How to Resell Sports Equipment and Make a Profit in 2023

Reselling sports equipment isn’t as easy as it seems. A lot of work goes into building your client base and gaining your client’s trust.

Many businesses struggle at first to resell sports equipment, both new and used. So if you’re having difficulty starting your business, you’re not alone.

Luckily, it’s not that hard. You just need the proper guidance to help you navigate the market.

In this article, you’ll find the answers to your questions and everything else you need to know to start your sports equipment resale business.

Is It Possible to Resell Sports Equipment?

Of course! Over recent years, especially after the pandemic, people have become more health-conscious so the healthy lifestyle trend is here to stay for the long run.  

As part of being more conscious about physical health, regular workouts have become a staple in people’s day-to-day lives. Whether at the gym, in a park, or at home, almost everybody has their own workout routine.

For that reason, you’re sure to find a decent customer base to whom you could sell your sports equipment. All you need to do is determine what kind of sports equipment you’ll be selling.

What Kinds of Sports Equipment Sell Well?

According to a recent survey, about 38% of people in the US purchased balls—including basketballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, and exercise or yoga balls.

The second most purchased kind of sports equipment, which reached 34%, was workout equipment, such as weights, dumbbells, gloves, and exercise mats.

These sports equipment are remarkably popular because they could be used anywhere.

What Is the Value of Sports Equipment?

To determine the value of the fitness equipment you’ll be selling, there are a few things you should factor in, including:

• Retail Price: The easiest and most common way to value your sporting equipment is to match it with its price at retail stores.
• Performance: It makes sense that the highest-performing sports equipment costs more than those that don’t perform as well. A high-quality yoga mat that feels comfortable to stand on and has a good grip on the floor does better than one that’s uncomfortably thin and won’t stay put while you exercise.
• Durability: Sports equipment that’s made to last, such as climbing gear, needs to be made from high-quality material, which consequently raises the price of the item.
• Brand Name: Sports gear from well-known brands is known to cost more and have a higher value than those from new or unknown brands.

Do Sports Equipment Lose Value Over Time?

Generally, yes, sports equipment loses its value over time. However, not all equipment depreciates at the same rate. It depends on how much you use it and how rare it is to find.

For example, treadmills at the gym are constantly used by almost everyone there. Since they’re regularly used and not hard to replace, treadmills’ value can depreciate to 50-70% of their original value.

Things to Consider When Reselling Sports Equipment

Before you jump right into selling used sports equipment, there are a few things you should consider to start off your business.

1. Sourcing Your Sports Equipment

To start a business of your own, you need to know where you’ll get your supply from. Consider whether you’ll rely on buying from wholesale sports equipment suppliers, dropshipping, or even sourcing used sports equipment from gyms and fitness centers.

2. Knowing Your Target Audience

If you haven’t decided yet on what type of sports equipment you’ll be selling, then researching the preferences and demographics of your target audience should help.

Is your audience more into winter sports? Are you by the beach? Do most people around you go to the gym already? Or do they work out at home?

All these questions will help you choose your niche based on market needs.

3. Properly Showcasing Your Sports Equipment

If you want to resell sports equipment, especially online, you’ll need to learn how to showcase its best features.

You’ll need a decent camera, good lighting, and a clean background to snap a few professional photos of your sports equipment and sell them. You could check out the best cameras for product photography to help you with that part.

4. Provide Customer Service

An exceptional customer service experience can go a long way with your customers, even if your products aren’t exactly one of a kind.

Set up a customer service system to answer your customer’s inquiries and help them with their purchase. You’ll be surprised by how positively this would affect your business.

Where to Resell Sports Equipment?

If you’re not sure where to sell your sports equipment, these are some of the best options to post your products and reach a wide audience.

1. SidelineSwap

SidelineSwap is one of the most popular websites to resell sports equipment. Whether you’re selling new or used sports equipment—or even sports apparel—you’ll find a buyer who’s ready to take it off your hands.

What Makes This Option Great

SidelineSwap is specifically built for athletes, or generally people who work out and need sports equipment, to buy and sell their things.

This gives you the advantage of finding your target audience easily because there’s a higher chance that people visiting this website are looking for your product. Imagine eBay, but for sports equipment only.

• Fees/Commission: The seller’s fee depends on the number of sales you’ve made on the website. From zero to five sales, sellers will pay a 12% fee when their items are sold. Sellers with six or more sales will pay a 10% fee.

The minimum seller’s fee is $1.99, and the maximum is $100. There’s also a payment processing fee, which is 2.9% of the cost of the item along with 30 cents extra.

