How to Buy Children's Shoes to Sell

Buying items and selling them for a profit is a process of everyday business. Retailers across the world are privy to this concept, and use thousands of employees to manage their companies. However, if you are just looking to start out in the retail business, you likely have the need to start on a smaller scale. Buying and re-selling retail items like children's shoes is in high demand. People are looking for a good deal, and if you specialize in a certain area, you will be on your way to recognizing know how to find the best deal and sell the items for the largest profit.

Things You'll Need

• Money

Instructions

1. 

   Specialty shoes

   Select a specialty. If you are starting out in the shoe or retail buying and selling business, you first want to start with a narrowed selection. Maybe you want to sell children's high-end dress shoes, football cleats or specific brands like Crocs at bargain prices. Whatever you decide, start out with a certain area of focus so that you can specialize. By narrowing your specialty, you become more familiar with your area of focus and can quickly locate a premium pair of shoes that you can gain the most profit on.

2. 

   Making a profit

   Figure out the highest amount you could spend to still make a profit. Of course, you want to pay the lowest price possible to have the largest gain, but you need to know the maximum dollar amount you can spend. If you can re-sell a pair of children's ballet shoes for $15, and the pair you found to purchase are selling for $10, then you must factor in your time, expenses and other fees to determine if a $5 gain is actually going to be profitable for your business.

3. 

   Finding the right shoes

   Find shoes to buy. If you specialize in a certain type of shoes, you will quickly learn where to search for good deals. There are many places to purchase shoes from that could return a nice profit. For instance, you may be able to pick up a pair of children's western cowboy boots at a yard sale for $1 that were never worn, and re-sell them for $20. On the other hand, you could find a reputable wholesaler and pick up a large quantity of shoes for a rock bottom price. Places to look for good buys on children's shoes are resale and consignment stores, yard sales, local and online clearance events, online auction sites, and shoe wholesalers such as Shoenet.com.

4. 

   Selling shoes

   Decide where to sell them. It takes time to build a children's shoe business. If you don't have a lot of start-up money to invest, you may decide that you start selling with online auctions in the beginning, with the goal of opening a children's shoe boutique in the future. Other places to sell shoes are consignment stores, online storefronts and flea markets.

5. Make them appealing. If they are not new, remove any sign of wear. If the shoes have scuffs, try polishing them; if they are missing shoe laces, replace them. You will want to put forward the best product possible to obtain the highest profit. If they come with a box, or if you can find shoe boxes to hold and display the shoes, that is a great selling tool.

6. 

   Display photos

   Take photos, if you plan to sell them online. If you are selling children's shoes at an online auction site or store such as eBay, then you will want to take quality photos of them in good lighting to display the best shoe possible. If they are a well known name brand or high-end fashion maker, then take a photo of the name as well and add that to your listing.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your purchases organized for easy listing or selling.

• Take your time researching and reviewing shoe wholesalers, the last thing you want to purchase is a large box of mismatched shoes that can't be resold.

• Make sure you disclose everything if you sell through an online auction. The customer will want to know if the size fits small, or if the width is narrow.

References

• Shoenet.com

Resources

• eBay