Run Your Sneakerhead Business with Bento

Many retailers and resellers have a challenge obtaining inventory of popular and scarce items. They are often placing multiple online orders for multiple sources, using multiple credit cards. We have several customers who buy and sell sneakers and other short-run items, and we have tips to make your sneakerhead business run better.

Tyler Watt is our customer success expert for this area. He says that the key is to use the Bento API. This allows you to integrate virtual card creation into your workflow so that you save time, which is ultimately what makes the purchasing process go better. It lets you set up virtual cards and change billing addresses much faster than our virtual card products.

Our virtual cards are designed for businesses that make online and telephone purchases and will use one card repeatedly. Our API is designed for users that need many cards incorporated into their workflows. These are popular with advertising agencies as well as with sneakerhead businesses and other types of retailers that make inventory bids. 

To get the Bento API, simply sign up for a Bento account. Once the account is approved, contact our customer success team, and they will get you set up. No programming experience is required! 

“API has a different pricing than our traditional products, but if you use it correctly, your monthly charge should be in line with what you’d pay for other Bento products,” Tyler says. The increased speed will make your entire business run faster, giving you even more benefit for the money you spend.

Bento has other tools to help your business. Our Bento Pay feature allows you to pay contractors who stand in line for you through email. The recipient can select whether to have money sent to their bank account or to a virtual Visa prepaid card. Unlike the consumer email payments systems, Bento Pay integrates into your Bento for Business dashboard and your accounting system. This helps give you a clearer picture of the cost of your inventory so that you can set better prices and develop future inventory acquisition strategies.  

Our Bento cards can help with other aspects of running and growing your retail business. You can use our standard virtual cards to handle software and service subscriptions and our traditional debit card for out-of-pocket expenses.

If you run the business correctly, it may grow into something interesting and sustainable. Too many people don’t manage their retail resale inventory well, and they are the sad folks with a basement full of ugly shoes in odd sizes. 

Don’t be that person. If you’re going to do this, do it right. 

Want to find out more?

• Learn how Tobi.com uses Bento to manage inventory.
• Sign up for a free trial.
• Get a customized demo.