Poor inventory management can eat up your time and money fast. In fact, research shows that a staggering $1.1 trillion—about 7% of the entire US GDP—is tied up in inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

If that statistic makes you take a second look at your inventory management practices, you’re not alone. 46% of SMBs either don’t practice inventory auditing or use a manual method. Effective inventory management practices not only facilitate smoother, quicker audits but also enable ecommerce businesses to scale at will.

So, let’s take a look at 10 inventory audit procedures that can turn inventory audits from a chore into a real game-changer for your business.

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What is an inventory audit?

An inventory audit – often referred to as a stock audit – is a crucial business process that meticulously examines a company’s inventory records for accuracy as part of a structured audit procedure.

It verifies that the physical inventory count of goods matches the recorded quantity in your accounting system and records, ensuring that your inventory level and valuation are accurately represented in your financial statements.

That means counting your inventory, spotting any mismatches, and making sure your records line up. These are the steps you must take to keep your financials honest and catch any weak spots in your supply chain. Regular inventory audits can help you spot things like shrinkage, theft, spoilage, or even hiccups in your purchasing process. In other words, it’s a powerful tool for tightening up your inventory management—and yes, it’s something you need to do to stay compliant with accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS.

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10 vital inventory audit procedures to follow

Follow these top 10 procedures for a more efficient process:

1. Physical inventory count

This is a physical count of all inventory items, usually conducted at fiscal year-end. Accuracy is vital for a physical inventory count, as discrepancies might indicate problems such as theft, spoilage, or record errors.

Research by the National Retail Foundation shows that shrinkage – due to theft, fraud, and inventory management errors – cost US retailers nearly $61.7 billion in 2019. To improve accuracy, consider separating counters and recorders and using standardized counting procedures. An accurate inventory count during a physical audit helps verify your inventory records against the actual inventory on hand, correcting potential issues and ensuring smooth business operations.

2. Cycle counting

Cycle counting means regularly checking different sections of your inventory on a rotating basis. It’s a way to keep tabs on your stock without shutting down your whole operation for a massive count.

A study by Auburn University showed that businesses that engaged in cycle counting saw a 65% reduction in inventory discrepancies.

Regular inventory audits through cycle counts can identify issues earlier and allow businesses to address them proactively, improving inventory accuracy over time. With cycle counting, businesses can maintain higher customer satisfaction by reducing out-of-stock situations.

3. Cut-off analysis

Cut-off analysis aims to ensure that transactions are recorded in the correct accounting period. It involves auditors ensuring that no inventory leaves or enters the warehouse during the auditing period. For instance, inventory purchased in December must be included in December’s inventory, not January’s.

This audit procedure is crucial for maintaining accurate records and reliable financial statements while supporting proper inventory valuation. Ensuring that sales, purchases, and returns are recorded in the correct periods maintains the integrity of inventory valuations, supports accurate financial records, and helps avoid overstated or understated profits.

4. ABC analysis

ABC analysis is a tiered inventory auditing approach that segments inventory into three categories based on importance and value. ‘A’ items are high-value with low quantity, ‘B’ items are medium value and quantity, and ‘C’ items are low-value but high quantity.

ABC analysis helps you allocate resources efficiently during an audit and better understand inventory costs and the inventory turnover ratio by category. It shows businesses which items need more stringent controls, balancing cost-effectiveness and risk management.

5. Sample-based inventory audit

If auditing your entire inventory isn’t practical, a sample-based inventory audit can be helpful. This involves checking a random selection of inventory for accuracy and extrapolating the results to infer the total inventory.

It’s not as exact as a full count, but it’s a faster, more budget-friendly way to keep tabs on your inventory and spot issues before they get out of hand.

6. Freight cost analysis

Freight cost analysis involves evaluating shipping costs, which are a significant part of inventory carrying costs. This analysis helps businesses accurately account for all inventory costs and any related expenses.

Freight cost analysis can also reveal opportunities to negotiate better freight rates and shipping costs, or highlight areas where supply chain logistics could be optimized, potentially reducing costs and improving delivery times.

7. Finished goods cost analysis

Finished goods cost analysis is the process that verifies that the recorded costs of produced goods are accurate. It considers direct materials, direct labor, and manufacturing overheads.

By ensuring that your finished goods’ costing is accurate, you can set appropriate sales prices, calculate profitability accurately, and make informed decisions about production, pricing, and sales strategies.

8. Overhead analysis

We’ve looked at finished goods cost analysis; now, let’s look at overhead analysis. This involves auditing the overhead costs associated with producing your goods, such as utilities, rent, and equipment depreciation. Correctly allocating these costs to your inventory is crucial for accurate financial reporting.

Overhead analysis ensures you’re not underestimating the total cost of your inventory, which could lead to misstated profit margins and uninformed business decisions.

9. Inventory count reconciliation

Reconciliation involves matching the physical inventory count to recorded figures. During the process, be sure to investigate and correct any discrepancies you discover.

Regular audits and ongoing reconciliations help maintain data accuracy, identify patterns in shrinkage or errors, and can be instrumental in improving overall inventory control.

10. Other analytical procedures

In addition to common inventory audit procedures, businesses can use other analytical procedures.

For instance, comparing the inventory turnover ratio with previous years can highlight changes or trends.

A sudden change in turnover might indicate issues such as overstocking or dwindling sales, providing valuable insights for improving inventory management and financial performance.

How to conduct an inventory audit in 3 steps

We’ve covered some of the key audit procedures for inventory. Now let’s see how you can put those procedures into practice.

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Step 1: preparing for inventory auditing

Use this inventory audit checklist to prepare for your next inventory audit:

Organize your inventory and workspace

Before you start an inventory audit, your inventory and workspace should be well-organized. This makes it easier to audit accurately and reduces the chances of miscounts.

Similarly, digital inventory for ecommerce stores should be meticulously organized in your inventory software, with all items correctly listed and categorized.

Review and reconcile inventory records

Conversely, if you’re bringing in external auditors for an external audit, proper coordination is vital.

Set clear audit objectives and goals

Setting clear audit objectives can steer the entire audit process, making it more focused and effective. Whether you want to validate the accuracy of inventory records, identify shrinkage sources, or enhance cost efficiency, having clear goals will help you choose suitable audit methods and interpret audit results accurately.

Train your team or coordinate with external auditors

If you’re conducting an in-house audit, your team needs to thoroughly understand the audit procedures, standards, and goals. Conversely, if you’re hiring external auditors, proper coordination is vital.

In both cases, Linnworks can streamline the process by providing intuitive access to resources and crucial information, ensuring everyone is up to speed.

Schedule the audit to minimize disruption to daily operations

Inventory audits, especially a full-scale physical inventory count, can disrupt normal operations. To avoid this, schedule inventory audits during less-busy periods or off-hours.

For continuous audit methods such as cycle counting, integrate inventory audits into your daily operations. This is where Linnworks shines, enabling smooth scheduling woven into your business’s daily rhythm to minimize disruption and keep you bringing in sales simultaneously.

Step 2: conducting the inventory audit

Once your preparations are complete, follow these steps to conduct your inventory audits:

Establish a systematic counting process

Kickstart inventory audits by establishing a systematic counting process. Assign specific responsibilities to teams, preferably mixing individuals familiar and unfamiliar with the inventory for an unbiased view. Develop user-friendly counting sheets, or better yet, use inventory management software like Linnworks to automate this process and eliminate human error.

Finally, implement a clear system for marking counted items to prevent double-counting or overlooked items. Linnworks makes it easy to track the progress of counted items in real time.

Execute the count

Once the counting process is established, begin the physical count. Count each item and record the quantity on your counting sheets or directly into your inventory management software.

For larger inventories or high-value items, consider double-checking counts for accuracy, which could involve recounting a certain percentage of items or having a second team independently verify the counts.

Make sure all items are accounted for and that no damaged or obsolete stock is overlooked, as these can affect the overall value of your inventory.

Reconcile the count with inventory records

After the physical count, reconcile the numbers with your existing inventory records. This involves comparing the physical count results with your recorded data and investigating any possible discrepancies.

Potential causes could range from clerical errors to theft or loss of items. It’s vital to document these discrepancies, noting their cause and resolution. After investigation, make the necessary adjustments to your inventory records, which may include writing off lost items or correcting data entry errors.

Using Linnworks streamlines your reconciliation process, enabling efficient, accurate adjustments to your records.

Step 3: analyzing the results

When your inventory is complete, follow these steps to analyze the results of your findings :

Identify patterns or trends in discrepancies

Carefully review the documented differences and identify any patterns or trends. Are there discrepancies recurring in specific categories, locations, or times? Maybe a particular product often shows a variance, or a certain storage area frequently reports missing items.

By identifying these patterns, you can pinpoint problem areas that warrant further investigation, which might reveal underlying issues such as theft, systemic errors, or supplier issues.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the audit process

Ask critical questions, such as: How accurate was the initial count? Were there any hurdles during the reconciliation process? How well did the inventory management software perform? Was the assigned team adequately trained and effective?

This evaluation helps you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your audit process. It also shows which areas worked well and which need improvement for future audits.

Develop action plans to address issues or improve future audits

Create targeted strategies for recurring discrepancies. This could involve steps like heightened surveillance, improved data entry procedures, or additional training for staff handling these items.

If you discovered weaknesses in your audit process find ways to enhance it for future audits. For example, consider investing in an advanced inventory management system like Linnworks to streamline your audit process and ensure accuracy and efficiency. You may also decide to provide more comprehensive training for your team or tweak the timing or frequency of your audits.

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Inventory audit procedures best practices

To ensure a seamless inventory audit process, there are three key best practices to adhere to.

• Establish a regular audit schedule: Don’t leave audits to chance or crisis moments. Implement a regular schedule, be it annually, quarterly, or even monthly, based on your business size and inventory turnover. Regular audits help catch discrepancies early and keep your inventory data reliable and up to date.
• Use technology to streamline the audit process: tools like Linnworks can significantly ease it. With automated tracking, real-time updates, and comprehensive reporting, the software reduces manual errors and saves time, enabling more accurate, efficient audits. What’s more, cloud-based inventory management software means you can accommodate growing customer needs.
• Continuously train your team: Ensure they are well-versed in inventory audit procedures. Regular training sessions, updates on new software features, and workshops on best practices keep everyone aligned and competent, leading to more effective audits.

Remember, a well-orchestrated inventory audit can provide invaluable insights into your operations, ultimately supporting better business decisions and enhancing your profitability. By adhering to these best practices, you’re well on your way to making the most of your inventory audits.

Maximize efficiency and accuracy with the right inventory management software

Inventory audits are not just a necessity, but a game-changer for your ecommerce business. They provide critical insights for efficient inventory management, making the process simpler and more accurate.

Inventory management software like Linnworks is a must-have tool in your arsenal. With features like real-time inventory tracking, automated order management, and comprehensive reporting, Linnworks takes the guesswork out of your audits and lets you focus on driving growth.

Take control of your inventory audits today, reduce discrepancies, and maximize profitability. Turn your audits from a daunting task into an empowering business function – take a Linnworks tour today.

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Spring arrives and suddenly every gardening SKU you own is moving. Then it stops. Patio furniture, raised bed kits, outdoor lighting, seed trays — all of them spike hard between February and June, then taper off in a way that leaves slow-moving stock sitting in your warehouse through autumn. 

Home and garden is one of the most seasonally volatile product categories in ecommerce, and if your inventory planning is even slightly off, you’re either turning away sales or writing down unsold inventory at year-end.

When the calendar becomes your forecast

Most home and garden sellers know the rough shape of their year: spring surge, summer plateau, a second bump around outdoor entertaining and back-to-school, then a near-complete dropoff from October through January. 

Seasonal trends are real, but treating the calendar as your planning document is where things go wrong.

Consumer behavior within those windows shifts year over year. A late frost pushes the spring garden peak back by three weeks. An unusually warm March pulls it forward. Viral trends on social platforms can spike demand for a single SKU by 300% without warning. 

Historical sales data gives you the shape of the curve. It doesn’t give you the exact timing or magnitude, and it definitely doesn’t account for the random product spike that can occur in the age of social media (shoutout TikTok!).

The retailers who handle seasonal demand well aren’t necessarily the ones with the most sophisticated forecasting models. They combine historical data with current signals: what’s trending in search, what their suppliers are reporting, what competitors are stocking out of. Demand forecasting is a read-and-adjust process, not a set-and-forget one. And frankly, most sellers underinvest in the adjust part, which is where the real work happens mid-season.

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Lead times don’t care about your peak

If you’re placing orders for spring inventory in April, you’ve missed it. Ocean freight from Asia runs 30 to 45 days minimum, and that assumes no port delays, customs holds, or container availability issues. Add your supplier’s own production lead time. For products manufactured abroad, you’re realistically looking at 60 to 90 days from order to warehouse-ready.

That means your spring sell-in decisions need to be made in January, which is exactly when it feels premature to be thinking about these things. Seasonal inventory planning requires committing capital and warehouse space to demand that hasn’t materialized yet, based on a read of data that’s at least partially incomplete.

One practical move: tier your inventory by supply chain risk. 

Products with long, complicated supply chains need earlier decisions and less room to adjust once the order’s placed. Products you can source domestically or at shorter lead times give you more flexibility to top up mid-season if spring runs hotter than expected. Know which SKUs fall into which category. Plan your purchase timelines accordingly, and don’t treat them as interchangeable.

Multichannel allocation (where the visibility gap gets expensive)

Selling home and garden products across your own website, Amazon, and one or two additional marketplaces creates a problem that’s easy to underestimate. Your total inventory number looks fine. But it’s split across channels, and if you’re not managing allocation in real time, you can oversell on one channel while sitting on surplus stock assigned to another.

The classic failure mode: you’ve allocated 200 units of a raised bed kit to Amazon FBA, 150 to your Shopify store, and 100 to a wholesale account. The FBA stock sells through faster than expected during a promotional window. Your Shopify store still shows 150 units available. A customer buys one. You go to fulfill it and realize the stock you thought was there is already gone.

According to the Linnworks 2026 State of Commerce Operations report, roughly two-thirds of mid-market retailers in both the US and UK acknowledge some level of inventory visibility limitation across their channels and warehouses. 

In a category with steep seasonal peaks, that gap gets expensive fast. Sellers using Linnworks can cut their oversell incidents by keeping a single source of truth across channels, rather than manually reconciling stock at end of day. The manual process can leave multi-hour windows where stock figures on certain channels are simply incorrect. Real-time updates can solve that. 

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Handling the surplus

Stockouts get most of the attention because they’re immediately painful. A lost sale hurts right now. Surplus inventory hurts slowly, and that slow pain is easy to ignore until you’re looking at a warehouse full of outdoor furniture in November with nowhere to put your Christmas stock.

