I'm a firm believer in living frugally, in living within your means and I love the reselling business because it is fun, I get to meet new people, and I can spend my time the way I like. If you are already reselling on more than a platform, then that's great! But if you are reselling on just a platform because you are convenient with the service and you are scared of learning something new, then let me try to change your mind.
Increase in Number of Sales
The first reason that you need to think about is that selling on more than one platform will increase your number of sales. An increase in the number of items that you sell automatically means more money for you. Every platform has its own personal buyer demographics. Let’s use eBay as an example; there is quite a balanced distribution of male and female buyers, while other sites tend towards the male side. Taking advantage of this to resell your items will definitely be a great idea.
So if I have an item that I wish to sell that will appeal to men and women, it’s always better to list it on eBay, there are other sites like Poshmark that are more designed and popular to handle women items. So, what I always do is use as many sites as possible to list my items. Do not forget that time is everything when it comes to reselling, after a Yeezy or Supreme release; you only have 4-5 days to get your items out to buyers.
Reduction in Seller Fees
One of the things that you need to remember is that different selling sites have different seller fees. This means that you will need to do your research and look for sites with lower fees that are well-known and widely used by resellers. We are in the business to make a profit, and seller fees will always be deducted from your profit. So, basically, a lower seller fee definitely means more profit for you. However, ensure that the site you are using is trusted.
There are a lot of services that you will need to pay for as a reseller, and all these deductions are from your profit. So if you can see a trusted site that you will be able to sell more while paying less, then it will be reasonable to try it out.
Bypassing Restrictions
Another major reason why you should consider selling on more than one platform is because of restrictions. Most of these sites have security restrictions that make it difficult for resellers. Reselling on more than one platform will make it possible to bypass some of these restrictions and get your items sold.
For example, it is white difficult to resell clothing items on Amazon because of numerous restrictions that the owners have put in place. There is a form that you will need to fill, and the site does not allow you to already used items, so basically you should ignore the site. You can look out for other sites that you can list your item easily and quickly to make sure that your item gets the needed exposure.
Market Competitiveness
The business of reselling items online has been here for some years now, so it's not a secret anymore, this one of the things that can actually discourage someone that is just starting the business when you realize that you are not the only one waiting for a Yeezy release. Everybody wants to make more money, so you can expect everyone to try out legitimate ways that are available. The increase in the number of sellers has opened a room for buyers to have more options. So you really need to be at your best and impress your potential buyer.
However, having more than a platform to sell your items will go along way in making you successful in this business. So ensure that you are not sticking to just one platform to get your items out as quickly as possible. Just like I mentioned earlier, looking for a site with lower fees will help you to reduce the price of your item which will give you an advantage over others while making sure that your profit is still secured. Once you are sure that you have your item locked down, you can start looking for ways to get it out, whether locally or through sites that are widely accepted. Remember that timing is everything; look for every possible and reasonable way to protect your profit.
Prevents Being Banned
We all know that it’s always advisable to have more than one source of income to provide financial stability and security, in a similar way, it is always reasonable to use more than one platform to do your reselling business. Using more than a platform ensures that you can still do business even if you are banned.
When you resell successfully on a platform, it can be so successful and refreshing, and everyone loves making money until they make a mistake, or somehow get banned. Then it becomes frustrating because you will need to start all over again. This is the reason why it is always better to have more than one platform to buy and resell your items.
Counterarguments to Reselling on More than One Platform
There are some resellers that believe that doing business on more than one platform takes a lot of their time. However, this is not true, what you can is to start from just one platform, and when you realize that you are familiar with the platform, you can move to the next one. I’ve realized that I can work on more than one platform at a time.
When it comes to listing my item, what I always do is take pictures of the item and then create the perfect description of the item, as soon as I have done that, the next thing is to copy and paste the description on the platforms that I'm using to sell my item. I've been able to reduce my listing time drastically. The trick is to start slowly, do not stress yourself too thin, especially if you are just starting the reselling business.
Another reason why some people do not like using more than one platform is that they believe that learning the policies and methods of new platforms can be stressful. However, it doesn't take a lot of time to go over an article on how best you can use a site; most sites these days are designed to be user-friendly. In addition, most of the sites work in a similar way, so you will easily get it. Just like I mentioned, copy your description, and you can paste it on the sites.
Some resellers also believe that it is quite difficult to monitor cross-listed items, so they prefer to work on just a site. Although, it’s important to make sure that you are not selling the same item to two buyers, what I always do is that as soon as I successfully sell an item, I remove it from other sites.
Since you always have your phone with you, as soon as an item has been successfully shipped, you can go ahead and remove it from your listing. Always make sure that you check your listings so that you won't forget to remove any item that you do not have anymore.
However, if you mistakenly sell an item twice, the next thing you need to do is to cancel one of the orders and apologize to the buyer. Although this can affect the chances of your listing coming top of the search results but you will know that you are on the good books of the platform that you are using to sell your item.
Summary
What I will advise you is that it is okay to start from a platform, then after a few months, you can try another platform. Give yourself time to be familiar with a platform before starting another one. Before you know it, you have your items on all the available online platforms. If you are reselling a particular item and you are doing fantastic with it and making profits, great! Keep doing it. However, if you are having issues, look for answers, or you can do your homework on another item and try it out. Reselling online is quite fun and profitable as long as you know the rules.
