With the combination of the steady increase in the cost of living and wages that have been failing to keep up, just about everyone is considering alternatives to making more money.

While some choose the full-time path of entrepreneurship, it’s much more prudent to keep your current job and start something on the side. The best way to achieve this is with an effective side hustle. In addition to being easily executed on top of working hours, a good side hustle has the potential to scale to a full-time living.

Among the myriad of options available to engage in, reselling has emerged as a top choice, especially for beginners or those with limited time and budget. Let’s dive in to see whether or not reselling is worth it, and the best methods to start a side business in this field.

What are the Features of a Good Side Hustle?

Features of a good side hustle

Before committing time, effort and money to a side hustle, you need to determine whether or not it's right for you, whether you're a parent looking for extra income or looking to add to your full-time wage.

Here’s a look at the key features of a side hustle worth considering, and how reselling measures up:

Feature Description How Reselling Measures Up
Low time commitment The first defining characteristic of a side hustle is the ability to operate outside of a full time job or on top of a busy schedule. You can start reselling with any spare time you have, after work, after study, or on the weekends. If reselling online you simply upload the products to reselling sites where people can purchase them at any time.
Low or no initial investment In order to reduce financial risk and increase potential upside, a good side hustle requires low or no initial investment to start. A reselling business can start with just a single item, and if you're sourcing from somewhere like a thrift store or garage sale, this can mean that you get the item for incredibly cheap. Additionally, most platforms for starting your reselling business are completely free to use and sign up for.
Flexible schedule Not having to adhere to a rigid schedule to profit from a side hustle is highly important to for those that have other outside commitments. As a reseller, you can operate your business with a high degree of flexibility. In terms of making sales, online platforms never close, so customers can come at any time. You can also upload listings whenever you have the time, and this only takes a few minutes. When it comes to sourcing your items, you'll also be able to buy online from stores that are always open, and even if you're sourcing from a store in person, it should be easy to buy within their opening hours.
Can easily learn and adapt to personal inclinations One of the biggest barriers to starting a good side hustle is a potential learning curve or interest level. Anything too difficult in these areas can prove to be discouraging for starting or continuing. Reselling is incredibly simple to get the hang of: You simply buy an item for a good price and follow the simple steps to make a listing on a platform, and once your item sells, you ship it out safely and securely. Additionally, there are so many niches in reselling, so there's a good chance that you can engage in an active resale market that you have current interest in, making your job more enjoyable.
Good return on investment Ideally, a side hustle should give the highest return on investment as possible in terms of both time and money. While not true in all reselling niches, if you focus on the best trends and markets you will be able to receive a high return on investment which works out to be an hourly rate that could easily exceed that of your current job. Items in reselling that provide the highest returns on investment include sneakers and watches.
Consistency and reliability A side hustle should have enough consistency and reliability so that someone can start at any moment. Reselling, which includes the entire second hand market for all goods, is incredibly active as a whole, making it both consistent and reliable.
Opportunity to scale The best side hustles are those that have the potential to grow to an income that matches or exceeds current wages earned Every niche in reselling has the potential to scale for those who consistently execute a winning strategy while growing their audience. Scaling is easiest for those that have the budget to work with wholesalers and those that learn how to take advantage of becoming a reseller on the retail giant Amazon.
Simple business model If a side hustle doesn't come in the form of gig work or a second job, it will be some sort of entreprneurial venture, and the simpler it is, the better. Reselling is one of the simplest business models that someone can engage in. As a reseller, there's no need to spend time, money or effort into building a product, you simply need to find profitable products to sell that you can list on several easy-to-use existing platforms.
Transferrable skills The best kind of side hustles will give you skills that you can use in other areas for both personal and professional development. As a reseller, if you want to be successful, you'll acquire several transferrable skills that will help you in both business and life. Examples of skills that top resellers learn include how to perform efficient and effective market research, how to calculate profit margins, and best practices for good customer service and encouraging customer loyalty.
Looking for more side hustle inspiration? Check out these best side hustle ideas for 2024.