Carrying excess inventory has real costs: storage fees, tied-up capital, markdown risk, and the opportunity cost of warehouse space you can’t use for faster-moving products. In the home and garden category, where seasonal items have a narrow window of full-price sell-through, surplus from one season directly affects your margin for the next.

The answer isn’t ordering conservatively across the board. That just trades surplus risk for stockout risk. The better move is improving forecast accuracy at the SKU level so you’re building positions that reflect actual demand signals. If your best-selling planter last spring moved 180 units in six weeks, and this year you have higher search interest and two new sales channels, your opening order probably shouldn’t be 180 units. It should be higher, with a clear plan for where a top-up order comes from if you need it mid-season.

Looking at last season’s data

Your historical sales data is the most underused planning tool most home and garden sellers have. Not just total units sold, but when sales started accelerating, when they peaked, how quickly they declined, which channels sold through fastest, and which SKUs were still moving in week eight when everything else had flattened.

A few things worth pulling from last season before you plan this one:

• Sell-through rate by SKU: Which products cleared fully? Which ones hit 60% sell-through and stopped? That tells you something about pricing, positioning, and whether you overstocked relative to actual demand.
• Peak week timing: When did your biggest sales weeks actually happen? If your spring peak lands in week three of April but you’re not fully stocked until week two, you’re losing the run-up.
• Channel velocity: If Amazon FBA consistently outpaces your own site for outdoor products, your allocation weighting should reflect that. If it doesn’t, you’re leaving your fastest channel underserved.

Warehouse operations when volume spikes

When your spring peak arrives, you’re not just managing more units. You’re managing faster order velocity, higher pick error rates under pressure, and staff who may not be fully familiar with your layout if you’ve brought in seasonal labor.

Bin location discipline matters before the peak, not during it. If your most popular seasonal SKUs aren’t in your most accessible pick locations, your pick/pack/ship times will drag. Reprioritize bin locations in the two weeks before your expected surge. Doing it during a live peak, when your team is already under pressure, is a bad idea.

Receiving capacity is the constraint most sellers don’t plan for. You’ll likely have several large purchase orders arriving in a compressed window ahead of spring. If your receiving dock is also your dispatch area and it’s already handling outbound volume, incoming stock creates a real bottleneck. Schedule large inbound deliveries outside peak dispatch hours where possible.

Returns processing spikes in the weeks following peak season, particularly for furniture and larger items that customers buy speculatively. Build that into your warehouse plan. It’s not an afterthought operation; during a busy returns window, it can absorb a meaningful share of your team’s capacity.

Linnworks’ 2026 State of Commerce Ops report found that retailers with deeper automation absorbed seasonal demand without proportionally scaling headcount. That’s the operational argument for automating routine order routing decisions: your team focuses on exceptions rather than manually processing every order.

What to do next

Spring doesn’t start in spring—it starts in Q4.

By the time April rolls around, most retailers are already deep in execution mode, working against decisions that were locked in months ago. The real opportunity now isn’t to rethink this season—it’s to capture what’s working, identify what’s not, and start shaping a smarter approach for next year’s spring peak.

The biggest lever most home and garden sellers have is better use of their own data. Not a new tool. Not a more complex forecast model. A clearer read of what last year’s sales actually showed, combined with supplier conversations that happen early enough to matter.

Start your demand review in October. Lock your opening orders by December. Leave room for a structured top-up plan with your fastest-lead-time suppliers. If you missed that window this year, document exactly where the timing broke down. That’s the one piece of this you can actually fix before the next season starts.

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SHEIN, a global fashion retailer renowned for its extensive collection of trendy and affordable clothing, has swiftly gained prominence since its founding in 2012. With a diverse array of fashion items, accessories, and more, SHEIN has established itself as a leading name in online retail.

Last year, the company launched its own marketplace, quickly establishing it as a must-have platform for online retailers. Now, with the addition of more lifestyle categories beyond fashion like beauty, home and electronics, SHEIN is expanding its reach even further.

Want to connect with millions of shoppers through SHEIN Marketplace? Read on to discover everything you need to know about this leading fashion marketplace.

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What is SHEIN Marketplace?

SHEIN Marketplace is a global integrated marketplace and online platform launched by the global fashion retailer SHEIN. It allows third-party sellers, independent brands, and suppliers to offer their products alongside SHEIN’s own extensive catalog of trendy and affordable clothing, accessories, and more.

SHEIN Marketplace aims to provide customers with a broader range of product categories, from fashion to lifestyle, while giving SHEIN marketplace sellers access to its massive, engaged customer base. By integrating with SHEIN’s ecommerce platform, retailers and local businesses can reach millions of shoppers in the global market, leveraging SHEIN’s robust digital infrastructure and marketing prowess.

What are the benefits of selling on SHEIN Marketplace?

SHEIN has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing shopping apps in the history of online retail, cultivating a devoted community of fans across digital media. Selling on SHEIN Marketplace presents numerous advantages for online sellers and brands in the fashion industry, making it an exceptionally appealing ecommerce platform:

1. Massive reach: With over 500 million app downloads and tens of millions of monthly active customers, sellers gain unparalleled access to a vast and engaged audience.
2. Social media influence: SHEIN’s impressive following of over 250 million across various social media platforms allows sellers to tap into a large network of potential buyers and benefit from increased exposure through SHEIN’s marketing channels.
3. Diverse product categories: The marketplace features more than 20 product categories and continues to grow, enabling sellers to offer a wide variety of products and cater to diverse consumer interests.
4. Enhanced brand exposure: Aligning with SHEIN, a globally recognized brand, helps sellers enhance their own brand reputation and credibility among consumers.
5. Year-round campaigns: SHEIN’s year-round campaigns offer a powerful platform for sellers to drive sales and reach a wider audience. To maximize impact, actively participate and continuously optimize your product selection and pricing strategies.

Seller requirements for selling on SHEIN Marketplace

To become one of SHEIN’s marketplace sellers and gain access to the seller center, there are specific seller requirements that must be met:

• Minimum annual revenue: Sellers must have a minimum of $5 million in annual revenue.
• Domestic operations: Sellers must operate within the United States.
• Direct shipping: Sellers are required to ship directly to customers from their US-based operations.
• Professionalism: The marketplace is open to professional sellers who can meet the platform’s standards for quality and service.

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How do I start selling on SHEIN Marketplace?

Ready to join one of the fastest-growing online marketplace platforms in fashion retail? Follow these simple steps to start selling on SHEIN Marketplace and reach millions of potential customers and shoppers.

1. Apply to become a seller

To get started, you need to apply to become a seller. Complete their quick seller application form, and their team will contact you within 1-3 business days. Pro tip: Make sure you input Linnworks as your solution provider to get fast-tracked in the signup process!

2. Prepare your onboarding documents

Gather the necessary materials to set up your account. These include:

• Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Incorporation
• Most recent W-9 form or W-8BEN-E form
• Trademark Registration Certificate
• Store logo in high-quality PNG format
• ID card, driver’s license, or passport (front and back) of the company representative

3. List your products

Upload your products using one of three easy methods:

• API connection
• Solution providers
• SHEIN Seller Hub (for single items or bulk uploads)

By joining SHEIN Marketplace, you gain access to the Seller Center (also known as the Seller Hub) — a free platform that helps you manage inventory, product listings, sales orders, customer insights, product performance, and more to drive seller success.

4. Ship your orders

Once your products are listed, you’re ready to ship! Choose your preferred fulfillment method while adhering to SHEIN’s shipping requirements.

5. Get paid

Receive your payments quickly and securely with SHEIN’s one-week payment cycle. No more waiting for weeks to get paid. Join us today and enjoy the convenience of hassle-free payments.

Getting started on SHEIN Marketplace with Linnworks

The integration with Linnworks makes selling on SHEIN Marketplace easy. Here are some of the specific benefits you’ll get by connecting to SHEIN Marketplace via Linnworks:

• Inventory Updates – Linnworks can automatically send changes in stock levels to SHEIN Marketplace.
• Inventory Mapping – Existing and new SHEIN Marketplace listings can be linked to Linnworks inventory items for stock level and price updates.
• Price Change – Prices on SHEIN Marketplace listings can be automatically updated via Linnworks.
• Order Download – New and accepted SHEIN Marketplace orders can be automatically downloaded into Linnworks allowing you to reserve available stock and avoid overselling.
• Order Cancellation – Orders can be cancelled on SHEIN Marketplace via Linnworks. You can cancel the order when it is in the new order status regardless of whether it has been paid or unpaid.
• Order Dispatch – Orders on SHEIN Marketplace can be marked as shipped and provided with the tracking number and shipping service name via Linnworks.
• Order Refunds – Orders can be refunded on SHEIN Marketplace via Linnworks.

Final thoughts

Selling on SHEIN Marketplace is a powerful way to expand your reach in the global market, boost sales, and elevate your brand. By leveraging SHEIN’s extensive customer base and robust seller tools in conjunction with Linnworks, you can streamline your supply chain operations and deliver outstanding customer satisfaction.

Ready to take your ecommerce business to the next level? Apply to join SHEIN Marketplace today and start selling to millions of engaged shoppers.

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Prime Day is happening early in 2026.

That’s according to a Bloomberg article in March 2026. While Amazon has not officially confirmed the dates, the signals are consistent across multiple sources, and the deal submission window in Seller Central opened March 24 with a closing date of May 26, which puts the implied event window firmly in late June.

That means planning for the crunch NOW, which is harder to do if your operational foundation is shaky. Linnworks’ 2026 State of Commerce Operations report identified three barriers that consistently limit how fast retailers can scale: manual workflows that don’t expand with volume, software not designed for multichannel complexity, and limited visibility across inventory and fulfillment. Any of these blockages could turn into major problems on Prime Day. 

If you’re selling on Amazon via FBA, this post covers what we know, what’s estimated, and the specific planning changes you should be making right now.

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How Prime Day dates have shifted

Prime Day launched in July 2015 as a single-day sale. It expanded to two days in 2017 and stayed locked to mid-July until 2020, when COVID-19 logistics disruptions pushed it all the way to October.

Amazon bounced back in 2021 with a June event, June 21–22, then returned to July in 2022 and haven’t left since. Until now.

The 2021 precedent is worth noting. Amazon has moved to June exactly once before, and that followed a prior-year disruption. The 2026 shift appears driven by different factors: pulling revenue into Amazon’s Q2 financial period rather than Q3, capturing early back-to-school spending, and creating more calendar separation between Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days in October.

The compressed timeline in concrete terms

For Prime Day 2025 (July 8–11), Amazon’s FBA inbound arrival deadlines were:

• June 9, 2025 for minimal shipment splits
• June 18, 2025 for Amazon-optimized shipment splits
• May 15, 2025 for AWD (Amazon Warehousing & Distribution)

For Prime Day 2026, with the event expected in late June, the estimated inbound deadlines based on published seller guidance are:

• May 27, 2026 for minimal splits (estimated)
• June 5, 2026 for optimized splits (estimated)
• Mid-to-late April for AWD (estimated)

These are estimates compiled from Amazon agency guidance (Brandwoven, eStore Factory) as of late March 2026. Amazon has not yet officially published 2026 Prime Day inbound cutoffs. Treat these as planning anchors, not confirmed deadlines. Check Seller Central for official dates as they’re released.

The gap between last year’s inbound window and this year’s is roughly five to six weeks. For sellers sourcing domestically or holding pre-positioned inventory, that compression is manageable. For sellers doing ocean freight from Asia, it’s a different situation entirely.

If you placed purchase orders in Q1 with Prime Day timing in mind, the timeline is survivable. If you were waiting for Amazon to confirm dates before pulling the trigger, you’re already late.

The deal submission window is already open and closing soon

Amazon opened the Prime Day 2026 deal submission window on March 24. It closes May 26.

Lightning Deals and Best Deals submitted before April 30 receive a $50 early-bird discount off the standard $100 upfront fee per deal. That’s a meaningful saving if you’re running multiple promotions.

Here’s the part that catches sellers off guard every year: deal eligibility has tightened. To qualify for Prime Day promotions in 2026, your deal price must be equal to or lower than the lowest price in the last 60 days. Amazon is cracking down on the practice of artificially inflating a price before a sale to manufacture the appearance of a discount.

If you’ve been running your ASINs at a stable price for the past two months, you’re likely fine. If you raised prices recently for margin purposes or to create headroom for discounts, that could affect deal eligibility. Check the Deals dashboard in Seller Central now rather than in May.

FBA capacity limits and what to do about them

In mid-2025, Amazon reduced FBA storage allowances from six months of forecasted sales to five months. That cap has held. It means you can only send what Amazon expects you to sell in the next five months, and any inventory above that may be blocked at the point of shipment creation, not at the dock.

During the run-up to Prime Day, processing times at Amazon fulfillment centers extend. Amazon’s seller news announcements from Q2 2025 indicated receiving times can stretch to two to four weeks during peak inbound periods. That’s a meaningful change from the two-to-three-day standard during quieter months. Build that receiving lag into your arrival math.

Your IPI score also matters more in this window. Sellers with an Inventory Performance Index below 400 face storage restrictions that can throttle inbound shipments entirely. If your IPI is borderline, clear slow-moving inventory now. Removal orders take time, and every unit of underperforming stock sitting in FBA is eating capacity you need for Prime Day winners.

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You’re estimating Prime Day demand, sizing your FBA allocation against a five-month storage cap, and accounting for a two-to-four-week receiving lag, all on a timeline that’s compressed relative to a normal replenishment cycle. Sellers still running that calculation in spreadsheets are doing it slowly and, at volume, inaccurately. Without a forecasting tool that breaks demand down by channel and warehouse location, you’re working from a blended average across your whole catalog, which tends to overstock your slow movers and understock your Prime Day performers. Ensure that you have great planning tools, it’ll save you a ton of effort down the line. For example, Linnworks’ in-built stock forecasting adjusts for variables like that automatically, and the Replenishment Report lets you model FBA-specific allocation separately from your other channels so you’re not pulling from the same pool.

One note on AWD: it’s a useful overflow option (inventory staged there doesn’t count against your FBA capacity limit, auto-replenishes as units sell, and carries no holiday storage surcharges), but it has real requirements. Minimum unit thresholds apply, replenishment cycles into FBA aren’t instantaneous, and prep standards need to be met before inbound. It works well as a planned overflow strategy. It’s a poor emergency lever if you’re activating it two weeks out.

Three practical moves worth making in the next 30 days:

• Pull your FBA capacity dashboard in Seller Central and model your Prime Day inventory requirements against your current allocation.
• If you’re approaching your limit, submit a capacity reservation request through Amazon’s Capacity Manager. These requests require lead time and aren’t guaranteed.
• Stage overflow inventory with a 3PL or in AWD. Plan the AWD leg early enough that replenishment cycles into FBA have time to run before peak demand hits.

