Combining the typical 9-5 job with a business is never a walk in the park. It’s even more challenging if you’re in a venture that deals with stocking and selling inventory. Consequently, starting a profitable reselling business in the UK requires intensive preparation.

But, with new practices and innovations coming up daily, it’s becoming easier and more profitable to resell items as a side hustle. The advent of ecommerce puts the cherry on the cake. Now, you can sell to people far and wide without knowing them personally.

But then, do you know how to start a profitable reselling business in the UK? What do you need to do to build and balance the venture with your regular job? What is the requisite knowledge you need to succeed in the industry? 

We’ll answer all these questions in this guide to starting a reselling business in the UK.

But First, What’s Reselling?

Reselling is simply giving something you bought from someone to another person and collecting money in return. Primarily, you’re a reseller if you’ve ever sold anything, you also had to pay to get. 

Based on today’s tech, the ideal reselling business will operate a walk-in brick-and-mortar shop and an online store. This way, your business can cater to physical shoppers and customers looking to buy via the internet. 

You don’t have to set up a big warehouse and create multiple outlets in major cities with a large digital following before identifying as a reseller.

Requirements to Start a Profitable Reselling Business in the UK

Below are the critical preparation steps for your eventual investment in the reselling market.

Be Clear on What You Want to Sell

You can’t make any headway in business if you’re not sure of what you want to do. So, get a good idea of the products you wish to resell, the system you want to operate and the models you want to use in the venture.

The product decision is a crucial stage in the journey and can make or mar your experience as a reseller. Your primary product determines your target market, branding and marketing strategy — factors which affect how successful your reselling business will be in the UK. 

Deciding what to resell in the UK is easier if you have a passion product. This scenario means you can translate your passion into a business. 

For example, say you’re obsessed with bikes. You can exploit your love to run a business reselling bikes. Or you can start small by reselling bike parts if you can’t afford to buy and resell whole bikes.

However, if you don’t have a passion product, you should take your time deciding what you want to sell. A good idea is to highlight items with the potential to become mainstream in the nearest future. Next, do appropriate research on the products until you get irrefutable proof the product will be profitable. 

Another option is to let current market trends decide your primary product. The only caveat is how challenging it is to tell when a trend will peak. This delicate skill is crucial to avoid hopping on a trend that’s on the way out. Alternatively, you can rely on reselling market platforms that tell you when to sell. 

Then, of course, you can sell multiple products. However, it’s often easier to stick to a niche when reselling items as a side hustle in the UK. 

Determine How You’ll Source inventory

Inventory is as important as profit in a reselling business. Having stock but not selling is undoubtedly bad but not being able to meet demand is worse. Therefore, you want to source your goods from a reliable supplier — someone who will always turn up for you as much as you have an agreement.

Then again, you need to keep your profitability in mind. The price from the source will affect your profit margin at the end of the day. So, you want to liaise with a supplier who will offer generous discounts and deals to help maximise your profitability. 

Of course, you should also consider the supplier’s location and logistics cost to get the items to your warehouse. All the miscellaneous costs add to the cost price of each product unit and will ultimately affect your profit margin.

Remember that you don’t need to start by reselling new items. Instead, you can start a profitable reselling business in secondhand items. In fact, it’s often advisable to use such products to test the waters if you are without previous entrepreneurial experience.

Then as your business grows and becomes more popular, you can scale up and move into different products. You can also diversify and explore other similar niches to improve reach and profitability. Essentially, you shouldn’t despise the days of humble beginnings.

Below are some of the best places to source inventory to start a profitable reselling business in the UK.

Charity shops

These outlets are common in the UK, so you’ll find them on almost every high street. Charity shops are easy to access and perfect places to unearth forgotten treasures. Of course, you’ll have to settle for secondhand goods, and the quality also varies between each charity centre and the season. However, you can still get great items cheaply, and the fee you pay goes to a noble cause.

Flea Markets

These offer a wider item variety than charity shops. As such, you’ll find almost anything from card games to power drills and even lawn mower blades here, all going for giveaway prices.

Manufacturers and Wholesalers

These options are for the big players. You should only consider them when you intend to start reselling new items on a large scale. However, if you can’t reach the manufacturers, you can still work with bulk wholesalers to get your inventory.

