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5 Tips to Break into the Resale Market

It’s no secret the resale market is skyrocketing. The industry is expected to grow to $64 billion by 2028, and there’s a number of reasons why – from its more affordable pricing to its sustainability. For entrepreneurs looking to open a business of their own, the resale market is one of the hottest industries to enter.

At Winmark®, we are the leading resale franchise nationwide. Not only do we offer entrepreneurs the chance to invest in five different resale concepts, but we also have the industry experience and expertise to help our franchisees succeed.

If you’re an aspiring business owner thinking about opening a resale store, here are five tips to help you break into the booming market.

1. Determine What Type of Resale Business You’re Passionate About

One of the great things about the resale industry is how diverse it is. Resale businesses come in all shapes and sizes, with concepts ranging from clothing to technology. Before investing any of your money, you need to decide where your passions lie and what segment of the resale market best suits you.

At Winmark, you have the choice of owning five different resale concepts: Style Encore®, Plato’s Closet®, Once Upon A Child®, Play It Again Sports® and Music Go Round®. Whether you are selling quality used clothing, sporting equipment or musical instruments through one of our concepts, we stay ahead of all the trends in the resale industry, positioning you perfectly for long-term success and steady growth.

2. Identify What Your Community Needs and the Competitive Landscape

A benefit of owning a resale store is that your inventory is largely dictated by your community. You resell the gently used items they bring in exchange for cash, all but ensuring your inventory not only stays varied but represents the interests and tastes of the surrounding area. Since you are receiving items year-round that might be bound to a specific season – such as summer or winter – you can save certain items you receive and strategically put them on shelves when they are most likely to sell.

Having an inventory of gently used products gives you a way to stand out amongst traditional retail stores. Resale stores aren’t restricted to what is currently being produced in the mainstream market, which allows resale business owners to differentiate themselves by offering vintage, out-of-production and rare items alongside the in-demand, mainstream offerings.

3. Consider Your Options for Getting Started

When you are becoming a business owner, you usually have two basic options: starting your own independent business or buying a franchise.

With the size and competition of the resale market, starting your own independent resale business would cost an enormous amount of time and money. That level of investment is unnecessary and could be better spent getting started with an existing franchise, which already has a proven business model, corporate training and ongoing support in place.

As a Winmark franchisee, you get all of those advantages and more. For over 30 years, Winmark has been the standard in the resale franchising space, and our business is only expanding.

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4. Select the Perfect Location

Once you decide to open your resale concept, the next step is site selection. Settling on the perfect location for your business is a crucial key to success.

First and foremost, a great resale location should be located within a strong, active community. Winmark seeks to help franchisees open stores in hubs of retail activity, such as malls, shopping centers or groupings of big-box retailers. In those areas, there should be retailers that complement the Winmark brand store you plan on opening.

Spending the time to find the perfect location for your resale concept goes a long way in ensuring your business stays around a long time.

5. Build Brand Awareness Within Your Community

Resale stores are innately a part of their community – they rely on members of the community for a lot of their inventory. That connection makes community members feel attached to a store that is providing them the chance to browse products that may have even been traded in by a friend or neighbor.

When you open your resale business, your community will participate and support you – so long as they know you are there. After your grand opening, it’s important to keep that excitement through your first months, alerting everyone there’s a new business in town that will become a staple of the community.

By selling your community’s unique gently used items, you have a great chance to give your store a personality that a traditional retail store cannot.

If you are looking for one of the most effective ways to break into the booming resale market with an already proven retail concept, consider opening a Winmark franchise.

Learn more about franchising with Winmark by downloading one of our franchise reports.

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