How This 23-12 months-Previous Began A Facet Hustle That Now Earns Her 124K/12 months
Who would have thought you might earn over 6-figures reselling gadgets on-line?
Nicely, we talked with Sophie Riegel and he or she tells us precisely how she earned 124K final 12 months reselling gadgets.
Sophie shares what platforms she makes use of to promote, what gadgets she makes essentially the most revenue from, and a lot extra!
OK, right here you go…all the pieces you want to learn about beginning your on-line resale enterprise.
1. Are you able to inform us just a little bit about your self and what impressed you to start out what you are promoting?
I grew up in NY and went to school in NC at Duke. I graduated in Might 2023 with a level in Psychology. Along with being a reseller, I’m additionally knowledgeable speaker, licensed coach, and writer.
I communicate all around the nation about my expertise with psychological sickness and have written three books associated to that subject. In 2022, I went to teaching faculty (each of my mother and father are coaches) as a result of I wished to assist mother and father navigate their relationship with their youngsters. Now I work full time as each a coach, speaker, and a reseller.
How did I turn out to be a reseller?
Throughout my freshman 12 months of faculty, we had been all despatched house due to COVID and informed to proceed all of our courses asynchronously. Once I was at house, it felt like there was nothing to do and my mother and father informed me and my twin brother that we would have liked to discover a pastime.
That’s once I began going via my closet and promoting these gadgets on platforms like Mercari and Poshmark. I had nothing however time to determine the ins and outs of reselling clothes and I shortly realized how worthwhile this may very well be.
In November of 2020, I started going to thrift shops to seek out gadgets to promote on the platforms I realized a lot about. From that time on, I knew I wished to know all the pieces there was to learn about reselling and my enterprise took off from there.
2. Might you element the steps concerned within the launch of what you are promoting?
These had been among the steps concerned in launching my enterprise:
Discover locations to supply gadgets
Get all needed delivery provides
Get a storage unit for my stock
Turn into conversant in the reselling platforms
File for an LLC
Analysis, analysis, analysis!
And extra
3. What varieties of gadgets do you focus on reselling? Is there a sort of merchandise that’s all the time in demand?
I focus on promoting grownup sneakers, garments, and equipment. Athletic sneakers are all the time in demand since they’ve a excessive retail value and are utilized in each season.
Excessive-end/designer baggage and backpacks are additionally in demand all year long, particularly as a result of they don’t exit of fashion as shortly as garments do.
Different gadgets like winter jackets, boots, sandals, swimwear, and many others. are far more seasonal gadgets and subsequently promote properly for only some months out of the 12 months.
4. Are you able to stroll us via what you are promoting mannequin and your course of for on-line promoting?
I’m going to thrift shops, yard gross sales, and many others. and purchase undervalued gadgets and promote them on-line.
For instance, I’d stroll right into a thrift retailer and discover a pair of nike sneakers for $5 after which I’ll convey them house, clear them if wanted, and get them itemizing on the totally different reselling platforms.
Then I await the merchandise to promote and ship it to the client. I’ve over 1,300 gadgets in my stock proper now.
Basically, these are the primary steps:
Do tons of analysis to know what to search for
Supply stock
Clear stock (if needed)
{Photograph} stock
Edit pictures
Retailer stock
Checklist stock (and do analysis on every merchandise to determine the worth to listing it at)
Promote stock
Pack stock
Ship stock
Repeat
5. The place are the very best locations to seek out your stock, and what methods do you utilize to make sure the standard of the gadgets you promote?
I discover good high quality stock at most thrift shops. Anytime I journey, I’m going to the native thrift shops and I discover nice gadgets. Whereas some areas I’ve been to have higher stock and costs than others, I feel wherever you might be, you’ll find high-quality gadgets.
Within the hotter months, I additionally go to flea markets and yard gross sales.
If what to search for and have a depth of data, you’ll find good stock nearly wherever.