Multichannel stock and the Prime Day pull

If you’re selling across Amazon, your own website, Walmart, or other channels, a June Prime Day changes how you allocate inventory across the summer.

July was historically a slower month for most categories. Amazon’s event created a spike in an otherwise quiet window. Moving that spike to late June puts it directly adjacent to Father’s Day (June 21) and in the same month as mid-year sales cycles on other platforms.

The practical implication: your June inventory commitment to FBA needs to be locked earlier than your channel allocation model probably assumes. If you’re managing shared inventory across channels and pulling from a single pool, an earlier Prime Day means your FBA earmark needs to be confirmed by late April or early May. Anything left flexible after that point risks being committed to another channel when Amazon’s inbound cutoff arrives.

If you’re still running channel allocations from a spreadsheet refreshed weekly, a late June Prime Day will expose that gap quickly. When the inbound cutoff arrives and your stock is already split across other channels, you’re now managing a shortage.

Having centralized visibility into your current inventory is what makes life a lot easier. Linnworks gives multichannel sellers a single view of stock across FBA, 3PLs, and their own warehouse locations, in real-time, so channel allocation calls in late April are based on actual stock rather than yesterday’s spreadsheet. That matters more this year, when the margin for error is five weeks shorter than last year and the cost of a wrong call shows up in your Prime Day sell-through rate, not just your planning doc.

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Before the orders hit

Most of the Prime Day conversation focuses on inventory: getting stock into FBA on time, sizing your allocation, staging overflow. That’s the right starting point. But inventory in the right place at the right time only matters if your fulfillment operation can actually process the volume that follows.

Prime Day order velocity typically runs 3x to 5x your normal daily rate. At that volume, every manual step in your order workflow becomes a potential failure point. Carrier assignment that someone eyeballs from the order queue. Warehouse routing that depends on whoever opens the dashboard first. Order tagging that happens inconsistently because the logic lives in someone’s head rather than the system. At 200 orders a day, those judgment calls are recoverable. At 1,500, they compound into mis-ships, carrier overspend, and fulfillment errors that take weeks to sort out.

The window between now and late June is the time to identify which of those manual steps are still running in your operation and automate them before volume makes the cost visible.

A system like Linnworks’ Spotlight AI does that diagnostic work for you: it monitors your team’s activity, identifies the repetitive manual actions costing the most time, and recommends the specific automation rules to eliminate them. That analysis can save retailers up to 52 hours of recoverable labor per month. A truly efficient operation automates carrier selection, fulfillment center assignment, order splitting, folder sorting, all firing against conditions you’ve defined in advance, consistently, whether the queue has 30 orders or 3,000. The difference between a Prime Day that scales smoothly and one that buries your ops team in exception handling usually comes down to whether those rules were built before the event or discovered during it.

A practical action list for the next 30 days

This isn’t a situation where you wait for Amazon’s official announcement before moving. By the time Amazon confirms dates, some of these windows will already be closed.

Run your demand forecast for Prime Day now. Don’t size your FBA allocation against your average daily rate and multiply by four. Use your channel-specific sales history to model what Prime Day actually does to velocity for your top ASINs. If you’re using Linnworks’ stock forecasting, the Replenishment Report lets you break that down by channel and location so your FBA earmark reflects Amazon demand specifically, not a catalog-wide average. If you’re doing this in a spreadsheet, build in a buffer, because blended averages consistently understock your winners.

Confirm your full inventory position. How much stock is in FBA, in transit, and at your supplier or 3PL? Map that against your Prime Day demand forecast. If the gap is larger than expected, the next two steps determine whether you can close it in time.

Place purchase orders immediately if you haven’t. If you’re importing from Asia, the practical deadline for ocean freight arriving before the estimated May 27 inbound cutoff is now. Air freight is an option if you miss the ocean window, but factor in the cost premium.

Check deal eligibility and submit before April 30. Log into Seller Central and review your ASINs through the Deals dashboard. If any fail the 60-day price history check, you have time to address it. Lightning Deals and Best Deals submitted before April 30 save $50 per deal off the standard upfront fee.

Stage buffer inventory outside FBA. Whether that’s AWD or a 3PL, keeping overflow accessible lets you replenish if you hit your FBA limit or if Prime Day demand exceeds your forecast. Plan the AWD leg early enough that replenishment cycles into FBA have time to run before peak demand hits.

Audit your order routing and fulfillment workflows before volume spikes. Peak periods expose the manual steps that feel manageable at normal volume. If your team is making repetitive decisions on carrier assignment, warehouse routing, or order tagging manually, that’s where errors compound under load. Utilize an automation system like Linnworks to put your costliest actions on autopilot and minimize the chaos of that intense fulfillment period.

Watch Seller Central for official inbound deadlines. Amazon typically posts these a few weeks before the event. The estimated dates above are grounded in agency guidance and deal submission window timing, but treat official Amazon communications as the authoritative source.

The window is shorter than it looks

The Forrester analyst Sucharita Kodali made the point plainly when the Bloomberg report broke: sellers often plan Prime Day inventory a year in advance, and even a few weeks of difference creates complications. A month of compression across the supply chain can snowball into missed inbound windows, throttled FBA capacity, and deal applications that reference inventory you don’t actually have in stock.

Amazon hasn’t confirmed dates. But the deal window is open, the estimated inbound cutoffs are close, and the math on ocean freight from Asia doesn’t leave room for extended patience. Plan to the estimated timeline now and adjust if Amazon’s official announcement moves the dates.

If you’re managing inventory across Amazon and other channels, get your Prime Day allocation locked in April. That’s the practical deadline regardless of when Amazon makes the official announcement.

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Starting an Amazon reselling business is an exciting venture, but the biggest challenge is often the first one: figuring out what to sell. With a marketplace of millions of products, knowing which items will actually be profitable can feel overwhelming.

The secret isn’t just finding popular products, but identifying those with consistent demand, manageable competition, and healthy profit margins. To give you a clear starting point, we’ve done the research for you.

This guide breaks down the 10 best items to resell on Amazon for 2026. We’ll explore why these categories are consistently profitable and how you can begin sourcing them to build a successful Amazon reselling business.

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Why resell on Amazon?

For ecommerce entrepreneurs dreaming of lucrative passive income streams, reselling on Amazon offers big buck potential for several reasons:

• Low barrier to entry — Reselling requires minimal upfront investment, allowing you to dip your toes into entrepreneurship without breaking the bank.
• Unrivaled market access — Amazon is the go-to shopping destination for millions. This built-in audience means you can reach customers from day one. With nearly 40% of all US e-commerce sales happening on the platform in 2023, the scale for potential growth is unmatched.
• Scalability — The vastness of the Amazon customer base allows you to tap into niche markets and reach customers you might not be able to access otherwise.
• Amazon’s Fulfillment Services (FBA) — Through Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), sellers can outsource storage, packaging, and shipping to Amazon’s warehouses to save time and resources. This ensures efficient order fulfillment for Amazon FBA products (and unlocks Amazon Prime eligibility) and is a cornerstone for many successful Amazon sellers.
• Consumer trust — By leveraging the reliability of the Amazon brand, you benefit from increased credibility, leading to higher conversion rates and repeat business.
• Streamlined selling — It’s easy to create and manage listings, track inventory levels, and monitor sales performance on Amazon Seller Central dashboard.
• Low involvement — You don’t need to handle customer inquiries, returns, or refunds yourself, freeing up more time to focus on profitability by finding more of the best things to buy and resell on Amazon.

How to find the best things to buy and resell on Amazon

Finding the best things to resell on Amazon is essential if you’re to build a successful Amazon reseller operation. Here’s a few top tips on how to navigate the marketplace and identify items with the highest potential for profitability.

Identify products with consistent demand

Conduct thorough product research to gauge the popularity of potential products and identify emerging trends using tools like Google Trends. A profitable product is one that fulfills a need or solves a problem for consumers, ensuring sustained interest and high demand over time.

Assess competition and profitability

Aim for profitable products with manageable competition levels and healthy profit margins, allowing you to carve out a niche within the market. In 2026, this means moving beyond broad categories and drilling down into hyper-niches, which improves your chances of winning the buy box.

For example, instead of just ‘pet supplies,’ a successful strategy might be to focus on ‘eco-friendly, biodegradable dog waste bags for urban pet owners.’ This targeted approach helps reduce competition and appeal to specific customer needs.

To ensure a healthy return on investment, you’ll need to calculate profit margins with pinpoint precision, considering factors like sourcing costs, Amazon fees, and shipping expenses.

Utilize market research tools

Analytics software takes the effort out of assessing product demand, competition levels, pricing trends, sales performance, etc., helping you track key metrics to identify lucrative opportunities and make data-driven decisions. Standard tools like Jungle Scout, Helium 10, and CamelCamelCamel remain essential. In 2026, however, the key is to leverage their AI-powered features for a competitive edge. Use AI for predictive sales forecasts, automated listing optimization, and deep analysis of competitor reviews to quickly identify product weaknesses and opportunities.

Forge relationships with wholesalers

Building strong supply chain partnerships can facilitate exclusive deals, discounts, and priority access to in-demand products, giving you a competitive edge in the marketplace. So it’s always worth reaching out to reputable wholesalers to start a conversation and negotiate favorable terms.

Attend networking events and trade shows

Networking with suppliers and fellow resellers can provide valuable insights and opportunities for collaboration. Trade shows, in particular, present excellent potential for networking while also allowing you to explore product offerings and source more inventory.

Explore clearance and liquidation sales

Keep an eye out for clearance events hosted by retailers. This is a classic retail arbitrage strategy, manufacturers, and liquidation companies. This retail arbitrage strategy is a great way to source inventory. Picking up surplus items from a thrift store or a liquidation sale for a fraction of the retail cost can give your bottom line a significant boost.

The 10 best items to resell on Amazon

We’ve done the legwork for you to identify a definitive list of the best things to resell on Amazon.

1. Electronics and accessories

Electronics, gadgets, and accessories are staples of the online retail world – and for good reason. Thanks to rapid technological advancement, consumers are constantly seeking the latest innovations and upgrades.

From smartphones and tablets to smart home devices and wearables, the demand for electronics remains consistently high. This year, profitability lies in accessories for the latest generation of devices. Think specialized chargers, protective cases for the newest smartphones, and mounts designed for current tablet models. Furthermore, the smart home and wearables markets offer immense growth, with strong demand for compatible accessories.

2. Books

Both physical and digital books are popular on Amazon and can be a best seller category. Yes, you read that right—physical, turn-the-page books are still a thing. For an aspiring Amazon reseller, they can be a very lucrative and profitable item.

Amazon’s expansive catalog covers almost every topic and genre imaginable, and while bestsellers and popular fiction titles often dominate the market, there’s also a significant demand for:

• Niche genres
• Textbooks
• Rare finds
• Collector’s editions

3. Toys and games

With options to suit every age group and interest, the toy and game market offers a wealth of Amazon reselling opportunities. Shrewd resellers capitalize on seasonal trends like holiday shopping and back-to-school seasons to maximize sales and profitability.

From cult classics and collectibles to educational toys and trendy new releases, there’s always something that consumers are clamoring to get their hands on. This category is heavily influenced this year by social media, with platforms like TikTok and YouTube driving viral demand for specific toys. Sellers should also focus on STEM-focused interactive learning kits, as parents continue to prioritize educational value.

Some of the best things to resell on Amazon include:

• Board games
• Action figures
• Trading cards
• Interactive learning kits

4. Fashion and apparel

From Balenciaga to bargain bin chic and everything in between, Amazon’s fashion marketplace offers endless possibilities for resellers to curate collections that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Trendy streetwear, stylish evening wear, cozy loungewear, sophisticated business attire…the world is your oyster!

However, keeping your finger on the pulse is essential. After all, the fashion world is fickle, and today’s ‘in thing’ rarely stays ‘in’ for long! If you’re looking for long-term reliability, the best things to buy and resell on Amazon include:

• Branded clothing
• Vintage pieces
• Maternity wear
• Accessories

5. Home and kitchen appliances

• Amazon’s home and kitchen appliance categories present profit-positive opportunities to tap into consumer desires for a lifestyle based on convenience and efficiency. Of course, essential appliances like coffee makers, blenders, toasters, and electric kettles are indispensable items and will always be in demand, but in 2026 opportunity lies in the next wave of trending gadgets. Look for multi-function appliances that save counter space, smart kitchen devices, and specialized tools that cater to modern dietary trends like plant-based cooking.

6. Beauty and personal care products

Ever reflected on the details of aging gracefully? It’s not really our jam, we must admit. And for the record, we happen to think you look just awesome as you are. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t millions of consumers worldwide itching to snap up deals across the skincare, makeup, and personal care categories.

The prevalent trend toward prioritizing self-care and wellness has customers flocking to Amazon to part with their dollars. Examples of top sellers include:

• Skincare products like cleansers, moisturizers, serums, and sunscreens.
• Makeup staples like foundation, lipstick, mascara, and eyeshadow.
• Wellness products like vitamins, essential oils, aromatherapy products, and relaxation aids.
• Personal care items like hair care products, grooming essentials, body washes, and deodorants.

7. Fitness and outdoor equipment

This category is powered by ever-evolving fitness trends. While 2024 saw a boom in sports like Pickleball , the 2026 strategy is to identify the current year’s trending activity by monitoring social media and fitness publications. Regardless of trends, fitness accessories like resistance bands, yoga mats, and wearable trackers always see consistent demand.

Nevertheless, the rising interest in home fitness and outdoor activities has sparked a surge in demand for equipment and workout gear, reflecting growing consumer commitment to maintaining healthy and active lifestyles. Some of the best things to buy and resell on Amazon include:

• Exercise machines like treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, and rowing machines.
• Fitness accessories like resistance bands, yoga mats, foam rollers, and wearable trackers.
• Outdoor gear for hiking, camping, backpacking, and other adventures.
• General sporting goods like balls, bats, rackets, and clubs.

8. Pet supplies

Pet owners are willing to part with inordinate amounts of cash to keep their furry companions happy, well-groomed, entertained, and well-fed. We know that for a fact because we’re guilty of it ourselves, and our own pets are spoiled rotten (seriously though, my cat really needed that tartan bow tie).

Along with everyday staples like kibble, wet food, and treats, there’s a whole marketplace encompassing holistic wellness solutions and apparel for pets. Beyond everyday items, the real profit in 2026 is in specialty products. This includes nutritional supplements, dental care products, and calming aids like anxiety vests. High-demand niches also include gourmet pet treats and pet-specific grooming supplies.

9. Hobby and craft supplies

Hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts are always on the lookout for high-quality supplies and materials to fuel their creative projects, and Amazon’s vast marketplace presents a treasure trove (and sometimes a rabbit hole) of options.

