How to Start a Reselling Business with $100

February 17, 2026 · 18 min read

You don't need thousands of dollars to start reselling. Some of the most successful full-time resellers began with less than $100 in inventory — sometimes with items sitting in their own closet. The key isn't how much capital you start with; it's how intelligently you deploy it.

In this guide, we'll walk through exactly how to turn $100 into a functioning reselling business, step by step. We'll cover where to source, which platforms to sell on, how to price, and how to reinvest profits to scale — with real math at every step.

Why $100 Is Enough to Start

Here's the reality: reselling has the lowest barrier to entry of any business model. You don't need a website, a warehouse, employees, or even a business license to get started (though you should look into one as you grow). Here's why $100 works:

With $100, you can realistically buy 15-30 items that sell for $15-50 each. That's $225-$1,500 in potential revenue from your first round of sourcing. Even after fees and shipping, you're looking at 2-5x returns.

Step 1: Start with What You Already Own ($0)

Before spending a dime, look around your home. Most people have $200-500+ worth of resellable items they don't use:

List these items first. They cost you nothing, so every dollar is profit (minus platform fees and shipping). This is how you learn the process — photographing, listing, pricing, shipping — without any financial risk.

Step 2: Choose Your Starting Platform

Don't try to list on every platform at once. Start with one and learn it well. Here's how to pick:

eBay — Best All-Around Starting Platform

Poshmark — Best for Clothing

Mercari — Best for Quick Sales

Whatnot — Best for Live Selling

Our recommendation for $100 beginners: Start with eBay. It has the broadest audience, lowest entry barrier, and you'll learn universal reselling skills (photography, pricing, shipping) that transfer to every other platform.

Step 3: Allocate Your $100 Budget

Here's how we'd split $100 for maximum ROI:

Note: You can reduce shipping supply costs to near-zero by reusing Amazon boxes, using newspaper for padding, and getting free Priority Mail boxes from USPS.com. That gives you $85+ for inventory.

Step 4: Source Your First Inventory ($70)

With $70, you want items with the highest possible ROI. Here's where to go:

Thrift Stores (Best for Beginners)

Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers, local thrift shops. Budget: $30-40

Garage Sales / Estate Sales

Saturday morning runs. Budget: $20-30

Facebook Marketplace (Free Stuff)

Search "free" and "moving sale" in your area. Budget: $0-10 (gas money)

What to Buy: The $100 Starter Kit

Here's a realistic haul from one Saturday of sourcing:

  1. Carhartt jacket — $8 thrift → sells for $35-50
  2. Nike Air Max shoes — $6 thrift → sells for $25-40
  3. Ralph Lauren polo (3 pack) — $9 thrift → sells for $30-45
  4. Pyrex vintage bowl — $3 estate sale → sells for $20-35
  5. PlayStation 3 with controllers — $15 garage sale → sells for $50-80
  6. Patagonia fleece — $7 thrift → sells for $30-50
  7. Vintage Levi's 501 — $5 thrift → sells for $25-60
  8. Board game (sealed) — $2 garage sale → sells for $15-25
  9. Cast iron pan — $4 estate sale → sells for $20-35
  10. North Face jacket — $8 thrift → sells for $30-50

Total spent: $67 | Potential revenue: $280-470 | Expected profit after fees: $150-300+

💡 Not sure what something's worth?

BundleLive's free price lookup tool shows real resale values across every marketplace. Check before you buy.

Check Prices Free →

Step 5: Photograph and List Like a Pro

Good photos are the #1 factor in getting sales. You don't need a fancy camera — your phone works fine.

Photography Tips (Free Setup)

Listing Tips

Step 6: Price for Profit

Pricing is where most beginners leave money on the table — either pricing too low (leaving profit behind) or too high (items sit forever).

The Comp Research Method

  1. Search the exact item on eBay
  2. Filter by "Sold Items" to see what it actually sold for (not what people are asking)
  3. Look at the last 10-20 sales
  4. Price your item at or slightly below the median sold price
  5. Account for condition — mint condition items sell for 20-30% more than good condition

Quick Pricing Formula

Minimum price = (Cost × 3) + Shipping + Platform Fee

If you paid $5, you need to sell for at least $15 + shipping + fees to hit a 3x return. On eBay at $25 shipped, your take-home after 13.25% fee is ~$21.44. Minus $5 cost and ~$5 shipping materials = $11.44 profit per item.

Multiply that across 10-15 items from your $70 haul and you're looking at $115-170 profit from $70 invested. That's how you double your money in the first round.

Step 7: Ship Smart, Ship Cheap

Shipping costs can eat into your profits if you're not careful. Here's how to keep costs down:

Shipping Cost by Weight (Approximate)

Step 8: Reinvest and Scale

This is where the magic happens. When your first batch sells, reinvest 70-80% of your profits back into inventory. Here's how the math works over 90 days:

The $100 to $1,000 Roadmap

Month 1:

Month 2:

Month 3:

⚡ Track prices and find profitable items faster

BundleLive shows real-time resale values across every platform so you never overpay for inventory or underprice your listings.

Try BundleLive Free →

Step 9: Expand to Multiple Platforms

Once you're comfortable on your first platform, cross-list to multiply your exposure:

Cross-listing increases your sell-through rate by 2-5x because you're exposing your items to different buyer pools. An item that sits for 30 days on eBay might sell in 2 days on Mercari (or vice versa).

Step 10: Build Systems Early

Even with a $100 start, build good habits from day one:

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Buying what you like instead of what sells: Use sold comp data, not your gut feeling
  2. Spending too much per item early on: Keep your average cost under $7-8 when starting with $100
  3. Not accounting for fees: A $20 sale on eBay is really $16.85 after fees. Know your real margins.
  4. Hoarding unsold inventory: If it hasn't sold in 30 days, lower the price. Cash flow beats perfect margins.
  5. Ignoring shipping costs: A $15 profit item that costs $12 to ship is only a $3 win. Factor shipping into every buying decision.
  6. Skipping photos: Bad photos = no sales, period. Spend 2-3 minutes per item getting good shots.

What $100 Resellers Are Making in 2026

Based on reseller community data and our own tracking:

The differentiator isn't money — it's time and knowledge. Learning to spot valuable items quickly, price accurately, and ship efficiently is what separates $500/month resellers from $5,000/month resellers.

The Bottom Line

Starting a reselling business with $100 isn't just possible — it's how most successful resellers began. The low barrier to entry means you can test, learn, and iterate without significant financial risk. The key is:

  1. Start with items you already own (free inventory)
  2. Source smart — thrift stores, garage sales, and free pickups
  3. Price using real sold comp data, not guesses
  4. Reinvest 70-80% of profits to compound growth
  5. Build systems early so you can scale without chaos

In 90 days, that $100 can realistically become a $500+/month side hustle. In 6 months, with consistent effort, you could be generating $1,000-2,000/month. And a year from now? That's when things get really interesting.

🚀 Ready to start your reselling business?

BundleLive gives you free pricing tools, fee calculators, and marketplace analytics to make smart buying and selling decisions from day one.

Get Started Free →

Related Guides