Selling a 1962 Pendleton wool jacket isn't the same as selling a case of printer paper. The buyer wants the decade, measurements, condition, and provenance in writing before they pay. A generic invoice template usually misses resale-specific details, and marketplace receipt PDFs may not cover direct sales. Below is a resale-specific invoice template you can download, alongside a breakdown of necessary fields, consignment splits, sales tax handling, and 1099-K reporting.

Why doesn't a standard invoice work for vintage and resale?

A standard invoice template assumes you're selling repeatable inventory, such as SKU 4471, quantity 12, unit price $8. Vintage and resale is the opposite. Every piece is one of one. That changes what the buyer needs to see.

Four things break when you use a plain invoice:

• Line items lack the detail buyers actually want. For a vintage buyer paying $340 for a leather jacket, a line item that only says "Brown jacket, $340" is not enough. They need the era ("1970s"), the condition grade ("Excellent, light wear at cuffs"), measurements, and any provenance notes ("Sourced from Portland estate sale, March 2025").
• Authenticity and returns get argued about later. Vintage buyers often ask for authenticity guarantees and return terms in writing, especially for designer pieces, denim, and workwear. If it's not on the invoice, you're negotiating it over DMs after a dispute.
• Multi-channel sales create paper-trail gaps. If you sell on Etsy, eBay, and Depop, through Instagram DMs, or at weekend markets, you're getting paid five different ways. Marketplace receipts cover marketplace sales. Your own invoices need to cover everything else.
• Tax filing gets harder without clean invoice records. Your invoices are the backup for 1099-K reconciliation, Schedule C income, and any resale certificate you handed to a supplier. Without them, you're reconstructing the year from memory and Venmo screenshots.

Vintage resale invoices should include item-level condition grades, era or decade, and provenance or authenticity notes on each line.

What should a vintage resale invoice include?

Every invoice you send should carry the same core fields, plus the resale-specific ones that plain templates skip.

Seller information

• Legal business name (or your legal name if you're a sole proprietor)
• Business address
• EIN, or SSN if you're a sole proprietor without an EIN yet
• Email and phone

Invoice metadata

• A unique sequential invoice number in YYYY-#### format (2025-0001, 2025-0002, and so on)
• Issue date
• Due date

Buyer information

• Buyer's name or business name
• Shipping address
• Billing address if different

Line items, which is where resale invoices differ from everything else:

• Item description
• Era or decade (1960s, 1970s, Y2K)
• Condition grade using a consistent scale (see below)
• Measurements (pit-to-pit, length, waist, inseam for clothing; dimensions for furniture and objects)
• Provenance or authenticity notes
• Unit price

Totals

• Subtotal
• Sales tax, or a resale certificate reference if the buyer is a reseller buying for resale
• Shipping
• Total due

Terms

• Accepted payment methods
• Payment due date
• Return policy in plain English
• Authenticity guarantee language

Resale invoices should carry a unique sequential invoice number (for example, YYYY-#### format) and an issue date to support audit trails and 1099-K reconciliation.

Condition grading: pick a scale and stick to it

Most established vintage sellers use a five-tier scale. Put your definitions on your website and reference them on invoices so buyers know exactly what "Very Good" means:

• Deadstock / NWT: never worn, tags attached
• Excellent: light wear, no visible flaws
• Very Good: minor wear consistent with age, no damage
• Good: visible wear or minor flaw, disclosed
• Fair: significant wear or repairable flaw, disclosed

Where can vintage and resale sellers get a free invoice template?

Copy the template below into a Google Doc, Google Sheet, Word file, or PDF. The structure is built around the fields resale buyers actually ask about.

INVOICE

[Your Business Name]                    Invoice #: 2025-0001
[Street Address]                        Issue Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
[City, State ZIP]                       Due Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
[Email] | [Phone]
EIN: XX-XXXXXXX

BILL TO                                 SHIP TO
[Buyer Name]                            [Shipping Name]
[Billing Address]                       [Shipping Address]
[Email]                                 [Phone]

ITEMS
------------------------------------------------------------
# | Description                              | Price
------------------------------------------------------------
1 | 1970s Levi's 501 Big E denim jacket
  | Era: 1970s
  | Condition: Very Good, light fading, no
  |   holes, all buttons original
  | Measurements: Pit-to-pit 22", length 26"
  | Provenance: Estate sale, Bend OR, 2025
  | Authenticity: Big E red tab, single-stitch
  |   hem, care tag consistent with 1972-1976
  |                                          | $285.00
------------------------------------------------------------
2 | Mid-century walnut side table
  | Era: c. 1960
  | Condition: Good, one water ring on top,
  |   photographed and disclosed
  | Dimensions: 22"W x 16"D x 24"H
  |                                          | $180.00
------------------------------------------------------------

                                    Subtotal:   $465.00
                                    Sales Tax:   $37.20  (or: Resale Cert #_____ on file)
                                    Shipping:    $22.00
                                    ---------------------
                                    TOTAL DUE:  $524.20

PAYMENT METHODS
- ACH transfer: [account details or payment link]
- Credit/debit card: [link] (processing fee may apply)
- Zelle: [email/phone]

RETURN POLICY
Returns accepted within 7 days of delivery for items not as
described. Buyer pays return shipping unless the item was
misrepresented. All condition notes above are final and
disclosed in good faith.

AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEE
[Your Business Name] guarantees all items are authentic
period pieces or vintage as described. Full refund if
authenticity is disproven by a qualified third party.

To create a working file, copy the template into a spreadsheet or document app and add formulas for subtotal, tax, shipping, and total due. If you use ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, you can also paste the block above and ask the model to convert it into spreadsheet columns and formulas, then paste the output into Google Sheets or Excel. Example prompt:

"Convert this invoice template into Google Sheets columns and formulas. Include formulas for subtotal, 8% sales tax, and total. Add a second tab for a consignor statement that calculates a 60/40 split."

