What I Learned About Reseller Cost While Resseling Vintage and Trying to Sell on Multiple Platforms

Most people start resseling because they want a little extra income. I started because I wanted to clear out three huge bins of stuff I’d collected — thrift finds, old tech, and a few vintage jackets I claimed I’d “sell someday.” Then in October 2022, I sold a 1980s leather bomber jacket for $142 on eBay after paying just $18 at a Goodwill store in Jersey. That sale lit me up.

So I leaned in. I thought, “Maybe reseller cost is simple — buy cheap, sell higher.” But here’s where it gets interesting…
The deeper I went into vintage reselling and trying to sell on multiple platforms, the more I realized that cost isn’t just money leaving your bank account. It’s time, mistakes, idle inventory, bad buys, tools, and — sometimes — pride.

This is everything I wish I’d known before scaling up.

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Breaking Down Reseller Cost: It’s Not Just Fees

When someone asks “what’s the reseller cost?” they usually mean marketplace fees. I used to do the same. But reseller cost hides in places you don’t see until it bites you.

In my first 60 days, I spent:

• $612 on inventory

• $187 on shipping supplies

• $110 on marketplace fees

• $0 on tools (bad decision — manual work costs time)

I cleared about $1,180 profit, but it took me 43 hours.
Do the math — that’s ~$27/hour. Not terrible. Until January 2023 hit.

What changed?

I expanded inventory and tried selling on multiple platforms — eBay, Poshmark, Depop, and Facebook Marketplace. Suddenly, reseller cost wasn’t just visible expenses. It became:

• Burnout time

• Storage space creeping into my living room

• Tools to streamline listings

• Time answering messages across four apps

• Returns for sizing issues, mostly on vintage items

One week I made just $92 profit from ~20 hours of work. That’s when I realized: reseller cost = money + time + attention.

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Resseling Isn’t Equal — Vintage Reselling Has Its Own Cost Curve

Vintage reselling feels glamorous — curated pieces, sustainable story, good margins. But vintage reselling isn’t just about finding unique items. It’s about:

• Cleaning

• Photographing details

• Measuring accurately (no shortcuts here)

• Understanding fabric types

• Handling picky buyers

And — the tricky part — absorbing “dead inventory.”
In December 2022, I bought 18 vintage sweaters thinking it was peak season. Sold 5. The rest? Sat for months, eating shelf space and mental space.

Personal numbers from my vintage reselling phase:

• Avg buy cost: $9–$22 per piece

• Avg sale price: $28–$62

• Return rate: ~4% (mostly fit issues)

• Listing time per piece: ~14 minutes

• Sell-through: ~42% in 45 days

Vintage reselling has great upside, but your reseller cost includes learning curves, stuck inventory, and more prep work than modern items.

Would I do it again? Yes. But slower. And I’d track inventory turns from day one instead of “vibe judging” items (embarrassing, but true).

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Why “Sell on Multiple Platforms” Sounds Smart But Can Cost You

Everyone online says to sell on multiple platforms. It sounds strategic. It feels like diversification. But the first time I listed on four platforms manually, I spent nearly 9 hours in one weekend — and forgot to remove a sold item on Depop, leading to a cancellation and a bad mark on my account.

Crossposting mistake #1.

Then came message management chaos. Someone on Posh asked a question. Someone on eBay sent an offer. Someone on Facebook said, “Is this still available?” at 1:08am. (Of course.)

The hidden reseller cost of multi-platform reselling

• Duplicate messaging time

• Delisting delays

• Increased returns tracking complexity

• More spreadsheets than I expected to ever maintain

So, can you sell on multiple platforms? Absolutely. But only if you plan for it, because the hidden reseller cost is friction.

Eventually I automated crossposting and delisting with Closo.
I use Closo to automate delist/relist and crossposting — saves me about 3 hours weekly and prevents the panic of double-selling. If you're serious, automation isn’t optional — it’s cost control.

