24 March 2023 , 12:44
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A man has set up a £500,000-a year-business after 'product flipping' having spent hours raiding stores like Poundland for bargains.
Zain Shah also went hunting in charity shops and Argos after discovering he could re-sell many items at the higher price.
He first spotted a gap in the market after customer asked for a specific kind of earphones with a special zip.
He decided to buy 20 pairs and soon he found out he could make a five-fold profit on them after placing a £9.99 price tag on his £2 buys - and it got him thinking.
Things snowballed and suddenly he found himself grabbing more deals and increasing the price.
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He grabbed big deals in Poundland and Argos (Bloomberg via Getty Images)Eventually he raised enough to kick-start his own business and last year turned a very tidy profile.
A decade ago he was earning £7 an hour a telecom company and says you can achieve nothing without throwing caution to the wind.
''People might wonder why those people can't go straight to Poundland," he told Fabulous.
''If somebody is living in a countryside, they don't have Poundland close to them. So people buy those items online.
He then sold bargains online for more than he bought them for (Bloomberg)"The rule of business is if you're not willing to take a risk you will always be working for someone who is willing to take a risk."
He has also launched a YouTube channel to allow people to take helpful hints from his success online.
Last year, he revealed how one eBayer had made £513 in the space of just seven days by re-selling Poundland hanging baskets.
Zain, originally from Pakistan, says: “That person has sold 86 of them within one week, he managed to make £513.42 profit, which is a very, very decent profit.”
He cashed in on those unable to get deals in-store (Getty Images)The hanging baskets sell for £1 each in stores, but the seller has been flogging them online in packs of two for £13.10 - selling 86 units in total.
Zain says selling in quantities of two is a good idea as the postage costs are similar but you can charge a higher price.
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He then used a free eBay/Paypal online calculator to work out what the seller would’ve made in profit after shipping cost and eBay fees.