Is Reselling Worth it? What You Need to Know

The resale market is exploding in 2020, and the growth of this industry is only expected to double over the next 5 years.

So if you clicked on this article wondering if reselling is dead — it’s far from it.

Is reselling worth it? You bet it is! The secondhand apparel market is worth $28 billion alone.

And if you’ve been questioning whether to start a reselling or flipping business — now — has never been a better time. Reselling is easier than you might think, and it’s a great first business to start.

In this article, we’ll be going over reasons you should or shouldn’t start a reselling business before we dive into the different markets of reselling.

We’ll first start with the sunshine and rainbows of reselling:

Reasons to Start a Reselling Business

There’s plenty of reasons to start a reselling business. Low startup costs are often a big reason many people get started. Here are our top reasons to begin a reselling business:

• Low startup costs: Reselling products online is a small startup cost business. You could start with as little as $100 if you wanted to. Things will be slower; the lower your initial investment is, as this directly affects your ability to purchase products to resell. However, it doesn’t mean you can’t grow from a small start. 
• Flexible time commitment: Since a reselling business can be run entirely from home, and you can easily choose how much time you want to put into it. If you want it to be a side-hustle you can run on the weekends, then you can do that. You’re the boss here. The more time and effort you put in, the more success you are likely to see. 
• Low risk: Risk for reselling businesses is quite small. This makes it a great option if you’re just beginning to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit and don’t have a high-risk tolerance or a lot of starting capital. You also aren’t forced to acquire extensive inventories to get started, so you won’t be stuck with a bunch of products that didn’t sell. 
• You have the drive for it: Less of a technical reason and more of an individual one, having the drive to start a business is still highly significant. If you have no desire or can’t see yourself operating and running a small business, you should reconsider starting something like this. Money won’t just appear. You’ll still have to work for it even if you decide to keep the operation small. Make sure that you’re ready for that. No idle business ever made anybody money. 

Those are our top reasons for starting a reselling business, but now let’s look at why NOT to start a reselling business.

Reasons NOT to Start a Reselling Business

Just as there are reasons to start a business, there’s just as many not to. 

Sometimes starting a business just isn’t the right move for a person at that point in their life, but don’t fret. You can always start one once conditions get better. 

Here are some reasons not to start a reselling business:

• You have NO spare time: Any business requires some kind of time commitment to make you money. If you’ve already got a 60-70-hour-a-week job, a family, and a book club that meets twice a week, then maybe you should reconsider starting a business. Even something as simple as a reselling business will take some time. If you have none to spare, it won’t go anywhere. Consider balancing out your time to fit a reselling business into your life better if you want to start one. 
• You have NO additional capital/You have outstanding expenses: It would be ill-advised, to say the least, to take the last of your savings and use it to start a reselling business. Or worse, use the money you needed to pay for some kind of debt or other necessary expenses. Nobody can wait until they are financially perfect, but if you currently have no spare money to get started, then set some money aside expressly for starting your business. No business has a $0 startup cost. 
• You are highly risk-averse: Being risk-averse means, you don’t like taking risks. If the idea of a reselling business makes you highly uncomfortable, due to putting money on the line, then maybe it’s not the right call for you. A high aversion to risk could leave you struggling and stressed when trying to source products for the business. After all, it’s true that you should be prepared to lose whatever you put into a business, as success is not guaranteed.  

If any of these reasons apply to you, then we encourage you to reconsider starting a business. It may not be the right time in your life to start one. Patience is a valuable tool, and waiting for better conditions could lead you to higher chances of success. 

Reselling Thrifts & Used Items

A common form of sourcing products for a reselling business is to use thrift or used items from thrift stores, flea markets, and estate sales. And yes, you can make money doing this. Reselling thrift items can certainly be worth it if you know how to find the diamonds in the rough. 

