Last Updated on August 28, 2023
You may find it hard to access the right information on the internet, so we are here to help you in the following article, providing the best and updated information on how to become a reseller online. Read on to learn more.We at collegelearners .com have all the information that you need about how to become a clothing reseller. Read on to learn more.
how to become reseller
How to Start a Reseller Business (Plus 5 Opportunities for 2021)
You don’t need a revolutionary new product idea to sell things online. In fact, you don’t even have to manufacture your own products to start your own ecommerce business. There are many business models you can adopt which put product development, manufacturing, and even fulfillment into others’ hands—and profits into your pocket.
Reselling is one such model. Becoming a reseller is a great way to start selling online without starting from square one.
What is a reseller?
A reseller is a person who purchases products from manufacturers, liquidators, or other retailers and then sells them to their own customers. The permit—also known as a resale license, resale certificate, and tax exemption certificate—allows resellers to purchase certain items free of sales tax:
- Items to sell at wholesale
- Items to sell at retail
- Ingredients or components to manufacture and sell things
Reselling is a form of dropshipping, where companies source products and materials from a variety of suppliers and make them available to consumers in one place. This business model makes it easier for the average consumer to find and purchase products.
Resellers also often add some sort of value-add in terms of the customer experience. Buying directly from a supplier isn’t necessarily easy and often requires minimum purchase quantities. Resellers can sell individual units to customers (at a markup), as well as create a branded customer experience. Those elements may be as simple as in-depth product descriptions and reviews, a customer loyalty program, and customer support.
A reselling business has a number of benefits and can be a profitable business model, especially if you have niche expertise. You can launch an ecommerce business faster when you don’t have to go through all the steps of product development and building an audience.
Reselling is also a viable business pursuit for people who like and have success with marketing.
Because product reselling is a common type of dropshipping, it can be difficult to attract customers. If you can come up with effective marketing strategies, you’re more likely to have success with this type of dropshipping.
Straight product reselling is great for someone who has specific expertise or knowledge of an industry or demographic. For example, someone who knows about animal behavior could create a dropshipping business around the different toys that are best suited for pets.
How to get a reseller permit: 4 steps
Generally speaking, you’ll follow these steps to get your reseller permit:
- Register your business. Get a business license where your business operates and/or is incorporated. In states outside of where a business is registered, you’ll need to have Foreign Qualification.
- Research state laws and regulations. Many states will let you use an out-of-state reseller’s permit to avoid paying sales tax on resale items. However, some won’t honor out-of-state permits. Research state law before buying across state lines, both for in-person and online sales.
- Gather your application materials. Once you know what you need to register and submit your application, prep all the necessary documentation.
- Get a resale permit. File for one in each state where you buy and sell goods. You might also have to pay associated fees.
The sales tax laws vary by state, and each state has its own sales tax rates. In some states, local sales taxes must be collected, too. According to the Tax Foundation, all 46 states and the District of Columbia collect statewide sales taxes, and 38 states collect local sales taxes. To find out your specific requirements, it’s best to check with your local jurisdiction.
In the United States, a business with a reseller permit doesn’t pay sales tax on the products it purchases for sale. But the reseller does have to collect the sales tax from customers and send it to the state.
Like a business license, you take out your resale permit where your resale business operates. If you incorporate in, say, Florida but have a store, online shipping location, or factory in Delaware, you need a Delaware reseller’s permit. If you buy and sell goods in multiple states, you need a valid permit in each.
Note: Many states allow you to use an out-of-state sales tax permit when completing resale certificate documentation, so before you go out getting a permit for each state, so check before re-applying.
Best places to find suppliers for your resale business
To find a supplier for your resale business, start with identifying what types of products you want to sell and what kinds of customers you want to sell them to. Then you’ll need to determine if you want to find a supplier that operates as a distributor, providing wholesale products to you, or like a dropshipper, supplying products and taking care of order fulfillment.
To search for suppliers, you can look at online directories, do a Google search, or ask for referrals from within your network. Oberlo is an example of a product sourcing app perfect for Shopify merchants. It serves as a directory that makes it easy to find products to sell online.
