FBA Reselling Tools: 9 Must Have Tools You Should Have In Your Arsenal!

FBA Reselling Tools

Note: Some links in this post are affiliate links.

When you are reselling one or two items, efficiency really doesn’t matter all that much. When that scales up to 10, 20, 100 or more items per month, then it is another story. You will quickly find yourself in search of tools and processes that will help make things go quicker.

Over the past year I have slowly purchased more and more tools to help make the reselling process go smoother. While I am always hesitant to spend money when I don’t need to, in this case each of these tools has made my life so much easier and has been worth every dollar spent. Some of this stuff I found on my own and some was found through a very helpful post from Miles Per Day.

Scale

Accuteck ShipPro 110lbs x 0.1 oz. Digital Shipping Postal Scale, Black

Cost: About $25

Amazon requires that you weigh packages being sent to them accurately. Some people stand on their bathroom scale with and without a package in order to gauge the weight, but that really isn’t practical. I purchased this Accutek scale almost a year ago and have been very happy with it. You will notice that the screen comes away from the actual scale, so you can still see the weight even with large boxes. It is very accurate too!

Barcode Scanner

USB Automatic Barcode Scanner Scanning Barcode Bar-code Reader with Hands Free Adjustable Stand (Black)

Cost: About $20

I only recently picked up this barcode scanner and man do I regret not getting it sooner. Being able to scan a UPC code directly into Amazon Seller Central (or Inventory Lab) is a huge time saver. It has cut my listing time in half. While this scanner is relatively cheap, so far it has worked flawlessly. (It also works well for tracking gift cards!)

Heat Gun

Wagner 0503008 HT1000 1,200-watt Heat Gun

Cost: About $22

Ok so this works like a big hair dryer, but the key is that it works! Waive it over those pesky labels that are stuck to products or boxes that you are re-purposing and they will peel off almost instantly. If you are looking to make things even easier than that, use these Scotty Peelers to start the peeling process before using the heat gun. Your fingernails will thank you.

Labels

Amazon will label your products for $.20 each and that works fine if you are selling one or two. If you begin to scale up then you will probably want to save that money since it begins to add up. The first option is to purchase 30 per page labels that are compatible with FBA. Here is an example of such labels. I actually purchased some very similar ones, but the SKU I bought isn’t available.

Unfortunately you will find that you waste a lot of labels this way since it uses up a whole page even if you only have a few items in a shipment. For that reason a lot of people use a Dymo Label Writer printer. I plan to transition to one of these once all of my other labels are used up.

• DYMO LabelWriter 450 Thermal Label Printer
• DYMO Label Writer 450 Twin Turbo label printer, 71 Labels Per Minute, Black/Silver

Shipping Labels: You can get UPS to send you free shipping labels (for your boxes going to Amazon) by going to the “Shipping” tab on the UPS website and clicking “Supplies”.

Tape

Tape is another area that I am currently in transition. A few months ago I purchased heavy duty Scotch shipping tape at a great price and also got a dispenser. Here is the tape that I use:

• Scotch Heavy Duty Shipping Packaging Tape with Heavy Duty Dispenser, 1.88 Inches x 54.6 yd
• Scotch Heavy Duty Shipping Packaging Tape, 1.88 Inches x 54.6 Yards, 6-Rolls

The above tape is 1.88 inches wide which is alright if you package the occasional box, but when you are doing a lot of taping then you realize it isn’t great. There are 3 inch wide tapes available and I will most likely transition to those when my supply has run out. Oren actually wrote about 3 inch tape today and has heard good things about these items:

• Packing Tape, 3 Inch X 110 Yard 2.6 Mil Crystal Clear Heavy Duty Tape By Uline, Pack of 4
• NEW Uline H-596 Packing Tape Dispenser Gun 3-Inch Side Load

As you can see both the tape and the dispenser have great reviews, so I plan to pick up these items and report back. By using a wider tape, I should have to tape less which should save time.

Packaging

Most of you will probably just be able to re-use boxes that you get from your purchases and hopefully packaging as well. With that said, sometimes you do need to purchase those items. Here are some other items that I use:

• Bubble Wrap
• Large Boxes (I have bought some locally at other stores, but these Lowe’s boxes seem to be very cheap. HT: Oren)
• Utility Knife/Box Cutter

Record Keeping

I used to use a Google Spreadsheet to track all of my sales and still do for some stuff such as portals, etc. With that said, I have invested in Inventory Lab and feel it is worth the $49 per month (or $490 for a year). Previously I would have to go back and reconcile sales after the fact, but Inventory Lab does all of that for me. It also breaks down any fees and tracks returns. I have been using it for a month now and won’t go back.

You can get a free 30 day trial to see if it makes sense to you.

25% Off Most Stuff

A lot of you probably have a ton of Amazon credit due to the great $15 off $60 Amex Offer last year. During that deal I purchased $60 Amazon gift cards on every Amex card I had. Since I have purchased most of my tools on Amazon, I have received a 25% discount on what I paid. This helped me justify the cost a little better in my brain.

Conclusion

I am always hesitant to spend money unless I need to. Each and every tool mentioned in this post is one I use and one I recommend. Even if you plan to dabble in reselling, spending about $100 up front could save you a lot of time and frustration which will help you sell more and make more.

Do you have any tools that you use which have been left out? Let me know in the comments!

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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