The Reasons for Secrecy in Reselling

*Click to read the affiliate disclaimer*

(Last Updated On: )

The reselling community is full of very helpful individuals that will point you in the right direction of how to turn a small investment into a healthy return. Once you've done it a fair few times, you will soon begin to consider just how far you can push it. Many are making a full-time living off it, so if you've cracked the formula, you might consider doing the same. However, you might encounter knowledge sharing hiccups in your journey there.

There are aspects of the game where people are willing to share plenty of tips and insights. (Like on this blog). But then there's also a side where you're pretty much in the dark, unless you cough up serious money for a course or tutoring. Why?

Anything that can make you enough to quit a day job has serious value
It takes years to acquire the knowledge needed to resell it full-time
Freely accessible knowledge leads to more competition

Each of the main reselling methods has different communities, many of which have completely different cultures. The following goes from the most willing to share knowledge to the least. It also goes from (generally) the highest ROI per pickup to the least.

Here's why each reselling method has their secrets:

Treasure Hunting / Thrifting

Overview: Buying (mainly) second hand products from charity shops, car boot sales and wherever else, and sell on online marketplaces.

Details: By far, treasure hunters and thrifters are the most open to tell the world about their reselling journeys. They will give you actionable advice. They will tell you what BOLOs to search for in the wild. They will even share big wins, showing actual product listings.

They are a special breed. The amount of content found in Facebook groups, Instagram hashtags and on YouTube is immense. They share and help and just make it easier for everyone to get their first winning sale.

One of the main reasons why they can do these things is because it's usually harder to track these products down than with other methods. There's less competition, particularly because things are primarily being sold second hand, so there's no need to worry about someone taking some of your pie.

Retail Arbitrage

Overview: Buying products from brick-and-mortar retail stores, and selling the items online for profit.

Details: Retail arb is a funny one. The sourcing costs are definitely higher than treasure hunting, but high returns are also possible. You will find some that are completely open to show you their hauls and teach you how to source flippable deals. Others keep their cards close to their chests.

Clearance products tend to be store-specific, so if you find a good one, clearing the shelf will eliminate competition. However, showing someone your buys could inspire someone to hunt out otherwise little-known profit drivers that you once had to yourself.

Online Arbitrage

Overview: Buying products from online retailers and selling for a profitable return using online marketplaces.

Details: Sharing your deals with OA makes no sense at all, if you haven't got the capital to empty all of a retailer's supply. Tell someone what you got and the price you got it for, they can easily get the same item and compete with you for the eBay lowest price or Amazon Buy Box. The latter is a dangerous game, as inexperienced sellers have a habit of wiping out profit potential.

Even sharing your Amazon store name is a bad idea with online arbitrage, as it opens up the opportunity for people to swoop in, use a Tactical Arbitrage reverse search and replicate exactly what you're doing.

Wholesale

Overview: Buy products from manufacturers and distributors in bulk and sell on the most suitable marketplaces.

Details: The traditional route has a lot of barriers. Finding good wholesalers can take time. After that, setting up an account and getting them to agree to sell to an eBay or Amazon seller can be tricky. Finally, there might be a steep minimum order to break through.

The amount of hurdles in place stop time wasters. Wholesale specialists might be helpful for practical advice once you're in the game, but that initial task of finding how to even get involved takes some doing.

Online Retail Dropshipping

Overview: List products on a marketplace. When they sell, buy from third party retailer and ship directly to the customer.

Details: The grey hat cat in the field. Of all the methods, the secrecy here is mainly down to the fact that these people don't want the practice to be publicised. Once the public are aware that it even takes place, it will become a minefield.

This form of dropshipping is frown upon, even though it'a as legitimate a reselling method as any other. The only difference is that there are no upfront costs to participate. That's the beauty of it, and also the reason people get angry when others are able to make so much money doing it.

Overview

There's a real variety and if you're just getting into reselling, it can be frustrating if your favourite method has gated secrets to even understand the basics. However, it's for good reason. The amount of knowledge barriers are there to make you learn the game properly.

Once you've earned your stripes, you'll find company that is willing to share their insights with you. To those just finding their feet, it makes sense to gravitate towards the areas where the information is in greatest abundance. It's also where there's the highest returns on investment. Who doesn't want that?

Many people may do a handful of different methods, but usually they concentrate on spending the bulk of their stock budget with a single style of reselling. Before you settle for anything, try what you can out and see whether scaling up will get you the rewards you want. If you're nice, you might even consider sharing some secrets along the way.