With Oberlo, you can access a variety of products across all kinds of categories, such as electronics, toys, and cosmetics.
You can also work with well-known dropshipping suppliers like Worldwide Brands, SaleHoo, Doba, and AliExpress. Browse their websites to see what kinds of products are available for resale.
Five reseller business opportunities/ideas
Reselling opens the doors to a lot of new business opportunities, as you don’t have to invest in product development and manufacturing. These qualities also make reselling a great home business idea to start as a side gig and grow as you see fit.
1. Dropshipping business
You can start a dropshipping business which gives you the ability to offer a wide range of products without stocking any inventory. In a dropshipping business model, all you have to do is market and sell the products. Your dropshipping supplier handles everything product-related, from product development to warehousing and tracking, and even through to order fulfillment.
Dropshipping is an ideal low-risk business model because it doesn’t require investment in inventory, not to mention the costs associated with holding that stock. Plus, the supplier ships products for you, so you don’t even have to deal with the logistics associated with that.
2. Sneaker business
Shoes offer a wide range of niches—from athletic shoes to stylish heels to trendy sneakers and everything in between. People always need shoes, and you can keep things fresh by launching seasonal designs. There’s ample opportunity to start your own shoe business.
New Jersey-based Shopify merchant Packer Shoes started as a small neighborhood custom shoe shop. The company has grown since its humble beginnings in 1907, largely thanks to its omnichannel approach. Now, Packer Shoes sells more than shoes, including their own designs and reselling others, like sneakers from household name brands like Adidas.
3. Vintage boutique
The used goods resale industry is huge: in the U.S. alone, there are more than 20,000 stores that sell used goods, amounting to a combined annual revenue of about $17.6 billion. A vintage boutique is a great reselling business idea to take advantage of this opportunity. And there are so many ways you can take it.
You can go by the technical definition of goods that are older than 50 years and younger than 100, or you can take inspiration from vintage trends. COAL N TERRY does the latter with their vintage clothing collection.
You can sell vintage clothing, antique furniture, or any knick-knacks you can find. The key to a successful vintage reselling business is to know what items people look for. For example, vintage Corningware is in high demand for a niche market of customers.
4. Consignment
Similar to the opportunities that come with a vintage boutique, you can also open a consignment shop. Consignment shops sell upscale or luxury used goods, and not everything is antique or vintage—some items are newer.
Love that Bag etc, for example, is a Shopify merchant that operates an online consignment shop. Though they resell high-quality designer bags for less than brand new, they’re more expensive than bags you might find at a vintage shop.
5. Subscription box
Subscription boxes reached peak popularity when brands like Birchbox hit the ecommerce scene. It’s a flexible business model that lends itself well to a reseller. You can curate an assortment of goods and package them into a single box.
To start your own subscription business, first determine your target market and then look for goods that fit their wants and needs. You can assemble the goods in themed boxes and launch a new one each week, month, quarter, or whatever cadence you want to hit.
How to choose a hosting plan for your reseller business
Your web hosting provider is what enables you to make your website accessible to internet users. It acts as digital storage for the information and content associated with your online store. If you use Shopify for your reselling business, web hosting is included. But some ecommerce platforms (like WooCommerce) require third-party hosting, in which case you’ll need to set that up with a separate hosting provider.
Start your reselling business today
Resellers purchase products at discounted wholesale prices and then sell them directly to consumers. This business model is a low-risk way to dip your toes into owning and operating a product-based business. You don’t have to invest in product development or inventory upfront inventory, and your supplier ships products for you.
how to become a clothing reseller
8 Steps To Start A Cloth Reseller Business
Clothing reseller is just another term for the clothing retailer. In the retail market, regardless of the product being sold, the outlets that are selling them to the public are basically reselling them after buying the goods from a manufacturer at a wholesale rate or from a supplier who is authorized to sell the manufacturer’s goods.
A reseller is essentially a middleman between the manufacturers and customers.
Reseller business is a great option for new entrepreneurs who are planning to start a business. It is very much affordable as a business model.
You don’t have to create your own products and on the other hand, you will have the choice of choosing from a range of products.
