Most people look at used clothes and see clutter, or maybe a donation bag waiting by the door. David Pelayo looks at the same pile and sees reselling clothes on eBay as a high-volume business, the kind that can go from a $0 start to real warehouse scale fast. And yeah, the numbers he shares are wild, about $120,000 a month in revenue after switching into clothing just last year.
What grabbed me is how plain the model is. Source cheap, keep it organized, list a ton, ship fast, repeat. No fancy brand. No secret tech. Just a system that doesn't fall apart when the volume hits.
David Pelayo's beginnings, and why his first flip mattered
David's story starts with a backdrop a lot of people recognize but don't always say out loud. "We came from absolutely nothing." His parents immigrated from Mexico, and he describes his dad renting a shed for his mom and him when he was a baby. That image sticks, because it explains the rest. When you grow up watching someone build from scratch, your brain treats "start small" as normal, not scary.
His first real proof-of-concept was simple. He went to a flea market, bought an item for $1, and sold it on eBay for $35. That's not just profit, it's clarity. Once you see the spread between what people toss and what other people will pay, you can't unsee it.
He also talks about an early hustle in middle school that sounds like a mini MBA, but with cleats. His dad gave him Under Armour long-sleeves and football cleats and told him, if you can sell these, you keep the profit. So he sold to the football team and the basketball team, making a few bucks per item. He was 13. Most kids were trying to make the team, he was selling to the team.
Later, when he started from basically $0, he listed his own sneaker collection and turned a few pairs into about $3,500. From there, he pushed it harder, eventually hitting $18,000 a month sourcing from thrift stores and flea markets by himself, before he ever got into truckloads and forklifts.
If you want the "why" behind his pace, it's right here. He grew up around business, and he learned early that small wins stack.
A few lessons that came through loud and clear:
- Hard work stays relevant: even when the business gets easier, complacency makes it slow down.
- Selling is learned by doing: he didn't start as a "clothing person," he learned by listing and checking comps.
- Small starts are not small outcomes: one $1 flip can turn into a system, if you keep going.
Sourcing inventory: from flea markets to truckloads of clothing
Starting small at flea markets and thrift stores (and why "common" items win)
The sourcing part looks almost too basic, which is exactly why it works. He's walking through a flea market and buying jackets for five bucks each. Nothing fancy about the environment, it's noisy and fast, and he's scanning for brand, condition, and sizes that move.
He calls out jackets like vintage Columbia, vintage Eddie Bauer, and Rockawear, plus a key detail newer sellers miss: big sizes sell well on eBay. It makes sense, because people who struggle to find sizes in-store often search online first, and used items become a practical option.
The part I liked is how he explains "hidden opportunity." It's not hidden because it's rare, it's hidden because most people ignore it. A lot of sellers walk right past mid-grade stuff because it doesn't feel exciting. David goes the other way. He treats boring, consistent inventory like a paycheck.
In one quick stretch, he pulls 15 items in about 10 minutes, spends $75, and projects about $450 back. That's not a guarantee, it's an operator thinking in spreads and averages.
If you're new and you need a quick mental checklist, this is basically what he's doing every time:
- Brand names: not only luxury, also solid mainstream brands that search well.
- Condition: show flaws, but avoid items that are cooked (tears, stains that won't lift).
- Size and style demand: bigger sizes, practical outerwear, everyday staples.
Also, and this is important, he's washing what he sells. He's not trying to flip dirty items as "found condition." That keeps returns and angry messages down, and it makes reviews easier.
For a broader, beginner-friendly walkthrough of listing and scaling, this step-by-step guide to selling on eBay is a solid companion read.
Scaling to bulk buys: donation centers, recycling, and why sorting becomes the real job
At a certain point, thrift stores and flea markets cap your growth. David says he got to about $18,000 a month doing only thrift and flea market sourcing solo, but it took a ton of effort. The next step up is bulk supply, and that's where the business starts to look like logistics.
He buys from donation pickup centers and recycling centers that handle clothing in massive quantities, raw and untouched. He'll call his contacts, they fill a truck, and it gets delivered to his operation.
He shares pricing in the range of about 30 to 65 cents per pound depending on the supplier, and he mentions a full truckload example: 44,000 pounds in a 53-footer. The cost he cites for that first full order is big, and the point is bigger, bulk supply is capital intensive and messy, but it's the only way to hit huge volume.
Not everything in those loads is good. There's excess like baby clothing, and plenty of low-value stuff. So the margin isn't magic, it comes from sorting, cleaning, and separating the sellable items from the leftovers. He also says he avoids dumping waste. Stuff that can't be sold becomes rags through rag houses or gets recycled properly.
One more thing, his pivot story matters here. He used to sell electronics, did serious revenue (the video description mentions his electronics business hit $500,000 in revenue until a supplier shut down), then lost his wholesale supply and his eBay store dropped hard. He was close to quitting. Instead, he tried clothing and a year later he's doing $120,000 a month.
