How to start a reselling business: Tested strategies for 2025

A reselling business today means you buy items at a lower price (from wholesalers, thrift stores, or even your own closet) and resell them for a profit online. 

The U.S. resale clothing market will reach $74 billion by 2029, while the global resale economy will hit $367 billion by 2029. More buyers want affordable, sustainable, and unique products they can’t get elsewhere.

With reselling tools like Nifty, sellers can crosslist in seconds, track inventory automatically, save hours every day, and find peace of mind. Let's learn how to start, avoid common pitfalls, and grow your reselling business in 2025. 

So, what is a reselling business?

A reselling business, at its core, is buying stuff cheap and selling it for a profit (it’s exactly what it sounds like). It’s simple, but the strategies, platforms, and tools behind it have leveled up big time. 

There’s no product creation, no physical storefront, no stress (well, less stress). You don’t need a huge team or a business degree, just the right tools and a sense for what sells.

Plus, the barriers to entry are now lower than ever. Most resellers launch with a handful of items and a phone. You can run everything from your living room and ship from your kitchen table, without having to rent out a warehouse.

Reselling means sourcing products from secondhand shops, clearance racks, or wholesale suppliers, and then flipping them for a profit. You can sell new, used, or refurbished items.

Essentially, you’re spotting opportunity, buying smart, and selling where the demand lives.

Wait, how’s that different from retail arbitrage?

Reselling focuses on used, unique, or vintage items from thrift stores, whereas retail arbitrage buys and resells new clearance items from big retailers.

Reselling: You're grabbing underpriced gems (maybe a retro jersey or a designer bag from a thrift store) and selling them to someone who really wants them.

Retail arbitrage: You’re buying new items on clearance from big stores (Target, Walmart, etc.), then flipping them on platforms like Amazon or eBay for more. Still profitable, but with a slightly different vibe and supply chain.

Online vs. local: Where does reselling happen now?

Reselling happens online now (primarily). Resellers today lean hard into online reselling platforms, which offer built-in audiences, payment protection, and global reach. 

• eBay: The OG. Covers almost every category, from tech to trading cards.
  
  
• Poshmark: Fashion, accessories, and social-style selling.
  
  
• Mercari: Friendly UI, good for electronics, clothes, and home goods.
  
  
• Depop: Edgy, Gen Z favorite. Think Y2K and thrift-core vibes.
  
  
• Etsy: Handmade, vintage, and niche collectibles thrive here.
  
  
• Amazon: High volume, fast pace. Great for retail arbitrage and new stock.

Benefits of running a reselling business today

The 2025 resale boom is real, and it’s not just for full-time entrepreneurs anymore. Reselling is blowing up because it’s accessible, flexible, and (if done right) wildly profitable. Here’s why more sellers are ditching spreadsheets and jumping in.

Why is reselling so popular in 2025? 

• Launch for the price of lunch: You don’t need a warehouse or a Shopify build-out. Some sellers kick off their resale business with $12 and a pile of stuff from their closet. Others hit up yard sales, estate auctions, or thrift stores and flip what they find. It’s a model with relatively low upfront risk and even lower startup cost.
  
  
• Total schedule freedom: Whether you’re juggling parenting, a 9 to 5, or another side hustle, you get to set your hours. Need to list at 11 p.m. and ship at 8 a.m.? Go for it. Reselling fits into your life, not the other way around.
  
  
• Niche everything is in: Resellers today are getting super specific, and that’s a good thing. Hot niches in 2025 include vintage streetwear, mid-century home goods, rare electronics, refurbished tech, niche luxury (like designer bags or sneakers), and anything going viral on TikTok. If you know your subculture, you can dominate it.
  
  
• Low barrier, high ceiling: You don’t need a retail background to start a resale business. But you can grow into serious money, we’re talking $1K, $5K, and even $10K+ months with smart sourcing, strategic listings, reselling tools, and automation. What starts as “a few flips” can easily become a six-figure income stream.
  
