The Cost of Reselling: The Ladder from Hobby to Store

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or business advice. Rules vary by country and province/state and change over time. Consult with a qualified professional about your situation.

If your DMs and meetups are eating profit, you’re not alone. This article lays out the ladder of resale in plain terms: costs, KPIs, and the exact moments to add structure so growth doesn’t stall.

Read it like a checklist for your next level.

Level 1: The Collector / Casual Reseller

You buy shoes because they make you smile, and every so often you sell a pair to fund the next hit. You’ve got a normal job; this is retail therapy that occasionally refunds itself. Your “business plan” is basically: keep one, flip one, usually to a local shop for instant cash or, if you must, a StockX dump when you doubled up on drop day. Net profit? Be honest… this is store credit for life, not income.

How it actually goes

Snap a few clean pics, write “VNDS, worn twice, stars intact,” and message your local store or the buddy who always needs a size 9.
Avoid shipping unless you have to; if you do, get tracked and move on.
Keep a tiny note of what you paid and what you sold for; two lines in Notes is fine.

Tiny costs you’ll feel

A box and tape (often free if you ask), a bus ride or a bit of gas, and the occasional $1 CheckCheck when your spidey-sense tingles. Treat it like buying peace of mind, not building an empire.

Street-smart habits (the “don’t be a headline” list)

Meet at shops or busy places, keep convos in writing, and don’t take weird payment schemes when EMT or cash works. If a pair feels sketchy, it is; pass. The community memory is long, and one fake sticks like gum.

What you’re really chasing

The story. The colourway. The “I can’t believe I finally got these.” Your grail might be something wild like the Paris SB Dunk. That feeling is the return. Call it an investment in happiness with a built-in buyback option.

When this turns into Level 2

You stop “accidentally” selling and start buying on purpose. Strangers DM you. You’re doing deals weekly and suddenly care how long things take to move. You’re reselling now. New rules.

Level 2: The IG Reseller (Side Hustle With a Pulse)

You’ve got a refs highlight or a pinned post, a camera roll full of shoe pics, and a healthy disrespect for your weekend shift. Time to make the money make sense without turning it into homework.

Your simple pay formula (CAD)

Pay rate = (Order value − Cost − Stuff) ÷ Time (hours)
Stuff = box, tape, label reprint, quick Uber to the post office. Use $5–$15
Time = DMs, quick clean (wash, air dry, re-lace), pack, drop-off. Usually 30–60 minutes

Treat your profit as your hourly pay. Aim for $30–$60/hr. The floor is $20/hr.

Fast examples

$180 → $220, Stuff $10, 30 min → Profit $30 → $60/hr
$180 → $220, Stuff $10, 60 min → Profit $30 → $30/hr
$140 → $200, Stuff $10, 45 min → Profit $50 → ~$67/hr
Not ideal: $180 → $210, Stuff $10, 90 min → Profit $20 → ~$13/hr (learning tax)

Your tiny Google Sheet

Builder mode note

If you’re trying to grow, every dollar counts. Take the $10 in an hour, log it, learn, and keep moving. You will misjudge time. The win is learning your real pay per hour and nudging it up.

Thumb rules you’ll actually use

Lead with a fair price. Be kind, be clear, keep it quick. Cap the back-and-forth at ~5 minutes. One or two counters, then deal or polite pass.
Small flip, short time by default. Under $20 profit should finish under 30 minutes.
One hour of work aims for $40+ profit. Builder exception: $10–$30 for an hour can be right when you’re stacking pairs; write down why it took that long and fix that step.
EMT or cash only. Your page is not a chargeback charity.
Buy what you know. If it won’t move in two weeks, it’s décor, not inventory.
Clean = cash. Relace, wash, wipe. Fifty cents of effort can add $10+ of value.
Legit check smartly. If it didn’t come from a store or a rock-solid plug, add a cheap CheckCheck and sleep fine.

What to do with the profit

This is your hourly pay. Reinvest to grow and stack pairs, or spend it and celebrate the flip. If you’re building, every dollar counts. Take the slow $10 when it helps cash flow, write down why, beat that time on the next pair.

When you’re creeping into Level 3

Multiple pairs a week, strangers asking for holds, and your DMs feel like a part-time job. Time for light systems: tracking, price reviews, maybe consignment.