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What Is Crossposted? Understanding the Real Effort Behind It

“What is crossposted?” gets asked constantly in reseller groups.
Crossposting means listing the same item on multiple marketplaces so you increase exposure. It also means you increase complexity unless you have systems.

When I first crossposted manually in February 2023:

• I listed 42 items on eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari

• Took ~7.5 hours total

• Made 8 sales in 48 hours (felt amazing)

• But then forgot to delist one item on Mercari. Again.

Crossposting works — but crossposted items demand workflow discipline.

Tools I used over time

• Google Sheets for SKU tracking

• List Perfectly (solid but clunky interface)

• Vendoo (good draft flow)

• PhotoRoom (image cleanup)

• Closo (my go-to now for automation + relist optimization)

Opinion: crossposting is the single most powerful way to increase exposure — but also the fastest way to drown in admin without automation.

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People Always Ask Me: “Is Vintage Resseling More Profitable?”

Here's something everyone wants to know: is vintage reselling the most profitable way to resell? My honest answer — sometimes. Vintage reselling can be incredibly profitable when sourcing is strong and buyer demand is high. But when I relied on thrift stores only, my hit rate fluctuated like crazy.

In March 2023, I bought 21 vintage jackets and sweaters. Sold 12 fast, 5 slow, 4 still hanging months later. Profit was real — but inconsistent. Vintage items also required better photography and descriptions, which added time.

So yes, vintage reselling can outperform modern clothing or household goods — but only when your sourcing pipeline is reliable and you track sell-through, not just margin potential.

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Common Question I See: “Should I Track My Time as a Reseller?”

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: you won’t believe how much time you lose until you measure it.

When I started time-tracking in February 2023, I spent:

• 14.5 hours sourcing

• 11 hours listing

• 6 hours shipping

• 3.5 hours messaging

• 2 hours dealing with returns

And I thought I was “just reselling casually.”
The minute I tracked time, I realized reseller cost = time. After that, I automated listing flow, reused templates, batched photos, and made shipping routines.

Efficiency doubled. Profit increased by ~37% month over month.
Not because I found “secret items.” Because I found — and eliminated — waste.

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Tools That Actually Reduced My Reseller Cost

These tools lowered time cost or increased output:

I’ve tried 10+ tools. Most weren’t worth it. These earned their keep.

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My Cost Mistakes (And the Lessons)

Mistake #1: Overbuying early

In November 2022, I bought 44 items in a single weekend because “winter is coming.” Half sat until spring.

Mistake #2: Underpricing my time

Listing manually felt “free.” It wasn’t. Time is the most expensive reseller cost.

Mistake #3: Thinking free tools were savings

I wasted hours trying to avoid paying for workflow support. Realizing this hurt — but saved me long-term.

What I learned

Reseller cost is invisible until you track it. And once you see it, you can control it.

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Final Thoughts

Understanding reseller cost changed how I resold. At first, I chased margin per item. Now, I chase velocity, time efficiency, and compounding workflows. If I had realized sooner that resseling isn't just buying and flipping — it's logistics, system-building, and channel discipline — I would’ve scaled cleaner.

Today, I spend less time and earn more than during my “hustle harder” months. Not because I got smarter at sourcing overnight, but because I started respecting time cost and automating messy parts of selling.

If you're planning to sell on multiple platforms or explore vintage reselling, start slow, track everything, and build your workflow before you scale inventory.
And when crossposting becomes overwhelming, I use Closo to automate crossposting + delisting — it saves me ~3 hours per week and removes stress.

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Finding More Reseller Insights

When I wanted deeper strategy beyond just thrift stories, I learned a lot from the Closo Seller Hub — especially the breakdowns on multichannel selling and inventory logic: https://closo.co/pages/closo-seller-hub

Two guides in particular helped me rethink workflow the same way vintage reselling forced me to rethink sourcing — the one on multi-platform selling and another about inventory turns and pricing strategy.