Why we built ResaleTruth
This started as a spreadsheet.
Not a clever spreadsheet — just a Google Sheet with columns for “what I paid,” “what I sold for,” “eBay fees,” and “net.” I was reselling part-time, mostly vintage clothing and housewares from Goodwill and estate sales, and I wanted to know if I was actually making money. The eBay dashboard said I was. My bank account felt ambiguous.
So I built the spreadsheet. And the spreadsheet was fine. For a while.
The problem that never went away
The spreadsheet broke every time eBay changed their fee structure — which they do, often. It didn’t account for materials (bubble wrap, tissue, poly mailers). It definitely didn’t account for time. And every month-end I was updating it manually from two or three screens of eBay reports that didn’t quite add up to each other.
I tried the tools that existed. Each one solved part of the problem. None of them answered the core question with the specificity I needed: per item, after every cost — materials, labor, fees — what did I actually make?
Most of them stop at gross minus fees and call that profit. That number is a lie. Not a malicious lie. Just an incomplete one.
The moment that made it real
I had a vintage denim jacket I’d sourced for $12 at an estate sale. Sold for $87. eBay dashboard shows roughly $74 profit. Not bad.
Then I actually ran the math. eBay final value fee: $7.83. Shipping label: $8.50. Box and tissue paper: $2.20. Time to clean it, photograph it, write the listing, pack it, drive to the post office: 45 minutes at whatever my time is worth. Cost basis: $12.
Net: about $41. Still okay — 340% ROI on cost, not bad for a jacket. But it’s not $74. And if I’d bought it for $30 instead of $12, it would’ve been a break-even flip I was proud of.
The eBay number isn’t wrong exactly. It just doesn’t tell you the real story.
What we decided to build
Something that answers the question honestly. Per item. Per category. Per sourcing trip. Not just “you made money this month” — but “Goodwill trips have a 32% better margin than Facebook Marketplace, your vintage clothing category carries the business, and these 14 items in your active listings have been sitting for 60+ days and are killing your capital velocity.”
We named it ResaleTruth because that’s the commitment. We’re not here to make your numbers look better. We’re here to show you the real ones, and let you make better decisions with them.
What we’re still building
eBay is the focus right now because it’s where the volume is and where the API gives us the cleanest data. Mercari and Poshmark imports work via CSV. Direct integrations are on the roadmap.
The longer vision is a complete financial layer for resellers: real COGS tracking, Schedule C export that your CPA doesn’t have to translate, and eventually cash flow forecasting based on your sourcing and listing patterns. A business OS, not a dashboard.
We’re early. The product will change. But the question it answers won’t:
Are my flips profitable? Yes or no — and by exactly how much.
If you’re a reseller and you’ve been going on feel, try the free trial. 25 items, 30 days, no card. The first uncomfortable truth is on us.