  
• It’s sustainability meets sales: Gen Z and Millennials are pushing for a circular economy, and resale plays right into that. According to ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report, 68% of Millennial and Gen Z shoppers bought secondhand in 2024, which shows a great preference for pre-owned over new. That means your inventory is also more desirable to the next-gen buyer.
  
  
• Recession-resistant and platform-proof: Even during economic downturns, people want deals, and reselling delivers. Plus, when you sell on multiple platforms, you’re not relying on one algorithm to keep your business above water.
  
  
• Reselling tools make it scalable: With tools like Nifty, resellers can list across Poshmark, eBay, Depop, Etsy, and Mercari without copy-pasting. You can schedule listings, auto-remove sold items, and track profits without wading knee-deep in spreadsheets. 

How to start a reselling business that actually makes money

Starting a reselling business in 2025 is less about luck and more about having a plan (and using smart tools from day one).

Step 1: Choose a product category and sourcing method

Every strong resale business starts with a niche. You don’t need a business degree to pick one, you just need curiosity, trend awareness, and a reliable sourcing game.

Here’s how smart resellers narrow it down

• Play to your strengths: Got an eye for vintage fashion? Into refurbished electronics? Know which sneakers are about to pop? Start where you already have an edge.
  
  
• Research demand, not just vibes: Use free tools like Google Trends, TikTok trends, and Amazon’s Best Sellers list to see what people are actively buying.

Sourcing is a strategy

• Thrift stores and estate sales = high margins, but unpredictable inventory
  
  
• Liquidation pallets = bulk buys with mixed quality
  
  
• Wholesalers and Alibaba = good for new items, but often have a way higher cost
  
  
• Garage sales and FB Marketplace = treasure hunts if you’ve got time

Pro tip: Don't overthink the first few items. You’ll learn fast. What matters is picking a sourcing method that feels sustainable for your time, budget, and overall vibe.

Step 2: Set up accounts on reselling platforms

Time to go live. Signing up on multiple marketplaces gives you reach, flexibility, and a safety net if one channel flops.

Start with the platforms that match your niche. Quick-hit breakdown: 

• Poshmark (fashion)
• eBay (collectibles + electronics)
• Mercari (home + gadgets)
• Depop (vintage + Gen Z vibes)
• Etsy (handmade + niche)
• Amazon (new/refurb gear at scale)

Best practices to nail it on your first try

1. Separate accounts = fewer messes: Use a dedicated email and payment setup for all your business-related activities from day one.
   
   
2. Complete your storefronts: Add bios, profile pics, and banner images. You’d be surprised how much trust that builds.
   
   
3. Confirm banking + shipping details: You don’t want your first sale stuck in limbo.

Pro tip: Each site has its own rulebook. Fees, returns, payout timelines, that’s what we’ll hit next.

Step 3: Learn the fees and policies

Want to protect your margins? You’ve got to know exactly what each platform charges, and where they’ve hidden a gotcha.

• Poshmark charges a flat $2.95 for sales under $15, and takes 20% on anything above that.
  
  
• eBay hits sellers with a final value fee (typically ~14%) plus a small listing or insertion fee.
  
  
• Mercari takes a 10% selling fee, and buyers pay 3.6% for buyer protection.
  
  
• Depop No Depop fee, just payment processing (U.S.: 3.3% + $0.45, UK: 2.9% + £0.30), unless you’re outside the U.S. or U.K., where 10% commission + processing fees apply.
  
  
• Etsy charges $0.20 per listing, takes 6.5% on the transaction, and adds around $0.25 + 3% for payment processing.

Why does this matter?

• Fees compound fast: A $30 sale could be ~$20 after fees and shipping.
  
  
• Returns and disputes matter: Each platform handles refunds differently, so know your exposure upfront.
  
  
• Profit depends on details, not just price tags: Get out in front of policy changes before they eat your margins.

Pro tip: Bookmark each fees page; your earnings spreadsheet depends on it.

