How to Start Reselling Business
If you’re looking for a new way to make money on the side, reselling could be a great option!
What is Reselling Business?
Reselling business is quite simple. You buy products, add markups and sell to others. In the markup, you need to include business expenses like the cost of products and shipping supply fees. Or, sell your unwanted stuff at home! Second-Hand Nation is a huge community.
These are some examples of reselling business:
#1 Recycling – Sell your unwanted stuff online. This is the easiest way to start selling online! I have been selling on eBay and Poshmark for over 5 years and have made a total of $8000 as of 2020.
- Pros: Inexpensive to get started
- Cons: Not much
#2 Thrifting – Buy low and sell high. For example, buy products at deep discounts and sell at the original price or a little lower price than the original.
- Pros: Higher profit per sale
- Cons: Time-consuming, risk of having inventory, cost of products
#3 Dropshipping – Sell the product without having an inventory. For example, there is a $10 backpack on Amazon. You list that backpack on eBay and set a price at $15. When it is sold, you buy that backpack on Amazon and ship it directly to your eBay customer. You made $5 by drop-shipping!
However, the backpack could be sold out on Amazon. In that case, you need to cancel the order and the customer may leave a negative comment on your eBay account.
- Pros: No inventory, no packing, no shipping
- Cons: Lower profit per sale, less control
Related Post: How I made 14K+ Net Income from Dropshipping
So, how to start these reselling? The most common way is using the online marketplace.
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What Is an Online Marketplace?
An online marketplace is a website or app that allows you to buy or sell online. Here are leading online marketplaces in North America!
- Amazon – The largest internet retailer, but so many fees and restrictions. Not for beginners, but 76 percent of shoppers said they will do most of their holiday shopping on Amazon.
- eBay – The top auction site where individuals can list goods for customers to bid on. You can sell almost anything on eBay.
- Poshmark – Poshmark is a great place to shop and sell for women, men, and kids’ clothes, shoes, and bags. In 2020, they added the “Home” category and now you can sell accents, bath, bedding, dining, holiday, kitchen, office, party supplies, wall art, and more!
- thredUP – This site buys from you and sells for you. thredUP will send you a plastic bag, so you fill it out and drop off at the mailing center. After that just wait until it sold. You don’t have to shoot the photo and list the item, but you can’t price your item.
- Mercari – It is a mix of eBay and Poshmark. You can sell and buy almost anything like eBay, and easy listing and ship like Poshmark.
- Tradesy – It’s like Poshmark but focused on high-end designer brands.
These online marketplaces are NOT exactly free to use, you need to pay transaction fees. What does it mean?
The sale is not equal to profit.
If you don’t want to use these platforms, you can also start your own online store.
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How to Stay Profitable in the Reseller Business?
One of the strategies to stay profitable in the reseller business is to buy low and sell high.
Profit = Sales Price – Transaction Fee – Shipping Cost – Product Cost
You need to include all these fees plus markup in the sale price in order to make a high profit. The transaction fee and shipping cost are fixed costs. You can’t change the fixed costs, but you can change the product costs. To maximize your actual profit, buy the product as much as cheaper.
Here are some places to find deep discounts :
- Thrift store
- Trade Shows like ASD
- Goodwill
- Outlet mall
- Garage sale
- Free market
- Walmart
- Ross Dress for Less
- DD’s Discounts
- Tuesday Morning
- Dillard’s Clearance Center
- Dollar Tree
- Big Lots
- Five Below
- Macy’s Backstage
- Marshalls
- TJ Maxx
- HomeGoods
- Mr.Rebates – Cashback website. This is not a discount store, but it gives a percentage of qualifying purchases back when you use it.
Wrapping Up
Reselling business is a competitive marketplace because it’s easy to start for anyone. But, some people don’t understand “Profit = Sales Price – Transaction Fee – Shipping Cost – Product Cost.” Make sure you are making more money than you are spending!
Do you have any reselling tips? Do you have a favorite discount store?
If you want to start your own online shop, check
