A reseller business can be a great option for first-time entrepreneurs. But just like any other online business idea, a reseller business requires a lot of patience and commitment. In this article, you’ll learn the reseller meaning, why you should become a reseller, how to be a reseller online, reselling business ideas, and much more.

What is a Reseller Business?

A reseller business allows you to resell products bought from manufacturers to customers. The reseller dropship business model is affordable, making it a great option for new entrepreneurs. As a reseller, you’re essentially the middleman between the manufacturer and customers. You won’t need to create your own products, but you’ll still have an extensive selection of products to choose from. Whether you want to resell clothes or resell shoes, you’ll quickly learn you can sell anything. Your reseller online shop can expand into other niches without expensive inventory fees, additional costs or high shipping costs.

What is the Difference Between a Reseller and a Distributor Business?

A distributor buys reseller products from a manufacturer, and sells them to an end consumer, or manages multiple resellers at the same time. Generally, distributors buy inventory of merchandise, and tend to develop a closer relationship with the manufacturer in comparison to a reseller. Distributors may also provide help to the manufacturer with activities such as marketing, labeling, and branding. As distributors are physically holding onto stock, they may feel more responsible and incentivized to sell the products from the manufacturers. However, the downside of using a distributor is that they often require higher margins. This means that if a manufacturer has low margins, it might not be beneficial for them to work with distributors.

A reseller business doesn’t hold any merchandise inventory to be resold. They simply act as a middleman between the manufacturer and the customer. Between a distributor vs reseller, those who sell reseller products normally don’t have such a close relationship with the manufacturer.

Why You Should Become a Reseller

reseller business

There are a number of reasons to become a reseller. From easily sourcing from a diverse product selection to lower business costs, you’ll find that starting your own reseller business online has never been easier. You’ll get to reap the rewards of starting a business from financial gains to pursuing your passion. Here are a few reasons why you should become a reseller online:

  • Sell an Extensive Number of Reseller Products:  If you become a reseller you’ll be able to sell a diverse range of products. If you resell clothes, as your business grows you can resell shoes, jewelry, accessories, handbags, lingerie, or other related products. Adding other products to your reseller online shop won’t cost more money as you only pay for goods as customers buy from your store.
  • Launch Your Business Sooner: You should become a reseller because it allows you to start selling the same day you start your reseller business. After you’ve added a few great reseller products and some content to your store, you can start marketing your business. You can launch your reseller business in as little as thirty minutes. You won’t need to wait for inventory to arrive or wait for anything at all for that matter. You can setup and launch the same day.
  • Carry no Inventory: The best part when you become a reseller is that you don’t have to carry inventory. You can use a reseller dropship marketplace, which allows you to resell goods without having to buy bulk inventory in advance. You only pay for goods as customers order them from your website, making it a great choice for new entrepreneurs. Even if you sell niche products or boutique clothing you can still make a profit without holding stock.
  • Expand Into Other Verticals Easily: If you decide to become a reseller, you won’t be limited by your product category. When entrepreneurs wholesale products, it can be expensive to buy bulk inventory, pay shipping fees and have enough product selection. However, resellers can test other niches without having to buy additional inventory. You can grow your reseller product selection with the click of the button.
  • Lower Time Commitment: Those who become a reseller will enjoy that they can run their reseller business without having to spend all of their time on it. Most of the processes are automated, allowing you to manage your business easily. You also save time since you won’t need to package or ship products to your customer.
  • Lower Financial Risk: A benefit to starting a reseller business is that the financial cost is low. This is the perfect business for the budget-conscious, new entrepreneurs or the risk-averse. You won’t need to buy bulk inventory. Shipping fees aren’t sky high in a reseller business. You only pay for goods as customers order them through your reseller online shop. Thus, the financial cost for setup is low.
  • Able to Set Your Own Margins: When you become a reseller, you’re free to set your own margins. You can choose to price your products anyway you want. Since the cost of goods is low, you can price your products to ensure your reseller business is profitable. The higher you set your price the more you can make. Be sure to look at industry standards for product pricing.

Reseller Business Ideas

reseller business ideas

In a reseller business, you can sell virtually anything. You’ll be able to find a variety of great products. You’ll be able to resell clothes or resell shoes or even fidget spinners. Whether you’re looking for a reseller product from a trendy niche, or an evergreen product, you’re sure to find an amazing product that you can resell online.

Clothing is a huge opportunity that includes women, men, and children of all ages. When running a reseller clothing business you can test a few different clothing niches at a time and decide which ones work the best for you. You can remove low-performing styles without any cost to your business, and add new items as they come into fashion. When setting up a reseller business idea like clothing it is important to plan ahead as clothing lines are cyclical depending on seasons, and popular holidays

Pet supplies can range from pet food to clothing, to leashes and bowls. With so much to choose from starting a reseller pet supplier business is a great idea. Dog and cat toys and accessories are obviously the most popular items to start with but reseller business ideas are endless in this area and you can branch into small rodents, pigs, or fish. As the pet industry is growing, distributors are supplying products that meet every need of pets. Use the likes of social media to share your products with your audience to get the most out of your products, while promoting customers to share their purchases online too.