You can easily shift niches in a reseller business without expensive inventory fees, additional or high shipping costs.
Advantages Of Starting A Reseller Business
There are many advantages to starting a reseller business. You can easily source from diverse product selection and the business costs are lower. It helps you to launch your business sooner, it allows you to start selling on the same day you start the business.
After adding a few quality reseller products, you can move on to marketing.
You don’t have to wait for the inventory to arrive. You don’t need to carry inventory instead you can use reseller dropship apps to resell goods without having to buy bulk inventory in advance.
You only need to pay for the goods which the customers order.
You can test shift your niche without having to buy any additional inventory. The financial risks are lower in a reseller business, this makes it apt for budget-conscious, risk-averse, and new entrepreneurs. Shipping fees are not that high in a reseller business.
How To Start Cloth Reselling Business
You have the freedom to price your products any way you want. The business can be profitable because the cost of goods you buy from the manufacturer is low. The higher the prices you keep, the more profit you make.
Determine Your Niche
You have to select your niche in the clothing reseller business. There are many types of clothes to sell for customers belonging to different age groups. You need to select an area of specialty and focus on it.
You can focus on men, women, boys, or women’s clothing.
You can also specialize in reselling t-shirts, casual shirts, jeans, etc. You have a diverse niche to choose from, this also includes different time periods like vintage clothing, trendy clothes, etc.
You also have the option to focus on different styles like chic or bohemian. Choosing a niche will allow you to plan the business properly.
If you are catering to the demands of a select group then you should try building customer relationships.
Business Plan
Formulate a business plan before starting. The business plan is a key to success because it will help you to obtain the necessary financing and also provide you with a concise, reliable, roadmap to operate your clothing business.
The plan should include business financing, advertising, and marketing strategies, hiring and managing staff, operational hours. Keep an alternative plan ready in case your Plan A fails.
Do you want to start a clothing rental company but struggling to decide what to call it? If so, then do check out the best clothing rental company names ideas.
Space
You have to decide which room or rooms will be dedicated to your business at home. Space should be clean with good lighting and it should also look attractive to customers.
Create a beautiful office in your home with all the necessary equipment that will motivate you to work and keep going.
Finding Wholesaler
Since you are starting a reseller business you need to research the market and find out the manufacturers that can supply you with the products you want at the best prices.
Make a list of such companies that manufacture the kind of clothing you want. Also, find out the manufacturers that will ship the items on behalf of you to your customers.
This is also known as drop-shipping and is also quite common in reselling businesses.
If you can buy products from manufacturers at a low cost then you will have the scope to sell them at marked-up prices to the customers and make the most profitable business.
Website
Create a business website for showcasing and promoting your products. Hire a professional for designing the website.
The website will allow you to receive orders from customers in a feasible manner.
It should look good and customers should be able to navigate it from any device. The product details should be properly mentioned on the site so that the customers truly know what they are ordering.
Marketing
Marketize your business skillfully to make it successful. Distribute business cards among customers, put banners in your locality. Also, promote your products online through content writing and blogging.
Enhance your social media presence and create a business page on popular social media platforms.
Keep on posting engaging content frequently as this will help you to attract new customers. Offer discounts on festive occasions and also tie up with a daily deal site to offer exciting deals to your customers.
Starting a reseller clothing business from home can prove to be a successful business venture if you have the required commitment and skills.
You need to be patient in building the business gradually, hire a reliable and well-trained staff who know how to deal with different customers and behave with them politely.
They should also know the tricks of salesmanship, customers will visit your store again if your staff develop a rapport with them.
Research the market and find out other reseller clothing stores in your area, find out the type of products that these stores are not able to source or sell to the customers.
Develop your specialty in selling those products that are not easily available in the market, this will help you to stand out from the rest of your competitors.
Stay updated about the latest fashion trends and source products based on the demand of the customers.
Pricing should be fixed according to the quality of the products and also your locality. Avoid sourcing low-quality products. Remember that customer is your god and treat them accordingly.
Starting a Clothing reselling business is a great way to help the environment. Indirectly, you are recycling things up to their Expiry.
