Your first flip: start with what you have

Set a budget you can afford to get wrong

Your first flip is practice with real money. Choose an amount that won’t hurt if the item sells for less than you hoped or takes longer to sell, and keep some aside for pickup, cleaning and small repairs.

Match the item to how you get around

• No car: phones, small electronics, sneakers, books and games fit in a bag or on the train
• A car: power tools, small appliances, bikes and camera gear
• A van, trailer or a friend with one: furniture and whitegoods, which take more work to move

Start with something you already know

If you know phones, start with phones. If you know bikes, start with bikes. Knowing the models, the common faults and what buyers ask about makes it easier to spot a good listing and avoid a bad one.

Know the most to pay before you message

Look at what similar items have sold for. Take off pickup, cleaning, repairs and selling fees, then take off the profit you want. What is left is the most you should pay. Offer under it, or move on.

FlipFirst does this maths for each deal it finds, and shows the comparisons behind it.

Check it before you pay

• Meet somewhere public and in daylight when you can
• Test the item, or ask the seller to show it working
• Check model numbers, serial numbers and what is included
• Don’t send a deposit for an item you haven’t seen

When it sells, count what you kept

Add up what you paid and spent, and what you received. That number, not the listing price, tells you whether the flip worked and what to change next time.