What supplies do you need to sell online?
Before selling online, the first thought on everyone’s mind should be “what supplies do I need to sell online?”. Making sure you have everything in hand before listing your first item online is extremely important for a fast and smooth process. There is honestly nothing more frustrating when you have an order come in, only to realize you’re missing something.
In this post we will go over the supplies needed to start your online marketplace journey. It will cover things that are required in order to start selling online.
In a future post we will go over what supplies I suggest getting to help save you time and improve your business in the long run.
Must have supplies to sell online
We’ll start off with the supplies that you require to have before listing your first item for sale online. It’s important you have these in hand before listing a product to sell as you will 100% need them in order to complete your first sale.
Shipping Boxes
This is probably the most obvious supply needed to sell online. When ever you make a sale, you’ll need to place the item in a box in order for the shipping company to accept your package. The good thing about boxes are they’re really easy to come by. There are multiple different ways you can obtain boxes for your packages
- Reuse boxes from your own personal orders.
- Make use of USPS’s free boxes for their Priority Mail.
- Ask neighbors or friends if they have any before they put them out to recycle.
- Purchase them from a local store.
When reusing a box, don’t forget to cover up any old labels or barcodes on the box. It’s very common for shipping companies to scan the incorrect label or bar code.
Tape
Probably another one that may be obvious, but you would be amazed by how many people actually forget this! Making sure you have heavy duty tape is extremely important. You don’t want to seal your box with tape that would just peel.
To make life easier, I suggest getting yourself a tape dispenser. You’re able to purchase these at your local store, or even online via Amazon: Scotch Heavy Duty Packaging Tape.
When taping your box I suggest double taping the seams of the box just to make sure nothing happens during shipment.
Shipping Scale
I HIGHLY suggest getting yourself a shipping scale, during any shipping process you’ll be asked for the weight and dimension of each box. The dimensions are usually posted on the side of the box, if not then just measure it with a tape measure.
It’s important to get an accurate shipping weight as the weight is what your package will be charged on. When getting yourself a scale, you want to be able to weight packages up to 50 pounds and large enough to hold a large shipping box.
Having a shipping scale can save you a lot of money and stop you cutting too much into your profit margin. You would be amazed by how much a couple of ounces can affect the price of shipping.
The scale I personally use is one I purchased of Amazon and have used it for the last year without issues: ACCUTECK ShipPro Scale
Laser Printer
Having a printer is important for anyone looking to sell online, especially if you’re going to be running a business that ships multiple items throughout the year. You’ll need it to print labels from the shipping company along with FBA barcode labels if you’re looking to sell on Amazon.
This Brother Laser Printer can handle both tasks. It is a simple black and white printer meaning you won’t need to purchase any color ink.
Hopefully, this is not something you’ll have to buy as most people have a printer at home. If you already own an InkJet printer, you can probably use that to get started.
Shipping Labels
You’re going to need labels for your box that you use with your laser printer. It saves you printing out a label on to a piece of regular paper, cutting it down to size and using tape to stick it to your box, hoping it doesn’t get wet from the rain. You’re able to purchase these at local stores and on amazon!
