How To Store & Manage eBay Inventory: Complete Guide For Resellers

Are you having trouble managing your reseller inventory? Whether you are selling on eBay, Poshmark or Mercari or another marketplace, this guide will get you organized quick!

It’s no doubt that when you run a reselling business, being able to find your items quickly is a must.

Being unorganized is the last thing that you want!

Believe me! It’s the worst feeling selling an item and then not being able to find it! (Yes, it’s happened to us all at some point.)

So in this guide, you will learn everything you need in order to manage your eBay inventory (or any other platform, for that matter)!

Keep on reading if you’re wondering:

What the best storage for eBay sellers is.
How to store eBay inventory.
What the best shelves are for organizing your eBay inventory.
The best bins to store your goods.

Never again will you be wondering where your items are!

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Short on time? Here’s the takeaway:

You need an easy way to track inventory!

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Questions You Might Be Having About Managing eBay Inventory

Are you wanting to grow your inventory but are worried about how you’re going to manage it all?

Have you seen other resellers who have hundreds (or even thousands) of items and you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how they store and manage their reselling inventory?

Some of the questions that you’ve been wondering might be:

What is the best way to organize inventory?
How do I organize inventory as a reseller?
How do I store eBay inventory?
How do you keep track of sales and inventory?
How am I supposed to manage my clothing inventory?
How do I organize my clothes for resale?
Does eBay hold inventory?
How do I keep from loosing inventory?
How do I find items quickly?

We’ll answer all those questions and more!

So read on…

A Two Part Problem

In order to properly manage your eBay inventory, there are essentially two things that are necessary:

Organizing Your Inventory
Tracking Your Inventory

You need to have a way to organize your items. You want them to be easy to find. You don’t want to spend gobs of time tracking your inventory down.

In short, you need a a great storage system.

Secondly, you need a way to track your items. You need to know where items are located. You need to know how long you’ve had items, where you have them listed, how much you paid, etc.

Get the Inventory Tracker at 50% off!

The link will automatically apply a 50% off coupon code when you checkout – as a thank you to my readers!

Managing eBay Inventory: Storage

We’ll start off by tackling the storage problem.

When you run a reselling business there’s no way around having inventory on hand. It’s a part of the business.

You need to find a way to manage your eBay inventory. And it all starts with proper storage.

Assuming you are selling things small enough to fit in boxes, you are going to want to start your reseller inventory management by having proper boxes.

Boxes For Managing Your eBay Inventory

Choosing clear boxes is super important when it comes to choosing boxes to manage your eBay inventory.

Of course it’s possible to use any color and opacity of boxes, but with clear boxes you have the advantage of being able to see your inventory from all angles.

Here are some boxes I recommend.

They are all clear, are stackable, and have locking lids.

This is a good standard size (pack of 4):

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you’re needing something deeper, this one is a bit deeper (2 pack):

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you’re short on space and don’t have room for shelving, these are a good option for under-the-bed storage. I love that they have wheels on the bottom for easy in and out:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Shelves For Managing Your eBay Inventory

Now that you know what to look for for boxes for managing your eBay inventory, you’re going to need somewhere to put those inventory boxes.

While you can stack them, it’s not going to be easy to get your items in and out if they are stacked.

That’s why I recommend a shelving unit.

Now there are lots of shelves on the market, but you are definitely going to want to get shelves that have wheels on the bottom.

Wheels allow you to make the most of the space you have.

This is one that has lots of room between shelves, perfect for your storage boxes:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This is another option that may eliminate the need for boxes (depending on what it is you are storing:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you won’t be needing to move your inventory anytime soon, fixed units (without wheels) can be a little more sturdy.

These are some good options:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Shoe Storage

If you’re going to be selling a lot of shoes, I recommend a shoe shelf versus throwing them in a box to get smashed.

I love this option because it has covers to keep dust out and they are clear, making it easy to see and find your items when they sell. The largest holds up to 72 pairs of shoes!

