Op shops in Australia are unique beasts. You are dealing with unpredictable donations, volunteers of varying tech literacy, pricing challenges on items with no barcode, and a mission that is about more than just profit.

But you still need to run efficiently. Here are the tools that actually help.

The Op Shop Tech Stack

Intake and Sorting

When donations come in, you need to quickly decide: keep, price, or discard. The biggest bottleneck at this stage is deciding what things are worth.

Barcode scanner + price lookup. For items with barcodes (books, electronics, branded goods), a simple USB scanner paired with a price lookup tool saves hours of manual research. Scan the barcode, see what it sells for on eBay, set your price.

Photo-first intake. For items without barcodes (clothing, homewares), photograph everything at intake. You can price and list later, but having the photos captured immediately means items do not sit in the back room unprocessed.

Pricing

Pricing is the hardest part of running an op shop. Price too high and items sit. Price too low and you leave money on the table that could fund your cause.

Sold price data. The only reliable way to price secondhand goods is to check what they have actually sold for — not what other people are asking. Tools that pull eBay sold data give you real market prices.

Markdown automation. Items that have been on the shelf for 30, 60, or 90 days need automatic markdowns. Manual tracking does not work when you have hundreds of items.

Listing and Selling

Most op shops sell in-store only. The ones that are thriving also sell online — particularly on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

Multi-platform listing. Instead of creating separate listings for each platform, use a tool that pushes one listing to multiple places. This is especially valuable for high-value donated items that deserve wider exposure than foot traffic alone.

Inventory sync. If an item sells in-store, it needs to come down from eBay immediately. And vice versa. Without real-time sync, you will oversell.

Reporting and Compliance

If your op shop is GST-registered or has paid staff, you need proper reporting.

BAS/GST reports. Quarterly BAS submissions require accurate GST tracking on sales and purchases. Spreadsheets work until they do not.

Volunteer hour tracking. Some grants and reporting requirements need volunteer hours logged. A simple digital system beats paper timesheets.

Sales reporting. You need to know which categories perform best, what your average sale price is, and how your revenue trends over time.

Free vs Paid Tools

Most op shops operate on tight budgets. Here is the honest breakdown:

Free options:

  • Spreadsheets for inventory (works up to ~100 items, then becomes unmanageable)
  • eBay manual listing (slow but free to list)
  • Facebook Marketplace (free, local reach)
  • Basic point-of-sale apps (Square has a free tier)

Worth paying for:

  • Price lookup tools (the time saved on research alone justifies the cost)
  • Multi-platform listing software (if you sell more than 20 items online per week)
  • Proper inventory management (when spreadsheets become a liability)
  • BAS reporting (accountant time is more expensive than software)

What TurnGoods Offers Op Shops

TurnGoods has a free tier that covers the basics — inventory tracking, eBay listing, and price lookup. For op shops that want to scale their online sales, the Pro tier adds multi-platform listing, pricing intelligence, and automated markdown schedules.

The key advantage for op shops specifically: TurnGoods is designed for Australian resale, which means GST tracking, BAS reports, and marketplace integrations that work in Australia — not just the US.

Running an op shop and want to sell more online? Try TurnGoods free — built for Australian secondhand stores.