Level 2 → Level 3 benchmarks

Volume: consistently 10–20 pairs/month (3–5/week).
Pay per hour: dropping under $25/hr because DMs and meetups eat time. A site will shrink that.
Tool coverage: Shopify + basics ≈ $49–$151/month. If 2–5 normal flips cover that, you’re ready.
Time split: more time replying to “still available?” than sourcing.
Friction: people keep asking for shipping quotes, more pics, size requests, or a size list. A site solves all four.

Quick break-even check

Avg net per pair $30–$50. Monthly tools $49–$151.
If one week of your usual flips pays for a month of tools, move up.

Level 3: IG + Website (maybe a little consignment)

You have an audience on IG and now a simple site so strangers can buy without DM ping-pong. You are still you, just with a cart button and a bit more responsibility. Big step. Worth it. Level 3 is basically anyone selling 4+ pairs a week.

Quick help

Level 3 is a big step and it can be intimidating. You don’t have to figure it out alone. We’ll set up your Shopify store for you, front to back, for free, then teach you how to run it.
• We build the store and make it look legit
• We turn on safe checkout with EMT and write the exact instructions buyers see
• We add sensible shipping rules and a simple “free over” threshold
• We add and configure a couple of free apps that are super useful (receive offers and request item button)
• We connect FlowStream Shoes so creating product pages is fast
• We create your current inventory on the site with clean photos and condition notes
• We add a policies page
• We give you a one-page how-to and a short handoff so you can add products, update prices, and fulfill orders yourself
All of this is free.

Get my free store setup

What changed from Level 2

You can take orders on a website, not just EMT via DM. Set Shopify to manual payment capture, add custom payment options for EMT and cash, include clear EMT instructions, then approve the order after the EMT lands. Card processing is disabled until you are a physical store or consistently processing 10+ orders/day.
You can ship anywhere in Canada without a DM marathon. See all orders and offers in one place and start an automated “buyers want” list (free app; all requests route into one place).
You can test consignment for trusted locals. Track them in a Google Sheet until you outgrow it (i.e., more than three consignors).

Fixed monthly gear (CAD)

Domain $15–$25/year (or free yourname.myshopify.com)
Shopify ~$49/month (first 3 months are $1 each)
Email capture or pop-ups $0–$20/month
FlowStream Shoes: Free plan offers 10 items each month for free or $59 USD/month with unlimited once you’re creating products regularly (roughly ~$80 CAD)

Total: about $49–$151/month

Two or three pairs a month usually covers this. It really is that simple to look legit.

Your money model

Pay rate = (Order value − Cost − Stuff − Processing − Ops reserve − Consignor payout if applicable) ÷ Time (hours)

Stuff = $5–$15 per order (box, tape, reprint, quick Uber).
Processing = $0 if you stick to EMT and cash. If you enable cards, plan ~3% + $0.30/order.
Ops reserve = <1% of sales when cards are off.
Time = fewer DMs now, plus product setup in Shopify (10–20 minutes by hand, or seconds with FlowStream Shoes), then the real-world work after the sale: 5–10 minutes to box, label, and hand off, plus travel. Expect ~60 minutes the first time you build a product without FlowStream Shoes; repeats drop under 30 minutes or product creation is seconds with FlowStream Shoes; total per order still ~5–10 minutes for pack/label/drop-off.

Benchmarks at Level 3

Avg net on owned stock after fees and Stuff, before your time: ~$30/pair.

Consignment using fixed payout: aim for 15–40% spread between what they want and what you can sell it for. If the spread is wild (over 50%), be generous and raise their payout. Word of mouth pays back.

Quick examples

Owned stock, EMT
Order value $220, Cost $170, Stuff $10, Time 45 min → Profit $40 → ~$53/hr

Owned stock, cards on
Order value $220, Cost $170, Stuff $10, Fees ~$6.90, Time 45 min → Profit $33.10 → ~$44/hr

Consignment, fixed payout (EMT)
Consignor wants $100. You list at $150. Stuff $5, Time 30 min → Profit $45 → ~$90/hr

Consignment, split after fees (recommended if you use %)
Order value $220, fees ~$6.90 → net $213.10. Your cut 25% = $53.28. Minus Stuff $5, Time 30 min → Profit $48.28 → ~$97/hr. Write “split after fees” into your policy.