Step 4: Create a listing system that works

Your listings are the front door of your business. Sloppy titles, blurry photos, and disorganized processes will tank your conversions before a buyer even clicks.

Build a routine that makes listings effortless

• Start with clean, high-quality photos: Use natural lighting, plain backgrounds, and multiple angles. Make it look like something you’d want to buy. Nifty also provides access to Photoroom (everyone’s favorite photo-editing app!).
  
  
• Write titles that search engines love: Include brand, size, color, and product type (e.g., “Nike Air Max 90 Men’s Size 11 Black/Red”). Use the exact words buyers search, and avoid keyword stuffing.
  
  
• Set up templates for your listings: Keep descriptions structured, e.g., condition, measurements, and specific sizing. Save your best-performing descriptions to tweak and reuse.
  
  
• List across platforms from one hub: Don’t waste hours copy-pasting. Use Nifty to create one listing and crosspost it everywhere in one shot.
  
  
• Schedule and track your output: Set goals like “10 new listings by noon” or “20 per day,” then stick to it. Consistency always wins.

Pro tip: Take 30 minutes to build a reusable “listing checklist” with photo and description steps. That’s how you cut your listing time in half.

Step 5: Track income, COGS, and profit

Yes, you’re running a business. And real businesses know their numbers.

Keep your profits from leaking out the back

• COGS is everything: Your cost of goods sold includes sourcing price, but excludes shipping, packaging, and platform fees. If you’re not tracking this, you’re guessing. Nifty can pull in your COGS after sales, so you can see an up-to-date, accurate total profit. You can also enter your COGS on Nifty when you list to track your profits.
  
  
• Spreadsheets get messy fast: Sure, Google Sheets can work in the beginning, but once you hit 100+ items across platforms, mayhem starts to rear its ugly head. Use Nifty to help manage your entire inventory in one place.
  
  
• Reselling tools save time (and sanity): Tools like Nifty offer built-in command hubs (Nifty’s Analytics Suite, for example) that calculate profit, track expenses, and help with tax prep.
  
  
• Track by SKU or category: Use inventory labels or digital tags (SKUs) so you can slice your data. Know which product types are draining cash and which are printing money. This is another area where Nifty’s Analytics Suite absolutely shines.
  
  
• Review monthly, not yearly: You can’t fix what you’re not watching. Set a monthly “CEO check-in” to review your top earners, duds, and ROI trends. 

Pro tip: Don’t wait for tax season. Start clean with digital tracking from day one, future you will thank you.

Step 6: Do you need to register as a business in your state?

You don’t have to go full corporate from day one, but depending on where you live and how much you sell, there are rules to follow.

5 tips to steer clear of legal trip-ups

1. Check your state’s thresholds: Many states don’t ask for registration until you hit a certain revenue number or sales frequency. Look up your state’s reseller permit rules.
   
   
2. Consider an LLC for protection: An LLC can protect your personal assets and help with tax deductions if you’re scaling or working with high-value inventory.
   
   
3. You might need a sales tax ID: Some platforms collect and remit for you, but others require you to handle state taxes directly.
   
   
4. Banking matters too: A separate business bank account keeps things clean, and makes it way easier come tax time.
   
   
5. Get advice if you’re still not sure: A quick call to a local small business office or accountant can save you thousands down the road.

Common pain points that stall growth

Every resale business starts with momentum, then it hits the wall. These pain points can go from minor annoyances to huge business-busting calamities. 

And spoiler, every one of these challenges can be solved with better tools, systems, or mindset shifts.

• Manual listing and relisting is the grind that never ends: If you're copying and pasting titles, uploading the same photos 5+ times, or manually entering prices and tags for every platform, you're bleeding time. That kind of repetition kills productivity and can lead to inconsistent listings that confuse buyers.
  
  
• Double-selling creates refund disasters and lost trust: Selling on Etsy, Mercari, eBay, and Depop without auto-delisting is like juggling knives with your eyes closed. One sale can create two angry buyers, one refund, and a possible suspension. It’s a resale business nightmare, and it’s totally avoidable with Nifty’s sales detection and auto-delisting functionality.
  
