Meaning & use
reselling
Last updated
“reselling” is a form of “resell”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
The activity of buying goods and then selling them again, often to make a profit.
Grammar: Used as a gerund; it behaves like a singular noun and takes a singular verb.
Patterns
- reselling of something
- reselling something
- online reselling
Reselling sneakers has become a popular side business.
The company was fined for the illegal reselling of tickets.
She earns extra money through reselling second-hand clothes online.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Present participle of 'resell': selling something again after buying it.
Grammar: Used after 'be' for continuous tenses, or as a participle: 'They are reselling the phones.'
Patterns
- be reselling something
- reselling something to someone
They are reselling the old laptops to students.
He was caught reselling stolen goods.
The shop is reselling returned items at a discount.
Word forms
| third person singular | resells |
|---|---|
| past tense | resold |
| past participle | resold |
| present participle | reselling |
Common combinations
- online reselling
- Online reselling of handmade crafts can be very profitable.
- reselling tickets
- Reselling tickets above face value is against the rules.
- reselling for a profit
- He bought the furniture cheaply, reselling for a profit.
- the reselling of goods
- The reselling of imported goods requires a license.
- reselling business
- She started a small reselling business from her garage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- resale
- A noun meaning the act of selling something again, often used in legal or commercial contexts: 'the resale of tickets'.
- flipping
- Informal; specifically buying something cheaply and selling it quickly for profit, often used for houses or collectibles.
- scalping
- Disapproving; reselling tickets at unfairly high prices.
Word family
Commonly confused: reselling or retelling? reselling or reselling vs. resale?
reselling vs retelling
Means telling a story again in a new way; not related to selling.
reselling vs reselling vs. resale
'Reselling' is the -ing form used as a noun or verb; 'resale' is a separate noun often used in compounds like 'resale price'.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'reselling' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Reselling' is the present participle, so it follows 'is' to form the present continuous: 'is reselling her old phone'. The other options break the grammar: wrong word order, base form after 'is', or past participle without 'have'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reselling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.