Truly Canadian Resale Barriers
Ask any veteran reseller and they will tell you that Canadian shipping rates take a huge bite out of their profits. Just like taxes there is no way to getting around paying it. As part of your resale strategy you should always consider what will be the most cost efficient way to get your items to your customer.
Platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji offer the option of local pick up or if you are able, delivery of your items. We use these two sites for bulky items that we would prefer not to deal with the hassle of shipping. If your piece is a high end piece of furniture that you painstakingly restored you may want to make an exception and learn how to do bulk shipping through a carrier service.
Rarely would I take the time to list clothes on these sites. People want to pay next to nothing for clothes on these platforms and many groups flat out ban having clothes posted there. A pair of jean selling on marketplace for $10 would garner $100 or more with the right brand on Poshmark Canada, Vinted or Depop. Learn where the most money is for your product.
For small appliances, tools, toys or collectibles you will want to look at ebay. The nice part about ebay is that you can choose the shipping carrier you want to use and the customer pays the shipping unless you decide to (we will talk in another post why you may choose to). Ebay is also an excellent choice for selling pieces of items individually. For example we recently received a Ninja Pro chopper on a pallet. We listed it on marketplace for $70. It sold for the full asking price but turned out to have a power issue. We were disappointed but I later found that each individual piece from the set was being sold on Ebay and we will make a larger profit selling it off in bits. Get creative, just because something is not perfect, does not mean it can't be worth money.
I have had times when I could send lower value items like trading cards or small parts with just a regular Canadian postage stamp. I would not recommend that for a high value item, but knowing the risk vs return will help you decide where to put your money.
It will take time to figure out which shipping options and selling platforms make the most sense. Keep track of how much shipping is costing you (you need it for your taxes anyway), and review the numbers regularily so you can work on finding better ways to ship and save money.
