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Starting Online Thrift Store as a Business by Eric Dalius

Whether you want to create a side or full income source, you can plan to start your online thrift store hassle-free. Experts say this can be the next big business. No matter how small or big your idea is, you have to plan appropriately for churning profit. In a thrift store, you can keep used clothes, furniture, and books. Most people do this for charitable purposes for raising funds. But you can pursue this as a business. For this, you would need to build an app or website and fix multiple other things also. Here is a quick glimpse into this.

Niche identification

Like others, this resale or online thrift business also needs to focus on a category: second-hand clothes, furniture, books, or any luxury and vintage materials. You can select anything based on customer demand and your experience and skills. If you are confident about the dynamics of vintage products, you can delve into them, for example.

Market research

According to Eric J Dalius, external conditions, such as customer behavior, market capacity, and competition, can also play an integral role. Hence, you have to analyze all these aspects well. You can use a credible keyword tool to find out search volume for a category of products and get an idea about the demand. Knowing the purchasing strength and preferences of your customers can give you an insight into market trends. At the same time, you can see what others are doing in the same space as yours. Looking into their policies, offers, and size can help you create a difference for yourself.

The preliminaries

EJ Dalius brings attention to the need to comply with local tax and business laws.  You would have to register your business and obtain a license. Then, matters like sales tax permits and business accounts also need handling. There is a requirement to have clear terms and policies for your thrift store. For instance, you need to specify how you would manage unsold items, returns, and shipping and handling, among other areas.

Platform choice

If you host your website, you can customize it the way you desire with different features. It can be expensive, but you may derive a massive benefit from it in the long run, says Eric Dalius. However, there are affordable options also. For example, you can leverage high-traffic marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and others to earn new customers.

Inventory

After the online store is ready, you would need to build your stock. You can depend on flea markets, garage sales, clearance sales, and other such places for great deals. Ensure you take care of your storage system, whether at your home or a rented space. Your focus has to be on buying for low and selling for a high price. Keep an eye on your margins. When you put the stock on the website, the product images have to be high quality accompanied by proper descriptions. If possible, consider adding product videos also.

In the end, your marketing and branding efforts will have a considerable contribution towards attracting your customers’ attention. If you name your thrift store well, a lot of your concerns can get immediately solved.

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