Most people who love a good outlet rack end up with a closet full of “deals.” One lawyer ended up with a second salary.
His name is Yinka Ogunsunlade, and his story is a great lesson in eBay sold prices: the one number that tells you what something is really worth, before you buy it. You don’t have to sell a thing to use his method. It works just as well when you’re the one shopping.
A perfume set nobody wanted
According to Business Insider, Ogunsunlade is a full-time attorney who works in risk and compliance. His first eBay sale happened in 2005, while he was home from law school for the holidays. His mom had been given a perfume set she didn’t want. He listed it, it sold, and something clicked.
He started with things from his own closet. Then he started shopping for things to resell. In law school, his two go-to stores were Neiman Marcus Last Call and Saks OFF 5th, the off-price outlets of two luxury department stores. The ABA Journal reports that back then it earned him enough to cover his cell phone bill.
Twenty years later, his business has a name, Fashionably Legal, and it brought in about $120,000 in sales between September 2024 and September 2025. His best-selling categories are athletic shoes and apparel. He calls the extra income a “double salary.”
The habit that made it work
Here’s the part we love. In the early days, he didn’t buy on a hunch. He’d go to the outlet, write down what was on the tags, then go home and look up what those same items had actually sold for on eBay. Only then would he go back and buy the ones with the best room between the outlet price and the real selling price.
Today he does that same check on the spot, in the eBay app, standing in the aisle. eBay’s own write-up of his story calls it “smart, data-driven sourcing.” We’d call it doing your homework before you open your wallet.
That homework is the whole trick, and it’s free.
Why “compare at” prices lie (a little)
Outlet tags love a big crossed-out number. “Compare at $180, now $59!” It feels like you just saved $121. But that top number is what the item was supposed to sell for, once, somewhere. It isn’t what anyone is paying for it now.
Sold listings are different. They’re what real people actually paid, recently, for the same item. That’s why resellers trust them and why we build our own prices around them (we explained that in how resale pricing works).
When you shop with sold prices in mind, a few things change fast:
- A “70% off” jacket that sells used for $20 all day stops looking like a steal at $45.
- A plain-looking pair of sneakers that holds its value suddenly looks like a smart buy.
- You stop buying things just because the discount was big.
How to check eBay sold prices in 30 seconds
You can do this on your phone in the checkout line.
1. Search the exact item
Type the brand, the model name and the size if it matters. For shoes, the style code on the tongue label or box gets you the closest match.
2. Filter to sold items
In the eBay app, open the filters and turn on “Sold items.” Now you’re looking at what things actually sold for, not what sellers are hoping to get.
3. Match the condition
New with tags, new without tags and gently used sell for very different prices. Compare like with like. Our 7-point condition check helps you judge where an item really lands.
4. Look at the middle, not the top
Ignore the one crazy high sale. Look at the cluster of prices most items sold for. That’s the real value.
5. Then look at the tag again
If the price in front of you is well under that middle number, it’s a good deal. If it’s close to it or over, you’re paying full price with extra steps.
Why his categories make sense
Athletic shoes and apparel are his best sellers, and that tracks with what we see every week. Popular sneakers and activewear from big names have a lot of buyers and a lot of sales history, so their value is easy to check and tends to hold. That’s also why they show up on our list of brands worth buying secondhand.
One more thing worth knowing: the outlet he started with mostly doesn’t exist anymore. Neiman Marcus announced in 2020 that it was closing almost all of its 22 Last Call stores. The stores change. The method doesn’t. The same sold-price check works at Nordstrom Rack, at Goodwill, in a live auction, or in our shop.
What this means for shoppers
We aren’t telling you to quit your job and flip sneakers. Most people won’t build a six-figure side business, and that’s fine. The takeaway is smaller and more useful: the pros don’t trust the price tag, and you don’t have to either.
It’s the same lesson behind the $3 Goodwill jacket that sold for $89,600. The finder knew what to check. Knowing what something really sells for is what turns shopping into buying well.
Ogunsunlade put the bigger payoff this way in Business Insider: “It just changes your mental makeup — knowing that you don’t have to rely specifically on a 9-to-5 job that could end tomorrow.” For the rest of us, the payoff is simpler. You stop overpaying.
Steal this: Before you buy anything “on sale,” search it on eBay, filter to sold items, and let what people actually paid decide whether it’s a deal.
Want to try it on us? Look up anything in this week’s shop picks against eBay sold prices. Start with the Air Jordan 3 Retro in men’s 11, the new-with-tags Nike Air Force 1 ’07 LV8 in 13, or a pair of ASICS Gel-Cumulus 24 runners for $49.99. And catch our live Whatnot shows, where you can check sold prices on your phone before you bid.