The lesson he pulls from that pain is blunt: don't rely on one supplier. Not one thrift store. Not one flea market. Not one contact. Build multiple paths to inventory.
If you want a general explainer on sourcing larger quantities, this bulk clothing resale sourcing guide lays out common options and trade-offs.
The "start with $0" version: closet first, relatives next
This part is almost funny because it's so practical. When asked how someone starts with almost zero dollars, David's answer is, you don't need a racking system, you don't need a photo station, and you don't need a label printer on day one.
Start with your closet. He says most people probably have $3,000 to $5,000 worth of clothes sitting there. Even if you don't want to sell your favorite stuff, you can ask relatives for clothing they planned to donate and offer to take it off their hands.
He even gives a clean example with a jacket. If you bought it retail for $100, you might sell it for $50 five years later. That's not "get rich quick." That's "recover value from things you already paid for."
If you're stuck, the first inventory is usually already in your house, it's just not listed yet.
Prepping and listing: how mid-grade items turn into steady sales
Washing, photos, and titles that prevent buyer messages
Once the haul comes in, the job becomes prep. David's setup includes washing on-site, and he tries to make sure items are clean before they get listed. It sounds basic, but it's one of those moves that quietly protects your time later.
Then the photos. He's not preaching studio perfection. He says most people don't have a photo station, so use the floor at home if you need to. A cheap ring light (he mentions $20) can help, but it's not required.
His photo rhythm is simple: about 12 pictures per item, front, sides, arms, size tag, and clear shots of any flaws. That "flaws" part is the difference between smooth sales and endless DMs. When buyers can see everything, they ask fewer questions.
He also leans hard on titles, because eBay search depends on words. If the item is a "parka military jacket" and you don't put those keywords in the title, it won't show up for people searching those terms, and it will sit longer.
So the basic listing stack looks like this:
- clear, honest photos (including flaws)
- simple descriptions that match reality
- keyword-rich titles that match how buyers search
That's also how he avoids wasting time on messages. He answers questions before they get asked.
The 80/20 store: mid-grade volume, high-end as bonus
David's store strategy is a clean 80/20 rule. About 80 percent of his store is medium-grade items, the everyday value stuff that sells consistently, often in the $20 to $30 range. Meanwhile, a smaller slice is higher-end, $80 to $100, and sometimes $500 to $600 items like Louis Vuitton. He even mentions finding a vintage AC/DC 1992 tour t-shirt that he values at $1,500.
He's clear about something that new sellers miss. If you only chase $200 and $500 flips, it's hard to build a predictable pipeline. You can do it if you want a smaller operation, but it's treasure hunting. Mid-grade is more like farming. You can source it again and again.
He also keeps inventory organized with a simple numbering system, 001 to infinity, no repeats. That lets him store and retrieve items fast, which matters when you ship thousands of orders. He mentions consolidating inventory and seeing an entire rack empty after a strong sales month.
One more key choice: he sells everything as Buy It Now, not auctions. He also accepts offers because the game is moving product, and because his buy cost is low, he has room to deal. His line in the sand is usually more than 40 percent off, and he says 50 percent off is pushing it.
Shipping and daily operations: why clothing scales better than electronics
A shipping process that stays simple at high volume
David ships around 9,000 items per month across the business right now, and the shipping workflow is built for speed. When an order comes in, the item gets pulled from inventory, weighed for accurate shipping, and he rounds up to avoid undercharging.
His argument for clothing is straightforward. He used to ship electronics, and shipping electronics means boxes, bubble wrap, tape, heavy items, and more breakage risk. Clothing, on the other hand, can go into poly mailers, and he calls out the cost like it's pocket change (he mentions seven cents for the mailer). That difference sounds small until you do it 40 times a day, every day.
He also gives a realistic scaling marker. Solo, he could ship and handle about 1,000 items a month, sourcing, listing, prepping, everything. Past that, you need help. Not because you're lazy, but because the work starts to bottleneck.
Hiring a small team, staying organized, and knowing your numbers
David's team is five people. He mentions family members helping sort and separate truckloads, plus photographers who take pictures and help push listings. They're doing around 200 items per day through the full pipeline, washed, prepped, photographed, listed. He wants to do more, but he's honest that even 200 is a lot.
Organization is the skill he keeps repeating. If you lose track of inventory, packages go out late. If packages go out late, reviews drop. If reviews drop, conversion drops. It's all connected.
His beginner-friendly tip for processing is also simple: break it into categories (jackets, tops, shorts, jeans) so it feels less overwhelming. Big piles are stressful. Smaller labeled piles feel like progress.
On costs, he shares real numbers. He pays about $17,000 per month in payroll, and total monthly expenses run around $50,000 to $60,000 when you include inventory, payroll, and equipment (he mentions buying a forklift and planning a box truck). With $120,000 in revenue, he says profit margin sits around 50 to 60 percent.
