Becoming a full-time reseller was never something that I envisioned for myself when I was younger. When I was in college, I unexpectedly discovered that I had a knack for thrifting and started my reselling journey as a hobby seller just looking to make a few extra dollars. Once I finished school and got my first “real job,” I continued to resell but transitioned to being a part-time reseller, sourcing in my spare time. It wasn’t until this past September that I was finally able to become a full-time reseller. Being a full-time reseller is much different than being a part-time reseller. For me, transitioning from a part-time to full-time reseller was a pretty smooth transition but I know that for others, that is not always the case. Today, I wanted share with you a few things to consider before becoming a full-time reseller.
Try to Have Your Finances in Check
In my opinion, this is probably the most important item on this list. If you are becoming a full-time reseller, then you are also becoming a full-time business owner. That being said, you are going to need money to run your business and also to pay yourself (assuming that you are profitable).
Before becoming a full-time reseller, I made it a point to track my business expenses and get a pretty good idea of how much things were going to cost me on a day-to-day basis. This allowed me to figure out how much money I would need to save in order to start my journey as a full-time reseller and not feel stressed out financially.
While I was a part-time reseller, I also worked a full-time corporate job. I was very fortunate in that I had very few financial responsibilities at the time and was able to aggressively save money through my various income streams. As a result, I was able to save up enough money to cover a full year’s salary at my corporate job before I got married and quit this past September.
Financial planning is something that I would strongly recommend prior to becoming a full-time reseller. Having a financial cushion in place has made it much easier for me to transition to full-time reselling. I know that not everyone has the means to do so but if you can plan in any way possible, it will help in making your transition to becoming a full-time reseller so much smoother.
It Requires a LOT of Hard Work
Reselling is not as glamorous as it looks on social media, that’s for sure! It requires a LOT of hard work! My typical day consists of many boring tasks like sharing my Poshmark closet multiple times throughout the day, photographing/listing new items for multiple platforms, managing my social media accounts, and writing blog posts and emails. A few days a week, I do go out and source which is hands down my favorite part of this job!
Truth be told, I work more hours in a single day as a full-time reseller than I ever did at my corporate job. I genuinely enjoy being as a reseller so I don’t mind working long hours it but it can take a toll on me physically. Some days, I could really use a back massage!
Put Yourself Out There As Much as Possible
I believe that you should put yourself out there as much as possible on social media and on various reselling platforms.
When it comes to social media, people have mixed opinions. Personally, I believe that having a reseller-related social media account was the best thing that I could have done for myself. It has allowed me to connect with other resellers from all over the world, which is something that I would not have been able to do on my own. Having a social media presence has also allowed me to make a name for myself in the reselling community. You don’t need a social media presence to succeed as a reseller but getting yourself out there definitely doesn’t hurt!
Now let me ask you: Do you sell on multiple reselling platforms? If not, you should! Before becoming a full-time reseller, I would get familiar with as many reselling platforms as you feel comfortable with. There will be periods where one platform doesn’t perform well and another platform will and vice versa. In order to account for these inconsistencies, it helps to have various income streams. At this moment, I sell items on Poshmark, Mercari, ThredUp, The RealReal, and Tradesy. BUT that’s not to say that I won’t expand to other platforms (like EBAY) in the future. Each platform has a unique audience and items that sell great on one platform may not sell well on another. The more platforms that your items are listed on, the more opportunities that you item has to sell.
I hope that you found this post to be helpful! Please reach out if you have any reseller-related questions or just want to say hi!
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Baci,
Bianca Ida