Learn the best thrift items to resell: Top 7 Things to Look for at Thrift Stores to Resell (Thrifting Secrets)

Thrift reselling can be a great side hustle, but there are plenty of sellers who have turned it into a full-time job and live off of their reselling business. 

Learn how to start a business reselling thrifts: Thrifting for Profit: How to Thrift Like a Pro ($1,000+ a Month)

Once more, we return to the theme of time and effort. Those resellers do live off their business, but they put in lots of time and effort to get to that level. 

Reselling Discounted Retail Items

Also known as retail arbitrage, this is another option for you as a reseller. This is the process of going into retail stores and finding discounted or clearance items to buy, which you then sell at a higher price for a profit. 

While this method can make you money, and some people live full time off of this method, it can prove difficult and slower than other methods. This is due to a sometimes much tighter profit margin and difficulty with scaling this method. 

It can be a great addition to a reseller’s product sourcing but challenging to start with and not the most easy option. 

Great places to source for items include Ross, TJ Maxx, and Gabe’s (the list goes on).

Reselling Limited Edition Collectibles

The possible number of collectible items you can sell is mind-boggling. There’s plenty of different markets and item categories available to you when reselling collectible items. 

Some people make significant side incomes or even full liveable incomes off selling things like rare coins, antiques, toys, and books. However, this requires more heavy research and specialization to make a profit. 

Collectibles can also be sourced via thrift stores, making them another great addition to a reseller’s business. However, only selling collectibles is geared towards those who have a specific interest and more time for research. 

How Big is the Reselling Market?

The reselling market is surprisingly large. We see annual revenues of roughly $17.5 billion in the United States alone. That size means you aren’t walking into unexplored territory. The resale industry is alive and well, reselling is not dead. 

Plenty of major retailers, small businesses, and even side hustlers help fuel this industry, and as long as retail is around, resellers will be there too. 

Remember, reselling isn’t some pyramid scheme or a guru’s scam trying to run away into the night with your money. Reselling is a legitimate business model, and many have found success utilizing it. You definitely can, too, with the right amount of time and effort. 

Can You Make a Living from Reselling?

Yes, you can make a living from reselling. Plenty of other resellers live off the money their business makes. However, this is no small feat, and it will take the right amount of your time and effort to grow your business to a point where you can live off of it. 

Remember that reselling is not a passive income source either. This is a boots on the ground business that will require you to run it before it makes you any money. So keep that in mind when you are setting your goals for your business. The higher the goals, the more involved you’ll need to be. 

Is Reselling Clothes Worth it?

Reselling clothes is worth it.

The secondhand apparel market alone was valued at around $24 billion in 2019. With a vast market and near-endless supply of products to source, reselling clothes is one of the more common ways to get into reselling. 

We ranked clothes as one of the best possible thrift store items you could source in our top 7 thrift store finds. People always need clothes, and as they get more expensive, more people are going to start looking for better prices. That’s where resellers come in and make a profit. 

The Best Place Online to Resell for the Most Profit

One way you can make reselling worth it is by saving on the actual selling portion of your business. Our fabulous new platform, SheepBuy, is perfect for doing just that. 

With a secure and straightforward platform, SheepBuy seeks to help sellers like you save money by never hitting you with hidden fees and removing commission fees entirely. 

For some sellers, the costs of actually selling their goods can make some products not worth it. With SheepBuy, you won’t be missing these opportunities thanks to their unique selling platform. 

SheepBuy gives sellers the chance to sell for free, or they can subscribe for a monthly fee to sell more of their inventory on the platform. This allows you to save money on selling costs and pocket more of your profit. 

Conclusion

A reselling business can be worth it. Setting goals can be a great way to figure out how you want to run and grow your business if starting one is the right move for you. 

Keep in mind that your success is directly tied to the amount of time and effort you put into your business, reselling can be profitable, but it’s you who makes it worth it.

Recommended Blog Posts:

• How to use Sheepbuy?
• Flipping Books for profit.