Out of the many options that you can choose on your path to entrepreneurial success, reselling is a standout for a number of reasons. Here we explain what reselling is and how you can get started.
After reading this guide, you’ll have a good grasp of what profitable resellers actually do to create thriving online businesses, and you'll learn where to go to get the best guidance so that you can do the same.
Why Resell Online?
If you’re looking for a flexible way to make money online from home with a high degree of autonomy as your own boss, reselling is a great option.
The barrier to entry for reselling is quite low in terms of both money and commitment, so you can start in this realm even if you don’t have a lot of time or money to invest. As a reseller, you can choose from many business models, including dropshipping. Plus, the plethora of highly functional and low-cost ecommerce platforms to choose from today to sell your inventory makes starting a reselling business even more approachable than it has been in the past.
Although starting an online reselling business is easy in theory, it takes some knowledge to actually establish a business that has the potential for consistent, long-term profitability.
So, let’s dive right into what you need to do if you want to make good money as a reseller online.
How to Resell Online Profitably:
The reality of reselling is that although it may be easy to list and move inventory, doing so with consistent profits can be quite difficult if you jump into the game blind.
Here are some tips for reselling success based on frameworks that top-level resellers use to create and sustain thriving businesses:
Establish a niche expertise
Some newer resellers enter the game and make the mistake of spreading themselves too thin by trying to sell anything and everything. While it is certainly possible to make money reselling random items, establishing a long-term and predictable business comes with a niche expertise. Having expertise will allow you to understand the specific market and act on opportunities more effectively than someone who is on the outside. Additionally, you’ll gain a level of authority and a reputation that will allow you to attract loyal customers, which is the lifeblood of any business.
Potential niches include electronics, vintage clothing, sneakers, watches, trading cards, and other collectibles. Make sure to pick something that naturally aligns with your current interests if possible, and even if you don’t know a lot about it, you can always learn and educate yourself.
Profitably source inventory
Consistently sourcing inventory at prices that allow for profitable reselling is a key trait that any top-level reselling business has. Resellers that make the most money have mastered the art of finding undervalued items through a number of channels so that they can keep fueling their cash flow.
Different channels that you can target for profitably sourcing inventory include wholesale suppliers, thrift stores, liquidation sales, and specific online marketplaces.
Being aware of and utilizing techniques such as retail arbitrage and sourcing from wholesalers will allow you to expand your horizons and widen the funnel that you use to stock inventory to keep your business healthy.
Pick a good sales channel
Today, resellers have a vast assortment of ecommerce platforms that they can choose from and use as sales channels to list inventory and reach customers worldwide. Each of these platforms comes with its own target audience, fee structure, and each has its own pros and cons.
Some platforms such as Amazon and EBay already have a high volume, active marketplaces. However, depending on your niche, you might want to use a platform with a marketplace that is more niche-specific, for example, GOAT for selling sneakers.
As you gain in brand reputation and audience size, you can consider launching your own online store that you build using a SaaS ecommerce platform.
Perfect your Listings
Reselling is by nature a highly competitive field. This is especially true if you start by selling on a platform that has competing sellers in the same niche as you, or who have the exact same item stocked as you do.
In order to stand out, you’ll want to have a high-quality listing that gives the buyer a sense of trust that you’re the right person to buy a product from.
Making a high-quality listing comes down to a few simple yet critical factors, which include having appealing photos from multiple angles and a thorough and accurate description of both the item and the expected shipping and handling time. You’ll also want to pay attention to any best practices that might be relevant to your selling platform, which can include keywords, listing descriptions, a good seller rating, or more.
Focus on customer service and feedback
Having a loyal audience of repeat customers is the secret sauce of any business that has scaled to an impressive level, and this is especially true in reselling where the buyers often have many options for buying the same item.
Adhering to good customer service staples such as timely and helpful communication, fast shipping, and responsive issue resolution will make for a great customer experience. However, in addition, if you want to have a significant amount of good reviews, you will have to actively solicit feedback from satisfied customers as some people will forget to or simply won’t leave a review unless asked.
Continue to optimize and scale
Reselling is a dynamic and fast-evolving landscape, so the best resellers are always optimizing their current operations so that they can remain relevant as the markets inevitably change.
Using the latest data and analytics tools, analyzing your competitors, and testing different sourcing strategies or sales channels are all ways to make your business better so you can continue to grow to levels of full-time income and beyond.
Other ways to scale include expanding into different product categories, buying at wholesale for steeper bulk discounts, and improving the speed at which the inventory is moving by reaching audiences more effectively through multiple outlets including social media platforms and advertisements.
5 Examples of Items to Resell Online
Now that you know some of the best practices that resellers use to create thriving businesses online, let’s go over some of the items that they choose to become experts in order to do so:
1- Vintage clothes
While many reselling niches are subject to saturation and competition with sellers vying for an audience with the exact same item, this is almost never the case with vintage clothing.
