You can sell almost anything online these days, but some items hold value better than others. It’s just a matter of what products you can find and afford for less than the going rate.
Strategies For Choosing Trending Products to Sell Online
There is no one size fits all strategy for resellers when it comes to sourcing products to resell online. A full-time reseller might approach sourcing differently than someone just starting out or resells part-time. Everyone has their own preferences as well. Maybe you are passionate about women’s clothing, but there’s no way you would undertake selling furniture (or vice versa). Knowing yourself, identifying how much work and time you have to give your listings, and having knowledge of the product will impact what you sell and where you sell it.
Here are some tips for finding a strategy that works for you:
Go With Your Personal Passion
When you’re passionate about a product, reselling feels less like ‘work’, and you’re more likely to enjoy all stages of the selling process, from sourcing to listing to shipping your item to its new home.
You’re also naturally more knowledgeable about things you’re passionate about! This will play as a factor when ensuring your listings are complete with all the information you know your buyer will be looking for.
Appeal to Hobbyists
Niche categories can be super profitable! For example, appealing to collectors and focusing on sports memorabilia or trading cards (sports, Pokemon, etc.).
Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing Trending Products to Sell
Sourcing Items You’re Not Familiar With
This way it will be easy for you to identify if it’s worth buying, if it’s real or fake and if it’s in good condition. Selling things you’re knowledgeable about will always play to your advantage!
Before Purchasing, Look Up the Item Online
Before you purchase something you’re not entirely familiar with it’s always important to look up that product online. If there are lots of products like that one you’d like to buy, it might mean the product isn’t selling as much as it should. You can also look at how much the selling price for that item is, and how much you’re going to buy it for, that way you’ll know if the item is worth purchasing.
Not Double Checking the Items Condition
Before buying items to resell online, it’s important to carefully double-check the condition of each item. For example, it is common for used clothing to have stains, tears, broken zippers, or missing buttons. You may want to pass on the item based on severity or be transparent with potential buyers and call out any flaws in your item’s listing.
Gaming Systems
If you know how to source and select the right games, price them competitively, and manage the logistics of shipping and fees, reselling video games from Goodwill on eBay can be a profitable venture. Goodwill is a popular place to find video games to resell on eBay. You can turn your hobby into a business by following a few key strategies when buying games from Goodwill.
The idea is to search for games that are in high demand, such as those for current-generation consoles, such as the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 5, or older, retro games that collectors are looking for. In addition, you should look for games that are in excellent working condition, as buyers will often pay more for those in good condition. Alternatively, one can become an authority in a particular niche, such as games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) or a specific genre, like RPGs.
Clothing
At the top of our list, one of the most popular categories to resell is clothing, particularly women’s fashion. Don’t know where to start? One word, Athleisure!
Athleisure is one of the most lucrative subcategories of women’s fashion to resell. Lululemon, Nike, Alo Yoga, Athleta, Gymshark, are all names that dominate platforms such as Poshmark, Mercari, Depop and more.
You might be interested in: Top Activewear Brands to Resell on Poshmark, Depop & Other Resale Platforms
When sourcing, keep in mind seasonality and the audience of your preferred platform. For example: funky, y2k crop tops will perform well on Depop.
Jewelry
In 2025, the jewelry segment is expected to reach $480 billion, according to Grand View Research. It's important to stay current with fashion jewelry trends to ensure you can convert that popularity into sales. Currently, these include colorful stones, silver, initial necklaces, beads, pearls, and lab diamonds.
According to The RealReal’s Luxury Consignment Report - What to Buy and Sell in 2023, “Demand for pre-owned jewelry continues to climb: Unique, personal pieces like colored stones, vintage-inspired brooches, and pearls lead the way, making it clear that shoppers see the value in timeless styles even when they’re not brand new.”
Some of the best places to resell jewelry online include eBay, Etsy, Poshmark and Shopify. (all supported by Vendoo!) You might also want to check out 10 Great Marketplaces Every Reseller Should Consider.
While selling actual pieces of jewelry or a watch is lucrative, selling adjacent items such as jewelry organizers also pose a great sale opportunity, having grown in popularity.
Based on Google Trends, Pendants are the categories bread and butter and Men’s rings are poised for a big bump in 2023!
Home Goods and Decor
Home goods and decor is by nature personal. Since the pandemic more and more furniture and home accents have been purchased online. Furniture and decor resellers thrive on marketplaces such as Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist and more.
Staying up to date on trends is just as important in home decor as it is fashion. For example, mid century modern is a commonly searched aesthetic, as well as vintage. These terms come in handy when tagging your product listings for exposure!
Selling furniture can be a huge undertaking. You’ll want to get a feel for what works for you and understand your margins as shipping home items is typically more expensive than shipping clothing or shoes.
The most searched for items in home decor are:
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Sculptures and vases
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Rugs
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Mirrors
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Pillows
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Throw blankets
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Decorative bowls and plates
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Oil diffusers
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Hanging wall art
Sporting Goods
Cash in on sporting goods! Equipment can be expensive and this is why athletes and others will look to secondhand markets to find what they need for a better price. They not only search for new sporting goods but will also sell as a means to fund their next equipment purchase.
eBay provides a great resource for resellers called Sporting Goods Seller Central to get a real-time view of what’s in demand and what’s selling the most on their platform. See what’s hot to sell in Baseball, Basketball, Camping, Cycling, Exercise & Fitness, Football, Golf, Running, Soccer, Tennis and more.
Some of the most popular items to resell in sporting goods includes:
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Catcher’s mitts and gloves
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Jerseys
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Tents & sleeping bags
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Golf clubs
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Running shoes
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Soccer cleats
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Tennis racquets
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Backpacks
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Athletic clothing (sports bras, polo shirts, running apparel, etc)
Shoes and Handbags
It’s no secret that reselling sneakers is a hot game right now, and has been over the last decade. While staying on top of highly anticipated releases from Nike, Jordan and special collaborations can be a full-time job, you can have great luck outside of lifestyle sneakers. Running trainers, women's boots, heels in decent condition (based on relevant trending styles), and more can help you turn a profit, and will be easier for you to get your hands on at local thrift stores!
If you are looking to break into sneaker reselling, check out our Ultimate Sneaker Reseller Cheat Sheet!
Always look up comps on your item before buying! A quick search on eBay can save you time and money and ensure the piece is worth the effort to crosslist. Vendoo offers a pricing tool called SellHound that instantaneously cross-checks multiple platforms for any searched item to show you average listing and sold prices!
Lastly, handbags are great because they are coveted, can have stellar margins, and are easy to list! With handbags, you want to pay close attention to brand, condition, and style but don’t need to fret about sizing. Sizeless pieces expand your buyer pool, and crosslisting to multiple marketplaces gets you maximum exposure.
There are so many opportunities to bank big reselling in 2023!
Personalize your reseller experience with helpful tools, seller resources, custom features, personalized preferences, and bulk actions with Vendoo!
Vendoo offers flexible and affordable subscription options, where you only pay for what you need. It also offers, but isn’t limited to:
- Basic photo-editing, cropping, and resizing;
- Listing templates for faster listing;
- Integration with SellHound’s Price-Checker tool to see comps;
- Custom Labels for inventory management;
- The Stale Listing Warning system to remind you to refresh your listings; and
- Bulk actions include bulk delist/relist, bulk delete, and the bulk label editor.
Whether you’re just starting out or reselling full-time, Vendoo can help you crosslist all your inventory to multiple marketplaces, keep track of inventory, sales data, and more.
Check out all Vendoo offers right here!
