On Trade-In Tech, we talk about a lot of electronics. However, one electronic device that's recently risen to popularity isn't a smartphone or tablet. In this article, we'll be talking about earbuds. If you were unaware, earbuds are incredibly popular electronics for just about anyone. For some, they may be their first step into the world of high-definition audio.
Earbuds are used by professional athletes who prefer smaller headphones; by students who want to drown out the noise of a loud school bus; and even by adults who simply don't want to annoy their neighbors with loud music late at night.
What's great about reselling earbuds is that doing this is entering into a very popular market. With that said, it's always good to do a little research before you start a business reselling earbuds.
Fortunately, you've come to the right place if you want to learn about buying and selling earbuds. In this article, you'll learn:
What earbuds are
Why it's beneficial to resell earbuds
The most popular earbud brands/products
How to get earbuds ready to sell and ship out
Why Trade-In Tech is a great place to buy earbuds online
What Are Earbuds?
Otherwise known as in-ear headphones, earbuds are wireless earphones that fit into your ear. Earbuds and earphones are sometimes referred to as in-ear headphones, which is why we use both of these terms interchangeably throughout this article.
What's great about earbuds is that there aren't any wires connected to them. This means you don't have to worry about snagging your earphone cables on something. Unlike wired headphones, earbuds are also very lightweight.
However, what you'll probably like the most about earbuds is that they're compact and easy to carry around with you. If you've ever tried using over-the-ear headphones, you know how annoying it can be having to adjust your headphones while you're on the go.
In-ear headphones have come a long way since their early beginnings. Most of the leading earbud brands have items that fit comfortably in most people's ears, meaning you shouldn't have to worry about them falling out. Earbuds are also available in a variety of colors, styles, features, and prices.
Certain earbud companies offer additional features like volume control as well as the ability for these items to pause and skip audio.
What Are the Benefits of Reselling Earbuds?
Now that you have a basic understanding of what earbuds are, it's time to learn why many people enjoy reselling them. While earbuds might sound like a simple invention, how many benefits there are of reselling these electronic devices might surprise you.
An Extremely Popular Item
Something you have to consider before buying and reselling anything is how popular these items are. If you're not reselling anything that's popular, making sales (and money) isn't going to be easy. You won't have this problem when you're selling earbuds.
Now more than ever, earbuds remain incredibly popular among people of all ages. After all, who doesn't enjoy listening to music or a good audiobook with the privacy and clarity that earbuds provide?
Because earbuds are so popular, it's much easier to resell them for a profit. The second someone wants to upgrade their earbuds or they break their current pair, there will be plenty of people willing to make the purchase.
This is all great news for anyone who buys and resells earbuds. If you offer high-quality earbuds (which we cover in detail below), you should start making sales within a short time.
Easy to Find Online
Before you can start selling popular items, you need to buy them. With that in mind, you shouldn't run into any problems while looking for earbuds online. However, it is important to make sure you're finding high-quality earbuds at great prices.
Thankfully, finding earbuds online is very easy. As mentioned, most people who use these popular items are looking to buy (or replace) them. You can find great deals on earbuds by joining Trade-In Tech. You'll find that Trade-In Tech's marketplace is full of great earbuds at amazing prices.
Great Items to Pair With Other Electronics
When you're selling items online, it's always good to have accessories to pair them with. This concept is one you'll see in just about every textbook on marketing. It's otherwise known as bundling.
While this concept might seem unfamiliar, you know more about bundling than you might think. After all, you likely have companies try this strategy on you every time you order something online.
Think about the last website you visited to buy something online. Chances are, you went to this website with the intention of buying a certain item. Most likely, you saw many other listings for products you had no intention of buying. This is a prime example of product bundling.
The concept of bundling might not be an important factor to consider if you're just trying to make a few extra bucks. However, if you want to start making more sales, bundling earbuds with other electronics is something that can help you make more money. If you have other electronic items being sold online, try pairing them with popular earbuds.
When it comes to earbuds, you'll find that they pair with many popular electronics such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and much more. Some of the most popular electronics companies know the power of bundling and use this strategy regularly.
What Are the Most Popular Earbuds?
At this point, it's now time to learn about what brands sell the most popular earbuds. We mentioned that there are many earbud brands, makes, and models on the market.
Considering that, you don't want to waste your valuable time selling low-quality earbuds. This will lead to nothing but unhappy customers, something no company wants to deal with! When it's time to start buying earbuds, consider looking for the items you'll read about below.
Apple AirPods
It's probably unsurprising to see Apple's AirPods on this list. Most people hadn't heard of earbuds until Apple released its signature AirPods. Interestingly, this item wasn't the massive hit it would become after relaunching. However, there's now no doubt that the popularity of AirPods is here to stay.