Get Familiar With the Business Legalities

The UK has laws guiding pretty much everything that happens within its borders. Therefore, it’s essential to familiarise yourself with the UK reselling laws to avoid unwanted legal attention that may disrupt your business flow.

To start, you need to obtain recognition as a reseller by the government. Below are the requirements you must fulfil to receive a reseller licence in the UK.

Register Your Business

You first need to register with the relevant authorities as an official tax-paying commercial entity. Then, of course, you’ll have to do it in the city where you’re running the business. It’s always easier that way. 

However, suppose you register your business in a separate state from where it’s located. In that case, you may have to obtain a foreign qualification permit to run the business in your chosen state.

Research Regional Law Regarding the Reselling Business

Each region in the UK has different approaches to dealing with resellers. For example, some regions will allow you to use out-of-state permits to avoid sales tax on resale items. On the other hand, some won’t allow that. Therefore, research the legal implications of what you’re getting into before you set up shop.

Put Your Application Materials Together and Get Your Resale Permit

Once you’re familiar with the state laws and the legal requirements to become a licensed reseller in your state, the next is to obtain a reseller’s permit. A reseller’s permit or licence is a document the local government offers stating that they recognise you as a reseller of certain products. As synch, you have the authorisation to enjoy some perks attached to the permit. 

To obtain such permits, you’ll have to submit certain documents. So, put all the necessary information together, take them to the appropriate authorities and file for a resale permit. Of course, you may also have to pay some fees in the process.

Primarily, reselling laws aren’t the same in all UK regions. While most regions maintain similar approaches to dealing with the resale industry, they have some significant differences too.

Pick a Marketplace to Sell On

We implied earlier that the most profitable way to start a reselling business is to create a representation both online and offline. Getting reps offline begins with publicising your physical store location, even if you’re operating out of your garage. On the other hand, there are several ways to build your rep online. 

Online marketplaces are not the easiest but are often the most efficient. That’s because they provide all the necessary tools for you to set up shop and attend to customers. So, once you know what you want to sell and have the appropriate permission to sell it, the next thing is picking where to sell it. 

There are different marketplaces where you can resell items to buyers in the UK. Some are specialised, i.e., they cater to specific product niches, while others are more generalised, covering a larger variety of goods. 

If you’re selling niche-specific products, then your best option would be a specialised marketplace. However, that will severely limit your reach to the marketplace’s customer base, except if you run additional ad campaigns.

On the other hand, generalised marketplaces provide a larger reach to millions of their users. Plus, most of them often give access to a global market. This feature offers an excellent opportunity to scale your business beyond the borders of the UK.

Nonetheless, if you’re content with operating locally, you can simply set up business accounts on your social platforms. The most common choices are Instagram and WhatsApp. Customers can reach you on those platforms, and you can sell directly to them. 

But then again, there’s no need to restrict yourself to one marketplace. Say you have the bandwidth to operate multiple online outlets and balance them with your other activities. Then, don’t hold back; however, be sure you can handle it before diving into it and quitting midway through.

Below are some of the most popular marketplaces to start a profitable reselling business in the UK. 

eBay

eBay is an auction website with a massive product range and customer following. In addition, they have several categories to cater to several different niches. So, you can easily set up a shop to offer your goods to their existing customer base.

Amazon

The American eCommerce company has arguably the largest and most popular marketplace globally, operating in several countries, including the UK. Primarily, Amazon makes it easier to resell goods for profit quickly. 

You can also easily get your stock via the platform. Hence, managing your product flow from inventory stocking to customer correspondence and purchase assignment on the same marketplace is possible.

Gumtree

Like Amazon and eBay, Gumtree provides a space for sellers to make their commodities available to customers. They have several categories, which makes it somewhat challenging for customers to find what they’re looking for. However, you can still optimise your shop so it’ll be easier for the buyers to reach you. 

Tips for Making Your Reselling Business Successful in the UK.

Now you have all you need to start a reselling business in the UK. So you shouldn’t have any issue setting up shop. 

However, it’s a different board game for beating the competition and maximising your profitability. So, what can you do to increase your chances in the industry and rise to the top quickly?

Have a Solid Reseller Business Plan and Follow It

Most people underrate the usefulness of planning. Planning gives you a roadmap and helps you chart a course of action. It then allows you to focus on the charted course as you progress in the journey. 