Many buyers in this niche are looking for unique pieces, so having an item that other stores don’t have is often an advantage. However, you need to consider the taste of your buyer, as customers can be quite specific with what they want.
Describing your item's condition accurately with tons of pictures including potential wear and tear will allow you to avoid any potential dissatisfaction and returns which can be higher in this niche.
2- Phones
Virtually everyone has a mobile phone, and there are even people who are picking up second phones for personal, work or travel reasons. Additionally, a growing group of people are choosing to buy phones second-hand so that they can save money or avoid getting locked into a specific carrier or mobile plan.
For all of these reasons, phones are highly active with a strong demand on the secondary market. While you can sell brand new phones, you probably won’t have much profit margin unless you’re selling a brand new iPhone. Second hand phones, specifically iPhones or some Android models will be your best bet.
3- Watches
While the market for luxury watches has various levels of gatekeeping, including high prices, confusing terminology, and low key marketplaces, the broader watch market which includes more affordable brands is a fast-growing category, especially amongst younger buyers.
Brands like G-Shock, Seiko, and Citizen are great choices as brands to target as a reseller. You can find these at thrift stores, garage sales, or eBay, and by figuring out the market rate and buying below it, you can profitably flip them with retail arbitrage.
4- Sneakers
Although the demand, pricing and the exact models of hype sneakers will inevitably ebb and flow, sneakerheads will always be present to fuel a steady demand for the overall market. There are two main general strategies for making money as a sneaker reseller: targeting brand new, hot releases and flipping them as soon as possible, and trading past released models that are currently trending.
Getting brand-new sneakers and flipping them for profit takes research, education, and a bit of luck to have success. Thus, most beginners should stick to reselling used shoes once they have an understanding of which models are best to target.
Joining a group to help in the ever-evolving sneaker reselling game is also a great way to save time and energy while researching so you can get started flipping shoes the right way.
5- Tickets
One of the largest markets with incredible profit margins for everyone involved, including resellers, is the ticketing industry. The biggest submarkets within the ticketing realm are big-name concerts, festivals, and sporting events.
Another benefit of ticket reselling is the fact that you don’t need to hold or ship physical inventory, making it easy to buy and fulfill items completely online.
However, recent events surrounding the lack of fair availability of tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour shed light on some controversial practices that platforms and ticket resellers have used in the past to profit, which caused some changes in how the game operates.
As with any niche industry, ticket reselling will continue to change, so it’s est to stay up to date with the latest news and current methods so that you can make the most of all opportunities.
For a full list of the best items to resell online, check out: 25 best products to resell online
Find Reselling Success with Whop Reselling Communities
We’ve just laid out all of the basics that will get you started if you want to make money reselling online, but if you are feeling particularly motivated and want to join a group of like-minded individuals who are led by industry experts, check out one of the many private reselling-specific Discord communities right here on Whop.
In addition to the power of being part of a team that’s driven to win, you’ll benefit from unique tools including monitors and software that will allow you to fully capitalize on the opportunity of reselling online.
Joining a reselling group will not only help you to get started on your journey, but also guide you to grow and scale your business to new heights!
Reselling FAQs
How much inventory should I have as a beginner reseller?
The first rule of thumb when it comes to stocking inventory as a beginner reseller is to establish and stick to a budget that you can afford. As with most investing, you need patience and reinvestment in order to yield the best returns, and both of these things won’t be possible if you’re investing money that is above budget. Additionally, regardless of your budget, it’s crucial to start with a manageable amount of inventory so that you can effectively fulfill orders and provide great customer service.
What’s the best platform for reselling?
Reselling is made up of many different niches and subcategories, so the best platform will vary depending on which niche you settle on. Both EBay and Amazon are broad platforms that have a market for pretty much any item, but sometimes it might be best to list items on a niche-specific platform such as Chrono24 for watches. Other factors that you will want to consider in addition to how active and targeted users on the platform are will include associated fees and the overall user ease for both buyers and sellers.
How much money can I expect to make reselling online?
The earning potential in reselling is highly variable and depends on numerous factors such as the niche you’re in, the quality and pricing of your sourcing, your sales volume, and most importantly, your profit margins. As a beginner, it would be good to create and aim for a realistic goal and projection based on how much you might profit per item and how many you’ll sell. For example, if you are selling video games and project a $10-20 profit per item, you can aim to source and sell 10 games within one month to earn $100-$200 your first month. If you sell a more expensive item and have higher sales volume, you can earn far more.
Can I run my reselling business from home?
Running a reselling business from home isn’t only possible, it’s the norm for the vast majority of resellers other than those that might choose to set up a physical shop, but running a business from the comfort of your home will present far lower overhead in addition to a rewarding amount of flexibility and autonomy. However, it’s a good idea to set aside a dedicated work environment so that you can keep inventory organized and fulfill orders accurately and quickly. As your business scales, you may need to open up a warehouse or work with a 3PL company, but you will still be able to perform a large number of tasks from home.