I keep away from consignment shops as a result of the costs are too excessive for me to hit my desired revenue margin.
Earlier than buying any gadgets, I do a radical high quality management examine. For sneakers, I examine for put on on the soles, uppers, and the within (there’s usually put on at the back of the shoe by the heel). I additionally do the “bend take a look at” to guarantee that if I bend the sneakers, they don’t collapse or crack.
On clothes, I search for stains, holes, and extreme put on. On baggage, I make certain each the within and out of doors are clear and I examine all zippers to verify they’re working correctly.
I do make errors typically, although. I’ve missed flaws in gadgets and located them as soon as I began my photographing course of. In that case, I’ll both re-donate them or promote them and observe the flaw within the description.
6. Are you able to describe your course of for pricing your gadgets? What elements have an effect on the worth?
Components that have an effect on the worth are merchandise situation, seasonal demand, competitors, sell-through fee, and many others.
Once I discover an merchandise, I often use Google Lens to go looking my merchandise and discover different comparable listings on eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari. I can seek for my merchandise on these platforms and see what my actual merchandise has offered for up to now.
Resellers name this course of “checking comps.” I’ll often value my merchandise a bit larger than what it has beforehand offered for to depart room for provides. If I’ve the one considered one of that particular merchandise listed, I’ll enhance the worth since there is no such thing as a competitors. If I need to make a faster sale, I’ll lower the worth.
For instance, if I discover a coach purse, I’ll search for the model quantity that’s written on the within of the bag. As soon as I try this, I’ll discover the title of the model and sort it into eBay.
Then I’ll filter the listings on eBay to offered listings and see what it has offered for up to now. If I see that it’s constantly promoting for round $40, I’d value is at $45 or $50 and take a suggestion from a purchaser. If I need to eliminate it shortly, I’d value it at $30.
Once I value my gadgets, there’s plenty of analysis concerned. I’m contemplating the situation of the merchandise, the availability and demand, the novelty, the dimensions, and far more.
7. How do you market and promote your on-line resale enterprise to draw clients and generate gross sales?
I don’t do any advertising and marketing. I simply make certain I’ve top quality and fascinating gadgets at a superb value and the shoppers come to me. I’ll sometimes run gross sales on the reselling platforms which does assist drive enterprise my method.
8. What platforms or channels do you utilize for promoting clothes and different gadgets you promote?
I promote on Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari. I discover Poshmark to be essentially the most user-friendly of the three platforms. Round 45% of my gross sales are on Poshmark, 30% on eBay, and 25% on Mercari.
9. How a lot do you earn with what you are promoting?
Since I began reselling 3.5 years in the past, I’ve had about $350,000 in gross sales and round $205,000 in revenue after charges, price of products, and different bills. In 2023, I had a income of $124,000.
10. How do you deal with logistics and delivery for gross sales?
On Poshmark, there’s a flat delivery charge of $7.99 that my consumers pay. As soon as an merchandise sells, I obtain and print the delivery label, pack up the merchandise, put the delivery label on the package deal, and drop it on the submit workplace. I’m usually delivery out between 60 and 90 packages per week and right here is my course of:
Two to 3 occasions per week I’ll do that:
Print delivery labels from all platforms utilizing a thermal label printer
Write the title of the merchandise on the again of the delivery label
Pull the gadgets from my stock
Undergo the pile of delivery labels and pack the merchandise that’s written on the again
Put all of my packages in giant duffel baggage
Deliver them to the submit workplace and drop them off
Delivery on eBay is extra sophisticated which is why I like to recommend utilizing Poshmark to start out.
11. What challenges have you ever encountered in working your resale enterprise?
It’s laborious to run any enterprise alone, particularly as a 20 one thing 12 months previous.
Listed below are a number of particular challenges I’ve encountered whereas working my enterprise:
I like to do the buying, however the different elements of the method are much less pleasurable. It has been a problem for me to get motivated to get the boring elements of the method finished (delivery, photographing, cleansing, itemizing, and many others.).
