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Top 5 toys to sell on Amazon for profit

Some collectible Lego sets can sell for hundreds of dollars on Amazon.

If you live near a Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Tuesday Morning, Walgreens, or other retail store that sells toys, you may be able to find discontinued toys that will sell well on Amazon. Actually, toys don't have to be discontinued to be profitable on Amazon, they just have to be desired by consumers.

For example, a few years ago, when Monster High Dolls were new on the market, several versions were hard to find. Some of the doll furniture and accessories were equally hard to find and sold for a premium on Amazon. These items made it to the Amazon marketplace because regular people like you went into retail stores, found scarce items, and listed them for sale for several times the retail price. Why? Because they can. This is called retail arbitrage.

There are almost 1 million listings for toys on Amazon, but certain types of toys will always be good sellers. Learning to sell on Amazon is a skill, so do your homework before arbitrarily buying items for resale. Brand, price, and competition are all important factors when deciding whether to purchase an item for resale on Amazon.

1. Barbies. Not just the very old collectible Barbie dolls, but some of the exclusives like the Bob Mackie line, Holiday Barbies, Anniversary Barbies, and Limited Edition Barbies.

2. Legos, also collectible and limited edition sets. The big money makers here are Star Wars, Black Knight's Castle, Pirates Enchanted Island, and Lego Technic series. Amazon sellers report finding some of the most valuable and rare sets at estate sales as part of someone's large collection. Some collectible Lego sets sell for over $500.

3. Puzzles. Not exactly high-tech, but Amazon shows over 45,000 listings for jigsaw puzzles. Puzzles can be sold in used (collectible) condition on Amazon. Just verify that all the pieces are present and the box needs to be in good shape. Best selling brands include Ravensburger, Charles Wysocki, Disney, White Mountain, and any brand of mosaic puzzles. Some jigsaw puzzles can sell for hundreds of dollars.

4. Refills for products like Nerf Guns, Lite Brite pegs, baking toys, craft supplies, and sporting goods are great "bread and butter" items. Parents buy the main toy once, but refills are needed every time the child plays with certain toys. Sometimes refill packs for toys can be bought at regular retail and sold for a premium depending on color, scent, etc.

5. Clothing and accessories for Barbies, dolls, and action figures. Barbie will never have enough clothing and GI Joe will never have enough weapons or disguises. These types of items can often be found at thrift stores or garage sales, new in the package.

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