So, is Reselling a Good Side Hustle?

Reselling checks many boxes in terms of being a great side hustle, including its ease of starting quickly with little investment and its immense flexibility that allows you to work around any type of schedule.

Another great thing about reselling is the plethora of free and simple-to-use platforms that are highly active marketplaces for both buyers and resellers. These include platforms that are specifically targeted towards their niche like GOAT for sneakers and Chrono24 for watches, in addition to broad marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, which is perhaps the easiest platform to launch a reselling business on.

However, just because reselling is a good side hustle and easy to get started in many different ways, this doesn’t mean it’s completely effortless.

Ironically, all the different options can make starting incredibly overwhelming, as it can be hard to pick a specific area to focus on. So many new resellers waste valuable time and effort trying to research best products and niches while hitting dead ends.

Additionally, reselling can be subject to trends that can fluctuate quickly and reward only the earliest adopters. Many opportunities are only available within a brief timeframe, which means only those who are both well-equipped and ready can act.

While some people eventually learn the reselling game on their own over time through trial and error, others choose to work smarter rather than harder by joining an expert-led group. This can increase your odds of initial success quickly by presenting the best current winning strategies that top resellers use.

The best of these groups are also equipped with proprietary software that can push notifications for profitable products in real-time in addition to low-key alpha like price glitches and freebies.

For a look at the top groups today, check out our curated list right here.

How do I Start Reselling Part-Time as a Beginner?

Get started reselling

If you want to get started reselling on the side with no experience, the first thing you need to understand is that it is highly possible and that many full-time resellers started their business as a part-time side hustle.

Equipped with this winning mindset, you simply need to carve out the time to commit and focus on gaining your very first win in the form of a profitable flip and build momentum from there.

For a deep dive into this topic, check out our comprehensive guide: How To Get Started Reselling: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Money as a Reseller.

Become a Profitable Reseller With Whop

Whop offers a collection of the best resources for any aspiring reseller who wants to lay the foundation that has the potential to scale to the highest levels.

Whether it’s joining a private community, gaining education through an ebook or course, or taking advantage of custom software, you can find everything for your reselling needs right here on Whop.

So if you’re thinking about getting started the right way with reselling as a side hustle, Whop has all the tools you need to get started and scale your business.

Start reselling with Whop

FAQs

What makes reselling a good side hustle?

Reselling’s high degree of flexibility in combination with its relative ease of starting makes it a good side hustle. Other inherent traits that contribute to this include a low initial monetary and time investment compared to many other business models as well as its potential to scale to a comfortable full-time income with the right tools.

What’s the most profitable thing to resell?

The most profitable thing to resell is something that yields the highest profit margin and sells quickly. This often means the product is trending with limited supply and an incredibly high demand. Examples could include sneakers, tickets, watches or even digital collectables like NFTs. The exact item will vary by platform and product category.

Check out our comprehensive list of the best things to resell, including the best marketplaces to sell them.

Where do I find products to resell?

In order to find the best products to resell, you first have to gain an overall understanding of the market and which products have the potential to sell for a higher price than they are publicly available. The best exact places vary from low key like thrift stores and wholesale suppliers to popular retailers and platforms.

What’s the best way to start a reselling side hustle?

The best way to start reselling as a side hustle is to settle on a niche you will operate within. Ideally, it should be an area that aligns with your current interests. This way you can get started with the least friction and the highest potential to succeed as most top resellers are selling inside a niche they are already passionate about.

How much does it cost to start reselling?

The initial cost to launch a reselling business can vary drastically based on the type and amount of inventory that is being sourced, but it can be as low as a few dollars if you source an item from a thrift store and list it for free on eBay. Those with a bigger budget can target more expensive items or purchase items in bulk, both of which have higher profit potential but at the same time have higher inherent risk.