Light systems so the wheels don’t fall off

Track items in Shopify always. If someone EMTs outside the site, create a manual order and send a receipt so everything lives in one place.
One shared sheet for consignment: name, ID, item details, agreed payout or range, your spread or cut, sold date, payout date.
Policies page: all sales final, tracked shipping, shipping timeline, and how consignment works.
Payout calendar: pick one day a week. People remember when you pay them.

Shopify risk review: Once your shop is live, Shopify may ask for receipts/invoices to confirm authenticity. Keep a simple folder per month with retail receipts or order confirmations (PDFs/screenshots), consignment intake forms with seller ID + payout, and your legit-check logs (e.g., CheckCheck ticket). Tag files by model/SKU/size and keep them at least 2 years so you can respond fast.

Shipping that saves headaches

Anywhere in Canada is usually under $25 for one pair with Canada Post.
Signature is ~$1.50. Require signature over $100.
In Shopify, pad live rates by $3–$7 so shipping lands $22–$30.
Offer free shipping over $350. Or once you have enough data, price at AOV + 20%.

Customer service that keeps trust high

Price on the site, then be human in DMs. Friendly, clear, and quick still wins.
Add 3–5 honest photos to used listings. Show size tags and flaws. FlowStream Shoes speeds the base listing so you can focus on the shots that matter.

Builder mode note

You’re building inventory now, so brand matters. Pick a name that feels like a store, not 123_Hype. Niche helps. Become the Kobe person or the Dunk person and deals will find you. A clear differentiator (skate, basketball, Nike, etc.) makes sourcing easier.

Profit traps at this level

Turning on cards too early. Chargebacks nuke profit. Manual EMT and cash keep losses <1% at this stage.
Letting product creation eat your evenings. New pairs take 25–30 minutes by hand the first time; FlowStream Shoes creates the product in seconds, but you still spend 5–10 minutes per order to pack and drop. Plan for that.
Consignment drift. If you don’t write the payout and the split clearly, you’ll eat fees and forget payouts. Put it in the intake sheet and stick to the payout amount.

Benchmarks to move toward a store

Level 3 can be sustainable forever. A store becomes reasonable when you’re closing ~$1,000/day with over 20% net, you have shelves worth of inventory ready (300+ pairs and 100+ styles), and local pickup requests are constant. This jump is hard; be careful.
Slow movers get a discount after ~14 days without interest, and if a price drop does nothing consider promo to keep it local. Don’t run site-wide discounts; just lower the price. Discounts scream “no one wanted this.” A lower price feels like a better find.
First hire appears once you open a store. Plan ~12 hours/week at ~$20/hr for peak times.

Level 4

Ready to talk real rent, payroll, and shrink. Level 4 is the store.

Level 4: The Store

You went from page to place. Doors. Hours. People walking in asking for a size 10 like you’re Foot Locker’s cooler cousin. It’s exciting, and it’s a workload upgrade.

Who this is

A lean destination shop that can push real volume. Comfortable pace looks like about $2,000 on slow days, $15–20k weeks, deep inventory, tight systems, and a clear niche.

What changes from Level 3

- Cards are on. Use a terminal; auto-capture online only when your fraud tools are tight. No EMT for customers; cash or card only.
Hours are real. Open daily if you can. If you must close a day, make it Tuesday. Set something like 11–7 and be consistent.
Ops gets heavier. Intake, authentication, listing, pricing reviews, payouts, cash recon, deposits, shrink, returns. You need written rules or chaos wins.

Volume, mix, and conversion

Comfortable pace: ~$2,000/day on slow days; weekly $15–20k.
Inventory live: 400–500 active listings, average hold 35–40 days. That steadies around 10 orders/day.
KPI line: ~30-day turnover and ~$2.5k/day or ~12 orders/day.
AOV: in-store is typically ~10% higher than online.
Conversion: destination store 55%+ with good stock. Main Street 5–8%. Mall 3–4%. Online ~0.25%; treat it as the funnel to in-store.

Inventory and consignment

Size coverage sells. With ~20 common sizes, aim for 400+ pairs on hand so everyone has options. Weird sizes move when you actually have them at a fair price.
Owned vs consigned: buy the week’s hot drops; consign the rest. Mall rhythm was roughly 20/80 buy/consign. For a destination shop, 50/50 works.
Consignment model: fixed payout keeps life simple. If the gap between their ask and your sell price is 15–40%, perfect. If it’s wild, raise their payout and win the referral tree.
Consignment timing: Most items should move under 30 days. Used pairs over ~$450 can take 45–90 days. Over 90 means it’s priced wrong.

