My Favorite Reseller Buys from Amazon

My Favorite Reseller Buys from Amazon

by | Business, Thrifting & Upcycling

How you know you’re a serious reseller

You might be a serious reseller when your birthday wish list looks well…something like the list of items below i this blog post. Because I am a reseller and therefore, a seasoned thrifter, it’s hard for me to give my husband ideas about what to buy for me. For Mother’s day, I sent him links to all of my “likes” on Poshmark. That worked well! But when my birthday rolled around I really felt like I had everything I wanted…but there were some things I needed for my reseller business that I just didn’t want to spend money on. Below are my favorite reseller buys from Amazon, including the item I got for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Efficiency is Key

I’d been using my tiny little travel steamer for the last year since I gave reselling a serious try. I could maybe steam two or three garments before it ran out of steam. Then I would have to wait for it to cool down before I could fill it back up and start steaming again. So inefficient! I didn’t want to plunk down $200 for a professional steamer. But a quick search on Amazon revealed some in-between options. I sent my husband the link and the steamer arrived on my doorstep a couple of days later. Not exactly a romantic gift! For my birthday I asked him to help me re-organize my space in the garage and get the new steamer set up. OMG! I can’t believe I didn’t get one of these sooner! I immediately steamed about 5 garments in like 30 seconds. Okay, that’s an exaggeration but it was definitely light years faster than the old method. The exact steamer that I purchased is current out of stock so the image to the right is the closest that I could find. This is definitely one of my favorite reseller buys from Amazon!

 

Getting Organized

I don’t have a fancy “posh” room or reseller room like we often see on social media. I keep my items in my own personal closet, as well as in bins in my garage. I wasn’t looking for a garment rack specifically for my reseller business. My plan was to make some “outfit of the day” videos for YouTube (that have yet to materialize). This garment rack was inexpensive and once I received it and put it together, I wheeled it into the garage and it was an immediate lifesaver! It’s so easy to see all my items and….when I go to steam and prep new items, it’s all together in one place in my little corner of the garage. 

In case you’re curious, I’ve included a few pictures of our garage, aka The Multipurpose Room, below. My husband also uses it as a music studio, office, video studio, etc.!

 

The Basics

Some items are not very exciting or sexy but definitely necessary for your reseller business. You don’t want to suddenly be thrown into a panic because you are out of tape or tissue paper! I know some resellers have been able to score great deals on tissue paper at their local dollar store. Alas, mine does not have this coveted item in any sort of value pack. When in a pinch, I love to turn to Amazon for convenience’s sake. Just be careful to check the size of the paper. Some of them are a little smaller than standard. 

Have you ever run out of tape? I have. It’s a terrible feeling. Almost as bad as running out of printer ink! I decided to stock up on a 12 pack of tape rolls so I can minimize the panic as much as possible. Oh, and although I already have one of those handheld box tape dispensers, I found it cumbersome when trying to dispense tape for anything other than taping up a box. So, I got this great dispenser that fits the large rolls of packing tape. I love it soooo much!

Another must-have is poly mailers. I mainly use these for shipping Mercari items. Since Poshmark allows us to use any priority mail packaging, I order that for FREE from USPS.com. Thank you, USPS!

I love these hot pink 10×13 mailers. They are pretty and the work really well for shipping clothing. I will typically wrap the garment in the plain white tissue paper and then insert into the mailer. I like that I can sort of adjust where I seal it to best fit the item. 

I used to send a personalized “Thank You” card with every order I would send out. After I started doing some pretty regular sales, this became pretty time-consuming. I do still sometimes write a personalized card for a larger order. But, I think these little stickers are a nice touch and they make the packaging look super cute. Sometimes I put them on the outside of the box. Sometimes, I’ll use them to seal the tissue paper. Sometimes I do both! They are pretty inexpensive and just add that extra little touch of professionalism. 

What’s Next?

These are my favorite reseller buys from Amazon….SO FAR!!! What do I have my eye on next? Welp, who wouldn’t love a thermal label printer…amirite?

This is an even larger expense than the steamer so I have a certain revenue goal that I would like to hit before I feel I can justify the investment. I do sometimes ship items for my husband’s business, so that might be another reason to justify this expense! Oh…the things small business owners dream of!

Do you have one of these label printers? If so, how has it changed your business? Was it worth it? Drop me a comment and let me know what else is on your “must have” list as a reseller. Share your favorite reseller buys from Amazon.

