Reselling on the Trading Post: An In-Depth Guide

First of all, you need to know if reselling is right for you. Reselling takes a lot of time and a ton of patience. If you plan on reselling, you had better plan on being rejected over and over again. Persistence is the key. If you think you have what it takes, let's get started!

To make neopoints, you need to spend neopoints. It is best to have around 100k (or 100,000 neopoints, since “k” stands for thousand) on hand at any given time when reselling, but you can work with whatever amount you have. Once you get your neopoints out of the bank and run off to the Trading Post, you may be excited, but a little nervous. Now what?

Open three Neopets tabs in your browser. In one, open the "offers you have made" page, in the next, open the "browse the newest 20" page and finally, in the last page, open the shop wizard. These tabs will come in handy later on.

Now that you have open your new favorite tabs, go to the newest 20 trades and begin looking down the list. You will see many items and it might be a little overwhelming at first. For beginners, the easiest items to start your reselling career with are easy-to-sell (ETS) items. These include codestones, faeries, dubloons and some petpets.

When you see an item you like, check the shop wizard price. Never, ever buy an item without knowing the price. Even if the wish list says that the cheapest shop wizard price is X amount of neopoints, double check! Not checking is an easy way to lose money.

Copy and paste (or type) the name of the item you want into the shop wizard, select "identical to my phrase" and hit search. Now you have some prices! You see the lowest price and are ready to make your bid, but wait! If you are not a premium member, the shop wizard does not search every shop at once. You must refresh the page several times to make sure you really know the cheapest price available.

But beware! If you look in the shop wizard and you see very few of an item, or the prices are extremely varied, that item will probably be very hard to sell (HTS). It is best not to offer on these items until you are very experienced on the Trading Post and are very patient. It could take months to sell the item, so it is best not to tie up any neopoints in any HTS items, unless you have some to spare.

If the item is not in the shop wizard, it means that it is un-buyable or UB. Items cannot be sold for more than 99,999 in user shops. Therefore, you will have to check the Trading Post to find recent prices for that item. Stay away from these items until you are more experienced.

So now that you know the cheapest price, what do you offer? On cheaper items (less than 10k), it is best to offer only a few thousand NP less than the cheapest price you can find. For really cheap items (1.5k or less), you should only offer a few hundred NP less. This makes it so the Neopian upon whose trade you offered does not feel offended. A few hundred neopoints might not seem like much at first, but they will really add up and in time, you can start making more off of each item.

Now that you have posted your offer, refresh the “offers you have made” tab. This keeps an accurate list of everything that you currently have an offer on. Continue to make offers on other trades; don't sit around waiting for an answer. Eventually, you will get a notification at the top of your page stating what the other Neopians have decided in regards to your offers. They will accept or reject your offer, close their trade or accept someone else’s offer. Look at the username and check it against the offers you made. This will let you know what items you did or did not get. This makes keeping track of everything easier when you have 10 or more offers on different items. After you check, refresh the page so that trade is gone from the page. If you are turned down, do not get discouraged! As a reseller you will get very used to rejection. Just move on. There are other fish in the sea.

If you do not get a response to an offer right away, don’t worry. You would be surprised how many people will leave after posting a trade and come back later to check the offers. Sometimes they are simply thinking over your offer and your NP will be tied up in the Trading Post until they decide. However, is best to wait it out for at least for an hour or so. Canceling an offer early could be canceling a trade you might have otherwise won! If they have not made a decision by the next day, go ahead and cancel your offer. I cancel all old offers every morning. You are not making any money with those neopoints and most people will have decided by then. If the offer is still there, chances are they are ignoring it (this is also called leaving your offer to “rot”).

Eventually, you will start winning items. Great! Check again for the lowest shop wizard price and put the item in your own shop for a few hundred neopoints lower. Do not put it back into the Trading Post, as it is then fair game for other resellers. I always say, “If it can be sold in your shop and you don’t sell it there, you do not want full price for it.” Trust me, most items sell quickly in your shop.

After you have been reselling for a while and have gotten the hang of it, move on to more expensive items when you feel comfortable. Paint brushes are frequently good items to start with. It is okay to make lower offers on more expensive items, though I do not recommend offering anything that is more than 20k less than the cheapest offer you find. Not many people will accept that.

Remember those UB items from earlier? Now that you are more experienced, it might be time to give them a shot. To find the price, simply go to the browse page, copy and paste (or type) the name into the box, check “newest” and search. Look at as many prices as you can to determine the average cost of the item. Any item over 800k cannot be purchased through the Trading Post. These items will have to be sold through the auctions. If someone tells you to offer some neopoints on one trade and some on another to get one item, do not do it! This could be a scam and is against Neopets rules.

One last tip: as a habit, I write a list of the items that I frequently buy and their current lowest shop wizard price. I also keep track of what I usually offer for them. This can help you get your offers out quickly so you have a better chance of getting accepted and you will also have more time for other trades. Be sure to double check your prices every so often, however, as the market price does fluctuate.

And finally, some etiquette to keep in mind: If someone says, “no resellers,” do not make a low offer. If they say they are “firm” on their price, do not offer less. If they want a specific item, do not offer any other item. In general, if they specify a price or item in their wish list, it is best to move on to a different trade.

Occasionally you will get Neopians who are offended by your prices. Sometimes they will even send you angry neomails. This is fairly uncommon, but in the event that it does happen, do not argue back! Either ignore their neomail, reply back NICELY, or block them. Never get into an argument about it and don’t let them get you down. You are doing nothing wrong. Reselling is a legitimate and very popular way to make your neopoints.

And remember, nothing is free. Even if Neopians state “free” in their wish list, they will take the best offer (BO). Sometimes they might keep reposting their trade until they get an offer they like. Also, if they state that an expensive item is free, do not believe it. Offer what you would normally offer. On the Trading Post, free never means free.

Just do your best and after following all of my guidelines, you should be a promising new reseller in no time! Just remember to be patient and keep trying. Reselling takes a certain knack and it can take some practice, but anyone can acquire it. Get out there and start making your fortune today!