How to Make Sure Your Item Doesn’t Sell (Reseller Mistakes to Avoid)

Ever wonder why some resellers make sales daily while others can’t seem to move their inventory? If you’re making these mistakes, you might be accidentally ensuring your item never sells. Let’s break down exactly what NOT to do if you actually want to make money with your reselling business.

Price It Way Too High (without reason)
Sure, maybe someone might pay $100 for a used t-shirt… but probably not. Buyers compare prices, and if you’re just pricing however you want, yours will look ridiculous next to similar listings. Before pricing an item, always check sold comps. If you’re not sure how, this guide on pricing items correctly can help.

Use Dark, Blurry, or Cluttered Photos
Nothing says sketchy seller like a picture of a wrinkled shirt in bad lighting. Buyers scroll right past listings with low-quality photos. They don’t even do it on purpose, their brains just skip to the good ones. Good lighting, a clean background, and multiple angles make a huge difference. Here’s how to take great listing photos.

Stay Completely Disorganized

Running out of space because your inventory is all over the place? If you’re not keeping track of what you have listed and where it’s stored, you’re making reselling way harder than it needs to be. Lost inventory means wasted time, canceled sales, and a whole lot of frustration.

Grab my Free Inventory Spreadsheet for Resellers here to easily track your inventory.

Leave Out Key Details in the Description
“Nike Shoes, Size 9” … That’s it? No condition? No model name? No extra details? Buyers need information to make a purchase. Include brand, size, condition, flaws, and keywords buyers might search for. The more details, the better! You want to sell your item, right??

Ignore Platform Fees & Shipping Costs
Nothing like realizing after a sale that you actually lost money. Fees and shipping eat into your profits, and overcharging on shipping drives buyers away. Before listing, make sure you’re factoring in all costs. Learn how to price items properly here.

Only Inconsistently and Expect Big Sales
Listing two things and refreshing your phone every 20 minutes? Not how reselling works! More listings = more chances for sales. The algorithm also favors active sellers. Most sellers won’t see daily sales until they have over 100-150 active listings.

Never Promote Your Listings
Just list and forget? Buyers should just find you, right? On platforms like Poshmark, sharing boosts visibility. Promoting sales or sending offers on any platform increases conversions. If you’re not making sales, try enticing potential buyers and crossposting to multiple platforms.

Avoid Answering Buyer Questions
“Is this still available?” … Silence. I’m guilty of this sometimes too, but slow or no responses make buyers move on to the next seller. Answer questions quickly and politely! It builds trust and leads to sales.

Ignore Returns & Refund Policies
If you don’t understand return policies, you might be setting yourself up for trouble. Accepting returns you didn’t need to, or refusing ones you should, can hurt your reputation. Learn the policies for eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari. Here’s a guide on handling returns.

Final Thoughts
Unless your goal is to keep your inventory forever, you need to avoid the mistakes above! Reselling doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to make sure you’re doing a few key things right.

Now that you know what not to do, check out these 7 Reseller Hacks to help save time, avoid common mistakes, and boost your sales!