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you’re looking for a cheaper shelving option for shoe storage, this one will do the job:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Other Items To Manage & Store Your eBay Inventory

Here are other items you may need to properly store and manage your eBay inventory:

Table For Folding/Processing Inventory:

I recently got this awesome table and am loving it! It folds down to a narrow size when not in use and has storage baskets for easy access to my supplies like lint rollers, measuring tape, and sweater shaver.

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Garment Racks:

Garment racks are great for a temporary place to store your goods in between steaming/ironing and taking pictures.

You could also use them for storage, but folded items take up much less space.

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Bags For Storage:

I currently don’t store my items in bags, but lots of resellers do.

Here are a couple of options in sizes that work well for clothes, but they do come in lots of other sizes:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Labels:

If you’re going with the bag option, you may find labels helpful.

You can get blank labels or ones that are already numbered (various starting numbers are available).

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Labels For Your Inventory Boxes:

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Rolling Cart:

Needing an easy way to move inventory around from your photography area to listing and storage area?

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This one even collapses flat for storage!

Last update on 2023-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Tips For Storing Your eBay Inventory

Here are a few tips when it comes to managing and storing your eBay inventory:

Sort items only if you like, otherwise there is no need for sorting with a box system.
Give all boxes a label (A-Z, 1-100, or whatever works for you)
Make sure each item is given a number or letter (whichever you are using) that corresponds to the box that it is in.
If you resell clothing, I like to fold items, then store them vertically like in a file cabinet. (This will keep you from having to dig to the bottom of boxes to pull items out.)
Folding is a much more efficient method of storing clothes than hanging. Plus, you are going to need to fold them anyways to ship.
You can pre-package items if you like, but it may be harder to find them. If you do, be sure the bags are clear.

YOUR LIFE IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT EASIER!

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Managing eBay Inventory: Tracking

Now that you’re properly storing items so you can find them easily, next you’re going to want a way to track your inventory.

This is especially important when you are selling on multiple platforms.

Hint: A cross-listing tool, like Vendoo, will also help you manage your reselling inventory.

Vendoo helps you cross post and manage your listings across 9 different platforms!

You can try Vendoo out free here, plus get 25% off your first month. (affiliate link)

Back to tracking your eBay inventory!

The other important job of your inventory tracker is it will help you know which box your items are located in.

Some marketplaces have a field to put a SKU number in (or it may be called a Custom Label). This is where you would put your box number.

Ways To Use Reseller Inventory Trackers

There are basically two options for reseller inventory trackers.

You can track your inventory:

By hand (pen and paper)
With a spreadsheet

What You Want On Your Reseller Inventory Tracker

Here’s what you may want to include on your inventory tracker (whether on paper or in a spreadsheet):

Date you purchased (or listed) the item
Where you purchased the item
How much you paid for the item
The platforms the item is listed on
Where the item is located (which box in your inventory storage system)
Date of sale
Where the item sold
Calculated field for how long you had the item
How much the item sold for
Marketplace-based fees you paid
How much you paid for shipping, if any
Calculated field for net amount you made (sale minus what you paid for the item, fees, shipping, etc)

My Inventory Tracker (Spreadsheet & Printable)

If you’d rather not bother creating you’re own, I do have an option for you.

I’ve reviewed everything Amazon has to offer as far as inventory tracking/log books.

Nothing met my expectations, so I created my own – just for resellers!

I’ve included both a spreadsheet version (Google Sheets) as well as a printable PDF version.

The spreadsheet even includes calculated fields so you don’t have to do the math in your head!

There’s a sheet (tab) to track inventory and another to track profits.

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Conclusion To How To Store & Manage Your eBay Inventory

I hope this article has helped you know that you can be organized as an eBay seller.

Your house doesn’t have to look like chaos.

You can store items so you can find them quickly and easily.

And that’s really all it takes to manage your eBay inventory – a great storage system and easy way to track your items.

Thanks for reading and happy listing to freedom!

-Lee

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