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Thermal Printer
If you’re buying a black ink cartridge at least once a month or even more often, it’s time to upgrade to a thermal printer. These machines print with heat instead of ink so you’ll never have to buy another cartridge. They do take special labels, but those are really affordable too. I recommend the Rollo because it’s incredibly easy to set up and use, it’s super reliable and the company has fantastic customer service. And, there is a Black Friday Deal on Amazon!
If you want to print from a phone, tablet or chromebook or if you just really like everything to be wireless, there is a wireless Rollo as well.
Clear Self Sealing Poly Bags
Clear poly bags are great for keeping your inventory dry and protected after you’ve listed it. Plus it provides an extra layer of protection during shipping. I get mine from Spartan Industrial on Amazon. What I love about these poly bags is they are low static. I can pull one out of the pack without them sticking together and when I peel off the adhesive strip it doesn’t cling to my fingers. Get them here.
Inventory Labels
Another great reason to keep your inventory in clear poly bags is being able to put inventory labels on the poly bag without having to worry about any residue getting on the item. I used to number my own stickers, but buying pre printed consecutive numbered inventory labels is so much more efficient. Get started with your first 1000 for less than ten bucks.
Storage Bins
I’ve always liked clear bins that are a little more square like these from Sterilite. Most other standard bins are a little less wide and longer. With the more square shape I can usually get two rows of shirts standing on end in the bin, about 30 per bin. Plus with the latch handle I can lift up one side of the lid to pull out my sold items without pulling the bin all the way out. Get them here.
Ink Jet Shipping Labels
You can print your shipping labels on regular paper and tape them to your packages, but I think you’d be surprised at how much tape that actually uses. Give yourself a professional upgrade when you are first starting out and invest in some half sheet peel and stick shipping labels. You can print two per page so you get 200 shipping labels for under ten bucks. That’s only 5 cents a label!
Tape Dispensers
If you’re not packing a lot of large boxes you might find a tape gun to be overkill. But you’ll love this desktop tape dispenser that’s big enough and heavy duty enough for 2″ packing tape. Get it here. Of course if you are packing large boxes, nothing beats a good tape gun.
Photo Paper
Photos are crucial when you are selling online so you want your set up to be top notch. You can achieve a seamless, clean white background by using professional photography paper. It comes on big rolls, so as the paper gets dirty or beat up you can just trim it off and roll out more. I like the shade Arctic White for my photos.
Light Kit
Investing in a nice photography set up will pay for itself over and over again since you’ll start producing better, more eye catching photos for your online reseller listings. When taking pictures, the more light the better. This triple soft box set up has the advantage of an extra light that can be positioned overhead or in front of your photo area. And, the LED bulbs won’t need to be replaced for a long time.
Replacement Photo Light Bulbs
If you are still using the old spiral CFL photography light bulbs, check out these LED replacements that screw into a standard light socket. They go up to 6000K (super white light) and they last way longer compared to the old spiral CFL tech. Get them here.
Backdrop Stand
If your photography light kit didn’t include a backdrop stand, you should definitely pick one up. It’s really handy for holding your roll of photography paper. This one is wide enough to have a six foot table underneath to drape your paper down on.