If you are just as annoyed about not being able to resell or frustrated why reselling takes such a long time, completely new to it, then this blog post is for you. With a background in business and econmics with a touch of psychology, I listed a few questions to think about before and during resale. They won’t help you determine how much to resell something for, but they will make you aware of different factors to help you determine the resell price for you, or to resell more effectively and maybe not, where it might be too time consuming;
Does every product resell the same?
Reselling at a higher price is often easier, when the market size is small. It means that there are only a limited set of goods available. If the interest to purchase such product is higher then the supply, than it is more likely that you can resell your product at a higher price. A secondhand Porsche tends to resell at a higher price then a secondhand car of a car brand that is largely available and affordable to most people. A jacket that is high in demand, but not available on the secondhandmarket (yet), or in very small quantities will likely resell at a higher price then a jacket of which (secondhand) markets are saturated on.
Do new products resale at a high price?
Even if your jacket is new and the market is saturated, it will likely resell at a lower price, because of market saturation. A related difficulty is that you will likely also find jackets, that are less worn but categorized as “like new”. This increases the total quantity of the “same jackets” and reduces their total value, because too many jackets of the same or a similiar model are available. Of course, if your jacket is new, it likely will resell higher, then if it is not, but the question is “if” and when. Another thought is to not resell it as high as the initial purchasing price as long is it is on the market, because it likely leads to people buying the new product from the store. That is because they are “brand new”. Even if your item is brand new, it is not, because you owned it already. Likewise, if the market is less saturated, you are likely to resell at a high price.
What if the market is saturated and my clothes are already worn?
That tends to be a bummer. You likely succeed in quick resale if you resell at a much lower price, then the average. The price has to be much lower, because then you are more competative towards higher priced and used products. It will make reselling a bit faster, but also runs risk of losing profits. On the other hand, it more likely leads you to making profits that you otherwise run risk of not making, because your average priced item will perish in the saturated market and the fact that new items are uploaded frequently on resale platforms. This may also work the opposite, by selling higher then the average. Reselling at a higher price likely means that more demands on the product exists, so reselling authentically is important.
How does product authenticity relate to resale value?
Each of us is different, which means that people will have different tastes, budgets and body sizes. It means that the more real a picture and related description feels like, the more real it will feel to the person interested in the product; what a consumer expects from a product by looking at its description should match the reality after purchase most likely. That can happen through the right colors representation, description of lenght and width, material features, deffects and pictures taken while worn with body in “normal poses”. In buying decisions, this likely leads to higher levels of confidence and a greater interest in paying a higher or “the” price for a product.
Isn’t it that some products don’t resell, if I am being that authentic?
Its not like that because again different people have different interests, budgets, body sizes and demands. It means that in different market segments, different customers can be found. Someone with a low budget, but eager to buy product x may buy a semi broken item, but repairs it and someone with a higher budget will buy the same product in a better or even new condition. Or maybe you want to try out a new style. Because it is new to you, it is not new to others and you find many products in a different market segments. In other words “there are different segments of popularity”, or “authenticity” that resale at a different price.
Should I use words like pretty or beautiful jeans for authentic resale?
I find that we are saturated on products and we often tend to forget, why we buy them. For example, shoes are there to protect our feet and jackets may keep us warm. Many of these qualities are often not listed, but instead descriptions such as “pretty”. While these descriptions are not wrong, they are subjective to individual perception, meaning your pretty might not be mine, but your waterprotection likely is mine. So, what are you selling? Highlight that and match your price accordingly. For example, it is rare to find waterproof raincoats. Ironic, right? But it sells, even if the brand is a bit less known.
Can brand names help me sell higher?
It depends again on the market and its saturation. If the brand name is so little known, it may take some time to resell high, a bit like in the example of the Porsche. On the other hand, a high new instoor purchasing price from a well known brand, likely keeps the average price in the resale market higher. For example, you will more likely sell product X from brand Y, with an instore price of 200€ at around 175€ new then product K from brand B with an instore price of 20€. So it’s a bit of a mix and you can have a look how your competitors set prices for similiar product categories, but also have a look at the current store prices. Ideally, you could be a bit lower, but not too low and not too high, but again depending on product quality, brand image etc.
Hope you liked this! If you have questions or comments, drop a message or leave a message in the comment section.
AnnJoest 