If you are new to reselling, check out my free guide on how to Flip Your Thrift Finds for Profit. In this guide, I share some of the best tips that I learned through trial and error over the last year of reselling. Simply fill in your name and email below and I’ll send you the guide along with other helpful tips!

Thrifting for Profit

5 Tips to Flip Your Thrift Finds for Profit

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    Thrifting for Profit

    Thrifting for Profit

    by | Business, Thrifting & Upcycling

    Thrifting for Profit is Possible

    In the Beginning

    I first got the idea about flipping used items for profit back in the early 2000s. I was living in Phoenix, AZ and eBay was pretty much the only game in town when it came to buying and selling used stuff online. I’ve always loved yard sales and one day, I happened upon a very unusual looking clock at one of these sales. Something told me that this item was worth something…something more than they were selling it for. I bought it for $8, I think. I took it home and did a little research. (This was before the days of smartphones, mobile browsers, and 4G). I learned that this was in fact an antique clock. I sold it on eBay for $75 in about a day. I attempted to repeat this process in a bit of a half-assed way and eventually gave up on the idea of thrifting for profit. Life got busy and I wasn’t making THAT much money. 

     

    New Inspiration

    Fast forward to 2019 when I decided to leave my corporate job and work for/with my husband. I now had more freedom and flexibility to pursue other interests. (This blog is one of those interests!) I had started thrift shopping more frequently because I could now hit the morning sidewalk sales that I couldn’t when I had my 9-5 JOB. One day I overheard one of the ladies working at the thrift shop mention that a lot of their customers come to their $2 sales to resell clothes. I had been shopping for myself and my daughter. But I once again was intrigued by the idea of thrifting for profit. So, I started listing items I found on Poshmark. I had been buying on Poshmark since 2014 and loved the concept! Why pay full price for something when you can get it slightly used for much, much less?

     

    Figuring Things Out

    When first starting out, I didn’t fully know what I was doing. I would source brands I recognized and that seemed decent quality. I also sold stuff from my own personal closet that I didn’t use anymore. I started to make a little money….but not much. But it was fun so I just would tell people that I had a “hobby that makes me money.” But, there was work involved. I mean I don’t LOVE ironing and steaming the clothes to get them ready for sale. Figuring out how to take the best pictures was also a challenge. I’ve never been good at photography. But, I knew that there were people who were flipping and thrifting for profit full time so I knew there was a lot that I well…didn’t know. 

     

    So, I joined several Facebook groups just for resellers. I started to learn some important tips and tricks. Like how relisting a stale item can help get new eyes on it. Or, the importance of cross-listing. (Cross Listing is when you offer your items on more than one platform.) For example, I cross-list to both Poshmark and Mercari. I also have a few items on Kidizen and Depop but Poshmark and Mercari are where 98% of my sales come from. I also started getting active with other sellers on Instagram and I realized that there were a lot of folks new to reselling, looking for a way to make it a real business. COVID has impacted a lot of people’s income, my family included. 

     

    5 Tips to Flip Your Thrift for Profit

    The more I learn, the more success I have in reselling. So, I thought I would share a few tips for those who are new and looking to become successful quickly. So, I created The 5 Tips to Flip Your Thrift for Profit Guide. Thrifting for profit can be done, whether you are only a part-timer like me or looking to make it your full-time business.

    If you are 100% new to thrift store shopping, I recommend you check out my 5 Tips for New Thrifters Blog Post.

    If you’re ready to start thrifting for profit, CLICK HERE to get the FREE guide and I’ll continue sending more tips and useful info your way. 

    Thrifting for Profit

    5 Tips to Flip Your Thrift Finds for Profit

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      Lessons Learned in My First Year of Entrepreneur Life

      Lessons Learned in My First Year of Entrepreneur Life

      by | Business

      March 22, 2020 marked the 1 year anniversary since I left corporate America. It sounds cliche but it is hard to believe a whole year has gone by. But, I think anniversaries are an important time to reflect and re-evaluate. Looking back to a year ago, I really had no idea what I was in for as I joined my husband’s business to become an entrepreneur for the first time. In celebrating my entrepreneur anniversary, I thought I would share the lessons learned in my first year of entrepreneur life. And….some things I am still learning.