To make the scaling phases easier to see, here's the model in a quick table.
| Stage | Typical sourcing | What you're optimizing for | What breaks first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Closet, friends, relatives | Learning listings and shipping | Consistency |
| 2 | Thrift stores, flea markets | Better buying instincts | Time and travel |
| 3 | Goodwill outlet bins, bulk lots | Volume at low cost per item | Sorting and space |
| 4 | Truckloads from recyclers | Warehouse-level throughput | Systems, staff, cash flow |
The takeaway is pretty clean: as the cost per item drops, the workload shifts from "finding" to "processing."
If you're curious what the Goodwill bins environment is really like before you show up, this Goodwill Outlet bins guide gives a realistic picture of the chaos and how people price by the pound.
Advanced moves: wholesale pallets, promoted listings, and a mindset that doesn't freeze
Diversify supply and revenue, and don't fear eBay fees
David doesn't treat eBay fees like a tax, he treats them like customer acquisition. He says he paid around $6,000 last month in eBay fees (about 12.5 percent), and he thinks it's worth it because eBay brings massive traffic. In his view, you take pictures, post listings, and you get access to buyers because eBay spends billions on marketing.
He also pays for promoted listings inside eBay. This is a big one. He says about 90 percent of his sales came from promoted listings last month, and he runs promotions year-round.
Then there's the wholesale side. Because he can buy truckloads, he can't list everything fast enough. So he sells pallets to other resellers, basically solving their sourcing problem. They get inventory without spending weeks thrifting, and he turns excess into cash flow.
If you want to see his wholesale side and how he positions lots for resellers, his site is here: ACTIVEAPPARELZONE bulk clothing lots.
Fast answers to common questions (and the red flags he watches for)
Some of his quick answers are worth stealing as defaults.
- He avoids baby and kids clothing because it sells slower.
- He lists everything as Buy It Now, no auctions.
- He accepts offers because moving product matters, but he usually won't go past 40 percent off unless pricing was off.
- He thinks negatives reviews aren't a death sentence for sales, although positives help buyers trust you.
- He says he doesn't work weekends, which surprised me, but it's also a sign he's building systems.
- He calls himself impulsive, and he has to hold himself back from growing too fast or buying too aggressively.
His biggest "not right for this" signal is simple too. If someone can't wake up and push themselves without being forced, they won't last. This business has no manager standing behind you. The work either happens or it doesn't.
Relationships beat "secrets," and action beats watching videos
One of the most real moments is when he talks about relationships at the flea market. A vendor recognizes him, and even offers extra bags of Levi's because they've done business before. That's not luck. That's repeated reps plus being easy to work with.
He also says you can't rely on one supplier. He learned it the hard way when his electronics supplier shut down. Now he builds multiple sourcing paths, and he shares what he can publicly, minus direct phone numbers.
His goal is big too, $6 million next year across the whole operation selling clothing online, between eBay and the wholesale side. Whether he hits it or not, the direction is clear, scale the systems, not just the hustle.
If you want more of his day-to-day content, here's his channel: Active Apparel Zone YouTube channel.
Practical training resources if you want to start small
If you like the "start with what you have" approach but you also want structured training for other business models, these free quick-start trainings are a good grab bag:
- cleaning business quick-start training
- vending business quick-start training
- painting business quick-start training
- moving and junk removal quick-start training
- mid-term rental quick-start training
- home building and selling training
- land flipping training
There's also a more complete program here: business training academy program.
And when you get to the point of making it official, the sponsor mentioned in the episode is Bizee LLC setup and compliance service.
What I learned after trying the "mid-grade volume" mindset myself
I've messed around with selling online for years, and I'll be honest, I used to chase the exciting flips. The "maybe this is worth $200" dopamine hit. It's fun, but it's also exhausting, because you're always guessing, and you're always hunting.
When I started thinking more like David does, mid-grade first, volume second, it changed how I looked at my own closet. I stopped asking, is this rare, and I started asking, would someone search for this today, and would they trust the photos. That shift sounds small, but it made listing feel less like gambling.
The other big thing is photos. I used to rush them. Now I can feel the difference when I take the extra minute and show the tag, the seams, and the one annoying scuff I wish wasn't there. The buyer doesn't message me as much, and I don't get that "uh oh" feeling after shipping.
Also, weirdly, the "organized inventory" part is the real level-up, even at tiny scale. When I keep a simple numbering note (even if it's just a sticky note and a shelf spot), I stop wasting time re-finding stuff. Time is the silent expense in this business, and it adds up faster than any mailer cost.
So yeah, I didn't suddenly become a warehouse. But I did get something better than hype. I got repeatable motion.
Conclusion: the quiet money is in the system
Reselling clothes on eBay looks simple because it is simple, but simple doesn't mean easy. David Pelayo's edge comes from volume, organization, and staying realistic about what sells day after day, not just what makes a good "crazy flip" story. If there's one takeaway that sticks, it's this: mid-grade inventory pays the bills, and everything else is extra. Try it with your closet, run the reps, and see what happens when you treat it like a system instead of a side quest.