Cosmetics are great products to dropship. From makeup brushes to special effects makeup and beyond this broad category is a growing area from most young girls. As a reseller business idea selling cosmetics online can be a great way of making money as shipping is relatively low and order volume is normally larger than the average. Cosmetics don’t just mean makeup though; It can mean skincare creams and haircare products also. This means that you can start a reseller business that caters for men and women of all ages in one store.

We spend a lot of time in our cars nowadays so we want to make them as comfortable as possible for us and our families. Starting a reseller business for car accessories has the potential to be very profitable if you can understand your market. Research what your customers want and source them from reputable resellers to make sure your reviews are always positive. These products include car seat storage bags, car seat back hooks, luminous car parking cards, radio receiver tuner with FM transmitter, car Bluetooth speakerphone, and many other car accessories.

If you’re looking for more inspiration on what to sell, check it out here.

How to Make Money With a Reseller Online Shop

Online reseller business

The goal of your reseller online shop is to make money fast. There are several business pricing strategies you can implement to ensure your reseller online shop grows and remains profitable. You can also execute several different marketing strategies such as advertising, content creation and more to grow your reseller business’ sales.

  • Price Your Products Well: While marketing your products is important, pricing your products well can help ensure that your business remains profitable. Some blogs recommend having a $2 profit to stay competitive. This is terrible advice. Your product price shouldn’t just cover the cost of goods. It also covers the cost of marketing, employees (when you start hiring), expenses such as Shopify fees, and more. As long as your product price makes sense for the market, you don’t need to underprice yourself. By lowering your prices to stay competitive, your business inches closer to failure.
  • Create Ads: In general, Facebook ads tend to be the most popular choice for dropshippers. Impulse buy products work really well on the platform. Facebook also tends to be better than Google as customers don’t see other competing products in the ads. With Google ads, competitors will lower their prices to drive competition out deeply affecting their margins. With Facebook ads, customers only see your product’s ad as they scroll through their feed. You’ll need to experiment with different products to create your money making ads.
  • Create Content: From video marketing to blogging, content creation can help elevate your brand’s presence. By consistently creating content for your brand, you’ll find that over time your sales will grow. You can monetize videos by running ads on them. You can monetize blog content by retargeting your blog traffic. The more high-quality content you create, the more likely you are to drive traffic back to your store.

Need more marketing ideas? In How to Market a Product, you’ll find 18 different effective marketing tips that’ll help you drive more traffic to your store. Using the tips in the article, you’ll be more likely to land your first few sales in your reseller business.

Best Reseller Dropshipping App

DSers is a great tool for those interested in reseller products. While DSers is a dropshipping solution, the same principles apply to a reseller product dropship program. It answers all your queries ranging from how to become a reseller online to reselling business ideas. You’ll be able to resell goods from a manufacturer without carrying inventory and more. Here are a few other great reasons to consider DSers:

  • One Click Product Import: You can choose to add hundreds of items to your store with one simple click. You can sort through order volume, high reviews, and seller rating to find the right products for your reseller online shop.
  • One Click Order Processing: DSers' reseller dropship app allows you to process orders in one click. Rather than manually typing in the customer’s address, you can click a button and all of the customer details will be sent directly to the corresponding supplier
  • Choose From Millions of Products: As someone selling reseller products, variety allows you to find the best products to sell to your customers. You can choose from millions of great products to sell to your customers. By offering customers variety, you’ll be more likely to land a sale.
  • Suppliers Ship Products for You: In a reseller business, you won’t have to package or ship goods to customers. Your suppliers will do that for you. This saves you time and money from fewer labor costs. You’ll have more time to focus on marketing and growing your store’s sales.
  • Automatic Price Changes: When a supplier changes its price, you can have your store automatically update your product pricing. This allows you to maintain a profitable business or offer special discounts.
  • Track Shipments: You can easily track your customers’ shipments in the DSers app. When customers ask questions about their package, you can give them specific information as tracking information is easily accessible.
  • Easily Find Products With Affordable Shipping: With DSers, reseller businesses can sell products with affordable shipping costs. You can choose to sort items with free shipping or ePacket shipping (a cost-effective fast shipping service). This allows you to send customers their products quickly and affordably.
  • You Can Earn More Money: You’ll be able to set your own margins and keep your reseller business costs low. This type of business model gives you a better chance to earn more money than many competing brands. With low product pricing, you’ll be able to offer market pricing which still allows you to run a profitable business.

With a reseller business, your store will still be its own brand. You’ll be able to grow your own loyal fan base. Your website can be designed and styled anyway you like. You’ll get to build strong relationships with your customers. Promotions, sales, and product pricing will all be done by you. A reseller business allows you to find products to sell to your customers easily. How you position your brand and market your products is what allows you to really shine and succeed.

Interested in starting your first reseller business? Start your store today!


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