New to reselling? 6 questions to ask yourself when researching products to sell
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Courtnye Jackson
New to reselling? 6 questions to ask yourself when researching products to sell
Deciding to go into the resell business can be a no brainer to some and a daunting task to others. Sellers tend to stress over what they should sell, what will make them the most money and where to find these items.
Here are six questions to ask yourself about your product choices before you embark on your reseller’s adventure
1. What type of store will you have?
You want to decide if your store will focus on a particular genre or if it will be a smorgasbord of items.
If you want to be able to brand your store in the future and eventually move off of eBay, definitely choose a very niched store. For example, if you choose to resell clothing it could be extremely niched down:
clothing > women’s clothing > women’s skirts > women’s vintage skirts
While you don’t want to niche down too much that your audience is extremely small, you want to find the sweet spot that brings in a good amount of people looking specifically for your item. This makes it a lot easier to find your people as your audience is very focused.
If you decide to dabble in a little of everything, that is fine as well, you may just have a more difficult time building a dedicated audience.
2. Do I even like it?
I love shopping, specifically for clothes and shoes, and I have a great eye for cute items so for me it was really a no brainer as to what I would sell.
When researching items to sell definitely choose something you enjoy shopping for and that you use in your daily life so you have some knowledge on the product going in.
In a question poll that I posted on Facebook, the majority of people stated that it is extremely important to choose something you know about and that you enjoy sourcing. It is often what makes or breaks your store and the amount of time you put into building and maintaining it.
My Amazon Picks
3. How much do I know about this item?
As I stated above, it is not only important to enjoy the items you list, but also to know something about them. While in my book, I wouldn’t place this as high a priority as liking your item, but it is pretty important.
When sourcing it’s a lot easier if you can come up with a ballpark price while out shopping than having stop to research each item separately. For instance, if you asked me to price a vintage Tonka trunk, there is no way I would be able to give you that information off the top of my head, but ask me how much a new Camilla dress resells for and I could easily and comfortably give you a list price.
This is because I actually shop for these items regularly to sell and wear. I’ve spent tons of time researching pricing and can usually tell if something will sell or not.
It’s also important to know about your products so you know what to pass on and what you can’t pass up while sourcing.
Going in, if you dont know a great deal about the items you’ve chosen but are willing to learn about then that’s all that matters! There will always be a learning curve, even if you’ve been reselling for some years.
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4. What can I easily source in my area?
Research items in your area and find things that you can buy cheap and sell for a good profit. If your store has a dollar day on specialty Hawaiian shirts that are rare in other states then load up on those or if cowboy boots are a dime a dozen where you live then get to listing!
There is literally something for everyone, so don’t bypass an item you like because you don’t think there’s an audience for it. Try it out first and see how it does.
5. What is the competition like?
While there will always be competition, you want to know how your competitors are faring.
This is not only because you want to determine if the market is saturated, but also to check out their listings, sold prices and any other information you cand find that will help you get started.
6. How much are they selling for?
One of the last but major things you want to look at is the various prices for the item you’ve chosen. Don’t just look at the list prices, but also at the sold prices.
This is how you check the sold prices on eBay:
This will help you determine if you’re even going to make a profit after all of your hard work. Some sellers also take into account their listing time, gas spent obtaining the item, and fee’s when coming up with their total profits or losses.
What else would you add to the list for a newbie?
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