Online Selling Resources
I’ve been selling online full time for about seven years now. I love it because it allows me to make my own schedule. I created this resource guide for you to build your online selling business. This is the ultimate guide to everything I recommend and use for my online businesses.
You can check out my Amazon page to buy my top reselling essentials.
If you haven’t started selling on eBay, you can check out my post How to Start Selling on eBay in 12 Easy Steps!
- Storage and Inventory
- Shipping Resources
- Grow Your Business
- Photography Resources
- Find Out What Brands Sell Best
- Where to Find Items to Sell
- Should you Buy an eBay Store?
- Get Excited About Listing
- Get Organized
- Buy a Planner
Storage and Inventory
Rubbermaid Bins | You can get any bins. I like colored ones rather than clear so it looks cleaner than bins full of stuff. I store all my eBay items in labeled bins like this.
Read How to Organize eBay Inventory to find out:
- Why you need to keep track of very item in your store
- How to keep track and store your items
- How to make a system that works
- Use an Excel app to organize your inventory
- How to stay organized as you list
Shipping Resources
Accuteck Postal Scale | I love this scale. It’s battery powered or comes with a plug-in. It comes in a few colors but I love the rose gold version!
Polymailers | These are an absolute must-have. You can order some really cute ones on Amazon or order eBay branded ones on eBay. When you have an eBay store you get a credit for eBay branded shipping supplies every quarter. The easiest way to find your coupons are by going to My eBay > Manage My Store > Subscriber Discounts > eBay Shipping Supplies.
Febreze Spray | I have bought many air fresheners over the years to spray my clothes before I ship them and this one is definitely the best. I like the fabric softener smell but you can decide what smell you get just make sure its this spray nozzle.
eBay Branded Tape | This is such a nice touch to a shipment. You can get it as part of your store shipping coupon or you can buy it on Amazon below.
Clear Shipping Tape | I haven’t stuck with a certain brand for clear tape, I always search for the best bulk price on Amazon. I use both clear tape and eBay branded tape on every shipment.
Tissue Paper | You can buy this at your local dollar store but it is a better deal on Amazon. I wrap every item in tissue paper before I ship it.
Bubble Wrap | I use air pockets for almost all items that go in a box. I save all bubble wrap and air pockets from packages I get in the mail. If you need to buy some to start, Amazon has some for pretty cheap.
FREE Shipping Supplies from usps.com | You can start with picking up a few boxes from your local post office, but I would check out the free boxes after you have sold a few things. My must-haves are the padded flat rate envelope, shoebox, and the 12x12x8 box 7.
Grow Your business
Order thank you cards | If you are going to make a business out of your online selling hobby, you will want to buy business cards to add to every purchase. Usually, you can find business cards at a good price on Vistaprint. (Use this link for $20 off $40!!) A couple of years ago when I bought my first set of cards, it was very hard for me to decide what I wanted the style to be. If it is difficult for you to decide too, I recommend just choosing your favorite style. Once you get serious about selling, your cards will fly by and soon it will be time for more! On my cards I have my eBay store name, my eBay store link, and “Thank you for your business!”. I leave the backs blank so I can add a handwritten “Thank You!” for a personal touch.
It is important to add some kind of thank you in your packages that you send out. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a little printed cardstock card. It makes the buyer happy, increases the chance of positive feedback, and a return buyer!
Photography Resources
Neewer Backdrop | There are many backdrops on Amazon. This is the one I bought and I have been using it for years. When you buy one, make sure you get at least a 6×9 and make sure it’s a fabric material. No matter which one you buy, you will spend forever ironing it when it comes in.
iPad Pro | I love having a tablet I can take high-quality pictures then list it from the same device. You can use your phone if you don’t have a tablet. Now is a perfect time to buy the older iPad Pro since the new ones without the button came out this year!
I use an iPad Pro for my camera and to list | The day I upgraded from an iPad 4 to an iPad Pro with flash dramatically changed my pictures. If you are new at eBay, I definitely recommend getting a tablet with a good camera and using the eBay app. It’s a lot simpler and faster. Buying a new iPad Pro with flash was the best eBay investment. I definitely think flash is important for picture taking. I love using my iPad Pro for selling on eBay but if you choose to buy another tablet, make sure it has a high megapixel camera with flash. (Not all iPad Pros have flash, so double check before you buy.) Read more about how to take pictures here.
Find Out What Brands Sell Best
- 13 Best Men’s Clothing Brands that Sell on eBay
- The Ultimate List of Brands that Sell on eBay
- Brands that Sell on eBay + Where to Buy + How much to Invest
- Best Selling Shoe Brands
- (More to be added soon!)
Where to Find Items to Sell
Garage sales | Garage sales are my favorite place to find things to resell because I can usually find cheap items. If I can invest $1 in an item, I know I can always make a profit. If you aren’t familiar with garage sales, make sure you have plenty of cash because you never know what you will come across. I like to have $1’s and $5’s so when I negotiate down, I have exactly what I offered.
