Do Resellers Need Social Media to Be Sucessful?
Social media might seem like a must-have for reselling success, but here’s the truth: you don’t need it. Platforms like eBay and Poshmark already drive traffic to your listings—that’s why they charge fees! Spending hours editing Instagram reels or posting TikToks won’t necessarily increase sales. Honestly, I’m willing to bet it’s a waste of time for 99% of resellers.
But let’s talk a bit about where social media might make sense, and how to actually improve your reselling business without worrying about social media.
Social media is a waste of time for most resellers
I know it’s a strong opinion, but I stand by my statement that social media is a waste of time for most resellers. In many cases, it could even hurt your business. Why? Because the hours spent brainstorming posts, editing photos/videos, and chasing likes could be better spent on activities that actually generate sales!
Marketplaces like eBay and Poshmark exist for a reason: they drive buyers to your listings. You pay them fees because they’ve done the hard work of attracting shoppers to the platform. Your job is to:
- List high-quality inventory.
- Use strong keywords to make your items easy to find.
- Price your items competitively.
Instead of investing time in social media, you’re much better off putting that time into your reselling business.
When social media might make sense for resellers
That said, there are situations when social media can be a useful for resellers, but it’s just a few pretty specific cases.
You want to be a content creator
If you have a dream of being a content creator in addition to reselling, that’s a different story! Making money with social media and creating content ABOUT reselling can be an additional side hustle for you. But posting about your reselling business isn’t likely to direct many buyers to your store. The ROI just isn’t there for the amount of time you’d have to spend on it.
You’re in a niche market
If you’re in a niche market like vintage clothing or handmade goods and you have an eye for visuals, you might be able to use social media to build a brand. This can be a great way to curate an audience and get buyers, but only if you can truly build a brand for your business. For most of us who are just flipping items from thrift stores and yard sales, this isn’t worth the extra effort.
Reselling existed before social media
The thing is, resellers have been making money online before social media existed. They weren’t sharing their ebay listings on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook because they didn’t exist. And they made plenty of sales!
Instead of spending hours building an audience on social media, they focused on their actual reselling business. That means sourcing quality items that buyers are actually looking for, listing said items, creating optimized listing, and more. When it comes to reselling, it’s generally pretty simple! Not easy, but simple.
Final Thoughts
If you’re spending more time on Instagram than you are working on your actual reselling business, you’re missing out on sales. Social media might seem like something all businesses need, it might seem exciting to jump into the reselling community there, but it’s rarely the secret to reselling success.
So unless you want to be a content creator and a reseller, close your social apps and go list some stuff. That’s how to actually make sales!
