How This 23-12 months-Previous Began A Aspect Hustle That Now Earns Her 124K/12 months
Who would have thought you would earn over 6-figures reselling objects on-line?
Nicely, we talked with Sophie Riegel and he or she tells us precisely how she earned 124K final yr reselling objects.
Sophie shares what platforms she makes use of to promote, what objects she makes probably the most revenue from, and a lot extra!
OK, right here you go…all the pieces it is advisable find out about beginning your on-line resale enterprise.
1. Are you able to inform us a little bit bit about your self and what impressed you to start out your corporation?
I grew up in NY and went to school in NC at Duke. I graduated in Could 2023 with a level in Psychology. Along with being a reseller, I’m additionally an expert speaker, licensed coach, and creator.
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 college (each of my mother and father are coaches) as a result of I needed to assist mother and father navigate their relationship with their children. Now I work full time as each a coach, speaker, and a reseller.
How did I change into a reseller?
Throughout my freshman yr of school, we had been all despatched house due to COVID and advised 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 advised me and my twin brother that we would have liked to discover a interest.
That’s once I began going by way of my closet and promoting these objects 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 objects to promote on the platforms I discovered a lot about. From that time on, I knew I needed to know all the pieces there was to find out about reselling and my enterprise took off from there.
2. May you element the steps concerned within the launch of your corporation?
These had been a few of the steps concerned in launching my enterprise:
- Discover locations to supply objects
- Get all mandatory transport provides
- Get a storage unit for my stock
- Grow to be conversant in the reselling platforms
- File for an LLC
- Analysis, analysis, analysis!
- And extra
3. What kinds of objects do you focus on reselling? Is there a sort of merchandise that’s all the time in demand?
I focus on promoting grownup footwear, garments, and equipment. Athletic footwear are all the time in demand since they’ve a excessive retail value and are utilized in each season.
Excessive-end/designer luggage and backpacks are additionally in demand all year long, particularly as a result of they don’t exit of favor as shortly as garments do.
Different objects like winter jackets, boots, sandals, swimwear, and many others. are far more seasonal objects and due to this fact promote nicely for just a few months out of the yr.
4. Are you able to stroll us by way of your corporation mannequin and your course of for on-line promoting?
I’m going to thrift shops, yard gross sales, and many others. and purchase undervalued objects and promote them on-line.
For instance, I would stroll right into a thrift retailer and discover a pair of nike footwear 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 anticipate the merchandise to promote and ship it to the customer. I’ve over 1,300 objects 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 mandatory)
- {Photograph} stock
- Edit images
- Retailer stock
- Record stock (and do analysis on every merchandise to determine the worth to record it at)
- Promote stock
- Pack stock
- Ship stock
- Repeat
5. The place are the perfect locations to seek out your stock, and what methods do you utilize to make sure the standard of the objects 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 objects. Whereas some areas I’ve been to have higher stock and costs than others, I believe wherever you might be, you will discover high-quality objects.
Within the hotter months, I additionally go to flea markets and yard gross sales.
If you recognize what to search for and have a depth of information, you will discover good stock virtually 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 objects, I do an intensive high quality management examine. For footwear, I examine for put on on the soles, uppers, and the within (there’s typically put on at the back of the shoe by the heel). I additionally do the “bend take a look at” to ensure that if I bend the footwear, they don’t collapse or crack.
On clothes, I search for stains, holes, and extreme put on. On luggage, I be certain that each the within and out of doors are clear and I examine all zippers to ensure they’re working correctly.
I do make errors typically, although. I’ve missed flaws in objects 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 notice the flaw within the description.
6. Are you able to describe your course of for pricing your objects? What elements have an effect on the worth?
Elements that have an effect on the worth are merchandise situation, seasonal demand, competitors, sell-through charge, and many others.
Once I discover an merchandise, I normally 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 previously.
Resellers name this course of “checking comps.” I’ll normally value my merchandise a bit greater than what it has beforehand offered for to depart room for provides. If I’ve the one one in all that particular merchandise listed, I’ll enhance the worth since there isn’t any competitors. If I wish to make a faster sale, I’ll lower the worth.