Thrift stores | Thrift stores are also a great place to find things to resell. Many new resellers buy expensive brands they recognize at Goodwill for $5, then they get it home and realize that it’s only selling for $12.99. The key to buying things at thrift stores is to 1) have sold many of the same items and know exactly what it will sell for or 2) do a quick research on your eBay app at the thrift store. The only negative to thrift stores is that most of the time you can’t negotiate. So the price you see is the price you pay unless you go on a half-off sale day.
eBay | Believe it or not you can find high-margin profitable items on eBay to sell right back on eBay. Many people that list on eBay have no idea what they have or accidentally list it for too cheap. You can also find huge bulk items for a good price by typing in “lot”, “bulk”, or “wholesale”. You have to be aware of what you are buying and what exactly you are going to be able to list it for.
CraigsList | If you aren’t familiar with CraigsList, it’s an online selling website that has no fees, but you meet your buyer instead of shipping your item. This is a great place to find free items to resell on eBay. There’s a “free” section that you can scroll through and see if anything would be worth picking up to resell on eBay. You can also look to buy and resell on CraigsList. People sell everything on there- not just large items. Maybe you’ll find a Michael Kors purse for $25 and sell it on eBay for $80.
Estate sales | Similar to garage sales, just a little different. Estate sales are where (normally) the family of someone who just passed away is selling everything in the house. Some families pay an estate sale company to sell everything. I recently went to an estate sale that was a gold mine. I spent hundreds of dollars there, but easily tripled my investment. There were so many name brand vintage and non-vintage clothes and accessories. One item I bought was a vintage Ralph Lauren umbrella for $1 and sold it for $90.
Should You Buy an eBay Store?
Buying an eBay store has really motivated me to keep a certain number of listings at all times. When you own an eBay store, you pay a monthly fee of $5, $22, or $60, depending on which you choose. When I am paying monthly for a store, I’m going to try to get as much out of it as I can. The point when you upgrade stores is when you are paying more in insertion fees than the next store costs. (You can find this information by going to eBay.com > my eBay > account > invoices.)
I pay for the Premium store for $60 a month. Which means I need to keep about 650 items listed at all times to keep my insertion fees above $60. (If my insertion fees are under $60 each month, I am overpaying and I should go with the $22 basic store and then pay $0.35 for each listing that is over the 500 free listing with that store.)
You can read more about buying an eBay store here.
Get excited about listing
Sometimes listing isn’t fun. So make it FUN! Get excited about it!
Redecorate your workspace
Need some motivation to get in your office and list some stuff?
Redecorating is the best motivation! I know that when I buy something new, I want to use it. When I redecorate, I want to spend time in that room because it’s fresh and new. For a comfortable and effective workspace, you need to make it your style.
Resellers know that sometimes an eBay office isn’t so attractive with items everywhere and shipping boxes leaning on every wall. But to be successful at working from home you have to love your office. I love decorating my reselling room. Right now I have a boho theme. Lots of plants, bright colors, and of course, a green velvet couch. It’s important to keep your workspace fun. Even a new chair completely changes your work at home experience. You’re a reseller.. sell that desk and buy a new one!
Read more… Office Must-Haves for Working at Home
Set work days and hours
When you have a schedule, you will thrive.
? Buy a planner and use it. Check out our reselling planners here!
On your weekly schedule view, write down exactly how many items you want to source, take pictures of, or list. Stick to your schedule as close as you can.
Start early in the morning listing. If you only have 30 minutes before you have to go somewhere, spend that time listing.
Set certain mornings or nights to taking pictures. Once you have the pictures, you can list the item no matter what you are doing.
Try to list when you have the least distractions. If something comes up while you’re listing, don’t get upset. Remember, this is why you are reselling. So you can make your own schedule and be available when you are needed.
Get organized
Spreadsheets // Every time I buy an item to resell it goes straight on a spreadsheet. I write down the description of the item and how much I paid for it. Then when I list it, I write down the price I listed it for. When it sells I write down what it sold for, the fees, and the total profit. I use Google Sheets. I like Sheets because you can access them from anywhere. I downloaded the app on my iPad which makes it easy to add to it while I’m listing!
Bins // I have tried many different ways to organize my inventory. What I found works the best is to organize by alphabetical order by brand name. I have a small sticker on each bin that says “A-B”, “C”, and so on. It is so easy to find an item when it sells! Every reseller does it differently. Try different ways to organize your inventory and see which way you like the best.
Buy a planner
I love planners. When I feel like I have too much to do or too much going on I just go to my planner and start writing it down. It helps so much to see my week on paper.
I have searched for the past couple of years for the best planner to help me with my reselling business and there were NONE. I found myself looking for a new one halfway through the year. So, I made my own.
My sister and I are both resellers and graphic designers so we just decided to start making planners. We created our planners with a reseller’s mindset. The Ultimate eBay Selling Planner and the Poshmark Pro Planner (and soon the Complete Business Planner and Ultimate Resellers Planner) includes a full workbook to help you grow your reselling business. We’re SO EXCITED.
