Two Reselling Lessons from 2023
Letโs revisit our two guiding principles for reselling online before launching into the lessons from 2023.
Reselling Principle #1: You make your money when you buy, not when you sell.
Iโve heard this principle about real estate and I realized it rings true for resellers as well. You make your money when you buy an item, not when you sell. The market will tell you the resell value, as the reseller it is your job to find the item at a discounted price.
If the resell value for a bowl is $30 but the thrift price is $20, then how much do you stand to make? Which leads us to principle #2.
Reselling Principle #2: Strive for 1000% gross profit margin on each item in your store.
The goal is 1000% gross profit on each item within your store. If the resell value is $30 then you want to buy it for $3 (or less).
If you want to read more about these, then check out the following articles.
Reselling Lesson #1 from 2023: The size of the item matters.
If I could streamline one thing in our business, it would be the shipping process. Specifically the size of boxes.
At the moment, we have roughly 20 empty boxes ready to use at a momentโs notice to ship orders. The boxes range from tiny to extra large.
And they take up a lot of room.
When considering items to resell, the size of the item matters because it will determine the size of the shipping container.
These are things in which I prefer not to ship:
lamps
vinyl records
large bowls
sets of plates or bowls
large bulky and awkward items
art
Not only does a variety of inventory require a variety of shipping vessels, it also raises shipping costs for customers. Large bulky items are EXPENSIVE to ship and most customers prefer not to pay $50+ for shipping.
Especially in our world of free shipping.
Reselling Lesson #2 from 2023: List on as many platforms as possible.
Our reselling bottom line changed when we expanded our reach online. In the past I would reserve Poshmark for clothes/shoes/accessories and Etsy for vintage. Now we put every item on eBay and Poshmark then look to Etsy and Chairish when it makes sense.
This has been a game changer for us! Consider spreading your listings far and wide rather than niche down on one platform over another.
What are some lessons youโve learned throughout the year? Leave them below in the comment section!
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Logistics of shipping can be the greatest hurdle that an online reseller has to overcome.