How to start reselling in Kenya with a small budget

A plain guide for your first stock order. No promises of quick money: reselling works when you know your numbers and test small before you buy big.

1. Start with one item you understand

Pick something you would buy yourself and that people around you already ask about: earbuds, phone holders, ring lights, bags, watches. One item, one minimum order. You learn more from selling 20 pieces of one thing than 2 pieces of ten things.

2. Do the maths before you pay

Your cost per piece is the Sokommerce price (duty and VAT are already inside) plus anything you pay to get it to your buyer: transport, packaging, delivery. Write it down:

Example	Per piece
Price on Sokommerce (20 pieces)	KSh 680
Packaging and your transport	KSh 40
Your cost	KSh 720
Your selling price	KSh 1,200
Left for you before your time and adverts	KSh 480

These numbers are only an example. What you keep depends on the price you can really sell at, your costs, and how many pieces you sell. Ask a few buyers what they would pay before you order.

3. Choose where you sell

WhatsApp status and WhatsApp Business catalog: your own contacts are your first buyers.
TikTok and Instagram: short videos of the real product in your hand sell better than supplier photos.
Facebook Marketplace and groups: good for your estate, town or campus.
A stall, a shop shelf or events: people can touch the product and pay on the spot.

4. Plan delivery and payment

In Nairobi most sellers use boda riders or meet buyers in town. Upcountry, use a courier or bus parcel service and send the buyer the waybill. Ask buyers to pay to your own registered Till or Paybill, not to a personal number, so they trust you the same way you can check us.

5. Register properly as you grow

Register a business name on eCitizen (Business Registration Service).
Get a KRA PIN for the business and ask KRA which tax applies to your sales, for example Turnover Tax.
Get the business permit from your county if you have a shop or stall.
Keep your Sokommerce receipts and eTIMS invoices: they prove what your stock cost.

6. Reorder what sells

When your first pieces are gone, order the same item again in a bigger quantity: the price per piece drops at each tier. Questions? Ask us on WhatsApp +971 50 236 9167.