A reseller is a company or individual (merchant) that purchases goods or services with the intention of selling them rather than consuming or using them. Individual resellers are often referred to as middle men. This is usually done for profit (but can be done at a loss). One example can be found in the industry of telecommunications, where companies buy excess amounts of transmission capacity or call time from other carriers and resell it to smaller carriers. Resale can be seen in everyday life from yard sales to selling used cars.
According to the Institute for Partner Education & Development, a reseller's product fulfillment–based business model includes a corporate reseller, retail seller, direct market reseller (DMR), and an internet retailer (eTailer); less than 10 percent of its revenue comes from services.
Resellers are known to conduct operations on the Internet through sites on the web.
For example, this occurs where individuals or companies act as agents for ICANN accredited registrars. They either sell on commission or for profit and in most cases, but not all, the purchase from the registrar and the sale to the ultimate buyer occurs in real time. These resellers are not to be confused with speculators, who purchase many domain names with the intention of holding them and selling them at some future time at a profit. Resellers, by the very nature of their business are retailers, not wholesalers. It is not unheard of for online pawn shops like iPawn to also act as a reseller, and purchase rather than loan against valuables. Online auction and classifieds websites, such as those owned by eBay Inc. and Craigslist provide services for resellers to sell their goods and services. However although resellers are indeed retailers it does not follow that retailers are resellers.
Another common example of this is in the web hosting area, where a reseller will purchase bulk hosting from a supplier with the intention of reselling it to a number of consumers at a profit.
Some of the platforms used to resell are websites and apps such as Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, thredUP, Facebook Marketplace, and many more. All these platforms have products that are new, resold, and even used. [1] Several major companies have an extension to their franchise in which they sell their own products that may be "out of season", used, or recycled and resell them. Examples of this would be COACH (Re)Loved [2] and LEVI Secondhand. [3] By reselling, these companies are decreasing the amount of waste they produce, reducing their carbon footprints, and bringing back past styles/trends.
Software [4] and ebooks are two products that are very easy to obtain by resellers. Their digital format makes them ideal for internet distribution. In many cases, such as brandable software, the reseller can obtain even the right to change the name of the software and claim it as one's own and resell it on an ebook shop hosting platform.
A software reseller is a consultant who sells the software from large companies under a licence. They have no legal employment status with the parent company and generally operate on a freelance basis.
The companies visited to and pitched to by software resellers are often small and medium enterprises (SMEs), local businesses and niche operators. This benefits the software house as they may not hold the resources for the legwork needed to spread their network on a lower scale. While it benefits the reseller because they can build up networks of smaller clients and become a single point of contact for them for every aspect concerned with the software, be it advice, training or updating.
A subcategory of reseller is a web operative who will buy a large amount of hosting space from an Internet service provider (ISP) and then resell some of this space to clients. Their hosting is often managed through a virtual private server (VPS) which allows them, through a control panel, to administer bandwidth, databases, passwords etc, for the client.
The popularity of this business model grew with the rise of freelance web designers as it enabled them to be the sole service provider for the client. After an initial consultation with the client they could subsequently design, develop and also host the site as a single operation.
Reselling creates a circulation of products, whether that be clothes, technology, books, etc. This circulation extends the lifespan of products and reduces the amount of waste in landfills. [5] This process of reselling also minimizes the carbon footprint of clothes, potentially reducing it by approximately 82% versus purchasing new clothing. [6] A used product purchased over a new one, such as clothing, is capable of saving about 1 kilograms of waste, 22 kilograms of CO2, and 3,040 liters of water. [7]
$175 billion is the amount that Global Data predicted for the total resale market of 2023 in the United States. [8] But in fact, Global Data confirms that this value was exceeded and in 2023 the total resale market reached approximately $193.7 billion. [9]
Dating back to the Middle Ages, trading of secondhand clothing was common for impoverished communities. Although the concept of "thrifting" sprouted long before, it wasn't until the formation of official organizations such as The Salvation Army and Goodwill that secondhand clothing/items flourished. Even though the popularity of resale/secondhand items fluctuates, it remains familiar in the 21st century. [10]
AI is being used in the works of resale, allowing resellers to automatically purchase high-demand products without actively being present. With such technology, resellers can focus on other important tasks all while getting their inventory at the best possible price with the help of AI. This doesn't mean that people should disregard their involvement with business purchases, as it remains essential for resellers to monitor expenses and participate in decision-making. [11]
The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer sell the product.
The first-sale doctrine is an American legal concept that limits the rights of an intellectual property owner to control resale of products embodying its intellectual property. The doctrine enables the distribution chain of copyrighted products, library lending, giving, video rentals and secondary markets for copyrighted works. In trademark law, this same doctrine enables reselling of trademarked products after the trademark holder puts the products on the market. In the case of patented products, the doctrine allows resale of patented products without any control from the patent holder. The first sale doctrine does not apply to patented processes, which are instead governed by the patent exhaustion doctrine.
A charity shop (British English), thrift shop or thrift store or opportunity shop or op-shop is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used goods such as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, toys, and furniture donated by the public, and are often staffed by volunteers. Because the items for sale were obtained for free, and business costs are low, the items can be sold at competitive prices. After costs are paid, all remaining income from the sales is used in accord with the organization's stated charitable purpose. Costs include purchase and/or depreciation of fixtures, operating costs and the building lease or mortgage.
