Reselling can be a profitable and fulfilling side hustle. Many people have even managed to resell full-time, often making more money than some white-collar workers. Here are reselling basics that you need to know as a beginner if you want to get started on your own reselling business. We will go over common questions that you may have to get started.
What Is Reselling?
To start off reselling basics to know is what is reselling anyways? Reselling is simply buying items at a lower price and reselling them for a profit. You can resell any goods and products from clothing, shoes, sports equipment, electronics, or just about anything that is legal to buy and sell.
Many people buy products straight from a manufacturer and resell them to a customer. However, you can source your product from anywhere as long as it leaves enough margins for you to make money. You can even start with your own items.
Where Can I Resell?
Nowadays, you have many options when it comes to starting a reselling business. There are many e-commerce platforms with millions of active users. You can sell online on places like eBay, Amazon Poshmark, Depop, Mercari, Shopify, and so on.
Where should you start selling or which platform should you pick to sell will depend on what you’re trying to resell? Check this blog out for guidance on where to sell as a beginner, based on what you have to sell. While you can resell on your own website, it is not recommended as a beginner. This is because you want a marketplace where there is already an active customer base.
What Should I Start Reselling?
The easiest place to start with when it comes to reselling is by selling items you already have. You can go on eBay and search for the item that you’re planning to sell. Then see what similar items are being listed and sold for. You will know what products and brands are in demand. To do this,
- Go to your eBay app.
- Type in the description. It can be brand, style, or whatever it may be.
- Click on “Filter” on the top right corner.
- Click “Show More”
- Select “Sold Items”
You will also want to mind the season of the year and what you have that you’re planning to sell. For example, you may not want to start selling a Northface down jacket from your closet in the month of May. Instead, you may start with summer items that people would be searching for during the season.
If you’re familiar with certain brands, markets, and niches, you’re already ahead. If not, no worries. You can still learn with a bit of research. The best way to find out what is in demand is by searching what items have been sold. If you find yourself stuck doing this or have fallen into a rabbit hole of brands and items, don’t worry. You can start with items or brands that you actually like.
Because the idea is, if you like it, there are people out there who do too. If you love sneakers, you can focus on brands and styles that you love. If you love outdoor technical gear, you can follow brands that do them well on social media. Choose a category that you love to start off with. You can follow what styles or items are in demand so you can start sourcing.
Where To Buy Items To Resell?
Once you figure out a general idea of what you would like to resell, you can start looking for those items. You can look for sales and clearance at department stores. Or you can hit up your local thrift stores, garage sales, or estate sales. You can also source from the very reselling websites that you are planning to resell on.
If you know that a certain item is in demand and you find a good deal pop up on places like eBay, you can buy them to resell elsewhere. Customers generally stick to a platform when buying online. They may not necessarily check every e-commerce marketplace for the best deal.
If you are aware of your market and how much items should cost, you can resell for a profit. Having an idea of demand out there and finding where you can source these items are fundamental in reselling basics to know.
How Much Money Do I Need To Start Reselling?
How much money you need to start reselling depends on what you are planning to resell and at what pace you will want to be reselling. Starting with your own items tends to be the easiest way to start and learn the process without spending money upfront.
If you do not own many personal items to resell, you can start with a certain budget that you are comfortable with. Then you can start sourcing with that number in mind. It is recommended that you do not start with higher-valued items.
You will want to comfortably live without the money you spent on your inventory. This is so that you can be sure of what items sell and build confidence in being able to resell before investing a large sum of money.
Fees For Reselling
One of the most essential reselling basics to know is that there are fees to sell on most e-commerce platforms. These fees are deducted from the earnings once your items sell. They include the platform fee and some form of transaction fee to process the payment. Fees can range from 10% to 20% so you will need to consider them for pricing your items.
The only exception is when you sell locally on places like Facebook marketplace or OfferUp. If you offer to ship on Facebook marketplace though, there will be a fee once your item sells. Another point to note about fees is shipping costs. We will go over that in the next section.
Shipping Basics To Know For Resellers
Shipping is one of the most important reselling basics to know when it comes to products. Since you will have to send your items to your customer, you will need to know how to ship. Many e-commerce platforms like eBay and Poshmark make shipping extremely easy. Poshmark automatically sends you a shipping label once your item sells. eBay has an option to print your shipping label with them right away.
However, there are shipping tools that you will need in order to get the best shipping rates. You will need to know the weight and dimensions of your packages. A shipping scale and measuring tape do not cost a lot and will save you money in the long run. Check out this blog for shipping basics that you need to know.
Is Reselling Worth It?
Reselling can take quite a bit of time. From sourcing the item, listing, packing, and shipping, you may wonder if all the work is worth the money. This depends largely on the business model that you are using. While you can buy shirts for $1 and resell them for $10, it would take a larger amount of sales to equate to buying a blender for $10 and reselling it for $100. You need to also consider fees associated with selling online and the shipping cost.
Time will always be non-negotiable. You can maximize your workflow so that you are not spending an equal amount of time to profit $5 as you would $15. One way is by bundling lower valued items to one so that you don’t have to spend the time listing them individually.
You need to determine how much time that you are willing to dedicate to reselling. Customers may ask additional questions so you will need to be patient and provide support. You are the business owner of your reselling business, no matter how small you start with.
Tips For Reselling As A Beginner
With time, you will learn what items are profitable and what is not worth your time. With anything that is worth money, reselling is not for everyone. There are people that make six figures a year reselling. You can find them on YouTube and follow their business models.
Reselling can be quite profitable and definitely worth it when you figure out your market and can source your items to profit from the demand. Here are the main numbers to keep in mind.
- What the item will sell for
- Cost of goods
- Platform fees
- Shipping fees