As a reminder, Apple's AirPods first launched in 2016. Now, just two years later, the company has sold millions of units and is on track to sell millions more. Some people view the success of AirPods similarly to the popularity of the iPhone.
Although the initial launch of Apple's AirPods wasn't extremely successful, it had nothing to do with the quality of this item. Since then, Apple has continuously improved its products and released new features for customers to take advantage of.
With Apple's products, you have one thing that can act as both an advantage and disadvantage as a seller, and that's the popularity of this company. Because just about everyone wants AirPods, this can leave you paying quite a bit to buy this product.
Fortunately, the expensiveness of Apple AirPods also almost guarantees that you'll find people eager to own them quickly. When it comes to electronics, almost anything from Apple is guaranteed to be a hot seller.
One of the AirPod's coolest exclusive features is its ability to offer certain sounds in what's known as spatial audio. This type of audio offers a more immersive listening experience, it's also sometimes called 3D audio. As long as someone has either an iPad or iPhone running on iOS 14, they'll be able to enjoy the AirPods' exclusive spatial audio experience.
Samsung Galaxy Buds
Another popular line of earbuds comes from one of Apple's most popular competitors: Samsung. The Samsung Galaxy Buds feature standard things you'd expect from a pair of great earbuds, including various color options, a stylish case, and a sleek design.
One great thing about the Samsung Galaxy Buds is that they're designed specifically for the latest Android devices, making them an excellent pairing with many people's smartphones. Since a massive amount of people use Android devices, you won't have to worry about Samsung Galaxy Buds being a niche item.
The two main things that Samsung focuses on with its earbuds are style and its earbuds’ ability to cancel outside noise. If you're looking for a familiar brand to offer, having Samsung Galaxy Buds on your company's shelves is a great way to achieve this goal. Considering the brand popularity of Samsung, it's fairly easy to sell this company's earbuds at a premium price.
Sony's WF Line of Earbuds
Since it's nearly impossible to have a conversation about earbuds without mentioning Apple or Samsung, it makes sense that you'll also hear Sony mentioned in this market space. Whether the item is an in-ear headphone or earphone, many people would say Sony remains one of the top brands in this market.
When it comes to high-quality electronics, Sony is always a company worth mentioning. Whether you know Sony because of the PlayStation series of gaming consoles or its televisions, you might not know this company also sells earbuds.
This company's most popular line of earbuds falls under the WF product line. These earbuds feature Sony's signature quality sound output. Sony's earbuds are also built for outside noise canceling. Sony's earbuds are built with noise reduction technology, which is an excellent thing for people who like to listen to music on the go.
The main downside of Sony's WF line of earbuds is their price. These items are usually more expensive than some other brands on the market, so they might not be ideal for your store. Sony's earbuds can retail for anywhere from $100 to $200.
This company's premium set of earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM4 retails for about $279. If you can find Sony earbuds, it's definitely worth buying them.
Surface Earbuds
We couldn’t have a list of popular earbuds without mentioning Microsoft’s latest offering in the earbud market. Called Surface Earbuds, these items are designed for maximum comfort. Like Apple offers with its exclusive spatial audio, there are also exclusive Microsoft 365 Experiences for owners of Surface Earbuds.
Unfortunately, these earbuds aren’t available in many colors. As of right now, you can only find Surface Earbuds in either a Graphite gray or Glacier white. However, the Surface Earbuds’ all-day battery life is great news for any customer that enjoys long-lasting earbuds.
If you want to offer something that fans of both Microsoft and Windows will enjoy, it’s definitely worth adding Surface Earbuds to your company’s line of earbuds.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Line
Many successful electronics resellers enjoy only buying and selling top-of-the-line merchandise. If that's the case with your business, and you want to only offer premium earbuds, check out the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay line of earbuds.
These earbuds are both stylish and high-quality. Plus, they also offer the incredible sound quality that Bang & Olufsen is known for. They can also pair with both a computer and smartphone at the same time, which is a feature not many other earbuds offer. The Beoplay line of earbuds also comes in a sturdy and stylish aluminum case.
With that said, some reviewers note that these earbuds aren't the best for making or receiving voice calls. However, most customers looking for Bang & Olufsen earbuds probably won't be using these headphones primarily to communicate with others.
Something else that's great about these earbuds is their long battery life. These earbuds will last about six and a half hours on a full charge. Plus, your customers can get an additional two hours of use from charging these buds in their case.
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
If you know a thing or two about audio companies, the name Bose is probably quite familiar. Considering the quality and popularity of Bose's audio-related products, it's no surprise that this business also recently entered the earbuds market.
