WhatsApp and Instagram reselling business

You pick products from a reselling app's catalogue, such as clothes, home decor, or personal care items, and show them to your own customers through WhatsApp groups, Instagram, or a small online store. You add a markup of 10% to 30% on the supplier price. When a customer pays you, you place the order with the supplier, who ships it straight to the buyer. You never hold stock, so you only need a phone, a Canva account for pictures, and a way to collect payments.

People in smaller Indian cities may have limited choice nearby for trendy products, and many are more comfortable buying from a known person on WhatsApp than from an unknown website. Meanwhile, someone who wants to earn through selling often has little money to buy stock. This model lets you sell without buying anything first.

• Students and homemakers with large WhatsApp or Instagram circles
• People who want to start selling with almost no savings
• Anyone who enjoys chatting with customers and posting daily

• Markup of 10% to 30% on the supplier's price for each order
• Bundles and add-on items to raise the size of each order
• Repeat sales to past buyers through WhatsApp broadcast lists

1. 1Choose one niche, such as kurtis or kitchen organisers, and order three sample products yourself to check quality and delivery time before selling.
2. 2Post the samples with real photos on your WhatsApp status and in two local groups, and take your first five orders by hand.
3. 3Keep a sheet with each order's supplier price, markup, delivery date, and complaint, so you can drop slow or poor products after twenty orders.

You carry the customer's trust but not control of the product. If an item arrives late, wrong, or poor, the buyer blames you, and returns can eat your whole margin. Customers can often find the supplier price themselves. Read the supplier app's reseller rules, and ask an accountant when GST registration or income tax filing applies to your sales.