How to get started in online selling

I would like some guidance, if possible. I don't have much in funds and I would like to buy from a wholesaler because from my understanding this is where I can make the most profit. My problem is I am not to sure where to start or what to sell. Do I need a license to sell products if I am running this business from my home? And if so, what kind of license and where can I obtain one? I am not looking to get rich fast just an extra income for now. I am willing to put some work into this just need to know where to start.


Thank you

Alfred Ramirez

Hi Alfred,

You can start by selling items from around your home and see what works well. This can help build up funds when you're ready to purchase wholesale lots later. The Link hidden: Login to view also helps you find popularly sold products online. Just scroll the success rate to at least 40% and it'll provide results of hot selling items that you might like to sell as well.

When you say licensing, all you need is a sales tax ID to get started. You can start selling online without this certificate just yet but when you start making constant sales, I suggest getting one right away to avoid tax problems.

A sales tax ID is a certificate issued by your local government that says you're required to collect sales tax. This is equivalent to GST, VAT, ABN in other countries. You can usually get one online by Googling your state government's website and look for a section that says "Business", or you can contact your local county clerk's office and inquire on how you can get one.

Hope this helps.

Hi Alfred,

Wholesale is where you will get the best value on new items. As a general rule, the more you spend on product, the more you save on cost. That said, having a very limited budget will make it difficult isn't going to help you with wholesale. You're really going to need money behind you to move into wholesale.

A lot of wholesalers will offer a tier system, so spend X and get Y discount, the problem is that many with limited budgets come in on the lowest tier because that's all they can afford, but just because that's wholesale buying, doesn't automatically mean it will be enough to allow you to compete. The problem is, while it may give you a better price than dropshipping will, but if you have buyers coming in over the top of you and purchasing from the top tier and securing greater discounts, then they have the drop on you if they are in your market place.

So even buying wholesale, you can still find yourself out of the market and then with a load of stock that you can't move.

So wholesale has its pitfalls if you're not careful.

Rhea's advice of kicking it off with things from around the house is a good idea and it saves your budget as well. If you're struggling finding things you want to sell from around the house, then maybe consider hitting a few garage (yard) sales in your area and seeing what sort of deals you can find there. Never under estimate the second hand market on eBay, it's huge, always has been and the place is crawling with collectors of all sorts of things just looking for deals.

You need to have a good eye and you need to be able to talk a good deal, but if you can combine those two things, then you can take a very little amount of money and make it a very large amount of money with just a little bit of effort :)

Thank you for the information this will help me out all. I do have to ask how much money would you suggest that I have on hand to do wholesale products?

Wholesale pricing is based on volume, that volume will depend on the supplier and on the product you are buying. Most wholesale suppliers will have an MOQ (minimum order quantity) So that is the minimum amount of stock you need you will need to purchase. Not all, but others may also offer a tiered pricing system on their product.

So purchase X, get Y discount and so on, with the greater the volume purchased, the greater the wholesale discount. It really does come down to each individual wholesale supplier and the product you are buying from them.

I know that cost would depend on the wholesaler. But what would you suggest would be a good amount of cash to have on hand in order to start buying wholesale? I have about 3k to invest right now but want to know where I should start, Wholesale or dropship or what? Again not looking to get rich quick just make a profit is all I am looking for, and also be able to grow and start to invest more.

It's really impossible to give you an definite answer. For example, if you are going to be selling, lets say huge 100cm television sets and each TV is going to cost you 7K wholesale with an MOQ of 3 units, then of course that isn't enough cash. If you are going to wholesale pillows with a wholesale cost of $10 each and a wholesale MOQ of 50 units, then you do have enough cash to do wholesale.

You're not going to know if you have enough cash to go wholesale until you know the product you are wanting to source, the supplier you want to deal with and their MOQ or wholesale pricing structure. Having the answer to those three things will give you the answer you're looking.

If you do get into the wholesale market with your budget, don't over look dropshipping as a follow up market. Nothing wrong with having both markets going. Use your cash to get the best deal on the best product for your market, then you can use dropshipping to sell other products closely associated with your wholesale product to build the business.

You might also consider looking into the surplus market with that sort of budget as well. If you don't know it well, you need to research it well because there are plenty of pitfalls, but that's a potential market for you to consider with that budget

Hi Alfred.
Welcome. To start a business, the banner across the top of every Salehoo page is Seller Training Center. Loads of information. You also sound like
you are trying to get the staff to give you supplier recommendations. They won't do that. All they will say is that there are over 8,000 suppliers with X number of products.

ebay is a great source for buying and selling. Try a sample. Type in ebay search wholesale lot of "paracord wrist bands." Go to page 19 or 100. That is where the best deals are. People generally will not search past page 3 or 4. Pay attention to the listing. Where is it shipping from? How much is shipping?

Keep your item to less than 4 ounces due to shipping costs. Also follow the advice given by Mark and Rhea.

Also Amazon is a great place to source information. Enter "paracord wrist bands" in search. Then go to the bottom of the page and find "people who bought this item also bought..." and use that as a source for bundling.

Why bundle something? It makes your product unique.

I wish you well.

dale