Fixed monthly stack (realistic estimations, CAD)

Rent, utilities, internet, insurance
Shopify + POS, barcode printer and scanner, label printer
Staff for peak hours
Security basics
Supplies, fixtures, signage, storage

Daily target math

Use this to get your breakeven. KPI comes after and sits above it.

Daily revenue target = (Monthly fixed costs ÷ Net margin) ÷ open days
Orders per day = Daily revenue target ÷ AOV

Assumptions for the examples below: 20% net margin, 30 open days, AOV $200–$260.

Examples: breakeven vs KPI (same format for all)

Small Town pop-up

Monthly fixed: about $50
Breakeven: about $8 per day
KPI target: none
Orders at KPI: n/a

Destination Location (store + living)

Monthly fixed: about $5,800
Breakeven: about $1,000 per day
KPI target: about $1,500 per day
Orders at KPI: about 5–8 orders per day (AOV $200–$260)

Large City DT

Monthly fixed: about $10,000
Breakeven: about $1,670 per day
KPI target: about $2,500 per day (pushed growth)
Orders at KPI: about 10–13 orders per day (AOV $200–$260)

Small City DT

Monthly fixed: about $10,000 to $12,000
Breakeven: about $1,700 to $2,000 per day
KPI target: about $2,000 per day (second location, brand awareness over growth)
Orders at KPI: about 8–10 orders per day (AOV $200–$260)

Mall

Monthly fixed: about $65,000 (peak months ran higher with percent rent and staffing)
Breakeven: about $10,800 per day
KPI target: about $15,000 per day (headroom for percent rent, peaks, growth)
Orders at KPI: about 58–75 orders per day (AOV $200–$260)

Tip: set KPI above breakeven so you can absorb slow days, cover percent rent, and keep growing.

Payments and fraud sanity

In-store: chip-and-PIN only, no tap, no manual entry. ID on high tickets. Signature on all in-store pickups.
Online: if Shopify flags fraud, assume it is. Refund. Mismatched billing and ship cities are a red flag.
Trying on: one shoe at a time.

Returns and shipping

Returns: new shoes only, tags on, 14-day window for store credit or size swap. Used is final sale. Post it at the till and on the site.

Canada Post one pair is usually under $25
Add signature for $1.50 and require it over $100.
Pad live rates by $3–$7 so customers see $22–$30.
Free shipping threshold: AOV + 20%. Price accordingly.

Staffing that actually works

First hire shows up with the store. Plan 10–15 hours/week at ~$20/hr for peaks.
If foot traffic passes 10 people/hour, run two people on the floor or accept higher shrink.
Don’t hire a manager until you’re aiming at a second location. As volume grows, add 1–2 full-timers and pull your own hours back to ~30 if needed.

SOPs that keep shelves turning

Opening and closing checklists
Intake at the counter: ID, payout method, fixed payout or split-after-fees written on the ticket
Authentication: two-sign for risky pairs, UV, photo checklist, or $1 CheckCheck to move fast
Listing: barcode the SKU, use FlowStream Shoes to build the product page, add flaw photos
Pricing: weekly review; in a store, ~drop 10% every 30 days if something sits (watch the market prices). Marketplace is last resort or a promo tool
Payouts: one day per week, always the same
Reconcile: daily till count and deposit. Stock takes on set days
Plus: open/close, shrink-wrap station, cash-out, brand guidelines, social posting cadence, staff onboarding and offboarding

Shrink and reality

Non-mall: target ~1% shrink.
Mall: plan ~2.5%.

Tools and gear

Shopify POS hardware set (terminal, barcode printer, scanner).
Label printer. Generic handheld scanner for back-of-house stock takes.
Safe. Cameras if risk increases; an iPhone can function as a store phone and quick camera.
Cleaning station: washer with wash bags and a drying area. Machine route ≈ 1 day turnaround.
By hand = 5–6 hours including drying, 20–30 minutes of actual labor. Charge $15–$20 a clean if you offer it.

Marketing that moves orders

Social is the engine. As many posts and videos on all platforms as you can humanly make, the better.
Email is fine, but socials should funnel to the site and the door.
Make skits, show what people are wearing, tag buyers, run trade nights. Not just “here’s a new pair.” Try to learn and build a brand. You're not just a “reseller” anymore.

