And what is that item? T-shirts. Old, used (and sometimes very worn) t-shirts. Before you hit the back button, allow me to explain.
T-shirts are something that are worn by everyone, but especially younger people. You can find them sold in stores brand new for prices ranging from $5 to $25, depending on who or what is on the shirt, the brand label, and the store. Like any piece of clothing, t-shirts depreciate in value with time and wear. But what separates t-shirts from most other items is that they often re-appreciate in value over time. Now this is not true with all tees, of course, and there are many name brand non-t-shirt items that also appreciate, though they are generally exclusive names (Gucci) or scarce period items (those clunky 70's clogs).Generally with t-shirts, the real appreciation begins once the shirt reaches approximately 20 years old, though a better rule of thumb may be the 2 decades back rule. Here, a 1988 shirt may have sold well in 2004, since it was "from the Eighties", even though it was only 15 years old. As such, shirts from the 1990's may soon start to see an appreciation in demand in the coming decade. Currently though, t-shirts from pre-1990 are most in demand today, and the older the better. 1970's tees are much harder to find, and those from the 1960's and earlier are very hard to find. The best place to find them is on Ebay (more on Ebay later), though they can often be quite expensive.
So what type of t-shirts are the most popular, and demand the top dollar from collectors? Rock t-shirts, plain and simple. Old rock and concert tees are at the top of the totem pole, and likely always will be. Black t-shirts of hard rock and metal bands are the most popular, especially those with tour dates and cities listed on the shirt. 80's new wave and punk band shirts are also quite popular. "Deadstock" unworn old shirts are at a premium (generally they were unsold at the time and were boxed up and stored). However, most worn rock shirts often sell well, even with some holes, stains, tears or cutoff sleeves. The most popular shirts are those of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, the Clash and Depeche Mode. No Beatles and Led Zeppelin? Unfortunately original shirts from their tours are very rare, and are not ones you are likely to come across often, even on Ebay. Besides rock, there are other genres of music shirts that sell, but they are generally artist related. For example, certain old hip/hop artists like Run DMC, or *80's shirts of singers such as Madonna or Michael Jackson. Country music shirts, from my experience, are poor sellers, even old shirts of superstars such as Garth Brooks or George Strait.
While rock and music shirts are the bread and butter, there are other types of shirts that can bring in good money. Often local shirts with a niche interest theme ("1989 Boston Marathon") or shirts with the name or logo of a defunct company, product or sports team attract interest. Old shirts featuring the name or likeness of a popular, or often not so popular ballplayer will sell well.
Player jersey's, though not technically t-shirts, also are quite popular, but older ones beyond 10 years can be hard to find. Probably the best way to get an idea on what types of shirts sell the best is to go to Ebay's advanced search. In the search screen, simply type "t-shirt" or "vintage t-shirt" or "rock t-shirt". Be sure to narrow the search to completed auctions, as well as to shirts that sell above a certain dollar amount, say $25. Keep in mind that you may also have to wade through a host of items that did not sell, depending on how much you narrow your search criteria.
How about newer t-shirts, you might ask. Are they ever worth selling? Definitely yes. By newer, I'm generally talking about t-shirts from 2000 to today. Many rock shirts that appear to be old, judging by the tour dates, are in fact reproductions, but are still in demand. If the shirt is 100% cotton and is NOT soft to the touch, it is likely a repro faux-vintage. As a rule of thumb, think specific, not generic. For example, a shirt that says only Memphis on the front probably won't sell, but one that advertises for a specific ribs & BBQ restaurant in Memphis (Rendezvous, Topps) may in fact sell well. Avoid newer shirts that are over produced; namely, anything Disney, NASCAR,, NCAA/college sports, generic pro sports and athletic company logos (except Nike Air Jordan stuff).
If you've read this far, you're probably wondering where you find these used, smelly old shirts that seem to be in such demand. Thrift stores? Yes, thrift stores....Salvation Army, Goodwill and community thrifts. Finding old rock shirts is much harder than it used to be, since a lot of others have the same idea of buying and reselling online for a nice profit. But remember, there are other shirts to look for. Just remember some of those shirts that you saw on the Ebay search you performed (you did do that, right?). You can also buy old shirts in lots online and resell, but this method usually increaeses your cost per shirt, which is only acceptable when the shirts are very desirable. Some thrift stores have nerve to charge $3 and more for old t-shirts, which is double what you should be paying. Try to avoid paying over $2 per t-shirt unless it is one you know will sell at a significant premium. Remember, the profit from the shirts that sell need to cover the cost of the ones that don't.
Now that you've got some shirts, where is the best place to sell them? Though it has lost some of it's luster in recent years, Ebay is still the best place to sell, at least for auctions. Opening an account is easy, as is doing an auction listing. Be sure to add photos; use a photo hosting site like Flickr for these.
Many people also have Ebay stores, where each item has a Buy It Now price. Auctions also offer the Buy It Now option, but you must be sure it isn't offered too low. If there is a liklihood that multiple bidders will bid up the price of the shirt, Buy It Now is not a good idea. Unfortunately, most times, you never know beforehand. I never used Buy It Now, but some swear by it. Shirts that are not sold via auction can be listed again in fixed price listings in Ebay Stores, but that incurs a monthly charge, plus a smaller fee once it sells. Another option is going off Ebay and listing the items on places like eCrater, that charge no upfront listing fees. However, traffic at non-Ebay sites is significantly less (but is growing). A third option with unsold shirts is to save them, than list them as a lot to try to recoup some of your cost. The best bet here is to break them by size, so as to attract both re-sellers and general customers who are looking for some t-shirts in their sizes.This is just a brief overview of selling t-shirts for a profit. Generally, you have to get your feet wet by browsing, buying, listing and (hopefully) selling for several months before you get an idea of the types of shirts that are most in demand. Then, once you've made a go of selling t-shirts, you can branch out into other areas. The best thing about t-shirts is they're relatively cheap, easy to package and ship, and even if they don't sell, you can wear it yourself or use it wash your car. And you thought smelly old t-shirts were worthless.
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