How to Become an Online Reseller in 5 Minutes

Once you’ve sold your first item, you’ve sold them all.

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Key points

• Online resale is expected to quadruple by 2026.
• Quickly set up a seller account to start your online reselling business.

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Reselling online is easier than many people think. Despite zero sales experience, I became an official “online reseller” in less than five minutes by following a few simple steps.

If you’re on the fence or just looking for quick ways to make money, consider this: online resale is expected to quadruple by 2026, according to GlobalData. Shoppers flock to online stores like pigeons to cookie crumbs.

It is easy to create a seller account on shopping apps like Mercari. Five minutes (and preferably a smartphone) is enough to start selling.

Here’s how.

Respond to the question

What are you selling? Some platforms are better for selling clothes. Others are great for antiques. Before choosing a platform, know what you would like to sell.

Choose a platform

Facebook Marketplace is excellent for quickly cleaning apartment furniture. To buy is great for selling electronics and seasonal decorations (Happy Almost Halloween!). OfferUp works for just about anything, but niche items like antiques probably sell better on detail-rich platforms like eBay.

I have highlighted these three platforms because they are easy to use. Poshmark and eBay are great, but it will take you longer to get set up – and that’s beyond the scope of this article.

Create an account

Surprise! You will need to provide personal information to prove that you are not a serial killer posing as a 30-year-old mother with three children. Depending on your paranoia, you might prefer to stick with sites like OfferUp, which only get you hooked up to a money source before releasing to the interwebs (bon voyage).

At a minimum, you’ll want a credit card and bank account information at your fingertips. Extra credit: a driver’s license, an email address you actually use, and a password idea that doesn’t end in an exclamation mark (!).

Take pictures

Take some attractive photos of anything you’re selling. Make sure the lights are on. Don’t pretend – if your Adidas shoes or anything has a scratch, show it. Most platforms control honesty. If you want to keep your money, you’ll have to be upfront about usury.

Write a simple description

It’s not high school English. It’s just a matter of stating the facts: name the brand, the condition of the item, and anything else you need to say. There will be a lot of optional stuff. Start basic. Posting is free and you can update the ads.

Publish this ad

Congratulation! You did the trick. You are officially an online retailer. People can find your item, check it out, ask questions about it, and buy it.

Order supplies (optional)

If you’re selling items to ship, consider stocking up on packing supplies. Here are the essentials:

• Packaging boxes
• A printer (for labels)
• shipping tape

USPS offers Priority Mail packaging for free on its website — try ordering a bunch of different sized boxes and go from there. Experienced resellers tend to save and reuse shipping materials, so don’t be afraid to use cardboard boxes. If they work, they work.

You are ready. Start shipping and feel free to experiment. There are thousands of resellers. You can resell casually or increase listings – people will find your products. Give yourself five minutes to start.