Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links but you can rest assured that I will never promote any products I don’t personally use or stand by.
If you’re intrigued by reselling but haven’t gotten started, it can be intimidating. There’s so much that goes into it and there’s a plethora of tools and resources you can find and invest in but I truly think the best thing you can do is to start off with the necessities and learn from your own experience. Of course it’s important to do your research but this business really requires you to just dive in and do it. It seems hard but it’s really not and I promise that anyone can do it if they truly want to.
If you have no idea what reselling is, it boils down to the most basic aspect of business: buy low, sell high. Resellers buy inventory from a wide variety of sources, from thrift stores to large department stores selling their surplus/last season’s clothing to yard sales. You can resell anything if someone is willing to buy it and there’s a buyer for just about everything.
That being said, there are a handful of basic necessities that all resellers need to run their business and you can acquire them for less than $100. Once you buy things to resell, you have to take pictures of them and then actually list them on the websites/platforms you want to sell them on (I recommend starting on Poshmark if you’re intending to sell clothing and shoes or home decor; I wrote a post about that here. Once someone actually purchases your item you’ll have to ship it to them so you need a few basic things to get you through these processes.
I’ve written a list of the most bare requirements you’ll need to be on your way to successful selling and a bonus list of affordable products you can buy to up your game a little.
Basics for photographing:
- A phone with a decent quality camera to photograph with (Make sure you take your pictures in square mode-Poshmarks pictures fit like Instagram does)
- A white background is the best way to go on any platform and some even require it.
- You can do this without spending any money if you have a blank white wall in your house
- Or buy a $1 poster board from the dollar store and start with that
- For a bit more you can buy a white backdrop – these vary in price but I found one for about $50 with the stand included (make sure you pay attention to whether it’s JUST the white backdrop they are selling or if they are also selling you the stand to attach it to)
- You can also buy plywood from Home Depot and have them cut it to your preferred size for a reasonable price
If you can’t make any of those work; find a wood floor or non-distracting background you can photograph against in your home. Throw a tack or hook up there and get photographing.
Basics for shipping:
- A shipping scale * About $20 (don’t opt for a kitchen scale – an actual shipping scale is most accurate for your needs)
- Poshmark labels only cover you up to 5 lbs so if your package is heavier you’ll need to know that before you send it
- You’ll need to know the exact weight of things to sell on Ebay or Mercari
- A printer * I bought my first printer for $20 at Walmart
- You’ll need a printer to print your shipping labels OR you can get a free library card to use their printers – BUT:
- The library will probably end up costing you more than just buying a cheap printer as most libraries charge per page you print. It will probably also cost you delayed shipping times because you’ll have to go there every time you need a label.
- Boxes/mailers to ship your items in
- USPS will deliver free boxes, labels and mailers to your house and if you are using platforms other than Poshmark (like Ebay/Mercari) you’ll want to buy some cheap polymailers to use when USPS priority mail would eat too much into your profits. These are the mailers I use when I ship clothing (except larger jackets or sweatshirts that I’ll put in a box).
- Mercari does give you an option to have them send you a prepaid label like Poshmark does but it costs way more than buying the label on your own; I use Pirateship which is a free website that gives you discounted USPS shipping costs
- I use USPS for almost everything I ship. Priority Mail for everything except lightweight items (Under 15 oz can be shipped with USPS First Class Mail) and occasionally FedEx for much larger, heavier items.
- Tape to seal your packages
- You won’t want your packages falling apart on their way to the buyers. Make sure everything is secure before you ship. I buy my tape in these bulk packs of 12.
Organization System REQUIREMENTS:
- Space for inventory
- You need somewhere to put all the things you’re going to be buying because it accumulates very quickly and you don’t want to start looking like you’re hoarding rather than running a business
- An inventory system
- If you start just putting things here and there after you list them then you can lose track of what is where and next thing you know you’ve sold something but can’t find it: money lost.