      Some skills & topics I have learned about in the past year

       

      • Sales funnels
      • Payroll
      • Email  and Internet marketing
      • Product launches
      • Self publishing a book
      • How to build a website
      • Video editing
      • Lead magnets
      • Facebook Ads
      • California employment laws
      • SEO

      I certainly haven’t mastered all of the items above and I could write a list of about 100 things I still would like to learn. But, that’s the kind of fun thing with entrepreneurship….I have to constantly be learning things. And the things you need to learn aren’t always fun. For example, recently I had to try and learn how to create a 30 day free trial offer in our funnel software. It took me a couple of days. Because, let’s face it, none of us are at our most productive when having to also homeschool our kids. This is the thing with running your own business that can be frustrating and exciting at the same time. If you need something, you have to go figure out how to do it. There is no one else to turn to. In my old role, I had a whole team and countless other departments to help implement the work that needed to be done. Now, it’s just me and my husband, with a little help from contractors and employees. 

      Lessons Learned in My First Year of Entrepreneur Life

      Know where you add value

      And where you don’t. (More on this below.)  For example, when my husband wrote a book last year and we chose to self-publish, there were certain tasks we needed to be completed after the writing part was over. Editing, formatting, cover design, etc.  I chose to format my husband’s book. Even though that was not super exciting, it was fairly easy for me to do and saved us thousands of dollars. If you do outsource certain tasks, it will allow you to spend more time on the parts of the business that do light your heart on fire and where you feel like you can truly make a positive difference. 

      Time really is money

      Another important task that needed to happen was rebuilding Tim’s speaker website. I was willing to take this on but it was a steeper learning curve than I expected. if we waited until I could master web design, rather than bringing on a professional, that would have cost us future higher paying gigs. Having that new site gave Tim the clout to charge twice as much. That meant that we could start making thousands of dollars more each month. If we’d waited another 6 months, how many tens of thousands of dollars would that be?  So, if the investment won’t break the bank, get help when you need it. Just do some back of the napkin math and you’ll quickly figure out the ROI of hiring vs. DIY. 

      Try, but know your limit

      Don’t be too proud to outsource something if that is what is needed. I firmly believe that as a baby entrepreneur you should start by trying to do as much DIY as possible. This is how you’ll learn what goes into the various aspects of your business. Brendan Burchard is a big advocate of this. The reason for this is that when and if you do outsource something, you know precisely what you are outsourcing. For example, I once heard of an online entrepreneur who hired a virtual assistant to help her manage her email list. Every time she needed to add someone or move them to a different list, that VA was charging her something like $30 each time!  She didn’t realize that was an exorbitant amount to charge because she had no idea of the the tech behind what she was trying to do. But, if you do try and realize it is beyond your skill or something that you absolutely loathe so much you’d gladly pay someone else, then by all means, go ahead and hire someone else to do this.

      Don’t hire out of ignorance or fear. How long should you try before you decide to outsource? That’s up to you. I used to have an employee that had a “5 minute rule’ when it came to any tech challenges related to her job. If she was trying to figure something out and found herself toiling away and not making progress, she would tell herself, “I am going to spend 5 more minutes on this and if I can’t figure it out by then, I am going to call and ask for help.”  Decide what your “5 minute rule” is and stick to it. 

      So, those are just some of the lessons learned in my first year of entrepreneur life. Sometimes I feel like corporate life didn’t really prepare me very well for my current role, other than teaching me mad organization skills. Luckily I have been able to call on some of my corporate knowledge to help those who are getting used to working from home for the firs time. Check out my blog post on this topic. 

      Essential Tools

      Here are some of the tools that I found essential in my first year.

      10 Tips for Managing Remote Employees

      10 Tips for Managing Remote Employees

      by | Business

      Seems that a lot of folks are freaking out about having to work at home on a regular basis now. We’re all about to find out which meetings really could have been an email after all. But, in all seriousness, this can create some anxiety for leaders who are not accustomed to having to manage a remote team. I spent many years not only as a remote employee but also as a manager of remote teams. It’s been a year since I left my corporate career but I think the lessons learned still hold true today. So, during this challenging time, I am leaning into the CORPORATE side of Corporate Crunchy (click here to read more about me and my story) and sharing some tips for managing remote employees. If this sounds like you, click HERE for my 10 Tips for Managing Remote Employees.

      In this guide, I share not only the things you MUST do when managing a remote team. But, I also share some of the things you SHOULD NOT do if you want to foster trust and collaboration between you and your employee. Or, even amongst the entire team. 

      If you have additional tips to share, feel free to drop a comment below!