These earbuds are designed to be stylish but also offer superior hearing protection. Their noise cancellation technology is an excellent feature for people who like working and jogging outdoors. Bose also states that their sound quality is superior to other companies products because of the special EQ software used in these items.
Bose QuietComfort earbuds offer superior sound quality. They're also a little bit cheaper than Apple AirPods, which is great for your budget-conscious customers. If your customers need earbuds, consider offering Bose's QuietComfort earbuds.
Beats Fit Pro
Most adults remember Dr. Dre for his many hip-hop hits. However, a younger generation might be more familiar with this rapper due to his amazingly popular Beats by Dre series of headphones and earphones.
With that in mind, Beats isn't a company that wanted to miss out on the popularity of earbuds. Considering that, this business released the Beats Fit Pro. The Beats Fit Pro is a line of earbuds aimed more at the sporty crowd.
The Beats Fit Pro earbuds are meant to be stylish and comfortable while also protecting your customers' hearing. These earbuds also feature powerful bass and clear high-quality sound that's great for people who like listening to music or podcasts on the go.
One of these earbuds' many stand-out features is a secure-fit wingtip that provides extreme comfort. This line of earbuds also comes with various silicone ear tips so that your customers always find their perfect fit.
You don't have to worry about substandard audio quality from the Beats Fit Pro earbuds. Since Apple owns Beats, this company gets to use the same platform as Apple's signature AirPods.
If the price of the Beats Fit Pro isn't budget-friendly enough for your business, you might also take a look at the Beats Studio Buds. These earbuds retail for anywhere from $50-$100 less than the Beats Fit Pro. Plus, Beats Studio Buds are also a great alternative for someone not wanting to spend a small fortune on Apple AirPods.
Getting Earbuds Ready to Resell
Before you can start enjoying the potential wave of profits that comes from selling earbuds, you might need to do a few things before they're ready to resell. Fear not, we've got everything you need. Follow these tips to get your earbuds ready!
1. Cleaning
If you're buying brand new earbuds, you won't have to worry about cleaning them. However, it's possible that some cleaning will need to happen if you purchased used earbuds to resell.
Trust us, we did the research so you don't have to. Our findings? Anyone's used earbuds should be cleaned. Why? Well, one study found that the average person's earbuds are home to about 2,700 times more bacteria than what you would find on a kitchen cutting board!
We'll spare you any more details about how dirty earbuds can be. What's more important to think about is how you'll clean them. Fortunately, cleaning earbuds is easier than you might believe.
If you ask expert cleaners of electronics, most of them will tell you to avoid using strong alcohol directly on your earbuds.
While alcohol is normally a suitable cleaning solution, it can sometimes damage the fabrics and other materials on your earbuds. However, you can use alcohol wipes if you apply light pressure.
Instead of using alcohol, all you need is a tiny bit of soap and water on a slightly damp cloth. It's also smart to use a small brush to lightly clean the inside of your earbuds. Following these two steps should have your used earbuds looking like brand new ones.
Without going into too much gross detail, you might also need to give the earbud's holes special attention to remove dirt and grime. If you need to do this, use a toothpick to gently dislodge anything. Avoid applying too much pressure in these holes, as it could result in you damaging your earbuds.
2. Testing
Again, you can skip this additional section if you're only reselling brand new earbuds. If you're reselling used earbuds, it's a good idea to not skip this important step.
Fortunately, testing earbuds is relatively straightforward. First, you'll want to make sure they're able to properly connect through Bluetooth or whatever connection methods your earbuds use. If you establish a wireless connection with your earbuds, you can move on to the next step of the testing process.
Now, the only thing left to do is make sure that your earbuds properly receive audio signals. To do this, put your earbuds either near or inside your ear. The best way to do this is by testing one earbud at a time. If you try to listen to both earbuds at once, you might end up incorrectly testing these items.
We don't recommend cranking up the volume at full blast though. You might damage your earbuds if you do this. If these earbuds are anywhere near your ears while at full volume, they can also seriously damage your hearing.
Lastly, you'll also want to make sure that your earbuds are capable of charging. No customer would want a pair of earbuds they can only use a few times! Most earbuds charge when they're connected to the charging case these items come with. If you see a charging light or other indicator start working, your earbuds can hold a charge.
Unfortunately, every now and again there's a batch of defective earbuds. If this happens, you'll want to exchange them for a new batch instead of trying to resell the defective earbuds. This way, your customers will get better products without any headaches or hassle.
Once you confirm how your earbuds connect, charge, and play audio, you're all set!
3. Storing
While we hope that you can start selling the earbuds you buy right away, that won't always be the case. Considering that, you might need to store your earbuds for a while before they're sold.
Fortunately, storing earbuds won't take too much effort on your part. Since most earbuds have a fairly short battery life, you should instead use their charging case to store them in. These cases can help protect the earbuds from any damage while also providing a convenient place to store the items.