There’s a diverse array of items you can buy and resell to help the diverse arts and crafts community unleash their creativity and bring their imaginative projects to life. Some of the best things to resell on Amazon are:

• Painting supplies like high-quality paints, brushes, and canvases.
• Supplies for jewelry making, knitting, and embroidery.
• Woodworking tools and model-making supplies.
• Accessories like cutting tools, rulers, and stencils.

10. Office and school supplies

Office products and school essentials are year-round necessities for students, professionals and households alike, and there’s a constant demand for products that facilitate productivity and learning.

When researching the best items to list, it pays to look for supplies that combine functionality, quality, and affordability. After all, office and school supplies are rarely ‘for show’ items. They’re purchased out of necessity rather than a burning desire to own the best pen or desk organizer in the neighborhood.

However this year, the key to profitability is bundling. Since these are necessity-driven items, customers look for value and convenience. Create curated bundles like a ‘home office starter kit’ or ‘back-to-school essentials pack’ featuring stationery, writing supplies, and organizational tools to increase the average order value on these otherwise low-margin products.

How to resell successfully on Amazon

Of course, finding the best things to resell on Amazon doesn’t necessarily equate to a flurry of orders and a pocket full of cash. If only it were that simple!

Beyond finding the right products (especially as a new seller), you’ll need to spend a little time and effort honing your listings, deciding on a pricing strategy, and working out how to manage inventory.

Product listing best practices

Here’s the lowdown on how to compose Amazon product listings that resonate and convert. You can also boost visibility by running Amazon Ads (sponsored product campaigns).

• Product titles — Write transparent, jargon-less titles (if you’re a brand owner, Amazon Brand Registry can unlock enhanced content tools) using simple language that outlines key attributes like brand, color, size, material type, etc.
• Product descriptions — Use headers or bullet points for easy scanning, being sure to articulate the benefits of the product and what problems it solves.
• Photography — Clear, well-lit images improve conversion rates, so investing in professional, high-quality photographs is essential.
• Keywords — Each listing should include relevant search terms and phrases that potential customers are likely to use when searching for your products.

Learn more about how to list products on Amazon to maximize profits.

Pricing considerations

There’s much more to reselling on Amazon than buying items and slapping a new price tag on them based on what you estimate to be a decent markup. Before you even reach for that digital price tag gun, you’ll need to:

1. Determine an accurate cost per unit — Remember that the price you paid for each item isn’t the figure to focus on. You also need to factor in costs for storage fees, shipping, import duties, taxes, customs clearance, packaging materials, and any other associated expenses.
2. Keep an eye on your competition — Constant vigilance is required to remain competitive. You’ll need to continually monitor competitors’ pricing strategies and adjust your approach accordingly. The software tools we mentioned above (including the Amazon Seller App) are super helpful for helping you track price fluctuations and stay informed about market trends.
3. Select an appropriate pricing strategy —There are two primary schools of thought here: dynamic and value-based pricing. Dynamic pricing algorithms automatically adjust your prices based on market conditions, a useful way to automate pricing, whereas value-based propositions justify higher prices based on factors like quality, unique features, or bundling options.

Managing Inventory

While Amazon FBA offers convenience and scalability for FBA sellers, it doesn’t come for free. A range of additional fees apply, including:

• Monthly inventory storage fees
• Long-term storage fees
• Inventory placement service fees
• Inventory removal fees

You’ll need to weigh up the benefits of FBA carefully to evaluate whether it’s realistic. The alternative is a fulfillment by merchant (FBM) model, which provides more control over inventory but requires handling shipping, customer service, and returns responsibilities yourself.

Whichever inventory management system you use—which you can monitor through your Amazon Seller Central account—you’ll need to implement efficient practices. Avoid stockouts or overstock situations by tracking inventory in real time and setting suitable reorder points. Learn more about Amazon FBM Vs. Amazon FBA and the best inventory management software for Amazon sellers.

The best things to sell on Amazon: Growth awaits!

No matter what you choose to sell, embracing the transformative power of technology is a must for any digital entrepreneur aiming for superstellar ecommerce glory.

Whether it’s analyzing market and competitor trends, assessing price points, or managing the day-to-day logistics of purchases, deliveries, and returns, the most successful Amazon resellers all rely on dedicated software solutions to save valuable time and resources and streamline processes.

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Inventory turnover measures how many times you sell through your average stock in a given period, and for ecommerce operators, it’s one of the most direct indicators of whether your capital is working or just sitting. 

If you’re doing $2 million in annual revenue with a turnover ratio of 3, you’re carrying roughly $330,000 in average inventory at any given moment. Push that ratio to 5 without triggering stockouts, and you free up over $130,000 in capital sitting in bins and on pallets, earning nothing while your cost of goods keeps climbing.

In reality, sellers might calculate this number incorrectly, check it once and file it away, or skip it entirely in favor of revenue and ROAS. Turnover tells you how much capital is trapped on shelves. Get that number wrong and every purchasing decision downstream is built on bad information.

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The formula

The standard inventory turnover ratio formula:

Cost of goods sold (COGS)

COGS is the direct cost of producing or purchasing the goods you sold during a given period. It includes your wholesale purchase price, inbound freight, duties, and any other costs directly tied to getting that product into sellable condition (but it does not include expenses like marketing spend, warehouse rent, or employee salaries).

Some sellers substitute total revenue for COGS in the numerator. Don’t. 

Revenue includes your markup, which inflates the ratio and makes your inventory look like it’s moving faster than it is. If you’re comparing your number to published benchmarks, those benchmarks almost always use COGS. Mixing definitions makes the comparison meaningless. CSIMarket’s Q4 2025 aggregate data makes this concrete: total-market inventory turnover was 13.18 using sales as the numerator, but fell to 7.71 using cost of sales.

Average inventory

Average inventory smooths out the peaks and valleys that come with seasonal ordering, promotional spikes, and restocking cycles. The simplest version:

Average Inventory = (Beginning Inventory + Ending Inventory) ÷ 2

If your business is seasonal or you experience major swings in stock levels throughout the year, monthly averages give you a more accurate picture. Add up your inventory value at the end of each month and divide by twelve. A seller who stocks heavily in September for Q4 holiday demand and draws down through December will get a distorted average from just January 1 and December 31 snapshots.

A worked example

Say you sell home and kitchen products online. Over the past fiscal year:

• Your COGS was $840,000
• Beginning inventory (January 1): $210,000
• Ending inventory (December 31): $190,000

Average Inventory = ($210,000 + $190,000) ÷ 2 = $200,000 

Inventory Turnover Ratio = $840,000 ÷ $200,000 = 4.2 

A turnover of 4.2 means you sold through and replaced your average inventory about four times during the year. Convert that into days sales of inventory (DSI) by dividing 365 by your turnover ratio: 365 ÷ 4.2 = roughly 87 days. On average, a product sat in your warehouse for nearly three months before it sold.

Telling your ops lead that turnover is 4.2 gets a blank stare. Telling them the average product sits in the warehouse 87 days before selling gets a conversation. Days of inventory is also a more actionable unit than the ratio itself: you can set it against your supplier lead time directly, flag SKUs that are running above your target range, and tie it to carrying cost calculations without any additional translation. If your DSI target is 60 days and you identify that a product is sitting at 110, that gives you a real, actionable insight. 

You’re probably asking, “Is a 4.2 inventory turnover ratio good?” That depends entirely on what you sell.

Benchmarks worth comparing against

Published benchmarks vary depending on who’s reporting and whether they use COGS or revenue in the numerator. The ranges below use COGS-based calculations, which is the standard you should be matching. They are drawn from multiple sources using different vertical definitions and methodologies, so treat them as directional reference ranges rather than directly comparable targets.

Sources: Onramp Funds 2025 industry benchmarks (fashion, general ecommerce, specialty retail); Descartes Finale Inventory (home goods, electronics); Shipfusion and FreightAmigo (grocery, supporting ranges across verticals).

Context matters more than the number in isolation. If you’re selling seasonal outdoor gear and your turnover drops to 2 in Q1, that’s expected. You built up inventory in Q4, the buying season ended, and now you’re sitting on stock that won’t move until spring. The problem would be if that ratio stays at 2 through Q3, when it should be climbing.

Compare your turnover against your own historical performance first, then against your vertical. A seller who moved from 3.5 to 4.8 over twelve months is in a stronger position than one who’s been static at 6 for three years.

Those comparisons only hold up if the inputs are right—and a surprising number of sellers are benchmarking against clean industry data while working from a ratio built on the wrong numbers.

Where sellers get the math wrong

Revenue-based turnover always looks better than reality. If your gross margin is 50%, the revenue-based ratio will be roughly double the COGS-based ratio. You’ll benchmark yourself against COGS-based industry data and come away thinking you’re outperforming when you’re not. It’s the calculation error that shows up most consistently when sellers can’t reconcile their internal numbers against published benchmarks.

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Snapshot inventory instead of averages

Pulling your inventory balance from a single date gives you a ratio that reflects that one moment, not your actual performance over the period. A seller who just received a large shipment will look like they have terrible turnover. A seller who just ran a clearance sale will look like a genius. Neither tells the real story.

Ignoring channel-specific inventory

If you’re selling on Amazon, your own Shopify store, and a couple of marketplaces, inventory is likely spread across FBA warehouses, a 3PL, and potentially a retail partner’s distribution center. Calculating turnover from only your primary warehouse masks slow-moving stock parked elsewhere.

Treating it as a single annual number

Quarterly or monthly calculations catch problems faster. A Q1 turnover that drops 30% from the prior year and goes unnoticed until December means nine months of excess carrying costs before anyone acts.

The cash flow connection

If you’re holding $300,000 in average inventory and your carrying cost is 25% annually, you’re spending $75,000 per year just to store and maintain that stock. Inventory carrying costs typically run between 20% and 30% of inventory value per year, a range consistent with APICS/ASCM inventory cost guidance and supported by cost-of-carrying analyses from supply chain consultancy Establish Inc. The range covers warehousing, insurance, depreciation, shrinkage, and the opportunity cost of capital tied up in unsold goods. Push your turnover from 4 to 6 (reducing your average inventory from $300,000 to $200,000 while maintaining the same sales volume), and your annual carrying costs drop to roughly $50,000. 

That’s $25,000 back in your pocket without selling a single additional unit.

For many ecommerce brands, this math can be the difference between funding your next product launch and scrambling for a line of credit.

When turnover is too low

A low ratio means stock is sitting. The reasons vary, and the fix depends on the root cause.

Demand forecasting gaps

You ordered based on gut feel or last year’s numbers without adjusting for current demand signals. Pull your last six months of sales data by SKU, calculate velocity for each product, and compare it against what you currently have on hand. You’ll almost certainly find SKUs with 120+ days of inventory sitting alongside SKUs that stockout every two weeks. Good inventory management software surfaces this kind of imbalance automatically, flagging SKUs based on their current velocity and projected days of coverage.

SKU bloat

Too many products, too little velocity per SKU. It’s tempting to expand your catalog because more listings theoretically means more search visibility. But every SKU you add carries a cost, and low-velocity SKUs drag your turnover down while eating warehouse space. Run an ABC analysis. The split varies by business model and catalog depth, but as a working approximation, the top 20% of SKUs typically account for 70–80% of revenue. The bottom 20% might be contributing almost nothing while costing you real money in holding fees. Be willing to cut.

Pricing and promotion timing

If you’re sitting on aging inventory and waiting for it to sell at full price, you’re often better off taking a 20% margin hit now than paying another three months of carrying costs. Calculate the breakeven: if your carrying cost is 25% annually, that’s roughly 2% per month. Product that’s been sitting for four extra months has already cost you 8% of its value in holding alone, on top of the original purchase price. A markdown that moves it quickly can still be the better financial decision. Most sellers never run this calculation. They default to protecting margin on paper while the holding costs eat into it anyway.

The risk of running too lean

A turnover ratio above 8 or 10 (depending on your vertical) often means you’re running too lean. You might be ordering in small batches to avoid overstock, but you’re paying more per unit, eating higher freight costs, and leaving yourself exposed to stockouts whenever demand spikes or a supplier is late.

Stockouts are expensive in ways that don’t always show up in a P&L. You lose the immediate sale, you lose the customer’s trust if it happens more than once, and on Amazon, you lose your listing’s sales velocity and search ranking, which can take weeks to recover. What is well-documented is the underlying mechanism: Amazon’s algorithm rewards consistent availability and penalizes gaps, and the ranking recovery requires sustained in-stock selling over time, not just restocking.

If your turnover is high and your stockout rate is also climbing, you need to add safety stock on your top-performing SKUs, even if it temporarily lowers your ratio. A turnover of 6 with 98% in-stock rates will always outperform a turnover of 10 with chronic availability gaps.

Three companion metrics

Days sales of inventory (DSI)

DSI = 365 ÷ Inventory Turnover Ratio

The number that matters is the gap between your DSI and your supplier lead time. If your lead time is 45 days and your DSI is 50, you’re operating with almost no room for delays.

Sell-through rate

Sell-Through Rate = (Units Sold ÷ Units Received) × 100

Sell-through rate looks at the same problem from the purchasing side. It tells you what percentage of the inventory you brought in during a period actually sold. As a general industry rule of thumb, a rate above 80% suggests strong product-market fit and good forecasting; below 50% is a signal you’re consistently overbuying or the product isn’t resonating. Track it by SKU and you’ll quickly see which products deserve bigger purchase orders and which need to be phased out.

Gross margin return on investment (GMROI)

GMROI = Gross Margin ÷ Average Inventory Cost

A product that turns quickly but at thin margins might generate less return per inventory dollar than a slower-moving item with high margins. Retalon uses 2.0 as the floor for a healthy GMROI, meaning you’re generating at least $2 in gross profit for every dollar invested in inventory. A GMROI between 1.0 and 2.0 means you’re covering the cost of goods but not generating enough return to absorb carrying, handling, and fulfillment costs. The product looks profitable on paper but isn’t pulling its weight in the portfolio. If your turnover ratio looks good but your GMROI is below 1, you’re selling a lot of product at a loss once you factor in what it costs to hold and move it.

Making it operational

Set a review cadence. Monthly or quarterly, pull your turnover by product category, by sales channel, and for the business overall. If you’re reviewing this annually, you’re already nine months late to most of the problems it reveals.

Use DSI to set reorder points. If a product’s DSI is 60 days and your supplier lead time is 21 days, trigger a reorder when you hit roughly 25–30 days of remaining stock (the extra buffer accounts for variance in supplier lead times and demand spikes). Most inventory platforms let you automate purchase order triggers based on these thresholds. If you’re still doing this manually, that’s where restocking tends to slip.

Flag SKUs outside your target range. A product with 150 days of inventory when your benchmark is 75 needs a decision, not more time. Discount, bundle, liquidate, or cut the reorder. Sitting on it is the most expensive option.