Benchmarks to open a store and to stay open

Open if you’re over $40k/month or $400k/year at level 3 and see clear local demand and you actually want to open a store, doing that kind of revenue online with no retail overhead is great too.
Cash cushion: have 6 months of fixed costs on hand for opening day, not lease-sign day. Build-out eats money.
Stay open by hitting your daily revenue target at least 90% of days for a solid month at a pop-up. If you can’t, fix inputs: assortment, pricing, traffic and try again.

Second store

If you open in a new city, the cycle restarts at Level 4. Same playbook, new location. Rerun the basics and grow again.

Where this goes next

You’ve seen the real path from hobby to store. Hustle gets you moving; structure keeps you moving. Systems make margin, and smart tooling saves time so you can scale. That’s why we built FlowStream Shoes.

What FlowStream Shoes handles

Product pages fast so your catalog stays current
Clean listings for used pairs with the right photos and notes
Fewer manual mistakes so your revenue and trust hold steady

What you handle

Buying, pricing, and brand
Clear policies and on-time payouts
Showing up, every day, like a store

Quick help

Level 3 is where most shops earn the right to open doors. We’ll set up your Shopify, EMT instructions, add shipping rules, and connect all free apps, including FlowStream Shoes so creating products takes seconds, then show you how to run it yourself. All free for the month of September.

FlowStream Shoes has a free plan (10 items/month) and a paid unlimited tier ($59 USD/month ~ $80 CAD)

Get my your store setup today

Final thought

I’ve lived every rung of this ladder. I went from flipping to a pop-up (kinda happened at the same time), ran two stores, ate chargebacks, learned to love chip and PIN, scheduled payouts, chased 20%+ net, watched shrink creep, and tuned prices every week until the shelves finally moved the way I wanted. That’s why this playbook is blunt and practical. It’s built from scars, not theory.
Paireeo's not here to sell you a guru course. We want to help more resellers hit their goals with simple systems and real tools you can actually use. That’s why we built FlowStream Shoes so product pages take seconds and your time goes to buying, pricing, and building. If you’re pushing toward Level 3, use this as a map and keep your cash for inventory, not busywork. When Level 3 hums, opening a store is a choice, not a fantasy. If you ever open in a new city, the cycle restarts at Level 4. Thank you for reading, if you made it all the way to the bottom of this giant article, email me personally with any questions nate@paireeo.com.

Extra context — Canada

Taxes: You may need to register, collect, and remit GST/HST (and sometimes PST) once you are “carrying on business” or cross thresholds. Marketplaces often collect for you. Direct Shopify sales are your responsibility. Keep records.

Secondhand rules: Some cities require secondhand dealer licenses, ID capture, and hold periods for buy-ins or consignment. If you collect ID, store it securely and purge on a schedule.
Payments and returns: Interac e-Transfer is fine for peer-to-peer. For cards, use a PCI-compliant gateway (Shopify Payments or Stripe). “Final sale” on used is common, but consumer laws can limit blanket “no returns.” Post clear policies (returns, authenticity remedy, shipping, payouts).
Platform checks: Shopify may request invoices or receipts to verify authenticity and supply. Keep purchase records.
Don’t promise “authentic guaranteed.”
Why: “Guaranteed” can be read as an absolute claim. If one bad pair slips through, you’ve just promised the moon.
Say something like this instead:
- “Authenticated using our process: box labels, stitching, materials, UV, and third-party app checks where needed.”
- “If an item is not as described, we’ll refund or credit once returned in the same condition.”
Disclose returns/exchanges anywhere you take payment.
Why: Hidden policies are how disputes and chargebacks happen.
Copy:
- “Returns: new items only, tags on, 14 days for store credit or size swap. Used items are final sale.”
- “All returns require original receipt and inspection at drop-off.”
  Mirror this on product pages, checkout, order confirmation emails, and your policy page.
Affiliate links disclosure (future-proof).
Why: If you ever link to a cleaner, lace brand, etc., and earn a cut, you need a disclosure.
Copy:
- “Some links may be affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.”
Be careful with brand marks.
Why: Heavy use of Nike/Adidas logos in your graphics can look like false affiliation.
- Keep your logo and banners clean of third-party trademarks.
If you collect IDs for consignment, state storage and purge.
Why: You are holding personal info. Say how you protect it and when you delete it.
Copy:
- “We may verify identity for consignment or high-value sales. We store IDs encrypted, restrict access to managers, and purge copies after 90 days unless required by law.”