How the Grand Exchange Margin Check Works

The foundation of OSRS gold flipping is understanding an item’s buy/sell margin. The most common method is a margin check:

Buy 1 unit of an item for a slightly above-mid price.

Immediately sell that 1 unit for a slightly below-mid price.

Check the difference between the buy price and the sell price.

This difference is your profit per item.

Example

You buy 1 Dragon Longsword for 62,500 GP

You sell it instantly for 60,800 GP

Your margin is 1,700 GP per item

If the item’s buy limit is 70 per 4 hours, then:

1,700 × 70 = 119,000 GP profit every limit

Flipping simply scales upward as you apply this method to multiple items simultaneously.

Best Types of Items to Flip

Not all items are equally profitable. Some categories consistently produce strong margins because they have high demand, stable supply, and predictable market behavior.

High-Volume Items

These items buy and sell quickly, making them ideal for beginners.

Potions (Super restore, Prayer, Stamina, Anti-fire)

Runes (Blood, Death, Soul)

Logs and planks

Herbs (Ranarr, Snapdragon, Torstol)

Raw resources (Ore, Bars, Leather, Scales)

Why they work:
High-volume items have consistent demand, so your GP turns over quickly.

Gear & Armor

These have mid-volume but high margins.

Barrows equipment

God Wars gear (Armadyl gear, Bandos gear)

Abyssal whips

Dragon crossbows

Crystal armor

Rings and amulets

Why they work:
Gear prices fluctuate throughout the day, creating easy opportunities for profit.

Rare & Expensive Items

These are high-risk, high-reward flips for experienced traders.

Twisted Bow

Elyisian Spirit Shield

Scythe of Vitur

Kodai Wand

Inquisitor gear

Third Age items

Why they work:
A single flip can earn 1M–20M+ GP if you enter at the right time.

How Much GP You Need to Start Flipping

You can flip with almost any amount of GP, but these are recommended milestones:

1M–10M GP: High-volume items

10M–50M GP: Potions, runes, mid-tier gear

50M–200M GP: Barrows, resources, mid-tier investments

200M+ GP: High-value gear, rare flips

1B+ GP: Endgame merchanting, overnight investments, rare items

The more capital you have, the faster your profits scale. However, even cheap RuneScape gold low-GP players can flip effectively.