How to Run Your Reselling Business During Slow Months

Did you know that January and February are historically  the slowest months of the year for consumer spending? It makes sense that people may be a bit more frugal following the most active months of the year, November and December, but recent economic conditions may have caused a heavier than expected pull back.

Whether it’s the egg shortage, new tariff concerns, or all the damn scalpers making everything too expensive, consumers are having a stingy Q1 of 2025. According to this PBS article, monthly spending is down by its highest margin in 4 years last month.

So if sales have been slow, your portfolio is bleeding, and your cost of living is going up; don’t worry because you’re not alone. The good news is that this too shall pass, but in the meantime there are a few things you should be doing to stay ahead of the game.

One of the worst things a reseller can do is not have a plan for on hand inventory. Any product not on track to being sold is just wasted funds. Maximizing profits will require volume to match so it’s easy to lose track of miscellaneous products that don’t sell right away. If you’re having a slow month, take some time to organize loose funds and products, and catch up on admin functions.

Note that sometimes holding products can yield stronger margins than if you were to make a quick flip right after a release, but there’s a fine line between appreciating assets and aged inventory.

The active reseller is monitoring so many sectors that just keeping funds in your bank account is not enough. Imagine getting the news of Trump Coin early and not having SOL in your wallet to make the trade… We’ve seen it all too many times.

Access to multiple payment methods is a necessity for most resellers. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, opening up new credit cards with generous welcome offers is an easy way to secure value. Oftentimes you’ll get 0% APR on new purchases and/or balance transfers for over a year. A fresh line of credit with perks can easily relieve the short term burden of high spending.

We’re not credit professionals, but we don’t think there’s anything wrong with opening up a new credit card about once a year as long as your credit score is in good standing; be sure to use these free loans tactfully.

Pro tip: in some situations it may benefit you to have a cash loaded privacy card in your wallet.

Privacy cards are basically anonymous payment methods that are connected to your existing cards or preloaded with cash. These tools are essential when trying to secure multiples of products with purchase limits.

Most banks like American Express and Capital One offer virtual credit cards, but something like Privacy.com will allow you to buy from vendors without sharing your personal information.

Check out this Reselling 101 article for more about using credit to your advantage, and other reselling fundamentals you may have forgotten.

“Do Your Own Research” (DYOR) is one of our favorite phrases in RC Elite. The information provided in the discord will tell you everything you need to know about major opportunities, but to properly scale and develop your business you NEED TO DYOR. This is what really separates the pros from the average joes. Researching seasonal items, niche product sectors, and sale opportunities will give you a huge edge.

Sure you can just wait for us to drop some alpha and hope you react fast enough, but catching a sale the first few hours it goes live may really drive home the idea that the early bird gets the worm. While we usually cover hot items that sell out fast, catching discounted products can be easy and profitable.

Something like catching Ugg boots on sale in the summer and holding them until winter can produce strong margins. Other seasonal items like pools and space heaters have also been reliable flips. Products like these are often found on sale when they’re out of season, but are still in demand when the time is right. We’ve even seen candy resell after Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

When experimenting with new products and selling platforms make sure to calculate your costs properly. Always check eBay for completed sales and shipping cost, as well as Amazon profit calculators for associated fees.

There is no shortage of profitable opportunities, you just need to develop a proper system to help you capitalize. There is no better place to learn than among experienced, hungry, likeminded individuals like those in RC Elite. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter so you might not miss the next chance to level up.