martens for £25.
Neither were in tip-top condition but they weren’t too shabby.
I then headed over to my next shop, which is a charity shop chain and I did notice a price increase on some of the items.
I found a pair of Adidas Gazelle trainers which were being sold for £17.50.
With shoes clearly on my mind I also managed to find a pair of Kurt Geiger Carvela pumps for just £7.
Finally, I picked up a Peep Show box set with a £5 price tag, curious to know what it could be worth.
For each item I scanned it using the Google Lens feature to find what other people are selling similar-looking bits for online – here’s what I found.
How much could I sell my charity shop finds for using Google Lens?
Crystal bowl – £38.27 on Etsy
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Crystal bowls and other crockery like this can be pretty valuable, especially if the buyer is looking to complete a set.
A quick scan of the item using the Google Lens feature brought up dozens of entries on the web, mainly from Etsy.
The highest price I could find of a near identical bowl being sold for was £38.27.
If I was to buy the piece of crockery for the £2 price in the charity shop and sell it for the same price, I would make a pretty big £36 profit.
Plus, if I bought the bowl without selling it I would save the same amount – a win-win.
Teapot – £10 on eBay
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Scanning this unusual looking bamboo teapot I found several similar styles popped up – although not perfect matches.
Some were smaller but with the same style etchings, and some of the entries were for full sets of the same design.
Nevertheless, after scrolling a little through all the available options I found a sam-style jug being sold for £10 on eBay.
Of course, this isn’t as big a profit as the crystal bowl, but still £7 more than the charity shop price.
China spoons – £23 on Etsy
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This lovely set of china spoons is clearly a popular item for homeware shoppers.
I scanned the spoons using the app and was surprised at how many very similar style items popped up.
Many were listed on selling sites like eBay, Amazon and Etsy – ultimately the highest price I found for the same size set was £23.
Compared to the £1.50 price tag, that is a whopping £21.50 profit.
Plus, if you had even more cash to play with you could pick up the other additions to the set, including plates and bowls.
Hunters wellies – £50 on eBay
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Any keen dog walker or country side-loving Brit knows that Hunters wellies are vastly considered one of the top brands.
That’s why when I spotted them I was sure they’d make a pretty decent profit.
Low and behold, the very first entry Google found for me was a pair being sold on eBay for £50.
It’s a pretty big increase on the £15 price sticker in the charity shop.
Of course, it’s important to bear in mind with these that their condition will bear heavily on how much cash you’d get for them.
But it would definitely be worth giving them a clean-up at home to improve your chances of making even more cash.
Dr Martens – £154 on Depop
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Dr Martens are one of the most popular designer brands for boots and shoes, but they do usually come with a pretty big price tag too.
So, when I spotted this pair of men’s boots in the charity shop I was intrigued to see how much they could go for online.
I scanned the shoes and dozens of the exact same shoe popped up from both UK and US sellers.
The highest I could find was on Depop for £154 – which would make me a £129 profit.
The charity shop price for the boots is a bit more than regular shoes but that is to be expected with designer items like this.
It might be worth, if you find a similar item, taking them to a shoe repair shop to see if they can work some magic and improve their condition even more to get you more cash.
Peep show box set – £15 on eBay
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Box sets, DVDs and even VHS tapes are rife in charity shops.
I was intrigued to see just how much a box set of an old sitcom favourite could get you online.
Google showed me various different options to buy, mainly on Amazon and eBay.
The most common price the same season selection was being sold for was £15 on eBay – with complete box sets getting you a bit more cash.
That’s a £10 profit on the £5 spent – not too shabby.
Also, it just goes to show that selling the old box sets and DVDs you have kicking around at home could also make you some cash.
Adidas Gazelles – £55 on Depop
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Adidas is always a popular brand on second-hand selling sites like Depop and Vinted.
People looking to save cash on buying full-price goods flock to these kinds of sites.
As I expected, more than 20 of the exact same Gazelles came up when I scanned the shoes.
The highest price I found was for the same shoes being sold on Depop for £55.
If I bought the shoes for £17.50 and opted to sell them on, it means I could make £37.50.
Plus, if I kept them I’d be saving myself around £60 as they’re sold new for anything up to £80.
Carvela pumps – £21 on Vestiaire Collective
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Kurt Geiger is also a pretty big brand for shoe lovers, and its pumps can cost as much as £95.
I did run into a slight snag with this item in that the listings Google showed were for any similar style and colour heels.
This led me to find you can actually add key terms to your search to help Google find exactly what you’re looking for – I simply added “Carvela” and dozens of web pages popped up.
I found a listing on Vestiaire Collective, which is a selling site for designer goods, and they were being sold for £21.
That’s triple the value of what they were sold for in the charity shop.
The verdict on using Google Lens in charity shops
Google Lens is definitely a nifty little app if you want an immediate answer for how much you can get reselling charity shop finds.
Because the search engine is tracking down any similar images across the whole of the internet, you definitely get a lot of responses.
Although this can be a drawback too, in some cases I had to scroll quite far to find a selling site rather than a retailer’s page.
I also found that for some items like handbags, clothes and artwork, the images are too generic and Google simply shows any items that look similar – rather than the specific designer or artist.
In those cases, it might be easier to do your own search with specific terms on sites to see how much you could get.
Also, in one of the charity shops, in particular, I did find that if the mobile data coverage was spotty it took a long time to bring up results, or failed completely.
I found a way around this though by uploading the photo I took later to the app from my camera roll – which worked just as well.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll sell the item, or get the price you want.
You may have to wait some time for the cash if the item doesn’t sell instantly.
And in the worst case, you might be stuck with the item or have to sell at a loss.
Plus, if you aren’t able to spend as much then you may not make as big a profit – but as I found, you can make decent cash from spending just a few pounds too.
There are also some things to consider when you choose to sell items online.
For example, some platforms charge sellers a fee or take commission that can eat into profits.
On Etsy, there is a 16p listing fee, 6.5 % transaction fee, 4% + 20p payment processing fee to take into account.
Depop doesn’t charge a fee to list an item but you pay a 10% commission on anything you sell.
You can list up to 1,000 items a month on eBay for free.
You’ll pay a commission of 12.8% on what you sell, plus a 30p fee.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
