Plain English
Reselling Glossary
The words you'll encounter on Facebook Marketplace and in reselling: sold comps, cross-posting, porch pickup, lowballer, ISO, bundle, local vs shipped, and more, explained simply, no jargon, with enough detail to actually be useful.
- BOLO
- BOLO stands for be-on-the-lookout - the running list of brands and models that signal resale value at a glance. A BOLO list is what turns a garage sale from random browsing into targeted sourcing: you walk in already knowing that Milwaukee, DeWalt FLEXVOLT, Snap-on, Red Wing, and Scotty Cameron are worth stopping for. Building and memorizing a BOLO list for one or two categories is one of the fastest ways to start spotting profit that other shoppers walk right past. Read more →
- Comps
- Comps (short for comparables) are the recent sold prices of the same or a very similar item, used to decide what something is actually worth. On eBay you find comps by searching the item and filtering to Sold listings; on Facebook Marketplace you scan active and recently-removed listings. Comps are the difference between guessing and knowing. A reseller who checks sold comps before buying rarely overpays, and a reseller who does not is gambling. Checking comps on your phone while you shop is the core discipline of the whole business. Read more →
- Buy Ceiling
- The buy ceiling is the maximum price you will pay for an item and still make a worthwhile profit, usually set at 40 to 50 percent of the item's sold comp. If a tool sells for $130 based on comps, a 40 percent buy ceiling means you will not pay more than about $52 for it. Setting a buy ceiling before you negotiate keeps emotion out of the decision. It is the number you hold in your head so that a friendly seller or a shiny item never talks you into overpaying. Read more →
- Sell-Through Rate
- Sell-through rate is the percentage of listed items that actually sell in a given period - a measure of demand. On eBay you estimate it by comparing the number of sold listings to total active listings for an item. A high sell-through (say 70 percent or more) means the item moves fast and you can buy with confidence. A low sell-through means the item is slow, your money is tied up longer, and you should pay less or skip it. Sell-through tells you not just what an item is worth but how quickly you will get your cash back.
- Staging
- Staging is how you present an item in your listing photos to make it look worth buying - clean background, good light, and framing that shows the item at its best. A power tool wiped down and shot on a plain surface in daylight sells faster and for more than the same tool photographed dirty on a garage floor. Staging is not deception; the item is exactly what it is. It is the difference between a buyer scrolling past and a buyer stopping. On Facebook Marketplace, where the thumbnail is everything, staging is one of the highest-leverage free skills a reseller can build. Read more →
- Lowball
- A lowball is an offer far below your asking price, often the first message a buyer sends on Facebook Marketplace. 'Would you take $20?' on a $100 listing is a lowball. Lowballs are normal and not an insult - many buyers open low by habit. The skill is the counter: hold near your price, offer a small good-faith reduction if the item has been sitting, and do not let a lowball rush you into a bad sale. As a buyer, a polite lowball offer is also how you source below your buy ceiling.
- Porch Pickup
- Porch pickup is a local sale where the buyer collects the item from your porch, driveway, or a set spot without a face-to-face meeting - you leave it out, they grab it, payment is sent electronically beforehand. It is a low-friction way to complete local Facebook Marketplace sales, especially for lower-value items, and it saves you from scheduling live meetups. The tradeoff is that payment should clear before the item goes out. For higher-value items, a public meetup or verified in-person payment is safer than an unattended porch handoff.
- Mail-In Buyer
- A mail-in buyer is a customer who purchases an item to be shipped to them rather than picked up locally. Shipping opens your item to a nationwide pool of buyers instead of just your town, which is why brand-name items with real collector demand - tools, boots, cameras, records, cards - almost always sell for more shipped than local. The tradeoff is packing, postage, and shipping-related fees and risk. Knowing which items are worth shipping to a mail-in buyer versus selling local is a core sourcing decision.
- FLEXVOLT
- FLEXVOLT is DeWalt's high-output battery platform and a top BOLO signal in the power tool category. FLEXVOLT tools and batteries command strong resale prices because they are expensive new and in constant demand from contractors. Spotting the yellow-and-black FLEXVOLT branding at a garage sale priced like a generic drill is one of the classic tool-flipping wins. Along with Milwaukee M18 FUEL, Makita LXT, and Snap-on, FLEXVOLT is a name worth memorizing for anyone sourcing tools. Read more →
- Reverse Weave
- Reverse Weave is a vintage Champion sweatshirt construction prized by clothing resellers and streetwear buyers. Genuine vintage Champion Reverse Weave pieces - especially made-in-USA tags - sell far above what a thrift store prices them at, because the pricer sorts by size and condition, not by the tag inside. Along with names like Carhartt, vintage Levi's, and Patagonia, Reverse Weave is a core BOLO term for anyone flipping vintage clothing on Depop, eBay, or Poshmark.
- Estate Sale
- An estate sale is a sale of the contents of a home, usually run by family or a hired company after a death, downsizing, or move. Estate sales are a prime sourcing ground because the people pricing the goods often know little about what they are selling - they price by 'does it look expensive,' not by market value. That ignorance discount is where resellers find underpriced tools, watches, cameras, Pyrex, and collectibles. Arriving early for the best items or late for discount deals are the two classic estate sale strategies.
- As-Is
- As-is means an item is sold in its current condition with no guarantee that it works or is complete. Buying as-is is how resellers acquire non-running or untested items cheaply - a non-running Stihl chainsaw or an untested camera bought as-is can become a profitable flip after a simple repair or a working confirmation. Selling as-is protects you as a seller by setting clear expectations, but you must describe flaws honestly. The gap between as-is buy prices and working sell prices is the entire repair-arbitrage opportunity.
- Sourcing
- Sourcing is the process of finding and acquiring inventory to resell - the buying half of the business. Sourcing channels include Facebook Marketplace itself, garage and estate sales, thrift stores, auctions, pawn shops, and retail clearance. Good sourcing is a repeatable routine, not luck: you know your categories, your BOLO brands, and your buy ceilings before you go out, and you check comps before you commit. Most of a reseller's profit is decided at the moment of sourcing, because you make your money when you buy, not when you sell.
- Flip
- A flip is a single buy-and-resell transaction: you acquire an item below market and sell it at market for a profit. 'Flipping' is the practice of doing this repeatedly as a side hustle or full-time business. A good flip clears a worthwhile margin after fees, shipping, and your time. The word captures the whole model of the Resellers Club - don't scroll, flip - where the skill is spotting the gap between what a local seller asks and what a national buyer will pay.
- Ship or Local
- Ship or local is the decision every listing comes down to: sell the item to a nationwide mail-in buyer or only to buyers who can pick it up in your area. Compact, high-demand, brand-name items - tools, boots, cameras, records, cards - almost always earn more shipped because they reach a national buyer pool. Heavy, bulky, or fragile items - gym equipment, large furniture, outdoor power equipment - are local because shipping is impractical or too expensive. Matching each item to the right channel is a core reselling skill the category packs spell out item by item.
- Marketplace Fees
- Marketplace fees are the cuts each platform takes from a sale. Local Facebook Marketplace sales carry no selling fee, which is a real edge for heavy local items. eBay charges roughly 13 percent of the total sale, Reverb around 8 percent for instruments, and Poshmark a flat commission. Fees matter because they come straight out of your margin - a $100 sale on eBay nets closer to $87 before shipping. Factoring the right platform's fee into your buy ceiling is how you avoid a flip that looks profitable but is not.
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Related: curriculum, guides, and the blog.