- You’ll save so much time and so many headaches if you start keeping things organized from day 1
- Detailed spreadsheet tracking all COG (cost of goods)
- You need to know how much you’re spending on your inventory so you can know how much profit you’re really making
- Spreadsheet tracking all of your money, incoming and outgoing
- You need to keep a very thorough spreadsheet that tracks all of the money flowing through your business because when tax season rolls around you don’t want to be scrambling-and YES, you need to be claiming all of the money you make
- Keep track of: how much you spend on inventory, how much your items sell for, how much the platform you’re selling on is taking from each sale, how much tax they’ve charged the buyer on your behalf, and more (I’m currently working on creating a copy of the spreadsheet I use so that I can share it with you!).
- Account for the money you spend on shipping as well as all other expenses related to your business. This includes materials (like tape and cleaning supplies) or any web services you might use (such as accounting or crosslisting services).
Also be mindful of your mileage. Log all the miles you drive related to your business because you can use these for a tax write off. Do a bit of research into what qualifies as a write off though because not everything does.
Extra tips:
- Open a second bank account specifically just for your business. This is so incredibly important if you want to take this seriously. Pay yourself out on a consistent basis (once a week or every two weeks)
- Reinvest as much money as you can
- The more you list new inventory, the more you will sell
These aren’t exactly necessities but they’re a few cheap additions to your belt that can bring in more profit from your items:
- Fabric shaver-typically between $10 and $20. It just literally shaves down the pilled/worn fabric and makes clothes look newer (you can’t use it on ALL materials though so be careful)
- This is my favorite. I use it for shoes, clothes, purses…it’s so versatile I use it on everything I can. As of this writing it’s on sale for $11.99 for the battery operated version. I purchased the rechargeable option which is currently $24.99. They also have multiple colors to choose from!
- This is the first one I got which I still use when the other one isn’t charged. It works just as well but it seems to have a weaker battery and takes a little longer for me.
- Leather cleaner-I spend $9.95 for Dr. Martens Wonder Basalm because it’s incredible and I can’t vouch for it enough. It’ll last you ages, too. I won’t even recommend anything else.
- Can be used on genuine leather (except patent leather and never on suede) to buff out scratch marks and replenish dry, aged leather
- Shoe cleaner-I use Sof Sole Foaming Cleaner because the lid itself is the tool you use to scrub the shoes and it’s really convenient to just have them together and compact like that. I primarily use this on athletic shoes but it can be used on a wide variety. Just never use it on suede!
- I don’t buy shoes that have actual damage like holes or tears and I’ve gotten much pickier about overall condition (I don’t buy pairs that are extremely dirty or have lots of creasing/wear) but most sneakers, casual shoes and boots can use some scrubbing on the sole and it’ll get rid of that “used” look
- Outdoor and hiking shoes benefit from this a lot because dried dirt can make shoes look really worn even if they’re in great condition
Last but maybe most important tip:
You will hear this more than once and it’s what most resellers will probably direct you to do when you’re starting out. It seems like common sense but it’s not and I’ll tell you why.
START WITH YOUR OWN PERSONAL ITEMS.
I mean it. Don’t go to the thrift store. Don’t start at yard sales and don’t you dare jump head first into wholesale!! While you could do those things and be successful, I really recommend that you start with what’s already in your house. You might not even like reselling. You might not want to sell certain categories or products.
A lot of people come across Instagram profiles of super successful resellers and are then inspired to do the same thing and get in a rush to go buy inventory. But don’t get in your own way. It took a lot for those people to get where they are and it might not be a good fit for you. It’s not for everyone and that’s ok. This is why I tell you to sell your own stuff first. That way you can get a feel for the job and figure out what you do and don’t like to resell before you start investing your hard earned money on it.
So that’s what I’ve got! I hope that this can give you a better insight to what reselling is and how you can start doing it very easily. You might even already own a few of these things and in that case you really can start like RIGHT now.
If you ever have any further questions and want to reach out, please don’t hesitate to! You can get ahold of me by heading over to the contact page and filling out the form OR you can just go directly to my Instagram and send me a DM.
Now go make those sales!