How Much Money Do You Need to Start Reselling?
Think you need a big budget to start reselling? You really don’t. In fact, you can start with $0 if you get creative. Whether you have $100 to start your reselling business or nothing at all, I’ll show you exactly how to get started, avoid common mistakes, and turn what little cash you do have into profit.
What You Need to Start Reselling
Truthfully, you don’t actually need that much to start reselling. So don’t drive yourself crazy trying to gather a ton of supplies! Here’s the bare minimum to get started:
- A selling platform: eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, etc.
- A few items to sell: (It’s okay if it’s stuff from your house!)
- A phone or camera: For taking decent photos
- Shipping supplies: Boxes, tape, and labels (reusing clean packing supplies is fine!)
Common Initial Expenses
There are definitely some things that you’ll need before you start, as stated above. But there are free and low cost options for all of them! Here are my suggestions:
- Inventory:
- Free options: Sell items you already own
- Low-cost options: Thrift stores, yard sales, clearance sections at stores
- Shipping supplies:
- Free: Reuse boxes from online orders or free USPS shipping supplies
- Minimal cost: Polymailers are great for most clothing and soft items. I also recommend a cheap shipping scale.
- Platform fees:
- eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari all take a cut, but you shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket. These fees will come out after you’ve sold something.
Here’s How to Start Reselling with $0
No money? No problem. Start by selling things you already have, but don’t need. Here’s how:
- Sell what you already own:
Look around your home for anything you no longer need. I’m talking clothes, electronics, books, toys, kitchen gadgets. Use these first few sales to generate cash for new inventory. - Ask friends or family for items:
Let them know you’re starting a reselling business and are happy to take any unwanted items off their hands. A lot of people have items they’ve been meaning to donate and are happy to just get them out of the house. - Check free listings:
Browse Craigslist’s free section, the Nextdoor app, or Facebook Marketplace/groups for free inventory. It can take a while to find anything worthwhile, but once in a while something great comes up. (This can be controversial, but I think it’s an ok way to gather your first few items to sell.)
Pro Tip: Don’t try to find a ton of items right away. Start small and focus on learning what sells and how to price correctly.
How to Research and Find Profitable Items
- Run comps: Search sold listings on platforms like eBay to see what items are actually selling for.
- Compare active listings: Check the competition and see how many similar items are available.
- Check the sell-through rate: This is the percentage of items sold compared to what’s currently listed. If there are 50 items listed and only 5 sold recently (10% sell through rate), that’s a sign the item may take a while to sell.
Pro tip: Don’t price based on what you think an item is worth or what you paid for it. The market decides the price, not you.
Not sure how to pick what inventory is best to invest in? My Reseller Roadmap course covers exactly how to pick profitable items so you don’t waste money.
Reinvesting Your Profit
Once you’ve made your first few sales, the smartest thing you can do is reinvest your profit into more inventory. I know it can be tempting to keep that money or spend it on fancy supplies, but for the first few weeks or months, use that money to grow! Growing your inventory will help you scale and make consistent sales over time.
- Buy more inventory: Focus on items with solid profit margins and good sell-through rates. Use the knowledge you’ve gained from your first sales, along with research before buying, to make smarter purchases.
- Start small: Don’t jump into bulk buying. Slowly build your inventory with items you’ve researched and feel confident will sell based on comps.
- Avoid risky buys: Stick to a budget and avoid spending too much on “maybe” items. Remember even experienced sellers occasionally make bad buys, it’s easy to do! So be picky, especially when you’re just starting out and don’t have a lot to invest.
Pro Tip: Gradually increase how much you spend or how many pieces you buy as you gain experience and confidence. Jumping in too fast can lead to unsold inventory that ties up your cash!
What to Invest In Once You Have Money Coming In
Once you have a relatively steady cash flow and can consistently buy inventory, start with upgrades that save time, improve efficiency, and make the reselling process easier.
- Reseller Spreadsheet: Keeping track of your profits, expenses, and inventory can quickly get overwhelming. My Reseller Dashboard was designed specifically for resellers to help track what you’ve sourced, how much you’ve earned, your expenses, and more.
- A label printer: If you’re printing and taping labels manually, this is a game-changer! Thermal label printers are fast, require no ink, and just make things so much easier. This is the one I currently use!
- A shipping scale: A shipping scale ensures accuracy and can prevent overpaying or undercharging for postage.
- Shipping supplies: Invest in the types of shipping supplies you need most. Buying bulk polymailers, boxes, and tape will save you money and make packing orders faster than shuffling through mismatching free supplies.