• Payment Methods: SidelineSwap supports PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards. Buyers could also pay in installments with ZipPay for orders over $35.

2. Facebook Marketplace

If you’re looking to resell sports equipment for people in your area, nothing tops the Facebook marketplace. People are on their phones all day, scrolling through their social media. So the algorithm is sure to push your products to those who need it.

What Makes This Option Great

It’s simple to use and reaches everybody in your area. All you need is a Facebook account to list your sports equipment. And the best thing about it is that it’s 100% free. You won’t need to pay any fees or deduct any money from your profit.

Its only downside is that you’ll need to resell your sports equipment on a local scale. But if that’s your goal, then Facebook Marketplace is the perfect platform for you.

• Fees/Commission: None. Your profit is 100% yours. 
• Payment Methods: Decide on the method that suits you best with your buyer.

3. eBay

You’ve probably thought about eBay when you considered selling sports equipment online. Chances are, your potential customers will too. 

What Makes This Option Great

eBay is a massive platform that allows your sports equipment to reach millions of buyers from all over the world. With that amount of exposure, you’ll find the right buyer in no time.

• Fees/Commission: There are two main types of selling fees:
• Insertion Fee: You’re allowed 250 free listings per month. After that, you get charged 35 cents per listing. This fee is non-refundable in case your item doesn’t sell.
• Final Value Fee: If the total amount of the sale is $7500 or less, you’re charged 13.25% per item. If the total amount is over $7500, you’ll be charged 2.35% on the portion of the sale that’s above $7500. You’ll also be charged 30 cents per order.
• Payment Methods: eBay supports PayPal, PayPal Credit, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards.

What You’ll Need to Resell Sports Equipment

There are a few simple things that you’ll need to successfully resell sports equipment. These things include:

• A Steady Source of Supply: To keep your business going, you need to secure a steady source of sports equipment that you could rely on.
• Strong Knowledge of Your Sports Equipment: You need to know all the details of your products by heart. Their model, features, year of production, and anything else special about them.
• Basic Marketing, Sales, and Negotiation Skills: You’ll need marketing techniques to get your products out there, sales to persuade customers into buying your equipment, and negotiation skills to get the best bargain that fruits you and the buyer.

How to Resell Sports Equipment: Step-By-Step Instructions

Can You Make Money Flipping Sports Equipment?

As long as the sports equipment is in good shape, you can make a decent profit from flipping and reselling it.

However, you do need substantial capital to start with and invest in your equipment supply. Otherwise, you won’t have enough supply to build your business.

What Is a Sports Equipment Resale Business?

A sports equipment resale business is where you find used or old sports equipment and resell it for a profit.

Sometimes you could also resell brand-new or gently used sports equipment. There are no rules to the state of equipment you resell, as long as you know how to sell it.

Some sports equipment resale businesses include a variety of sports products to cater to all of your needs, including sports apparel, gym machines, health supplements, and even training equipment like cones and hoops.

In the end, it all boils down to what your customers need. The key to providing the right products for your customer is researching your market and target audience thoroughly.

That way, you’ll know what to stock up on and what to avoid investing your capital in.

Is Reselling Sports Equipment a Good Way to Make Money?

Reselling sports equipment online has proven to be a great way to make a decent income. However, it’s not a one size fits all type of business.

The type of sports equipment you’ll sell will depend on where you set up your business and who you’ll sell your products.

That’s why we’ve previously mentioned that thorough market research is the key to success for your business. If you don’t have products that cater to your audience’s needs, you’ll be dumping money in the wrong basket.

For example, you don’t want to invest in gym equipment when everybody in your area is working out at home or outdoors in gardens and parks. Think about it as selling ski equipment at the beach — you’ll never make a good profit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Similar Tutorials to Check Out

If you’re looking for more gigs to bring in some extra income, here are a few more examples of other gigs you could pick up:

• Resell Medical Equipment: Learn how to resell medical equipment and make a profit. This article will explain the whole process to make it easy for you.
• Resell Cameras: As long as the camera still takes pictures, there’s someone out there who needs it. Check out this article to learn how to resell cameras for some extra cash.
• Resell Motorcycles: If you’re interested in motorcycles, you’ll love this gig. Resell motorcycles after tweaking them a bit and build your own business from the ground up.

Wrapping Up

Reselling sports equipment is a glorious business that’ll always be needed in the market. This article explains everything you need to know to kick-start your gig, including what to do and where to sell.

So let us know if this article was helpful. And if you know someone who’s planning on reselling sports equipment, send them this article to help them out.