  
• Your profit tracking is an arcane incantation in a Google Sheet: You might be making sales, but if you don’t know your fees, shipping costs, cost of goods sold (COGS), or return rate, you’re not running a resale business, you’re just guessing. Most spreadsheets fall apart fast when you're crosslisting on multiple marketplaces.
  
  
• You have nowhere to see the big picture: If you're logging into six platforms just to figure out what sold yesterday, you don’t have control. A resale business needs one clean interface to see inventory, sales, offers, and expenses. Without that, decisions are delayed, and growth stalls.
  
  
• Burnout from being “always on”: You can’t scale if you’re stuck in hustle mode. Every ping, question, and shipment notification drags you back in. It’s exhausting, and it doesn’t leave space for growth, strategy, or even a day off.
  
  
• Shipping sagas ruin your vibe and your ratings: Lost labels, missed scans, delayed shipments directly impact your reviews, customer trust, and repeat buyers. Managing platform-specific rules without automation and reselling tools is a recipe for stress and support tickets.

Pro tip: Nifty can take care of absolutely all of these in minutes. 

How reselling tools solve scaling challenges for resellers

When you're a one-person operation juggling five marketplaces, one wrong move can tank your profits, your schedule, or your sanity. Automation and bulk tools help you regain control of your time, your systems, your inventory, and your life. 

The right tools flip the game in your favor

• Crosslist everywhere with zero re-entries: Instead of manually recreating the same listing five times, tools like Nifty let you post once and push it to Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, Depop, and Etsy in a few clicks. It saves hours and cuts down on mistakes, especially with titles, prices, or product descriptions.
  
  
• Auto-delisting keeps your reputation safe: When something sells on eBay, Nifty detects the sale and immediately pulls it from the other platforms. This prevents overselling, refunds, and negative feedback, all of which can get your accounts flagged. That’s a risk you don’t need to take.
  
  
• Bulk updates and effective pricing strategies: Whether you're adjusting prices for a weekend sale or updating inventory after a thrift haul, Nifty’s bulk tools let you make changes across your whole shop.
  
  
• Scheduled shares and activity keep your shop alive 24/7: Many platforms reward activity. With bulk tools, you can schedule shares, schedule drafts to go live, and schedule how long Nifty should wait before sending offers to likers – all in the background while you sleep, source, or focus on growth. That means you can stop worrying about scrambling just to feed the algorithm.
  
  
• Up-to-date analytics = your resale business command center: Instead of six spreadsheets and three apps, you get one clean view of sales, fees, inventory, and performance. Tools like Nifty consolidate everything so you can make informed decisions instead of gut calls. 

10 tips to grow your resale business

Your resale business doesn’t need another “dream big” pep talk. What it needs is real momentum, and that means scaling without spinning your wheels. 

These 10 tips will help you grow faster, stress less, and avoid the spreadsheet spiral.

1. Stop using one platform: Selling only on Poshmark is like opening a hot dog stand on a hiking trail … wrong crowd. Crosslist to eBay, Mercari, Depop, Etsy, and more so your stuff gets seen, not stale.
   
   
2. Let AI do the heavy lifting: Writing every title and description yourself? That’s a trap. Let tools like Nifty offer SEO-rich listings and remove photo backgrounds while you focus on sourcing gold.
   
   
3. Schedule like a professional, not a panic buyer: Block out time for shipping, listing, and inventory updates, so your business doesn’t eat your weekend. Use strategy!
   
   
4. Make your store look like a brand: Use the same tone, colors, and image style across platforms. When people trust your vibe, they trust your products, and their wallets follow.
   
   
5. Track what works, delete what doesn’t: If Depop’s moving all your graphic tees but Mercari is just tumbleweeds, pivot. Analytics are your best unpaid intern, so use them!
   
