Books and Resources to Start Strong
Reading about reselling, business operations, and inventory management will accelerate your learning curve and help you avoid costly mistakes. These books provide practical frameworks for running a video game reselling business and managing cash flow effectively.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
This book teaches you how to test your business model with minimal investment and iterate based on real customer feedback. For video game reselling, this means starting with a small inventory, measuring what sells, and scaling what works—rather than buying thousands of games blindly and hoping they move.
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Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Building a reselling business requires an audience—whether on social media, YouTube, or in your local community. This book explains how to create content, build trust, and turn followers into customers through authentic storytelling and consistent engagement across platforms.
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Most resellers reinvest every dollar back into inventory and lose sight of actual profit. This book teaches you a system for separating profit from operating expenses, ensuring your business generates real income rather than just moving money around. This discipline is critical when you’re starting with limited capital.
Selling on eBay for Dummies by Dennis Prince
eBay will likely be one of your primary sales channels. This book covers listings optimization, auction strategy, pricing, shipping, and customer service—all specific to the eBay platform. Understanding these mechanics saves you from pricing mistakes and lost sales.
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Equipment You Need
Video game reselling requires less equipment than many businesses, but the items you do buy directly impact your margins and how quickly you can scale. Your core needs include storage, display, testing, and shipping supplies.
Storage and Organization
- Shelving units: 4-5 tier metal or wooden shelves to organize inventory by console, condition, and price. You’ll need roughly 30-50 square feet of shelving to start with 300-500 games.
- Storage boxes: Clear plastic bins for organizing games by system or price point, making inventory counts and packing easier.
- Labeling system: A label maker to mark prices, condition codes, and SKUs on inventory for quick reference.
- Inventory spreadsheet or software: You can start with Google Sheets or Excel, but barcode scanning software saves time as you scale past 500 items.
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Testing and Quality Control
- Gaming consoles (used, older models): You need at least one working console per platform you resell—Nintendo 64, GameCube, PS2, Xbox, etc. These let you verify games actually play before listing them. Budget $50-150 per console used.
- Multi-console testing setup: If reselling across multiple platforms, consider a small media console or display that accepts multiple connections to speed up testing.
- HDMI/AV cables: Standard cables for connecting older consoles to modern displays.
- Controller cleaning supplies: Isopropyl alcohol wipes and microfiber cloths for cleaning game cases and controllers before resale.
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Photography and Listing
- Camera or smartphone: A decent camera or modern smartphone is sufficient for product photos. Lighting and angle matter more than equipment cost.
- Light box or ring light: Simple lighting dramatically improves photo quality without requiring expensive equipment. Budget $20-50 for a basic ring light.
- White background or backdrop: A white poster board or sweep backdrop for consistent product photos.
Shipping and Packing
- Shipping boxes: Small and medium boxes for games and game cases (5x5x5″ and 6x6x6″ boxes work well for single and bundled games).
- Bubble wrap and packing material: Protects games during shipment and reduces damage claims.
- Packaging tape and dispenser: Heavy-duty packing tape and a dispenser for fast, secure sealing.
- Shipping scale: Accurate scale ($20-40) for weighing packages before shipping. Overcharging shipping reduces profits; undercharging eats into margins.
- Printer: If selling on eBay or Amazon, you’ll print shipping labels frequently. An inkjet printer pays for itself in the first few months.
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Workspace Setup
- Desk or workbench: A dedicated space for photographing, testing, and packing. You don’t need fancy—a simple table works fine.
- Chair: A comfortable chair since you’ll spend hours photographing, writing descriptions, and managing listings.
- Desk lamp: Additional lighting for the workspace improves photo and listing quality.
What to Buy First vs Later
Your first purchase should enable you to acquire, verify, and sell inventory. Later purchases focus on speed and scale.
- First (Month 1): Shelving, storage bins, testing consoles for your primary platforms, cleaning supplies, shipping boxes, a scale, and a label maker. Total budget: $300-600.
- Second (Month 2-3): Ring light, better camera setup if your phone camera is poor, and a printer for shipping labels. Total: $100-200.
- Later (Month 4+): Additional shelving if inventory grows past 500 items, inventory management software (paid version), barcode scanner, and backup consoles for additional platforms.
New vs Used Equipment
Buy used equipment wherever possible, except for items that wear out quickly or affect your core business operation. Your storage, testing consoles, and workspace items should be second-hand. You’ll find shelving, game consoles, and furniture on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and local auctions for 30-50% below retail. Consoles especially are better bought used—they’re identical to new ones if they work, and you’re already testing every unit before resale anyway.
Don’t cheap out on shipping supplies or a scale. Inadequate packing leads to returns and negative feedback, which kills your eBay ratings. A $30 scale prevents both overcharging and undercharging on shipping. A printer ($50-100) saves you more than that in time and label printing costs within the first three months.
Where to Buy
- Facebook Marketplace: Local sellers often discount shelving, furniture, and electronics heavily because they want quick pickup. No shipping, immediate availability.
- Craigslist: Similar to Facebook Marketplace but sometimes less active depending on your region. Still worth checking for storage solutions and used consoles.
- Local thrift stores and estate sales: Goodwill, Salvation Army, and estate auctions have shelving, desks, and sometimes working consoles at 10-20% of retail price.
- OfferUp and Letgo: Mobile-first resale apps with strong local communities. Good for finding used consoles and office furniture.
- Amazon: For new items you can’t find used (label makers, ring lights, shipping supplies). Use their Subscribe and Save for recurring supplies to save 5-10%.
- Costco or Sam’s Club: If you have a membership, bulk shipping boxes and packing materials are cheaper than retail.
- ULINE or Grainger: B2B suppliers often beat Amazon on bulk shipping supplies and storage items if you’re buying 50+ boxes at once.