If you’re selling across multiple channels, track turnover per channel. A product might turn six times a year on Amazon but only twice on your DTC site. That tells you something about where to allocate inventory, and it might also tell you something about pricing or visibility on the slower channel. When you pull this data, keep the category and period consistent across channels so you’re comparing equivalent windows rather than mixing seasonal peaks from different periods.

Pull your last twelve months of COGS and your beginning and ending inventory, run the formula, then cut it by quarter, category, and channel. Where the gaps appear is where the purchasing decisions need to be made — and where the difference between a cash-light operation and one quietly strangled by carrying costs tends to show up first.

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A well-developed sourcing strategy can make a massive difference in your bottom line.

To make things easier, this post will break down everything involved with sourcing – from finding products to finding the right people to buy them from to the delivery models that get goods from supplier to customer. Building a seamless pipeline to procure and move those products through your supply chain is what keeps your sales process functioning efficiently.

Creating a seamless pipeline to procure and bring these products to consumers will keep your sales process functioning efficiently.

Let’s dive right in!

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What is sourcing?

In inventory and supply chain management, sourcing refers to identifying, evaluating, and establishing a relationship with suppliers or manufacturers who can provide the goods or raw materials needed for a business.

This includes supplier selection, contract negotiation, determining the most cost-effective and reliable sources for these items, negotiating terms and prices, and managing the ordering and delivery process to ensure a consistent and efficient inventory flow to meet business demands.

Good supply chain sourcing isn’t a one-time task. It’s an ongoing discipline that shapes your costs, your reliability, and ultimately how well you can serve your customers.

What is procurement, and what does it have to do with sourcing?

Procurement is obtaining goods and services a business needs to carry out its operations.

It involves activities such as identifying needs, sourcing suppliers, negotiating prices, agreeing on contracts, and managing supplier relationships to ensure the timely delivery of quality goods and services.

On the other hand, sourcing is a component of the procurement process that specifically focuses on identifying suitable suppliers or vendors who can provide the necessary goods or services and establishing relationships with these suppliers.

They’re closely linked. You can’t run an effective procurement process without a solid sourcing process underneath it, and your procurement team will spend a lot of their time on sourcing activities before a single purchase order is issued.

Why is sourcing important?

Supply chains would not exist without sourcing. How can you sell what you don’t have?

Aside from that obvious point, here are some reasons sourcing is essential.

Cost management

Strategic sourcing provides benefits for both buyers and suppliers. Buyers can typically negotiate lower unit pricing for high-volume purchasing.

This reduces the costs of goods and keeps retail prices competitive. Suppliers benefit because they have a consistent outlet for their goods, making planning and cash flow more dependable.

Stability

When you find the right source for your products, it truly becomes a partnership. Both businesses rely on each other to keep the supply chain intact.

Developing a close relationship can lead to higher quality (and efficiency) as suppliers and customers work together to identify and minimize the root causes of defects that hurt both buyer and seller.

Risk management

Besides identifying and solving problems, a strong supplier relationships built on trust can help mitigate risk. When both parties know they can depend on each other, it opens the door to honest conversation.

For example, if one party has temporary cash flow concerns, it can be discussed openly. This lowers the risk for both parties.

How to get started with sourcing

If companies handle the sourcing themselves, there’s no shortcut. Supplier selection requires proper market research, clear criteria, and enough patience to ask the difficult questions before you’re locked into a contract.

Selecting a supplier

Selecting a supplier as the source for your goods means investing the time and effort to get to know them and ask the tough questions.

After all, you’ll be delivering these products to your customers – your business’s reputation is at stake. Companies need to do business with suppliers to ensure their products deliver the best results.

What to look for when choosing a potential supplier

Here are some characteristics to look for when selecting a supplier:

• Years of experience
• Flexibility in changed order times
• Wide range of available products and/or services
• Negotiable prices
• Customer reviews
• Prompt delivery times
• Accommodating customer service
• Financial stability

It’s important to remember that when you’re choosing a vendor, you’re choosing a business partner. This needs to be someone you can trust and someone you can rely on now and in the future.

Vendors make a monumental impact on your business, so choose wisely.

Securing a supplier

If you can visit a supplier in person, your chances of securing that vendor grow exponentially.

Whether that’s a possibility or not, here are a few of the critical steps to consider when researching and securing a supplier:

Do your research

Start by doing online searches of the supplier’s reputation. You can check the Better Business Bureau, local Chambers of Commerce in areas where they do business, and online search engines for customer complaints.

These can provide important clues and provide areas to probe.

Checking vendor social media accounts can be enlightening. Customers aren’t shy about leaving negative comments online.

Be sure to verify registrations, business licenses, and any required certifications. There are a lot of shady operators out there and you want to ensure you won’t get burned.

Negotiate a fair deal

Supplier negotiation goes beyond price haggling and requires balancing your needs with the supplier’s.

Research your market, budget, and product value to strengthen your negotiation position.

Promote transparency by discussing your requirements, volumes, timelines, and quality expectations upfront. Understand the supplier’s constraints like minimum order quantities or lead times, and work together for a solution.

A good negotiation forms the foundation of a supplier relationship that benefits your business in the long term.

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Specify delivery expectations

The importance of a strong supplier-to-business relationship applies to delivery times as well. Depending on your business structure and needs, there are various options.

In negotiating an agreement, discuss your needs fully. You may find the supplier is unable to meet your needs.

You may also be able to negotiate better pricing or terms by adapting your delivery expectations to work the way the supplier prefers. If you have flexibility in your supply chain or timeline, you may be able to conclude a better deal.

Managing your inventory effectively helps reduce your holding costs and tie up capital that could be used elsewhere in your business.

Whether you choose continuous replenishment, just-in-time inventory, or on-demand delivery, all require the cooperation of reliable businesses and suppliers.

Understand Supplier Delivery Models

Continuous delivery model

In the continuous replenishment model, suppliers make deliveries off a predetermined schedule, often in short periods, based on a company’s inventory data and/or real-time demand.

When companies employ continuous replenishment, they encourage reduced inventory levels because they’re ordering in small batches rather than large batches, which are more costly and reduce suppliers’ flexibility.

Depending on the supplier, more frequent but consistent deliveries may be preferable. For others, they may be more costly and can increase your price.

Just-in-Time Delivery Model

Under a just-in-time delivery model, companies receive supplies on an as-needed basis. In doing so, they reduce inventory levels and costs because just in time deliver only what is needed to increase efficiency and decrease excess waste.

With the help of inventory management software, you can better predict inventory demand with forecasting tools to have the right amount of goods.

On-Demand Delivery Model

In an on-demand delivery model, suppliers deliver goods when the customer demands. This gives you the flexibility to wait to take delivery – and trigger payment – until your stock reaches the level where it’s time to reorder.

In this model, it’s especially to choose a supplier with plenty of products and flexibility when order times change rapidly.

If a company demands it, the supplier must be ready and timely with prompt delivery.

Create a contract

Once you’ve negotiated the terms, it’s time to draw up a contract. Don’t skimp on an attorney. If you make a mistake or leave it up to the supplier, you may limit your recourse should anything go wrong.

Oral agreements or invoices leave room for error. While they may have some enforceability, proving it may be expensive and time-consuming if you ever need legal action.

Write a written contract that includes all parties involved, establish payment terms, and commit to any important details, such as timely delivery.

A standard contract should cover what’s expected and what happens when one party fails to live up to the agreement.

What to include in your contract

A vendor contract should cover the following:

• Details of the work the supplier agrees to provide
• The quality of the supplied goods or provided services
• Length of the contract term
• Payment terms
• Indemnity, in the event of loss arising from negligence
• What actions can be taken in case of a breach

A contract is only legally enforceable after both the customer and supplier sign it demonstrating an agreement to live up to its terms and conditions. Besides legal reasons, it’s also important to establish a relationship built upon mutual expectations.

Typically, the customer includes a statement within the agreement describing the goods’ quality and quantity. Payments made to the supplier are based on the successful fulfillment of this statement.

Common questions about sourcing and supply chain management

Here are the answers to a few common questions when you start sourcing.

What’s a good way to find quality suppliers in the sourcing process?

There are several ways to start the sourcing process. Some companies will look first to companies that have good reputations in their particular industry and see how they use as suppliers.

They also solicit referrals from others in the business. Check industry publications, industry trade organizations, and trade shows for sources.

You can usually count on the industry-leading suppliers to be tried-and-true, but you may also be paying for a name. Regardless of who you source, do your due diligence to make sure they are who they say they are.

And, remember the saying: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Tactical vs. strategic sourcing

Tactical sourcing, sometimes called spot buying, is a short-term approach for one-off or immediate purchases. It’s efficient for low-spend items or urgent needs, but it doesn’t build the supplier capabilities or relationship depth that strategic sourcing does over time. Both have their place. The key is knowing which approach fits the situation.

What is a procurement team?

A procurement team is a group of professionals within an organization responsible for acquiring or procuring the goods and services needed to achieve business goals.

Procurement departments are pivotal in managing and optimizing the purchasing process, which involves supplier selection, negotiation, contract management, and supply chain management.

The specific roles and responsibilities within a procurement team can vary depending on the size and nature of the business.

For instance, smaller businesses might have a single person or a small team handling procurement alongside other duties.

In larger organizations, the procurement department might include specialists responsible for different parts of the process like strategic sourcing, contract management, supplier relationship management, and risk management.

How do I know if I need a sourcing and procurement team?

Whether or not you need a procurement team depends on your business’s size, complexity, and operational requirements. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Size and complexity: Larger businesses or those with a high degree of complexity in their operations or product lines often benefit from having a dedicated procurement team. They can help manage a broad network of reliable suppliers, handle complex contracts, and deal with logistical challenges.
2. Cost efficiency: A sourcing team can bring significant cost savings to your business by negotiating better terms with suppliers, reducing waste, and identifying opportunities for bulk purchasing or long-term contracts.
3. Risk management: Procurement professionals can also help manage risks such as supply chain disruptions, non-compliance issues, and price volatility, which could significantly impact your business.
4. Strategic sourcing: A dedicated team can focus on strategic sourcing, ensuring your business works with the best possible suppliers for quality, price, and reliability. They can also build strong relationships with these suppliers, which can be beneficial in the long run.

Should I ask for references?

Yes. You can learn a lot about potential suppliers from their customers.

While you can expect any references they give you will likely say good things about them, it allows you to discuss with a neutral party to see if the source is a good fit for how you do business.

You should also ask for product samples. This gives you a way to see first-hand how a company fulfills an order, the quality of the product they provide, and the way it’s packaged.

What are the other parts of the supply chain process?

The supply chain process is a complex network that includes many activities, people, entities, and resources, all of which must work harmoniously to bring a product or service from the supplier to the customer.

After sourcing, which is the initial step, the following components form the integral parts of the supply chain management process:

1. Procurement: After sourcing, procurement is the process of purchasing the sourced goods and services. It involves negotiating contracts, issuing purchase orders, and ensuring timely payments.
2. Inventory management: This involves keeping track of the products on hand and understanding how quickly they turn over. Effective inventory management helps minimize costs and ensures that enough products are available to meet demand, but not so many that they take up too much space or resources.
3. Warehousing and storage: This stage involves storing the procured goods safely and organized, ensuring that they are easily accessible and retrievable when needed.
4. Demand planning and forecasting: This predictive process helps businesses anticipate the demand for their products and plan accordingly. It uses historical data and market insights to estimate future demand.
5. Order fulfillment: This process includes receiving, processing, and delivering customer orders. It requires coordination between the warehouse, shipping carriers, and customer service.
6. Logistics and distribution: In this stage, goods are transported from the warehouse to retail locations or directly to consumers. It can involve complex coordination of various transportation modes and routes.
7. Returns management: Also known as reverse logistics, this involves handling returned products, determining their disposition (such as restock, recycle, or dispose), and managing refunds or exchanges.
8. Customer service: This final component involves resolving customer queries, handling complaints, and ensuring customer satisfaction after the sale.

Each of these steps in the process is interrelated and can significantly influence a business’s success and customer satisfaction.

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Are there different types of sourcing?

Depending on the goods you are trying to procure, you may work directly with manufacturers, source from distributors, or use wholesalers. Here are sourcing examples of how these relationships might work:

• Working directly with manufacturing companies cuts out the middleman and may allow you to get products at the most affordable price. However, not every manufacturer will work with every vendor directly, or they may have MOQs that exceed your abilities.
• Working with a wholesaler may allow you to get products from multiple vendors. That way, if a particular manufacturer cannot provide you with what you need, they can still fulfill your order by switching to another vendor. You will pay a markup on goods to work through a wholesaler, but you’ll also get better pricing than through the open market – unless you can buy direct.
• Some manufacturers only sell through distributors. If so, ask the manufacturer for a list of recommended distributors to ensure you can trust the supply chain.

What are some best practices for global sourcing?

Global sourcing is the practice of procuring goods and services across geopolitical boundaries. It’s an effective way to gain competitive advantages, such as cost reduction, accessing global talent, and improving processes.

However, it also comes with challenges, including language barriers, cultural differences, and logistical issues. Here are some best practices for successful global sourcing:

1. Understand the market: Understanding the international markets from where you’re sourcing is crucial. This includes knowledge of local business customs, currency exchange rates, and economic stability.
2. Ensure regulatory compliance: Compliance with international laws and regulations is essential in global sourcing. Every country has its own set of rules regarding imports, exports, and business operations. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines, legal action, and damage to your business reputation. Hiring legal help or consulting a specialist is advisable to ensure you meet all regulatory compliance requirements.
3. Establish clear communication: Clear communication is critical due to the potential language and cultural barriers. Ensure that all expectations, including product specifications, delivery schedules, and quality standards, are clearly defined and understood by both parties.
4. Develop strong supplier relationships: Building strong relationships with your suppliers can lead to better negotiation power, improved quality, and reliable delivery schedules.
5. Risk management: Understand the potential risks involved in international sourcing and implement a mitigation strategy. This could involve diversifying your supplier base or having backup plans in case of supply chain disruptions.
6. Use technology: Procurement software can help streamline the sourcing process, improve communication, and provide valuable insights into supplier performance.
7. Sustainable procurement: Consider the social and environmental impact of your sourcing decisions. Opting for sustainable suppliers can improve brand reputation and customer loyalty.

Successful global sourcing is about much more than finding the lowest cost. It involves careful planning, strong relationship building, and strict adherence to quality standards and regulatory compliance.

What else should I know?

Keeping your shelves stocked with the right number of products is the goal. If you have too many products in your warehouse, you increase your holding costs and risk getting stuck with products that aren’t selling. Too few products on the shelves can lead to stock-outs and frustrated customers.

Creating a strong supply chain means managing your existing and potential suppliers, in addition to your inventory. Using procurement software like SkuVault gives you access to real-time information to manage your stock accurately.

