Wondering how you can make money online?
Thinking of how to make money without a job or the tiring daily commute?
Then learn how to become a reseller. You will start earning money online much sooner than you think. Whether you want to do it as a full-time job or as a side hustle for extra cash, the resale business model is a great fit.
This guide will show you step-by-step how to become an online reseller.
What Is Reselling?
Knowing what is a reseller and what services they provide is the first step in becoming a reseller.
Reselling is buying products from manufacturers and retailers and selling them directly to customers at a marked-up price for a profit.
The core concept is simple. Buy cheap, sell higher. That’s it.
3 Advantages Of The Resale Business Model
Starting a reselling business has many advantages, including:
You don’t have to invest money in building or renting a warehouse to store goods if you operate as a drop shipper. Warehousing costs can creep up on you and reduce your profit margins. So, not having to worry about this expense is a significant advantage.
Coming up with a winning product idea, turning it into a product, and finally presenting it to customers takes time. As a reseller, you take ready-made products straight to the market.
Resellers choose the markup they put on the goods they are selling. You make as much profit as you want as long as you are an excellent marketer who knows how to present the unique value of the products you sell.
With these benefits in mind, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to become a reseller.
How To Become A Reseller In 4 Simple Steps
Starting a reseller business is straightforward. Here are the five basic steps you must take to launch your reseller business faster than you imagined.
Decide What You Want To Sell
To launch a profitable business, you must know from the beginning what you want to sell.
Choose trendy high-demand products that sell fast. You should also pick products with a high-profit margin. I will delve deeper into reseller business ideas you can explore soon. Knowing what you will sell from the get-go determines which business license or permit you will apply for later.
Register Your Reseller Business
Once you know what you want to resell, answer the following question:
Where do you want to sell the products?
Before you start reselling products online, your business must become a recognized legal entity in your state. Register your business and get a license, so you operate freely within your state. Want to conduct business in another state? Then file a foreign qualification to ensure you stay compliant.Dig Into State Laws
Next, inquire about the laws and regulations of the state you want to operate in.
Buying and selling across states require navigating different laws. It would be best to tread carefully, so you stay on the right side of the law. For instance, some states allow you to use an out-of-state reseller’s permit, so you avoid paying sales tax. But some don’t. So, do your homework, so you comply.
Get A Reseller Permit
Once you’ve researched what you need for federal licenses and permits in the state you want to operate in, gather all the necessary documentation. Apply for a resale license. Remember that you must get a resale permit in each state you want to buy and resell in.
Doing all the paperwork right helps you to collect sales tax for your reseller online shop and pay sales tax.
Have an idea what to sell?
Incorporated your business?
Got a reseller permit?
Great.
Now that the boring legal stuff is out of the way let’s get into the fun part.
6 Reselling Business Ideas Worth A Try
Now that you are ready to start selling online, the big question is: what exactly can you sell?
Which products are trending now, and on which platforms can you sell them? That’s what I will dig into next. Here are six resale business ideas to consider.
Dropshipping
A popular option for making money online is creating an eCommerce website to sell other people’s products as a drop shipper.
Dropshipping is an online business model of selling products via an online store without keeping the stock yourself. You must take orders while the manufacturer or a third party ships the product to the customer.
It’s sweatless cash. Yes, you work a bit, but someone else does most of the work.
The advantages of dropshipping are:
Because dropshipping has a low barrier to entry, the competition is fierce. Plus, the profit margins are low in some niches.
That said, you can still profit handsomely from dropshipping. The key is picking the right niche and driving high-volume sales.
Amazon Reseller
The fastest way to start your online reselling business is to become an Amazon seller.
Millions of people like you get a piece of the juicy $469.8 billion revenue pie as Amazon sellers.
Selling on the platform isn’t rocket science. You can find products to sell, fulfill orders, and manage inventory from the palm of your hand. Amazon has a free seller app you can download to your phone.
The best-selling items on Amazon include:
You don’t have to guess what’s selling.
Instead, use data to pinpoint what’s selling now and boost your chances of success. Use AI-driven free and paid Amazon Product Research tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, and Seller App to pinpoint the best sellers.
eBay Seller
eBay is a reseller’s heaven.
According to Statista, eBay has a massive monthly traffic of 547 million. Up to 1.75 million iOS app users and 1.6 million Android users visit eBay each day. Not only do millions of people shop on eBay, but the same study also showed they spend a cool $700 on average on the platform. Therefore, by reselling products on the marketplace, you have a higher chance of getting buyers, no matter what you sell.
The bottom line?
Reselling on eBay is lucrative.
Are you wondering what to resell on eBay?
Here are my top five picks:
Vintage Products Seller
Next, vintage items are another product reselling goldmine.
Etsy, an eCommerce platform specializing in handmade crafts and vintage items, has 96.3 million active buyers and generates 3.2 Billion in annual revenue.
Why this intense interest in vintage items?
In an age where everyone wants the latest item, focusing on old classic goods makes you unique. Plus, handmade goods stand out from millions of mass-produced products today.
Vintage products scream one-of-a-kind, special.
Besides the major players Etsy, eBay, and Amazon, here are other online platforms for vintage and antique product sellers:
Do you have a passion for 50 to 100-year-old vintage goods and unique handmade crafts?
Start a resale business online and make a steady flow of extra cash month after month as an antique seller.
Clothing
A hot high-profit margin product reseller business is clothing.
You can make a killing by selling both new and used clothes online.
In particular, the used clothing industry is exploding. A report by ThredUp revealed the U.S. secondhand market will double by 2026 and reach a staggering $82 billion. The study further reported that, in 2021, the secondhand clothing market saw a record 32% growth.
The point?
There’s plenty of money for reselling clothes online businesses.
The best part? Starting is easy. Go through your wardrobe and pick good second hand clothes you can sell. Another advantage is that clothes have high-profit margins.
Here’s a quick list of the best platforms to buy and sell clothes online:
If you are a fashionista, launch a clothing reselling business. There’s good money to be made online from your discerning fashion sense.
Pet Supplies
Everybody loves pets.
Over 70% of homes, or around 90.5 families in the U.S. own a pet. Guess what? All these pets need regular supplies like food, grooming kits, medicine, and more.
That’s where you come in as an online pet supplies reseller.
According to the American Pet Industry Association report quoted above, in 2021, the pet industry market was valued at a mouth-watering $123.6 billion. Specifically, dog toys such as chew, squeaky, stuffed, rope, and training toys are popular. Dog toys alone are worth $3.7 billion.
These earnings from mere dog toys are not too shabby, right?
Take your pick from these reseller business ideas and set up your own eCommerce business today. Creating a website to sell products is straightforward these days. You don’t even have to Google “how to start an online store”. Most reseller platforms have ready-to-go eCommerce stores you can tweak and set up shop in minutes.
How To Start A Resell Business: The Essence
In summary, starting a reselling business isn’t tough.
To launch a reseller online shop follow these fundamentals:
Done well, reselling can be lucrative.
You can enjoy extra cash or even leave your 9 to 5 job because you make way more than your regular job.
Grab my book “The Lazy Man’s Guide To Living The Good Life” to learn how you can enjoy the dream life of earning passive income with minimal work.