As resellers, there are many different ways that we can acquire inventory. Shopping at the bins, thrift stores, and buy-sell-trade stores can be considered low-risk acquisition methods while sourcing at retail stores and other resale sites are often considered high-rise acquisition methods. The difference in these methods is mainly due to the difference in cost of goods; The higher the cost of goods, the higher the risk involved. As a result, many resellers are intimidated and overwhelmed when it comes to navigating how to source using these higher risk methods. Today, I wanted to share with you my exact process of how I decide what inventory to buy when sourcing items online and hopefully, this will help to make online sourcing less intimidating and more manageable for you.
How I Source for Inventory Online
In order to make this post as easy to follow as possible, I am going to show you my exact process for sourcing inventory online using a recent purchase that I made on The RealReal. The RealReal is an online consignment app that sells many luxury brands. The process that I am about to share can be applied to sourcing for items online on many different platforms.
This is what my recent The RealReal purchase consisted of:
Anti Social Social Club Hoodie (Note: Item was mismarked so the order was canceled and I received a $25 TRR site credit).
Burberry Boys Athletic Tank Top- $37.50
Zimmermann Leather Floral Print Slides- $30
Alice McCall V-Neck Mini Dress with Tags- $45
Missoni Sport Silk Printed Blouse- $13.50
Roland Mouret Suede Pumps- $17.50
Moschino Cheap and Chic Printed Mini Dress- $20
Tamara Mellon Suede Mules- $30
Jonathan Simkhai Printed Crew Neck Blouse- $17
LAPOINTE Straight Leg Pants- $19
Tory Burch Lace Pattern Mini Dress- $16
Dodo Bar Or Floral Print Knee-Length Skirt- $19
Nicholas Printed Mini Skirt- $23
As you can see in the descriptions above, The RealReal doesn’t typically include the exact style names of their items. (Note: Many times they will use the exact names on popular branded handbags and recent clothing styles.)
Step #1: Deciding What to Search For
When it comes to deciding what to look for, I like to do some prep work ahead of time. First, I will make a list of what categories of items are currently low in my inventory and how much of each I will need to source. After I have made this list, I will make a list of seasonal items that are in high demand and also write down a list of brands that sell items within the categories and price points that I am looking for. (For example: If I was looking for swimwear, maybe I would jot down brands such as Summersalt, Fisch Lucia, Tropic of C, etc.)
*Tip: If I need additional inspiration of brands and items to look for, I might head on over to the Kardashian Kloset website. This is a secondhand website that sells clothes worn by the Kardashians. The inventory on the site changes frequently and they almost always have high-end brands listed for sale that are new to me. For this haul in particular, I scrolled through the site and specifically searched for items from the brands listed on the website.
After I have made my lists, I begin searching for items that I could potentially sell on various online reselling and consignment platforms.
Step #2: Finding the Style Name
Once I have found an item that meets my criteria, I like to figure out its’ exact style name if I can find it. This step isn’t necessary per se, but it does make it easier for me to run comps later on. In order to do this, I will take a screenshot of the image on my phone and run a Google Lens Image search on it using the Google Photos app.
Let’s look for the exact style name for the Jonathan Simkhai Printed Crew Neck Blouse pictured above in my order.
First, I took a screenshot of the shirt on my phone:
Next, I ran a Google Lens Image search on it while using the Google Photos app:
As you can see from the results, the exact shirt pulled up right away. Based on the information that I found, the exact name of this shirt is Tia Tie Neck Blouse in Cactus Painted Marble by Jonathan Simkhai.
Step #3: Running Comps
Now that we have the exact name of the blouse, we can run comps to get an idea of its’ resale value. There a few different ways that we can do this: (1) we can either check comps of each platform individually or (2) we can use an app such as Sellhound to check comps on multiple reselling platforms simultaneously.
Let’s run comps using the Poshmark app:
To run comps, I searched “Jonathan Simkhai Tia Tie Neck Blouse in Cactus Painted Marble” and changed the filters to show only available items and all sizes. Only one available listing appeared matching my title name and had the item for sale NWT and in all sizes. (Note: Poshmark searches do not always bring up all of the available items for sale for a particular item.)
Next, we need to check to see if this item has sold and for how much. It appears as though this item sold once in a set along with the matching skirt for $50 in a size small. Based on the info in the listing, it was a personal item belonging to the seller.
Let’s run comps using the Sellhound app:
If you don’t want to run comps on individual platforms, you can use the Sellhound app to do it for you. All you have to do is search of the item in the top and it will provide results for all new and used items. Here’s a look at what pulled up when I searched for the same item on the Sellhound app using the Fetch feature:
The Sellhound app pulled the same results from Poshmark along with results from Mercari and other selling platforms.
Step #4: Deciding Whether or Not to Buy
Based on the information that we have gathered so far, the decision of whether or not to buy this top might not seem clear. A few factors that I like to look at when it comes to making the decision of whether or not to buy an item include: (1) How recent is the piece?, (2) Will people be searching for it or something similar this upcoming fashion season?, (3) Price, (4) Will it appeal to my customer base, (5) Would I find it in a fast-fashion store right now?, (6) Are the comps reliable or not?, and (7) How long do I anticipate that it will take me to sell?
In order for me to buy something through retail arbitrage, I need to be over 75% certain that I can sell the item within 3 months and at least triple my money (if not more). Profit margins and buyer demand need to be there in order for me to purchase an item. Everyone has different criteria that they need to meet before purchasing an item and once you figure out yours, it is much easier to make decisions in regards to online sourcing.
I hope that you find this post helpful! If you have any questions or just want to chat, please reach out!
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