You can track your suppliers and automate reordering when stock levels fall to pre-set limits. You can manage the safety stock you need to maintain until replacement products arrive. And you can use reports, such as the replenishment report, to make better business decisions.

Final thoughts

Sourcing suitable suppliers will take an investment upfront but it’s key to creating an efficient supply chain.

Think about it this way: you shouldn’t rush into a long-term, committed relationship (either personally or professionally). The same logic applies to supplier relationships.

Take your time, consider your sourcing strategy and business processes, and prioritize sustainable procurement partners – not one-off relationships.

Developing a strategic sourcing process is crucial to any organization’s supply chain.

It’s just the beginning of the supply chain as you lock in vendors that can provide the quality of goods you need at a price that works for your business.

We’ve all seen what happens when the supply chain breaks down. It leads to lost sales, unhappy customers and can damage a company’s reputation.

Take the time to vet suppliers in your sourcing process thoroughly. It will pay off in the long run – and maybe in the short term, as well.

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Ready to boost your resale margins on eBay in 2026? This guide breaks down the product categories delivering consistent profits right now—things like vintage tech, niche auto parts, and in-demand sneakers that sell out within hours.

You’ll find exactly why these items move fast, how to source them affordably, and what details top buyers look for in your listings.

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Why eBay still dominates the resale game in 2026

eBay is still the largest global resale marketplace, with 134 million active users and a powerful infrastructure for secondhand selling.

In fact, 40% of everything sold on eBay is pre-owned. And with 70% of shoppers planning to buy more secondhand this year, eBay offers unmatched access to a circular economy that’s becoming mainstream.

Also, new seller-friendly features make it even more attractive, such as AI-powered listing assistants, QR-based return processing, and a Global Shipping Program that handles customs for you. All of which means less admin and more time sourcing high-margin inventory.

All of which means less admin—and more time sourcing high-margin inventory.

Read on to discover how to be a successful eBay seller and the 50 products that consistently convert on eBay. Whether you’re clearing out clutter or building a resale brand, this is your shortcut to smarter flips and better profits in 2026.

Quick-glance profit radar: 6 hot eBay reselling niches for 2026

Here’s your at-a-glance breakdown of what’s selling best in 2026 across thrift stores, garage sales, and other online marketplaces.

*ROI after typical eBay & payment fees.

Takeaway: If you can snag any of these item types at 30–40% of their resale price, you’ve got resell gold.

That’s the high-level overview—but let’s get into the details. Here’s what makes each niche work, what items to hunt for, and why these flips deliver real ROI.

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1 — Retro tech

Vintage electronics are functional devices with real-world demand. DJs want analog warmth. Students still need certain calculators. And let’s be honest: translucent handhelds and classic Sony Walkmans just look cool.

Hot movers

• Sony Walkman WM-EX/WM-FX players – the classic pocket icon.
• Nintendo Game Boy Color / Advance – any shell, as long as it powers on.
• Technics or Sony five-disc CD changers – DJs and living-room audiophiles alike.
• Panasonic PV-V4520 VCRs – one of the last models with top-tier picture tracking.
• Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Silver calculators – schools still require them.
• Sony CFD-S70 boombox – Newer model but still sells well, especially sealed.
• Canon AE-1 35mm film camera – Popular with photography students and creators.
• Sharp GX-M10 boombox – USB input + retro look = fast sales.
• iPod Classic (80GB/160GB) – High storage and repairable = resale value

Seller insight:

Whether you’re pulling stock from a local thrift store or Facebook Marketplace, bring batteries and AV cables—power-on photos reassure potential buyers and justify a higher price. Also, items that boot up cleanly with cables bundled can fetch 20–40% more than base comps.

2 — Niche auto and tools

This is the reseller’s workhorse category—less flashy, but pure ROI. Home mechanics want OEM parts they can’t buy new. The same logic applies to workshop equipment like drill presses and torque wrenches: demand is steady, condition matters more than age, and most buyers search by exact part number rather than browsing.

Hot movers

• OEM head-lamp pairs for F-150, Silverado, Tacoma.
• Snap-on FHNF100 3/8″ flex-head ratchet – the mechanic’s unicorn.
• Autel MaxiCOM or Innova OBD-II scanners – pro features, DIY price.
• Vintage Delta drill-press depth stops – small metal, big markup.
• Bosch EV14 fuel injectors – tuners want matched sets fast.
• Honda Civic OEM taillights (2010–2015) – Frequently replaced, low availability.
• Craftsman torque wrenches (vintage USA-made) – Collectors pay more than users.
• Jeep Wrangler soft top frame parts – Bulky but pricey when parted out.

Seller insight:

Clean them up, photograph against a white background, and always include part numbers in your eBay listings. Most buyers aren’t browsing, but searching exact SKUs. That’s where your sale comes from.

3 — Collector apparel and kicks

Fashion buyers on eBay don’t want generic products. They want history, scarcity, or nostalgia—especially if it’s tied to music, sports, or streetwear roots. Selling fashion on eBay is easier for sellers who can tell the story behind a piece, whether that’s a 1994 tour tee or a limited Jordan colorway worn by celebrities on the court.

Hot movers

• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Nike windbreakers – bright, unmistakable.
• Air Jordan 1 Retro High “Bred” – any size, box = premium.
• Metallica ’94, Nirvana ’93 tour tees – single-stitch wins hearts.
• Made-in-USA, Carhartt Detroit jackets – workwear meets fashion.
• Adidas Samba OGs – current social-media darling.
• Nike SB Dunks (OG releases) – Especially collabs or themed editions.
• Starter NFL satin jackets – Raiders, Cowboys, or Dolphins = fastest sales.
• Levi’s 501 “Big E” jeans – Red tab + selvedge = collector bait.
• Vans “Off the Wall” limited prints – Skate culture loves unique drops.

Seller insight:

Photograph tags, measure every clothing item, and be upfront about flaws—clear details keep selling items moving and reduce returns. Vintage sizing is unpredictable, and clear product listings mean fewer returns. If sneakers are over $100, use eBay’s free authentication—if you can establish higher trust, you’ll sell faster.

4 — Nostalgia media

Collectors crave what’s no longer in print—especially genres that aren’t streaming. Horror VHS, first-press vinyl, and old-school PC video games are consistent earners for patient sellers.

Hot movers

• Horror VHS: Halloween / Friday the 13th (media or GoodTimes label)
• Pink Floyd “Dark Side” first-press solid-blue triangle LP
• Nintendo NES cartridges: Little Samson, DuckTales 2
• LucasArts big-box PC games on 3.5″ floppy – think Monkey Island 2 .
• Grateful Dead “Europe ’72” triple-LP – audiophile staple.
• Sega Genesis games: Streets of Rage, Shinobi III – Cult classics with consistent demand.
• PlayStation 1 RPGs: Suikoden II, Chrono Cross – Nostalgia + long gameplay = fast flips.
• Walt Disney Records 33 RPM vinyl (1960s–70s) – Vintage Disney = cross-niche value.

Seller insight:

Condition is everything. Grade the case and media separately. Factory sealed? Don’t break it—sealed pieces often sell for 3–5× more. Ship vinyl in proper mailers, and never in warm cars—heat warps records fast.

5 — Sporting-goods sleepers

Good gear doesn’t go out of style—especially when today’s models cost hundreds more. Flip last-gen equipment to value-conscious athletes and parents outfitting kids. Beyond traditional sporting goods, categories like hunting equipment, golf equipment, and outdoor sports gear move reliably year-round, especially when you source off-season and list in-peak.

Hot movers

• Titleist 910D driver heads – older but still bomb-long.
• Rawlings Heart-of-the-Hide gloves – pros swear by the leather.
• Selkirk AMPED or Joola Hyperion pickleball paddles – exploding niche.
• Wilson Pro Staff Classic 6.0 racquets – Federer’s first love.
• CCM Super Tacks ice-hockey skates – especially half-sizes.
• Vintage wood baseball bats (Louisville Slugger, Adirondack) – Especially pro-player branded.
• Oakley sports sunglasses (Radar, M-Frame) – Protective case boosts sale price.
• Easton Ghost fastpitch softball bats – Highly competitive resale market.
• Rollerblade brand inline skates – Retro + rising demand in urban markets.

Seller insight:

Photograph grooves, faces, and serial numbers. Mention grip size, flex, or length. Ship long items in USPS triangle tubes (they’re free at the post office, by the way).

6 — Everyday hard goods

The smallest flips add up fast. From TV remotes to sealed ink packs, replacement gear gets bought quickly—and often in multiples. Toss network hardware like routers and switches into that same bucket: businesses replace them constantly, and interested buyers searching for a specific model will pay a premium for OEM-condition stock.

Hot movers

• Genuine Epson 220 or Canon 245 ink multipacks – sealed, even expired.
• Samsung BN59- series TV remotes – people lose them nightly.
• Maxell GX-S blank VHS 10-packs – filmmakers still master to tape.
• Apple MagSafe-1 60 W chargers – MacBook owners cling to old ports.
• Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 routers – cheap upgrade vs. ISP rental.
• Brother LC103 ink cartridges – Still in circulation, especially in office packs.
• Dell Latitude laptop chargers (19.5V, OEM) – Avoid generic; list as “genuine.”

Seller insight:

Buy cheap, list fast. Ink under $10 sells around $40–$45. Remotes and adapters? Lot them together to save on shipping and boost basket size.

Use these fifty items as a sourcing checklist the next time you walk into a thrift store, Pull-A-Part junkyard, or estate sale. Validate each pick with Sold-Listing comps, keep your buy-in low, and you’ll start to build some real seller momentum on eBay.

However, knowing where the profit lies is step one. The real challenge comes from getting started without guesswork or being overwhelmed.

Here’s your streamlined strategy to go from first product find to first successful sale.

How to start reselling on eBay in 2026

You’ve seen what sells—and maybe you’ve even spotted a few flips in your own garage.

But if you’re serious about becoming a successful seller on eBay and turning this into a steady revenue stream (not just a lucky one-off), you need to have proper inventory management on eBay and develop a framework that helps you build margin from day one.

Here’s how growing retailers are getting their eBay operations off the ground on every online marketplace—without falling into common traps like overbuying, poor listing strategy, or chasing dead-end inventory.

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Step 1 – Choose a profitable niche that makes sense to you

The best flips happen when you already know the value. Maybe it’s sneakers, retro games, tools, or niche electronics.

If you can recognize a good buy on the spot—and write a listing that sounds like you actually know what it is—you’ve already got a competitive edge.

Do this:

Start with what you know (or what you’re eager to learn), then back it with product research:

• Open Terapeak in eBay’s Seller Hub → click Research
• Check sell-through rate (30%+ means real demand)
• Look at median sold price (after shipping and fees, is it worth it?)
• Scan the current listings—if they’re weak, that’s your opportunity

If your local supply chain (garage sales, thrifts, etc.) lines up with consistent online demand, that niche is worth pursuing.

Quick reality check: On the eBay app, search your product → filter Sold Listings → sort by “Ended Recently.”

No recent sales? Try a different angle before you overcommit.

Step 2 – Set up your seller account

This part’s simple, but getting it right saves headaches later. One thing worth doing early: double-check that your personal information—name, address, and bank details—is accurate before you process your first payout. Here’s a few tips on setting up your seller account properly.

Checklist:

• Hit “Start Selling” in Seller Hub
• Activate eBay Payments (direct deposit = faster payouts)
• Turn on 2FA (protects your account from lockouts)
• Set 30-day returns + 2-day handling time (this boosts search rank)
• Skim the fees page—know your costs before you price

Once you’re listing 250+ items/month, upgrading to a Basic eBay Store drops your final value fees.

Step 3 – Source your first inventory

Each sourcing method below works. The key is knowing how to vet items in real time.

Estate sales, flea markets, and yard sales can hide profitable items—check Sold Listings on the spot so you don’t overpay for a similar item that rarely moves.

Non-negotiable rule: If an item hasn’t sold at least three times in the last 30 days, skip it. Remember, your profit comes from measurable demand.

Step 4 – Create listing that sell (Coming up next)

Once you’ve sourced your first batch, your job is to turn inventory into income—fast. Up next, we’ll break down:

• How to write titles that rank high and convert
• The 12 must-have photos (yes, you can use your phone)
• Descriptions that cut returns by 30% or more
• Pricing strategies that balance profit with buyer psychology

Let’s keep building. You’re just getting started.

Pricing strategy: keeping your profit margin after eBay fees

Once your listings are live, your pricing decisions decide whether you make $30 profit—or barely break even.

The most successful resellers don’t guess what to charge. They reverse-engineer their pricing based on the profit they want to keep, minus eBay’s fees and real-world shipping costs.

Here’s how to stay out of the margin danger zone.

Know what you’ll pay before you sell

eBay’s fee structure looks simple, but it adds up fast if you’re not tracking it from the start. Here’s what it looks like in 2026:

Example breakdown:

You sell a $60 pair of sneakers with $10 shipping.

• Final-value fee (12%) = $8.40
• Payment fee (2.9% + $0.30) = $2.27
• Total fees: $10.67
• If you sourced those sneakers for $20 and paid $9 to ship, your net is $30.33 —a 150% ROI.

Use this kind of math every time you source. You’ll never be surprised by a breakeven sale again.

Three rules for smarter pricing

Once you’ve run the numbers, here’s how to make sure your price hits the sweet spot:

• Mirror recent Sold Listings —stay within 10% of market average to remain competitive without racing to the bottom.
• Use “Best Offer” on anything over $50 —pad your asking price slightly (5–10%) so you’ve got room to negotiate without hurting your margin.
• Adjust monthly —if something hasn’t moved in 30+ days, drop it by 5% or use “Send Offer to Watchers” to trigger interest.

Fulfilment: the small stuff that builds big trust

Even if you’re not shipping hundreds of packages yet, how you pack and communicate sets the tone for your brand. Top-rated sellers deliver reliably and reduce buyer anxiety before it starts.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Pack for a drop-test – Assume every package gets thrown. Bubble-wrap fragile corners, double-box heavier tech, and reinforce seams with heavy-duty tape.
• Print eBay labels – You get discounted postage, plus auto-tracking so buyers don’t spam your inbox.
• Ship within 2 business days – This boosts your listings in eBay’s search algorithm and keeps buyer complaints down.
• Send a 1-line message after shipment: “Shipped today! Tracking ends in 1234.” Simple, friendly, and builds buyer confidence.
• Automate positive feedback – Many buyers will return the favor, helping you grow your seller rating faster.

Avoiding scams and staying protected

You’ve done the work—priced your item smartly, packed it like a pro, and shipped on time. The only thing that can still derail a profitable sale is a bad-faith buyer.

The good news? eBay’s seller-protection policies are solid—as long as you stick to the platform’s guardrails.