Used goods, also known as secondhand goods, are any item of personal property offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender, but excluding books, magazines, and postage stamps. Used goods may also be handed down, especially among family or close friends, as a hand-me-down.
Ticket resale is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of the tickets. Tickets sold through secondary sources may be sold for less or more than their face value depending on demand, which tends to vary as the event date approaches. When the supply of tickets for a given event available through authorized ticket sellers is depleted, the event is considered "sold out," generally increasing the market value for any tickets on offer through secondary sellers. Ticket resale is common in both sporting and musical events.
Thrift store chic refers to a style of dressing where clothes are cheap and/or used. Clothes are often purchased from thrift stores such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Value Village. Originally popular among the hippies of the 1960s, this fashion movement resurfaced during the mid-1980s among teenagers, and expanded into the 1990s with the growing popularity of such music and style influences including the grunge band Nirvana. Thrift store chic can be considered as an anti-fashion statement because it does not follow fashion trends and does not attempt to look expensive or new.
Consignment is a process whereby a person gives permission to another party to take care of their property and retains full ownership of the property until the item is sold to the final buyer. It is generally done during auctions, shipping, goods transfer, or putting something up for sale in a consignment store. The owner of the goods pays the third-party a portion of the sale for facilitating the sale. Consignors maintain the rights to their property until the item is sold or abandoned. Many consignment shops and online consignment platforms have a set time limit at which an item's availability for sale expires. Within the time of contract, reductions of the price are common to promote the sale of the item, but vary by the type of item sold.
Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second-hand retail outlets, e.g. in vintage clothing store. While the concept originated during World War I as a response to textile shortages, vintage dressing encompasses choosing accessories, mixing vintage garments with new, as well as creating an ensemble of various styles and periods. Vintage clothes typically sell at low prices for high-end name brands.
A marketing channel consists of the people, organizations, and activities necessary to transfer the ownership of goods from the point of production to the point of consumption. It is the way products get to the end-user, the consumer; and is also known as a distribution channel. A marketing channel is a useful tool for management, and is crucial to creating an effective and well-planned marketing strategy.
A second-hand shop is a shop which sells used goods.
In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms refer to a supplier of any goods or service. In property sales, the vendor is the name given to the seller of the property.
Buffalo Exchange is an American fashion resale retailer. Operating under a "buy, sell, trade" business model, it buys clothing and accessories from the public and resells them to the public. Buffalo Exchange targets a wide range of styles and ages with a mix of new and recycled clothing and accessories, including current trends, everyday staples, vintage, one-of-a-kind items, designer and more. Though often considered a thrift store, rather than receiving donations, they hand-select and purchase the majority of their inventory from the local community. This makes for a more curated selection.
Discount-Licensing is a Burton-upon-Trent, UK-based vendor or broker of secondhand Microsoft software licences. It is notable for being the first company to establish a secondary market in such licences which is accepted by Microsoft as being valid.
Recommerce or reverse commerce is the selling of previously owned, new or used products, mainly electronic devices or media such as books, through physical or online distribution channels to buyers who repair, if necessary, then reuse, recycle or resell them.
Twice was an online marketplace for buying and selling secondhand apparel based in San Francisco, CA. The e-commerce platform was created to make selling used goods easier and shopping used like buying new. Twice manages the selling process for the customer, such as pricing, shipping and merchandising. Twice vets each item to ensure it meets “like new” standards. The company currently buys and sells men's and women's clothing as well as women’s shoes and handbags from popular retailers and brands.
Winmark Corporation is an American franchisor of five retail businesses that specialize in buying and selling used goods. The company is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Winmark was founded in 1988 as Play It Again Sports Franchise Corporation by Ron Olson and Jeffrey Dahlberg after they purchased the Play It Again Sports franchise rights from Martha Morris. They renamed the company to Grow Biz International Inc. in June 1993. Grow Biz went public in August 1993. In 2000, John Morgan replaced Dahlberg as CEO and renamed the company to Winmark in 2001. Morgan rescued Winmark from the verge of bankruptcy by selling financially failing franchise concepts and stores and replacing the management team. The company's strategy was to move from owning stores itself to having franchisees own all the stores.
The RealReal, Inc. is an online marketplace for users to buy and sell luxury goods that are authenticated by experts. It has more than 34 million members, and has sold nearly 36 million items as of Sept. 30, 2023.
Rebag is a New York-based retail platform, established in 2014, that operates both online and through brick-and-mortar stores. It specializes in the buying, trading, and selling of luxury handbags, accessories, watches, fine jewelry, shoes, and select apparel.
Vintage clothing, or "Vintage", is a colloquial term commonly used to refer to all old styles of clothing. A widely accepted industry standard of a "vintage" item is being made between 20 and 100 years ago and clearly reflect the styles and trends of the era they represent. In recent years, the popularity of vintage clothing has grown, as consumers seek unique and sustainable fashion alternatives.
ThredUp Inc. is an American company that operates an online resale platform using Artificial Intelligence, specializing in the sale of second-hand clothing, footwear, and accessories Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Oakland, California, ThredUp has established itself as one of the leading resale fashion marketplaces.
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