My Thoughts On Reselling & Covid-19 - What is going to happen?

Hi Reseller Friends,

I know we’re bombarded with news and information both factual and false but very little of it is geared specifically towards reselling. As someone who relies on reselling as my full-time business, I feel your anxiety. I want to share my opinion and some predictions (many hopeful) for our community.

My opinion:

How will reselling be affected by the quarantine, lockdowns, business closures, etc?

Sourcing in person is about to become nearly impossible, buy sell trade stores, thrift shops, outlets are all shutting their doors. I know for a fact that several BST stores in NYC have made the call to keep their doors closed until May. Goodwills have started announcing their closures as well with no definite re-open dates yet.

We will all need to get creative and prepare the best we can for appx 8 weeks of a downturn. You can still source online, many people across the US will be listing items up on posh because they’re home and bored. Many will be new users who don’t necessarily value their items at the market price, scoop up those insane deals that come through. However, be smart about it, be choosy and do your research so you aren’t stuck with something that has a longer sell through time. Think high-value quick flips like buying a sought after Spell dress for $50 and quickly flipping for $150 even if comps suggest it regularly sells for $200+. Ask your family and friends to do their spring cleaning and donate it to you so you can get inventory.

Beware of a sudden uptick in “Mystery Boxes”, stick with buying from those that you trust and have purchased from before. Remember that most people won’t have access to new inventory so they will be selling off items they already have which might not be the best stuff. (I am currently sold out of mystery boxes and bulk bundles).

On the flip-side don’t start panic selling! Don’t sell all your inventory in boxes instead of listing them. Don’t immediately devalue your business, it is really important that you have the stuff to float your business for the next 8 weeks.

Be realistic, now is not the time to decline lowballers, counter a reasonable offer. Make as much money back as you can because you will need it to source when things open up again.

The upside

Stores are closed so online will be the place to shop for a while. Not everyone will be majorly affected by this, many companies are keeping their employees on and working from home.

We should see a huge uptick in sales when we know when the end of closures is, for example when the restaurants and stores, etc are allowed to reopen.

1. Because people are going to be looking for deals

2. People will be going stir crazy and going out to socialize will be a top priority for many

3. All of the cancelled events and plans will get rescheduled and people will need clothes etc.

4. The weather will be nicer and no one will have bought their spring and summer wardrobes yet

5. A lot of news coverage is showing how pollution is lowered etc. so many more people are being exposed to the positive effects of sustainability which will encourage more people to shop secondhand.

6. There will be a push to support and help small businesses get back on their feet, that includes us, people will want to support you as soon as they’re back at work

Potentially we could have amazing summer sales at a time when our sales are usually lower.

DON’T STOP WORKING, THIS IS NOT A VACATION. Your momentum is very important and if you completely lose it then you will see longer-term effects from this.

Here is a list of things I will be doing and things you can do too so that you come out ahead instead of behind in this.

Most Important

1. Get everything you have to list listed ASAP!

2. Do a complete office and personal clean out and organization, pull anything that you don’t need or want and get that listed too.

3. Set a schedule and stick to it!

4. Set aside funds to buy replacement inventory for when things get back on track.

5. Educate yourself, this will be a very rare time when you have the time to learn. What you choose to learn can help your business significantly when it’s time to implement it. Try learning how to do your business taxes, how to invest in stocks, how to take better photos, how to start a YT channel, basically anything that will benefit your business long term.

6. Do your taxes, properly.

After that

1. Relist all of your stale listings, they will count as new listings and will drive traffic to your account.

2. Make a business plan, what are the next moves you need to make for your business to succeed.

3. Create or update your inventory system and take inventory while you’re at it.

4. If you use your social media for business make a social media plan for the rest of the year.

5. Do all of your bookkeeping.

6. Finish your To-Do list, like actually lol.

7. Create, redo, or update your website.

8. Fix that pile of stuff that needs a button sewn on or a strap repaired. While you’re at it clean and spot treat everything too.

For Yourself/For Fun

1. Exercise, this is the time. Glad I bought a Peloton and can do that without going to a gym.

2. Plan an event for when we can socialize again, we will need it!

3. Read a book or a few. Here is a list of my favorite books, some on virology since that has always been one of my favorite subjects and well, there is no better time to learn about it.

4. Garden, cook, bake, dance, laugh, watch Netflix, get drunk, sexy time, etc, etc, etc.

5. Listen to a new podcast or catch up on ones you have been neglecting.

 

Please don’t feel like you’re going to fail or that things won’t bounce back for us. Our market share is growing and I would bet will grow even more from this. Every single item you clean, photograph, list, and ship out is an item that you manually recycled. No machine can take your job, you are a necessary part of clothing recycling and reuse.

Sending my love to you all, I support you as I know you do me. I will continue to seek out ways to provide value for you and your business. I am working on finding inventory for you so I can make more bulk bundles and working on a lot of free educational content. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and play my videos in the background (I would love to get monetized this year because I have a lot I will be adding soon).

Reach out to me via email or DM, I am here for you and happy to give advice or just lend an ear. If you are feeling down, please don’t keep it to yourself, there are a lot of amazing people in our community to connect with, you are not alone.

 

— Jade