You shouldn’t downplay how much having a reseller business plan can improve your chances in the UK. A solid plan will include financial projections (revenue and expenditure), business structure, target market, mode of operation, and other necessary information. 

Essentially, the business plan serves as the blueprint for running the business. But, of course, your business plan will also contain risk considerations and mitigation plans. So, it helps you prepare for unfavourable occurrences. That way, you won’t be stranded when things go south.

Buy Low and Sell High

This is a fundamental principle in the commerce industry. You can only maximise your profitability if you buy for the lowest price possible and sell for the highest reasonable price. 

Your profit is the difference between your purchasing price and the selling price. So, a smaller cost and a larger selling price will translate to a larger differential. 

However, ensure you don’t over-inflate your fees in a bid to make a considerable profit. You can push buyers away if your prices are too high. They’ll simply opt to buy from competitors who provide the same products at lower prices.

Then again, try to always source from the cheapest supplier possible. This is especially crucial if you’re failing to make a reasonable profit margin on your items. 

Before you purchase your inventory, ask yourself, “can I get these goods for a lower price elsewhere?” If you can’t, it’s time to consider switching to a different product.

Don’t Compromise on Quality.

Whatever you’re selling, always prioritise quality. Buyers appreciate quality, and no one wants to pay a premium for sub-par items. 

Selling high-quality items gives you a reputation as a reliable reseller. As a result, customers will trust you more and will not hesitate to refer their friends to you. 

They don’t need to advertise on their behalf. They don’t need to advertise on your brand’s behalf. All they need to do is use your product in their friend’s presence. Their friends will likely ask where they got their good quality items. 

Low-quality products increase the chances of returns, especially when the buyer got them from your online store. For illustration, numbers from Statista show that 32% of British shoppers returned clothes they bought online in 2022. Of course, this might be due to other reasons that aren’t related to the quality. But it also indicates that shoppers aren’t shy to return unsatisfactory items. 

Monitor the Market

An intelligent business person keeps an eye on the bigger picture. They don’t just take whatever cards the industry deals to them. Instead, they watch the market, make forecasts and prepare accordingly.

So, every time you run a trading cycle, you must consider the current market trends before buying goods. Most importantly, think about demand relative to changing times. 

For example, say you primarily deal with students in a university town. You know there’ll be little to no demand for furniture and appliances around summertime when students go on vacation. 

You can take that opportunity to score some cheap items to resell when demand goes back up in autumn. 

At the same time, ensure your business always has enough inventory to satisfy demand when it increases — failing to meet demand can cause customers to lose trust in you. It subsequently pushes them to get what they need from your competitors. 

Invest in Tools

Admittedly, you can start a profitable reselling business without making a significant capital investment in secondary tools. However, as simple as the process can be, it can be time-consuming and sometimes exhausting. In addition, it’ll involve several menial activities that can be overwhelming for anyone. 

So, you should invest in digital tools to increase your efficiency and profitability on such tasks. Two common tools you should seriously consider getting for your business include;

• Growth Automation Tools: These tools help you to take care of menial tasks related to your business growth. For example, you can use them to manage increasing engagement on your online marketplace listings.

• Photography Tools: Your product pictures are essential to your advertising efforts. That’s because fantastic imagery will help bring appeal to your listings. Fortunately, you don’t need an entire studio to get great photos of your commodities. Instead, you can start by investing in a smartphone with an excellent camera. Smartphones are a good option because you can take them wherever you go. So, it’s easy for you to take snapshots of items on the go.

Here’s all You Need to Start a Thriving UK Reselling Business

Starting a profitable reselling business in the UK doesn’t take a lot. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to work. You need to plan, project and execute specific actions to push the business upward. And that’s why we created this guide to help you start a reselling business in the UK.

However, most importantly, consistency is vital even in a reselling business. It’s not enough to buy some goods and flip them for profit once. If you intend to make a venture out of it, you must always show up. 

Whether that means taking photos, posting on social media, listing new products daily or reaching out to customers for feedback, ensure that not a day goes by without doing something to push the business forward.

Alternatively, you can increase your chances of success by teaming up with a platform that helps you become a better reseller. Crep Chief Notify offers a subscription service that tells you when to sell, offers expert reselling guidance and a thriving community.