Resale means selling something that has already been sold before. When you buy a used bicycle at a garage sale and later sell it to someone else, that second sale is a resale. The bike has now been sold twice: once when it was new, and again when you sold it.

Many things have active resale markets. Concert tickets, trading cards, vintage clothing, and video games all get bought and sold multiple times. Some people even make money by buying items at low prices and selling them at higher ones, a practice called reselling.

The term appears in business contexts too. A resale shop or resale store sells used items that other people have brought in. Some products hold their value well for resale, like certain sneakers or collectibles, while others lose value quickly once used.

Resale differs from retail, which is the first sale of a new product from a store to a customer. When a bookstore sells you a new book, that's retail. When you later sell that book to a friend, that's resale. Understanding resale value helps people make smarter buying decisions, since some purchases can be sold later for good prices while others can't be resold for much.