Think of the rules below as your safety net while you scale:

Seller protection tips:

• Always upload tracking (signature required on sales $750+)
• Use eBay’s “Report Buyer” feature if you suspect fraud—eBay can remove unfair negative feedback tied to abusive behavior

Stay organized, sell more: the productivity stack

Running a resale business can get overwhelming, but the key to success is in cultivating repeatable habits that protect your time and margin. High-performing sellers treat eBay like a small warehouse operation—even if it’s just a spare room today.

• List-to-source rule: List 10 items before buying one more to keep eBay sales brisk and inventory lean.
• Batch work: Set a photo day, listing day, and shipping day to minimize context-switching.
• Track profit by SKU: Use a simple spreadsheet: SKU | Buy Price | Fees | Shipping | Net.
• Clear dead stock: Bundle slow movers, run 30% off sales, or lot them by category to liquidate inventory efficiently.
• Celebrate micro-wins: First sale, first $1K month, first positive feedback streak—track it all. Progress keeps you motivated.

Once that rhythm feels natural, the next lever is data.

Free eBay tools that turn data into profit

Seller Hub gives you the same insights top Powersellers use—no extra software needed.

• Traffic tab – Spot listings with views but no buys → refresh titles, photos, or price.
• Sales tab – Filter by category to see what’s really paying the bills.
• Listing Quality Report – eBay’s PDF audit of missing specifics, weak keywords, and photo gaps.

For product research, layer in Terapeak :

Search your item → set Sold Date to “Last 90 days” → review average sold price and sell-through → sprinkle “Suggested Keywords” into your title.

These free tools take you from gut feeling to data-backed decisions. However, they still won’t help with syncing stock across multiple channels, which takes the most time and effort in every ecommerce business.

That’s when you’ll need tools to help you automate.

Automate the boring stuff with Linnworks

When you’re ready to list on more platforms—or just want to stop worrying about overselling—Linnworks helps growing retailers simplify it all:

• Syncs inventory across eBay, Amazon, and Shopify
• Auto-routes orders to the right carriers
• Flags low stock before you run out of bestsellers
• Tracks real profit per item after fees and shipping

Book your free Linnworks demo and see how unified inventory management streamlines every resale channel.

Selling overseas? eBay makes it easy

Opt into eBay International Shipping (EIS) and you don’t need to worry about customs or international returns. You ship to one U.S. hub; eBay handles the rest.

Why sellers love it:

• No extra international fees
• Seller protection after the hub
• Buyers see prices in their currency (no math confusion)

Pro tips:

• Include voltage and region info in electronics listings
• List both metric and imperial sizes for clothing
• Use Shipping Preferences to block any countries you can’t ship to

With cross-border handled, you’re ready for the next stage.

What’s next? Recap + FAQ

If you’ve made it this far, you’re already ahead of 90% of aspiring eBay resellers. You know what to sell, where to find it, how to price it, and how to run lean without cutting corners.

Let’s wrap with a quick recap and answer a few lingering questions that pop up once you start listing for real.

TL;DR – your reselling launch plan

1. Pick a niche you know or can learn fast. Validate it with Terapeak.
2. Set up your eBay seller account—and keep things clean: clear policies, fast handling, and direct deposit payouts.
3. Source smart —from flea markets to liquidation pallets, always check comps and never overpay.
4. List to sell —with titles, photos, and pricing that move inventory, not just showcase it.
5. Protect your profits —from packing best practices to scam-proof shipping and tracking.
6. Track what matters —actual ROI per SKU, not just revenue screenshots.
7. Scale when ready —cross-list, automate, and reclaim your time with tools like Linnworks.

You don’t need to guess anymore. You just need to get started.

FAQs

Final word: you don’t have to do this alone

The smartest resellers use tools and systems that give them back their evenings. And they scale when the data tells them it’s time—not when the spreadsheet melts down.

If you’re ready to stop tracking orders in your inbox, want to list on more than one platform, and want to know your true profit per SKU (after shipping, fees, and reality), then Linnworks is your next move. Book your free Linnworks demo to see how we can help automate the grunt work so you’re free to scale to full-time revenue—without hiring a warehouse full of staff.

The post How to resell on eBay in 2026: 50 top items and expert profit tips appeared first on Linnworks.

Wholesale has always been a margins game. You win on volume, relationships, and operational discipline, not on brand storytelling or viral moments. But the last eighteen months have compressed the margin for error in ways that go beyond the usual cycle. Tariff volatility, AI-assisted buyers, compliance pressure, and a structural inventory accuracy problem most operators haven’t fully confronted are all landing at the same time.

1. The margin math has gotten brutal

According to Thomson Reuters’ 2026 supply chain research, 39% of trade professionals are now absorbing tariff costs rather than passing them to customers, up from just 13% in 2024. That tripling in 12 months means a lot of wholesalers have made a calculated bet: raise prices and risk losing accounts, or eat the cost and protect relationships.

The problem with eating the cost indefinitely is that it changes the structural economics of the business. You’re funding your customers’ margin at the expense of your own.

The more durable response is tighter cost visibility by SKU. Most wholesalers can tell you their overall margin. Far fewer can tell you, in real time, which SKUs are margin-positive after factoring in landed cost, storage, and handling. That gap is where absorbed tariff costs quietly destroy profitability.

Getting to SKU-level cost clarity requires clean inventory data connected to your order operations. When those two systems talk to each other, you can make pricing decisions with actual numbers behind them, not estimates. You can also identify which product lines are genuinely worth defending and which are propped up by a pricing model that predates the current tariff environment.

2. Your buyers are using AI before they talk to you

Linnworks’ 2026 State of Commerce Operations report found that fewer than 5% of retailers in either the US or UK report no AI usage at all. AI has moved from experimentation to execution, and the divide is no longer who uses it, but who has the data foundation to trust it with real decisions.

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What that means operationally: your buyers are showing up to conversations having already done comparative analysis. An AI engine has scraped your product data, your competitors’ pricing, and whatever structured information it can find about availability, lead times, and minimum order quantities. If your product data is inconsistent across channels, you’re feeding that engine garbage, and the AI is drawing conclusions from it.

Buyers whose AI surfaces bad data about your catalog may never ask a follow-up question. The filtering happens before you know you’re being evaluated.

3. Digital channels reward the ones willing to get serious

For wholesalers managing large catalogs across multiple channels, product data consistency is genuinely hard to maintain manually. That usually means centralizing how product data gets created, updated, and syndicated. What a buyer’s AI sees on your portal should match what’s in your EDI feeds and distributor portals. Inconsistencies that were previously minor nuisances are now disqualifying.

45% of B2B buyers are dissatisfied with current ecommerce experiences, while 65% say they’d pay more for a better digital journey.

The operational question isn’t whether to invest in digital. It’s whether your back-end operations can support the experience your buyers expect. A slick portal that can’t show real-time stock availability, or that shows one price to a customer and processes the order at a different one, creates more distrust than a clunky portal that at least tells the truth.

4. Businesses have a broken foundation

Multichannel order management is the unsexy foundation that makes the digital experience credible. When a buyer places an order at 10pm, you need accurate inventory, correct pricing tiers, and a confirmation with a realistic lead time. Delivering that consistently across a B2B portal, a marketplace presence, and a direct sales channel requires those channels to share a single source of truth for inventory and pricing. Linnworks builds that single source of truth, so when an order comes in through any channel, stock levels, pricing, and fulfillment routing all update from the same place rather than creating the discrepancies that generate support tickets.

Anchor Group’s wholesale inventory research found that 58% of businesses operate below an 80% inventory accuracy threshold. That means one in five items you think you have, you either don’t have or can’t locate. For a wholesaler fulfilling B2B orders where customers plan production schedules around your delivery promises, that’s a relationship problem as much as a data one.

Your team manually verifies large orders before confirming them, and safety stock accumulates on lines where the data can’t be trusted. Extra lead time gets baked into every promise to give yourself room to absorb errors. All of that burns time and margin, and none of it scales.

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5. Compliance is no longer a once-a-year task

Fixing inventory accuracy isn’t glamorous work. It typically involves regular cycle counting, barcode scanning at receiving and pick/pack, and better bin location discipline. The data needs to update in real time, not nightly. If your current system can’t tell you where a specific SKU is physically located in your warehouse right now, that’s the starting point. Inventory accuracy at the SKU and location level is the prerequisite for everything else: reliable digital channels, accurate purchasing, sensible safety stock decisions. You can’t automate your way out of a data accuracy problem.

Large buyers now have their own ESG commitments, their own reporting obligations, and their own audit timelines, and they’re pushing that work upstream to their suppliers. Assent, a compliance data platform, tracked one supply chain partner that reported a 500% year-over-year increase in compliance data requests from customers in a single year. That’s just one company, but the direction is consistent with what procurement teams across manufacturing and wholesale are describing.

Most wholesalers still treat sustainability compliance as an annual reporting exercise, something that lives in a spreadsheet and gets pulled out when a customer asks about it. That model is breaking. If you can’t respond to a major account’s compliance request with specific, verifiable data, you become a liability in their supply chain rather than a partner in it.

The starting point is a product-level audit. Do you know the origin of every item in your catalog? Do you have documentation on materials, chemical compliance, and carbon footprint that you could pull up this week if a key account asked? Most wholesalers have patchy answers. The fix requires the same structural work that underlies inventory accuracy: assign ownership, build a data collection process, and connect compliance documentation to your product records so it’s retrievable on demand rather than reconstructed under pressure. The volume of requests is only going up, and the wholesalers who can respond quickly will have a meaningful advantage over those still pulling data from a shared drive.

Where to start

These five challenges aren’t independent. Fix inventory accuracy and your pricing decisions get grounded in real landed costs rather than estimates. That same clean product data powers reliable digital channels and gives you the product record foundation compliance documentation can actually build on. One operational investment, three problems that get easier.

Start where the bleeding is worst, and build from there.

Get a Linnworks demo – automate inventory and orders faster

Book a Linnworks demo and see how it simplifies inventory, orders, and fulfillment. Get started today and optimize your eCommerce operations.

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The post 5 biggest challenges facing wholesalers in 2026 and how to overcome them appeared first on Linnworks.

Shopify stands out as one of the most popular platforms for any online business looking to go global and sell to customers anywhere. But to run a successful ecommerce business, you have to be on top of your inventory game.

Effective inventory management goes beyond just checking stock levels; it influences customer satisfaction and controls your business’s growth trajectory. A strategic approach can make a significant difference in how smoothly your operations run and how well you meet customer demands.

Ready to get going? In this handy guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about inventory management for Shopify, including essential features to look for, in-depth reviews of the best solutions, and strategies for implementing a new tool.

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Why is inventory management important for Shopify stores

Running a Shopify store comes with a unique set of unique challenges. Compared to traditional brick-and-mortar retail, ecommerce operations demand a much higher level of agility and precision in inventory control. Some specific challenges that Shopify store owners encounter include:

• Dynamic demand fluctuations – Online shopping trends can be unpredictable, resulting in sudden spikes or drops in demand. Keeping track of fluctuations and adjusting inventory levels is incredibly difficult if you’re still reliant on outdated manual processes.
• Multichannel selling – If you sell across multiple sales channels including other marketplaces and social media channels, coordinating inventory updates while avoiding overselling can be a logistical nightmare.
• Limited storage space – Unlike in physical stores, online business owners typically rely on small storage spaces or third-party warehouses. However, using limited space efficiently while preventing overstocking or stockouts can be a tricky balancing act.
• Seasonal trends and promotions – Special events, holidays, and promotions can drastically alter purchasing patterns. Proper preparation so you don’t get caught short requires accurate forecasting.
• Manual errors – Relying on error-prone manual processes for tracking inventory quantity is a no-go. Miscalculations lead to inaccurate data on stock levels, leading directly to frustrated and dissatisfied customers.

The repercussions of a poor inventory management system

Let’s talk about the fallout of not keeping your inventory game strong. Inadequate inventory management software sets off a chain reaction that ripples through your ecommerce venture faster than you can say ‘sold out.’ The primary perils revolve around the financial losses associated with stockouts and overstocking.

Stockouts

Picture this: A potential customer visits your Shopify store, excitedly browses through your product catalog, selects an item for purchase, and proceeds to checkout. But then, disappointment strikes – the product is out of stock.

Nobody likes to wait around in the digital aisle, arms crossed, and patience dwindling. And the worst bit? Not only do you lose that sale, but you might lose that customer forever – not to mention all the referral business they could have brought in.

Although disheartening, this scenario is sadly not uncommon, highlighting the undeniable importance of efficient inventory tracking and management.

Overstocking

Holding excess stock keeps money on your shelves rather than where it should be – out there hustling for your business. It ties up capital on unnecessary purchases and storage fees that could be better spent on growth-oriented activities like:

• Marketing campaigns
• Product development
• Expanding your reach to sell on other ecommerce platforms or multiple Shopify stores.

Plus, if you’ve stockpiled a heap of products that subsequently lose their appeal or relevance, you end up with worthless dead stock that’s impossible to shift without selling at a loss.

How specialized Shopify inventory management apps can help

Relax! There’s no need to hit the panic button just yet. The solutions you need are out there.

Most savvy online store owners turn to specialized Shopify inventory management apps to avoid the detrimental consequences of poor inventory control. These digital wizards provide a comprehensive suite of tools to help companies navigate supply chain complexities and pave the way for enhanced customer satisfaction, minimized losses, and amplified business growth.

The impact of streamlined inventory on customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the lifeblood of any online store. Efficient inventory management ensures a seamless experience – from product discovery to order fulfillment:

• No more vanishing acts – When the products displayed on your Shopify store are in stock and ready to be dispatched, you eliminate the frustration of “out of stock” experiences.
• Wave goodbye to delivery déjà vu – Accurate inventory levels enable precise order management and reliable delivery estimates.
• One-click happiness – With accurate stock levels, the path from discovery to ‘Thank you for your order!’ is smooth and satisfying, leaving customers with smiles as wide as their favorite emoji.

The nexus between inventory management and business growth

Spoiler alert: The implications of effective inventory management extend far beyond immediate customer satisfaction. When operations and inventory data are streamlined, all the elements that comprise your business ecosystem fall harmoniously into place:

• Fresh inventory real estate – Proficient inventory management prevents overstocking, freeing up storage space for trendy new products.
• Funds that roam free – When you don’t waste money on stock that just sits around, you’re left with more capital to drive your business forward.
• Quality time for you – The efficiencies you uncover by investing in a good inventory management system can be spent on the things that matter most – like a bit of quality ‘you time’ or days out with loved ones.

Essential features in Shopify inventory management software

While there are many Shopify inventory management apps on the market, not all are created equal. Sure, some might have a more appealing price tag than others, and it’s all too easy to let cost factors sway your decision.

However, there are certain inventory management system features that you don’t want to skimp on. For starters, there’s no point settling for a software solution that doesn’t come armed with the following tools to help you scale your Shopify store with confidence.