   
6. Set realistic inventory goals: Ten solid, well-listed items are better than 100 piled in your closet waiting for a glow-up. Pace yourself to stay consistent.
   
   
7. Outsource the repetitive stuff: You can delegate repetitive work like delisting and price drops to software. Nifty is here to kill busywork and give you your life back.
   
   
8. Escape the spreadsheet dungeon: Unless you love Excel-induced migraines, ditch the DIY accounting and use a simple interface to track up-to-date sales, profits, and platform fees.
   
   
9. Treat shipping like part of the customer experience: Late shipping kills repeat buyers. Pre-print labels, store your supplies, and automate wherever you can. Smooth delivery = five-star reviews.
   
   
10. Run your resale gig like a real business: Register it, track expenses, reinvest profits, and plan for growth. The IRS doesn’t care if your Depop bio has ✨vibes✨; they want your numbers to be clean.

Nifty: Resell super easily across 5 platforms, get your day back

At some point, every growing reselling business hits a wall. You’re sourcing faster than you can list, listings are out of sync, and you're spending more time juggling platforms than making sales. But Nifty can help get your life back on track. 

• List once, sell everywhere: Instead of copy-pasting into five different marketplaces, Nifty lets you crosslist to Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, Depop, and Etsy in one move. Think of it as the command center your resale business deserves.
  
  
• No more burnout: Nifty eliminates repetitive listing work, so you're not burning an hour per item. Upload it once and let automation and bulk tools take care of business.
  
  
• See everything in one place: Inventory, listings, profits, and performance, Nifty's clean, visual hub shows it all in real time, across every platform. That means fewer spreadsheets, fewer mistakes, and way fewer problems.
  
  
• Pro-level AI listings: You get suggestions for SEO-optimized titles, detailed product descriptions, and the right hashtags automatically. It’s like hiring a listing expert copywriter who delivers in under 30 seconds.
  
  
• Your photo editor’s new best friend: Background removal and image touch-ups are built right in. That means scroll-stopping visuals without extra software.
  
  
• Inventory management that actually works: Nifty auto-delists sold items across other platforms almost instantly. No more double-selling, no more awkward apologies to buyers.

“I spent the morning resyncing my inventory using my favorite crosslisting tool — Nifty.”

— Kelsey @ MellowState

Get your 7-day free trial started today, and see how Nifty can make your reselling experience so much easier.

FAQs

1. How do I start a reselling business with no experience?

Starting a reselling business with no experience is straightforward: pick a niche, sign up for a platform, and sell items from your closet. You can literally begin today by listing anything you own on platforms like Poshmark or Mercari. The key is learning as you go. Every successful reseller started exactly where you are now.

2. What’s the fastest thing to resell for profit?

The fastest items to resell for profit are (women’s) clothing, small electronics, and trending products. These categories have quick turnover because people constantly need clothing, electronics break or become outdated, and trending items (especially those popular on TikTok) create immediate demand. Focus on “nostalgic” items (such as anything from the 70s or 80s) and popular tech accessories, like AirPods, for consistent sales.

3. How do I avoid burnout while running a reseller business?

Avoiding burnout in your reseller business requires bulk tools, automation, and deliberate scheduling. Set specific times for listing items, avoid late-night shipping runs, and don't try to handle every aspect of the business yourself. Use tools to automate repetitive tasks and consider this a business, not a 24/7 hustle that consumes your life.

4. What’s the best platform for beginners?

Depop and Mercari are the best platforms for beginners. These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces that make listing items simple and straightforward to learn. eBay does have a larger audience, but it comes with more complexity and a steeper learning curve that can overwhelm new sellers. However, if you’re selling name-brand fashion, add Poshmark to your portfolio. 

5. What’s the best way to track profit and expenses?

The best way to track profit and expenses is by using dedicated analytics tools rather than basic spreadsheets. Tools like Nifty provide up-to-date analytics that show you exactly what's selling and what's just taking up storage space. This data helps you make informed decisions about inventory and pricing strategy.