Living the maxim “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” one savvy shopper was able to find items at a thrift store in a “rich” neighborhood he could then flip on eBay for a profit.
TikTok creator Jride Flips (@jrideflips) shared a recent haul in a video documenting a thrifting excursion he put up Friday, getting more than 1.3 million views in the three days since it first went live.
In it, he starts by saying, “I went thrifting in a rich town to see what I could find to sell on eBay for profit.”
After showing a small cluster of people entering the store together when it opened, which turned some commenters’ heads, he showed a row of vacuum cleaners, noting, “We’re starting off with one, two, three Dyson vacuums, all priced at $45 each.” He assessed this as a “pretty fair price” and snapped one up.
He also found a pair of stereo units he claimed retailed for $500 and $150, selling at $40 for the pair. He also found a Vivint security camera that he believed could sell on eBay for a profit. He closed out the video showing some Apple and Google home network devices priced to move, which he also believed he’d be able to sell on eBay for a profit.
Commenters had reactions to his thrifting opportunism.
@jrideflips I went thrifting in a rich town to resell on eBay… it went really well! #ebayreseller #thrifting #fliplife ♬ original sound – Jride Flips
“Are you Forreal with the dysons that’s amazing,” gushed one commenter.
But that comment touched off a debate about the vacuum cleaner brand, with one declaring, “They’re garbage. Don’t buy them.”
Another, going back to the clip showing several shoppers entering at the same time, asked, “They line up at the door?”
“When I worked at a thrift store,” shared a commenter in response, “We had like 5 regulars who would show up every day 30 min before opening and line up.”
That same commenter, responding to an observation that that was “crazy,” noted, “Yea sad thing is some of them weren’t even resellers. Just people with a shopping addiction.”
Several took him to task for his thrifting practice. One said, “Landlord energy.”
Another asked, “Are you concerned about the ethical ramifications of reselling?”
The creator said, “Yeah I feel good about keeping those who cant hold a job employees and keeping Nike hoodies and revere-ware pans out of landfills.”
But that commenter continued, claiming, “Generally resellers do this for their main job which means in order to generate enough income to live off of, they have to buy large quantities of the ‘best things’ while leaving the lesser goods for the lower income families that can’t afford to shop anywhere else.”
One person challenged, “Tell me exactly what low-income families are gonna do with a DbX synthesizer audio crossover unit. it’s high-end audio gear for a niche customer base.”
Others defended the creator’s thrifting practices, with one asking, “Why are people in the comments acting like they are buying every single thing in the store and leaving nothing for anyone else?”
“Haters gonna hate,” said one fan, adding, “Love your stuff man, keep it going! Not as easy as it looks, putting in like 6+ hours a day on top of full time.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jride Flips via TikTok direct message.