Real-time inventory tracking

Real-time stock sync ensures that your stock levels stay in sync with your pace of sales. Tapping into up-to-the-minute updates on the status of your inventory ensures you always have accurate information about what’s in stock and what’s not. It’s like having a virtual inventory manager keeping a watchful eye on your products 24/7.

How does real-time inventory tracking work?

The best Shopify inventory management systems allow you to track the quantity, location, and movement of your products and raw materials in real time. The moment a shipment arrives or an order is confirmed, the software adjusts your inventory levels automatically. The data synchronization happens in the blink of an eye, preventing any mismatch between available stock and actual sales.

What are the benefits of real-time stock management?

Aside from the obvious perks of avoiding stockouts, excess inventory, and improving customer service, real-time stock sync is also a game changer when it comes to:

• Efficient reordering – You can set up alerts to notify you when raw materials, work-in-progress, or finished goods are running low, ensuring timely replenishment.
• Time and resource savings – Automatic inventory updating is less time-consuming and prone to errors than manual processes.
• Streamlining operations – When you know exactly what’s in stock, it’s easier to optimize staffing levels, order processing, and shipping management for improved overall efficiency.

Multi-channel synchronization

Channel synchronization is essential if you’re active on multiple Shopify stores or selling simultaneously on alternative ecommerce platforms. Without the correct inventory data at hand, you’ll find yourself constantly prone to stockouts every time a customer places an order.

How does multi-channel synchronization work?

As soon as a sale happens on one platform, your inventory management app communicates with your other sales channels, instantly updating inventory levels across them all.

We won’t get too much into the boring nitty gritty for now, but this level of direct integration is normally down to embedded APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which enable different software systems to talk to each other.

What are the benefits of syncing sales across multiple channels?

We won’t bother listing the obvious (time savings, mitigating the risk of overselling, etc.). Those should hopefully be clear enough already. But there are so many other advantages, including:

• Order fulfillment efficiency – When inventory counts are synchronized, there’s no need to scramble to find products that might not actually be in your warehouse space.
• Enhanced visibility – A holistic view empowers you to make informed decisions about restocking, promotions, and inventory allocation.
• Scaling possibilities – As you grow and begin selling on additional sales channels, synchronization is critical if you’re to avoid the many pitfalls of manual inventory management across multiple locations.

Order and sales tracking

Keeping tabs on all sales and open orders is essential. The best inventory management apps track the vital signs of your business by keeping a digital diary of every transaction. Think of this feature as a business Fitbit, constantly tracking the health of your sales.

How does automated sales tracking work?

When a customer adds a product to their cart and completes their purchase, your Shopify inventory management app instantly records and tracks the details of what was bought, the quantity, and where it’s being shipped.

As the order progresses through various stages like payment confirmation, packaging, and shipping, the software updates the order status in real time and sends the updated fulfillment performance metrics to your user dashboard.

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What are the benefits of detailed inventory tracking?

The beauty of enhanced order visibility is that it allows you to monitor every step of a product’s journey, from the dark recesses of your warehouse space to arriving on your customer’s doorstep. With real-time order visibility, you can:

• Get super speedy – You can begin packaging and shipping as soon as an order is confirmed, minimizing the time between purchase and delivery.
• Bust open those bottlenecks – If you notice orders getting stuck at a particular stage, it’s easy to take corrective action to re-establish a smooth flow.
• Go the extra mile on service – Keep customers in the loop by sending automated notifications regarding order confirmation, shipping tracking, and delivery schedules.

Planning and demand forecasting

Forecasting and demand planning tools use historical sales data, trends, and analytics to anticipate future patterns. Through predictive analytics, you can effectively anticipate demand trends to ensure your virtual shelves are neither emptier than the desert or so packed you’re at risk of an inventory avalanche. You’ll hit the Goldilocks economic order quantity every time!

How does demand forecasting work?

The advanced forecasting tools in any good inventory management tool can gather and efficiently synthesize historical sales data, seasonal trends, customer behavior, market conditions, and more. Based on the analysis, the software can generate forecasts for specific periods, projecting how many units are likely to be sold in the upcoming weeks, months, or years.

What are the benefits of demand forecasting?

Aside from the general perks of better-optimized stock levels, you’ll notice improvements across the following areas when you use a reliable digital inventory planner:

• Money management – Accurate demand forecasting helps you allocate your budget and manage cash flow more effectively.
• Supplier relationships – With your future inventory flow pre-determined, you can work more closely with suppliers to ensure timely replenishment. This often results in better terms, discounts, and smoother supply chain operations.
• Strategic marketing – Knowing when demand will peak allows you to plan marketing campaigns around those periods, maximizing the impact of your promotions and increasing your chance of boosted sales.

Reporting and analytics

Numbers tell stories, and in the world of ecommerce, data is your ticket to success. Advanced reporting and analytics features in advanced Shopify plans and third-party apps like Linnworks provide insights into sales velocity, popular products, etc. It’s like having a magnifying glass that reveals the inner workings of your inventory.

How does advanced reporting work?

Inventory software collects and compiles data using sales transactions, stock records from multiple warehouses, purchase orders, and more. It processes this data using various algorithms and statistical methods to generate reports, insights, and visualizations detailing essential sales metrics such as:

• Stock turnover rate
• Sell-through rate
• Days of inventory
• Reorder point
• Lead time
• Stock-to-sales ratio

What are the benefits of harnessing sales and inventory data?

Leveraging the power of data-driven decision-making helps you uncover numerous efficiencies in the way you manage inventory. A few examples include:

• Cost control – By identifying products with low sales velocity or high carrying costs, you can manage cash flow better by phasing out items that aren’t performing.
• Continuous improvement – Analytics reveal areas for improvement in your inventory management processes, helping you fine-tune operations and increase overall efficiency.
• Expansion – With pinpoint accurate insights across multiple warehouse locations, you’re better positioned to expand your product line and enter new markets.

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Top inventory management software solutions for Shopify

Navigating the world of Shopify merchants can be quite the adventure. Armed with the finest inventory management tools, you can streamline your operations and set your sights on achieving remarkable business growth.

We might be biased, but we believe that Linnworks is in the contest for the best Shopify inventory management system.

Linnworks inventory management software for Shopify

Linnworks is a versatile inventory management tool offering Shopify merchants a plethora of features tailored to meet their unique needs.

But, more specifically, why is Linnworks one of the best inventory management apps for Shopify?

What sets the platform apart from other Shopify inventory management apps is its adaptability and scalability. Its robust features cater not only to small businesses but also to larger enterprises with complex inventory needs.

And that’s not all. Linnworks’ ability to seamlessly integrate with various other ecommerce sales channels, in addition to in-house CRM and accounting tools, gives it an edge over any other digital inventory planner.

Linnworks Shopify inventory management features

Let’s take a look at the comprehensive list of supported features . You might want to get comfortable because there’s a whole heap of them!

Cushion plumped and good to go? Then let’s dive in!

Inventory updates – Automate inventory updates incorporating data from multiple sales channels.

Order downloads – Automate order downloads to Linnworks’ centralized data repository.

Channel tax – Display channel tax information and settings clearly during every order download.

Inventory mapping – Link channel listings to Linnworks inventory items for automated stock level and price updates.

Listing creation – Create new listings within a few clicks with our Shopify listings tool and user guide .

Location mapping – Download orders and update inventory from specific locations.

Order cancellation – Cancel orders directly via the Linnworks platform.

Order dispatch – Mark orders as shipped and get tracking numbers and shipping service names.

Order refunds – Refund orders directly on the Linnworks dashboard.

Payment mapping – Link channel payment methods to Linnworks payment methods on all orders.

Price changes – Update channel listings automatically.

Shipping mapping – Link shipping methods to Linnworks postal services.

Linnworks inventory management user success stories

Let’s examine a couple of success stories from sellers who transformed their businesses from ordinary to extraordinary, all thanks to the magic of Linnworks.

Gym+Coffee

Gym+Coffee reaches shoppers through Shopify Plus in Europe, the UK, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as in Clubhouses across the UK and Ireland.

“We set up a multi-warehouse management system to select available stock from the best warehouse location based on predefined criteria, such as location. By working with our Customer Success Manager and the Linnworks customization team, we have designed our order management workflow around our requirements to streamline our pick, pack, and dispatch process.”

Wesley Scourfield, Finance Operations Manager

Buy Wholefoods Online

Buy Wholefoods Online is the biggest seller of wholefoods in the UK, delivering top quality natural and organic wholefoods directly to homes and businesses up and down the country.

“When you have 10 people doing the same thing it sometimes means you don’t have enough inventory to satisfy all orders and you don’t know if somebody’s already taken the item off the warehouse shelf from another picklist or whether the stock levels are wrong. Now the jobs that we’d employ someone to do for a whole day are automated with Linnworks, saving us time and overheads.”

Arthur Martin, Owner

SkuVault Core inventory management software for Shopify

When Shopify entrepreneurs with big dreams unleash the power of SkuVault Core , the chaos of managing inventory across multiple warehouse locations and sales channels transforms into a symphony of seamless operations.

But how? And what is it about SkuVault Core that makes it the right inventory management system for Shopify sellers?

The short answer: Because it’s a bespoke inventory management solution designed specifically to help retail operations streamline workflows by tracking incoming stock, raw materials, and shipments.

For a longer answer, we must check out a detailed list of the platform’s key features.

SkuVault Core Shopify inventory management features

Honestly, SkuVault Core has enough individual inventory features to warrant an entire article! Here’s a whirlwind tour of the most essential for Shopify sellers:

Unified inventory control – Manage inventory across various channels from one central dashboard.

Accurate real-time updates – Provide precise stock availability and a smooth shopping experience across all sales channels.

Efficient order management – Aggregate orders from multiple sources onto a single interface for effortless order fulfillment.

Automated stock checks – Conduct accurate cycle counting, auditing, and batch order processing without disrupting operations.

POS integration – Conduct transactions from your smartphone or tablet anywhere, anytime.

Admin support – Simplify processes with dedicated accounting tools that automate purchase orders and invoicing.

Barcode scanning integration – Turn inventory control into a smooth, error-free process by scanning products in and out with ease.

Reporting and insights – Gain visibility into sales trends and demand patterns to fuel data-driven decisions.

Scalability – Adapt effortlessly to changing needs and increased order volumes as your business grows.

SkuVault Core inventory management user success stories

Step into the world of two spirited ecommerce businesses that harnessed the potential of SkuVault Core to rewrite their selling stories.

eLuxury

eLuxury is a veteran-owned and operated company selling gel memory foam mattresses, handmade platform beds, and a range of Egyptian cotton bedding and bathroom wear.

“Before we used SkuVault Core, it would have taken a picker five to ten minutes to find the location of an item, pick it, prepare it, get a label on that item and ship it out. Without the use of a quality control system, mis-ships were common. SkuVault Core allows us to scan each product and make sure the order is 100 percent accurate. We know that the customer is getting the exact part they ordered.”

Nathan Head, Systems Administrator

FOXERS

FOXERS is a women’s underwear merchant selling garments with a waistband design, offering the comfort and style of boxers while still looking and feeling sexy.

“The stress of daily mistakes, over-sales, and under-sales was too much on the business and me. SkuVault Core gave me the relaxation I needed. Now we can check inventory anytime, anywhere, even when our factory is 12 hours ahead and we’re away. I just wish I had done it years ago. It’s exactly what I kept saying to everyone that we needed for years”

April Spring, Founder

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Selecting the right inventory management software for your Shopify store

Finding your way to inventory management nirvana can feel intimidating. But fear not. We’ve prepped some practical advice to help you make the right decision and choose the best inventory app to suit the needs of your business.

Ready to ditch outdated, manual processes and hello to efficient order fulfillment? Here’s a list of steps to follow that will have you hollering ‘business growth, ahoy!’ before you know it.

Evaluate your options

You’ll need to factor in the current size of your online store, your budget, and growth plans:

Business size – Are you a small boutique entity or a rapidly expanding enterprise? Your software should cater to your current needs while still accommodating growth.

Budget – Define your budget range. Be realistic about what you can invest, and consider both short-term and long-term costs.

Growth plans – Always look beyond the here and now. Will the software scale with your business to integrate with accounting systems, CRM, shipping, and other inventory management apps?

Make a checklist of critical factors

Making a list of essential key features like real-time synchronization, multi-channel management, analytics tools, automated purchase orders, etc., is a no-brainer. But you should also consider the following:

Integration – Ensure every inventory management app on your shortlist will integrate seamlessly with Shopify – and the other platforms you use.

Ease of use – A user-friendly interface saves time and reduces the learning curve for your team.

Customization – Consider how well each inventory management app will adapt to your unique workflows and processes.

Support – Check out online reviews to assess the quality of customer support and vendor responsiveness.

Assess pricing packages and 7/14/30 day free trial options

Taking advantage of demos or a 7/14/30-day free trial is the best way to get hands-on experience with each Shopify inventory management app on your shortlist before you commit.

Top inventory management app test-driving tip – Remember that not all the features on a 7/14/30-day free trial plan will be included in basic packages once you begin your subscription. So, you’ll need to factor in the cost of any add-ons.

You should also give careful consideration to which pricing model is best suited to your business:

• Monthly subscription
• Per-user price
• Transaction-based fees

Implementation strategies and best practices

Transitioning between old software and a new Shopify inventory management app is no mean feat. But it needn’t be an uphill battle. Here’s a list of top tips from our in-house experts to help you with everything from preparation and integration to training and communication:

1. Plan ahead by mapping out your integration process step by step.
2. Ensure your product data aligns with your Shopify store by accurately matching fields like SKUs, descriptions, and prices.
3. Clean your existing data before migration by removing duplicates and updating outdated information.
4. Utilize test environments to minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth integration before going live.
5. Reduce the risk of errors by migrating data in stages, starting with the most essential products and gradually moving to the rest.
6. Provide hands-on training and designate team members as go-to software champions for questions and troubleshooting.
7. Encourage your team to explore the software’s capabilities beyond the basics and discuss any challenges they encounter.
8. Establish a feedback loop where your team can provide input on the software’s performance and usability.

Master Shopify inventory management with Linnworks

Ready to take your first steps on the path toward ecommerce business success and become a master inventory planner?

We can’t promise you an overnight journey. But with the advanced functionality of our inventory management app and the supportive team of Linnworks experts by your side, we can promise that your destination is within reach.

The sooner you get started, the faster you’ll reap the rewards of streamlined operations, happier customers, and a healthier bank balance. So why not take 3 minutes out of your day for an interactive product tour?

Alternatively, you can contact our team directly to discuss your pain points and inventory management wish list so we can help you design the right inventory management system for your unique business goals and needs.

Get a Linnworks demo – automate inventory and orders faster

Book a Linnworks demo and see how it simplifies inventory, orders, and fulfillment. Get started today and optimize your eCommerce operations.

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