For instance, if I discover a coach purse, I’ll lookup the model quantity that’s written on the within of the bag. As soon as I try this, I’ll discover the identify of the model and kind it into eBay.
Then I’ll filter the listings on eBay to offered listings and see what it has offered for previously. If I see that it’s persistently promoting for round $40, I would value is at $45 or $50 and take a proposal from a purchaser. If I wish to do away with it shortly, I would value it at $30.
Once I value my objects, there’s quite a lot of analysis concerned. I’m contemplating the situation of the merchandise, the availability and demand, the novelty, the scale, and far more.
7. How do you market and promote your on-line resale enterprise to draw prospects and generate gross sales?
I don’t do any advertising. I simply be certain that I’ve prime quality and fascinating objects at value and the shoppers come to me. I’ll often 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 objects you promote?
I promote on Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari. I discover Poshmark to be probably 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 your corporation?
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 transport for gross sales?
On Poshmark, there’s a flat transport charge of $7.99 that my patrons pay. As soon as an merchandise sells, I obtain and print the transport label, pack up the merchandise, put the transport label on the bundle, and drop it on the put up workplace. I’m usually transport out between 60 and 90 packages per week and right here is my course of:
Two to a few instances per week I’ll do that:
- Print transport labels from all platforms utilizing a thermal label printer
- Write the identify of the merchandise on the again of the transport label
- Pull the objects from my stock
- Undergo the pile of transport labels and pack the merchandise that’s written on the again
- Put all of my packages in massive duffel luggage
- Deliver them to the put up workplace and drop them off
Transport 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 yr previous.
Listed here are a couple of particular challenges I’ve encountered whereas working my enterprise:
I like to do the purchasing, 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 achieved (transport, photographing, cleansing, itemizing, and many others.).
However I’ve to do all of these items to maintain my enterprise working and my prospects blissful. I additionally don’t have anybody to carry me accountable so it is extremely straightforward to slide right into a sample of simply doing what’s pleasurable and procrastinating the remainder. It’s quite a lot of work to do each step of the method, particularly when this isn’t my full-time job.
It’s also tough to say no to stock when it is extremely 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 slightly concentrate on greater revenue objects.
It is extremely 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’ll be able to 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 quite a lot 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 unsuitable with American or that I made up my numbers to get publicity.
I even had individuals criticizing my seems to be or telling me that I in all probability made cash on OnlyFans and didn’t wish to admit it. All over the place I look, there’s somebody telling me that I’m a nasty particular person for working this enterprise, that I clearly don’t care about underprivileged individuals, or that I’m dumb for pondering that it is a legit enterprise.
And at first, these messages had been hurtful. However I can’t make everybody blissful, and that’s simply life.
Now I simply remind myself that I created a 6 determine enterprise on my own as a 20 yr 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 may be very aggressive. Virtually 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 always studying new manufacturers and traits. A number of resellers know the massive manufacturers to look out for, however I’ve taken the time to study hundreds of manufacturers that promote nicely, and that implies that I can discover stock that another resellers could not have recognized about. As well as, I’m very detailed in my itemizing titles and descriptions, which helps with the search engine marketing. Apart from that, I depend on the truth that I’ve high-quality objects at good costs and I’ve a superb fame on the reselling platforms.
13. What recommendation would you give to somebody who desires to start out an internet resale enterprise?
- Begin small and don’t spend some huge cash.
- The most effective factor to start out promoting is your individual stuff.
- Have enjoyable with it and be open to studying.
- There’s a big studying curve so don’t get discouraged when it isn’t extraordinarily worthwhile in the beginning.
- It takes quite a lot of time, work, and consistency. Ensure 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 may as well see my retailer on Poshmark.
Listed here 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 ideas and tips for on-line resale. We respect you sharing this with us.
Ensure you comply with Sophie and take a look at her different hyperlinks to seek out out much more about making over 6 figures by reselling objects on-line!