Pro Tip: Upgrade slowly and prioritize based on what will save you time or improve profit. Don’t feel pressured to buy everything at once!
Optional Upgrades (When You’re Ready)
Once your profits are stable and you can afford extra investments, consider these optional tools and supplies to further boost your efficiency.
- Storage solutions: As your inventory grows, keeping everything organized will save time and frustration. Save up for shelving units, bins, or labeled containers to streamline storing, picking, and packing orders. Learn more about reseller inventory storage here.
- A photo setup: Good photos are crucial! Investing in a lighting kit, a backdrop, or even a photo box for small items can help create clean, professional listings.
- Inventory tracking: At some point, spreadsheets may feel limiting. Inventory tracking software can help automate tasks like stock management, sales tracking, and profit calculations. I’ll give you some options in the next section for different budgets.
- Advertising (optional): Once you’re confident in your sourcing and pricing, consider running ads to boost sales. Promoted listings on eBay, for example, can help drive traffic to your items.
Tools and Supplies to Upgrade Your Reselling Business
As you grow your reselling business, having the right tools can help you stay organized and work more efficiently. Here are free, cheap, and upgraded options to fit your budget and scale at your own pace.
| Category | Free Option | Cheap Option | Upgraded Option |
| Shipping Labels | Use your home printer. Don’t have one? Check if you can use one at work or school. Plain paper and tape works fine in the beginning. | Use half sheet labels with a regular printer. | Thermal label printer and labels. (no ink required!) |
| Weighing Packages | If you have a kitchen scale, you can use that for light items. | Basic digital shipping scales are usually under $20 | If shipping large/heavy boxes, you can upgrade to a heavier scale. Most sellers don’t need to. |
| Storage Solutions | Use your closet, shelves you already own, or reuse boxes or bins from home. | File boxes, cheap clear bags, and blank labels for inventory IDs. You can stack the boxes if you don’t have shelves. | Storage shelves for bins or boxes to organize items in inventory bags. Don’t forget to measure the boxes/bins and compare to shelf size to try and fit everything as efficiently as possible. |
| Packing Supplies | Reuse boxes from online orders, ask local stores, and/or use free USPS Priority Mail supplies | Polymailers are cheap and all you need if selling clothes. | Buy bulk packing supplies (polymailers, bubble wrap, tape) |
| Photos/Lighting | Natural light and a clean background somewhere in your house | Cheap photography lighting or ring light. | Professional lighting kit (may not need this if your lighting is good) |
| Inventory Tracking | Use a notebook or my free spreadsheet | Reseller Dashboard Spreadsheet (one time fee) | Vendoo (monthly subscription, but does much more than inventory tracking – read more about it here.) |
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Out
When you’re new to reseller, it’s easy to make mistakes. But I want to make sure you start off on the right foot, so below I’m sharing some super common mistakes new resellers make. Avoiding these mistakes will save you time and money!
- Pricing based on what you paid or want to make: Just because you spent $10 on an item doesn’t mean you can sell it for $30. If the market value is $15, you just have to accept it and move on.
- Ignoring fees and expenses: Platform fees, shipping costs, and your time should all be factored into your pricing.
- Over-sourcing without research: Don’t buy items without checking comps and sell-through rates. It’s too easy to end up either unsellable inventory!
- Ignoring the sell-through rate: A good sell-through rate means quicker sales and a better chance of selling overall. Always compare sold listings to active ones before buying.
Pro Tip: If an item has a low sell-through rate, consider skipping it, even if it seems like a good deal. That’s the market telling you there are more sellers than buyers, something you want to avoid.
How Much Can You Expect to Make Early On?
I want to be completely honest here. Reselling isn’t an overnight path to thousands of dollars. When I started years ago I went ALL IN and made over $1,000 my first month, $2,400 my second month, and $3,100 my third month. But that was gross sales (not profit) and I reinvested everything I made. Not to mention I was working A LOT. My situation isn’t typical, but here’s a realistic look at what you can reasonably expect:
- First few months: $100-$500/month as you learn the process
- After gaining experience: $1,000+ per month by reinvesting profits and optimizing your strategy
- Potential for scaling: Experienced resellers earn $3k-$5k per month or more by building up their inventory over time and finding good sources.
But remember, it’s hard to gauge this realistically because it depends on how many items you have to sell, what kinds of items they are, their value and demand, how much time you’re putting into it, etc.
Final Thoughts
You really don’t need a lot of money to start reselling. Whether you start with $0 or $20, the key is to learn, research, and reinvest your profits wisely. Want step-by-step guidance? My Reseller Roadmap course walks you through everything—from sourcing to scaling.