However I’ve to do all of this stuff to maintain my enterprise working and my clients completely satisfied. I additionally don’t have anybody to carry me accountable so it is rather straightforward to slide right into a sample of simply doing what’s pleasurable and procrastinating the remaining. It’s plenty of work to do each step of the method, particularly when this isn’t my full-time job.
It’s also troublesome to say no to stock when it is rather low cost. For instance, if I see one thing for a greenback and I do know I can promote it for $10, it may be laborious to show it away. But when I’m going primarily based on that mannequin, I’ll have extra stuff than I can presumably take care of and I’d fairly give attention to larger revenue gadgets.
It is rather straightforward to think about different resellers as competitors. Once I first began reselling, I undoubtedly had that mindset and would get aggressive and aggressive with the opposite resellers within the shops.
However there’s sufficient stuff for everybody and being pals with different resellers means you may collaborate, bounce concepts off of one another, commiserate, and extra. Now once I see different resellers, I remind myself that them doing their job doesn’t take something away from me.
The final problem that I’ve encountered most lately is that there are plenty of haters.
When the CNBC article about my reselling enterprise was revealed, I used to be flooded with messages of individuals telling me that I used to be stealing from the poor or that I’m what’s flawed with American or that I made up my numbers to get publicity.
I even had folks criticizing my seems to be or telling me that I in all probability made cash on OnlyFans and didn’t need to admit it. In every single place I look, there’s somebody telling me that I’m a nasty individual for working this enterprise, that I clearly don’t care about underprivileged folks, or that I’m dumb for pondering that it is a professional enterprise.
And at first, these messages had been hurtful. However I can’t make everybody completely satisfied, and that’s simply life.
Now I simply remind myself that I created a 6 determine enterprise on my own as a 20 12 months previous and I’m happy with what I’ve constructed. This job has given me a lot pleasure, independence, and monetary freedom and I wouldn’t change it for something, regardless of what the haters say.
12. Is clothes resale a aggressive market? How do you differentiate your self from different sellers?
The clothes resale market could be very aggressive. Nearly any time I stroll right into a thrift retailer, there’s one other reseller there.One factor I do to distinguish myself from different sellers is that I’m continually studying new manufacturers and tendencies. Lots of resellers know the massive manufacturers to look out for, however I’ve taken the time to find out about 1000’s of manufacturers that promote properly, and that signifies that I can discover stock that another resellers might not have identified about. As well as, I’m very detailed in my itemizing titles and descriptions, which helps with the search engine optimization. Apart from that, I depend on the truth that I’ve high-quality gadgets at good costs and I’ve a superb popularity on the reselling platforms.
13. What recommendation would you give to somebody who needs to start out a web based resale enterprise?
Begin small and don’t spend some huge cash.
One of the best factor to start out promoting is your personal stuff.
Have enjoyable with it and be open to studying.
There’s a enormous studying curve so don’t get discouraged when it isn’t extraordinarily worthwhile in the beginning.
It takes plenty of time, work, and consistency. Be sure you are prepared to place within the work to get outcomes.
Be good to the employees on the thrift shops!
14. How can others discover you- as we’re all followers of you now?
You could find me on my Substack, Instagram, and YouTube. You too can see my retailer on Poshmark.
Listed below are the hyperlinks:
Substack: https://riegelreselling.substack.com/
Web site: https://sophieriegel.com/
Instagram: @riegel.reselling
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAR0bfnb695MPJivlLnPBuA
Poshmark: https://poshmark.com/closet/sophie_riegel
Superb! Thanks a lot Sophie! That is such an superior interview with so many suggestions and tips for on-line resale. We recognize you sharing this with us.
Be sure you observe Sophie and take a look at her different hyperlinks to seek out out much more about making over 6 figures by reselling gadgets on-line!