If you don't have this packaging, you can keep these items safe by placing them in a small Ziplock bag. Make sure to place these items in a dry area while also keeping them out of direct sunlight.
4. Packaging
As the last step of reselling earbuds or other small electronics, you'll need to properly package them for shipping. This is where having the original packaging will make your life much easier! If an item has lost its original packaging, you'll need to create an unexpected solution.
The best way to do this is by using a hard case that can accommodate the earbuds and their charging case or another type of charger. You could also use foam insert cutouts if making your own protective box isn't really your thing. Once you construct or find a box to fit these items, simply place them inside and seal the box shut.
The boxes you use should have a good amount of cushioning to keep the earbuds from moving around too much. If they're rattling around, it's more likely that these items will become damaged either during transit or after they arrive at their destination.
5. Shipping
You're now in the final phase of this process, which involves shipping out your items. Before any of your earbuds get shipped out, you'll want to make sure they stay safe while they're being transported.
The first thing to keep in mind when shipping earbuds is to choose the right box. You don't want items as small as earbuds getting shipped out in large packages. The larger the box you choose, the more room smaller items have to potentially get jostled around and smashed.
We recommend using the original packaging your earbuds were stored in for shipping purposes. However, you might not have your earbuds' original box handy. If that's the case, you can purchase a box from your local pack and ship store.
Once you have the right box, it's time to address how these items will be shipped. If you're using your own box, you might want some extra cushioning as well as packing peanuts to prevent any of your earbuds from being damaged or crushed.
Looking to Buy Earbuds Online? Check Out Trade-In Tech!
At this point, you might be in desperate need to find a website that sells earbuds at reasonable prices. We're here to help save you both time and energy. Considering that, here's a closer look at why you should think about finding earbuds for sale online at Trade-In Tech.
Tons of Earbuds for Sale at Competitive Prices
When you're looking for earbuds for sale, having a large selection of items to choose from matters. Fortunately, we're glad to let you know that you can find a wide range of earbuds on Trade-In Tech.
Since Trade-In Tech has such a large network of members, you can rest assured that our marketplace will almost always have earbuds in rotation. You can then track down the exact earbuds you're looking for and buy them instantly.
At this point, you might be wondering what separates Trade-In Tech from the many large retailers offering earbuds for sale online? Unlike these large retailers, Trade-In Tech doesn't set prices. Instead, our sellers set the price for each item they sell. This setup means that Trade-In Tech's marketplace will always have earbuds available at competitive prices.
When you're browsing for earbuds on Trade-In Tech's marketplace, you'll find all of the popular earbud brands like Apple, Sony, Beats, and many others!
A Large Network of Reliable Buyers and Sellers
Something else your business needs for success is a network of quality people to work with. And that's exactly what you'll find on Trade-In Tech, a huge network of reliable buyers and sellers.
Many of our members have spent years (if not decades) in the electronics industry. Because of that, you can always rest assured that you do business with people you can trust. We also utilize a new member verification system to make sure things stay that way.
Whether you’re looking for electronics locally or are interested in checking out international markets, you can find everything you need on Trade-In Tech. Best of all, when you’re ready to sell the earbuds you bought, you’ll have many eager buyers waiting to see what you offer.
Various Order Quantities Available
It's also wise to think about how many earbuds you plan on buying at a time. If you're fortunate enough to have considerable capital, the sky's the limit on how many earbuds you can buy at once.
However, most people won't have this kind of money lying around. If that's the case, spending thousands of dollars or a lot of earbuds probably isn't what you want to do right now. Don't worry about that - you'll find various order quantities available on Trade-In Tech.
Wanting to test out reselling earbuds? We have plenty of sellers offering one or a few sets of earbuds. When you're ready to scale your business, we have a ton of electronics wholesalers on our platform. Thanks to these members, you can also find listings of 10, 20, 50, or hundreds of earbuds for sale at once.
No Transaction Fees
If you regularly buy things online, you likely brace yourself to see how much you're going to spend on fees. Let's be honest - no one likes fees. It's not like you get anything of value from paying fees. As you can tell, we're not a fan of fees.
That's why we're proud to offer no transaction fees to our members. It doesn't matter whether you're buying electronics or selling them - Trade-In Tech will not charge you any transaction fees. You could buy one smartphone on our platform or thousands of earbuds, no matter the transaction, there won't be annoying transaction fees to worry about.
As you can see, reselling earbuds is one of many potentially great ways to make money selling electronics. If you'd like to know more about working and making money in the electronics industry, we recommend you check out our blog. On the Trade-In Tech blog, you'll find a ton of great guides packed with info to help your business succeed.