How do you invoice a consignment sale?

Consignment adds a second party to every sale. You're selling someone else's item, keeping a commission, and paying them the rest. That needs two documents, not one.

Document 1: Buyer-facing invoice. This looks identical to any other sales invoice. The buyer doesn't need to know it's a consignment piece. Full sale price, your standard line-item detail, your business as the seller.

Document 2: Consignor statement. Send this to the person whose item you sold. It shows:

• Consignor's legal name and contact info
• Shared reference number linking it to the buyer invoice (e.g., "Ref: 2025-0142")
• Item description matching the buyer invoice
• Gross sale price
• Agreed split percentage (common structures: 60/40, 70/30, or 50/50 depending on price point and effort)
• Your commission in dollars
• Payout amount to the consignor
• Payout timing, typically net-14 after the buyer's payment clears
• Payout method (ACH, check, Zelle)

A consignment invoice should identify the consignor by name, show the agreed split percentage and the seller's commission, and be issued separately from the buyer-facing sales invoice.

Keep the two documents linked by that shared reference number so your bookkeeping ties out. When you review the year, every consignor payout should trace back to a specific buyer invoice.

Sample consignor statement

CONSIGNOR STATEMENT

[Your Business Name]                    Ref: 2025-0142
                                        Statement Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]

CONSIGNOR
[Consignor Legal Name]
[Address] | [Email]

ITEM SOLD
1970s Levi's 501 Big E denim jacket
Sold: [Date] | Buyer Invoice #: 2025-0142

    Gross Sale Price:          $285.00
    Agreed Split:              60% consignor / 40% seller
    Seller Commission (40%):   -$114.00
    ----------------------------------
    Payout to Consignor:        $171.00

PAYOUT
Method: ACH transfer
Date: Net-14 after buyer payment clears
Expected: [MM/DD/YYYY]

Do vintage resellers need to charge sales tax?

Sales tax responsibility depends on whether you sell through a marketplace, directly to a buyer, or to another reseller.

Marketplace sales: eBay, Etsy, Depop, Poshmark

For marketplace transactions in states where the platform is the marketplace facilitator, the platform generally calculates, collects, and remits sales tax on your behalf. Keep the platform's payout reports for your records, and confirm any exceptions for your state and sales channel. Marketplace facilitator laws in most US states require online marketplaces such as eBay, Etsy, and Depop to collect and remit sales tax on third-party sales made through their platforms.

Direct sales: Instagram DMs, your own Shopify, flea markets, private buyers

This is where you're on the hook. If you sell directly to a buyer without a marketplace in the middle, you're responsible for collecting sales tax if you have nexus in the buyer's state (usually your home state at minimum) and remitting it to that state's Department of Revenue. Your invoice should show the sales tax line clearly.

Buying inventory with a resale certificate

A valid resale certificate lets a reseller purchase inventory without paying sales tax at the time of purchase, but the certificate must be collected, documented, and retained on file. If you buy a lot of vintage denim from a wholesaler and plan to resell it, you can present your resale certificate and skip sales tax on that purchase. The wholesaler keeps a copy on file. Same logic in reverse: if you sell to another reseller, you collect their resale certificate and reference it on the invoice instead of charging tax.

For example, California requires sellers who accept resale certificates to obtain a properly completed certificate and retain it as documentation supporting sales-tax-exempt transactions. Other states have their own forms and retention rules, so check with your state's Department of Revenue.

1099-K reporting

Under the current phased-in thresholds, resellers who receive payments through third-party settlement organizations (PayPal, Venmo for business, marketplace payouts, and card processors) are far more likely to receive a Form 1099-K than under the prior $20,000 and 200-transaction rule. Your invoices and marketplace payout reports are the primary backup if the IRS asks how you calculated the numbers on your Schedule C.

Sellers report resale business income and deduct related expenses (cost of goods, shipping, packaging, marketplace fees, mileage to sourcing trips) on Schedule C of Form 1040. For a category-by-category walkthrough of what resellers can write off, see our vintage reseller business expenses and tax deductions guide.

The IRS generally requires small businesses to retain records that support income and deductions for at least three years from the date the return was filed. Keep every invoice, receipt, and consignor statement for at least that long. Cloud storage or a folder in Google Drive works fine.

How can vintage resellers send invoices and manage payments?

Vintage buyers get cold feet fast. A buyer who's excited about a piece on Saturday afternoon can talk themselves out of it by Monday morning. Speed and clarity both matter.

• Send the invoice within 24 hours of sale confirmation. For one-off buyers, memory fades and enthusiasm cools. Same-day is better.
• Offer ACH and card. ACH and card fees differ by processor, so compare your provider's rates and list any processing fee clearly on the invoice or include it in your pricing.
• Match terms to the buyer type. Use due-on-receipt or net-7 for one-off retail buyers. Use net-15 for wholesale accounts or repeat buyers you trust.
• Automate late reminders. Send reminders at 3, 7, and 14 days past due. Chasing manually costs you time and makes the conversation awkward. Automated reminders are neutral.

How does Novo invoicing work for resellers?

Novo is a fintech offering business banking solutions for small businesses, including resellers who juggle marketplace payouts, direct invoices, and consignment payments. For a broader look at how Novo fits vintage sellers, see our guide to the best bank for vintage and resale businesses.

Key features for a vintage or resale business include:

• Send invoices from your Novo business checking account.

Novo business checking has $0 monthly fees and no minimum balance. You can send invoices to buyers and accept ACH and card payments to the same account.

• Payouts land in one place.

Novo can receive Shopify and Stripe payouts into the same business checking account you use for direct invoice payments, so a sale from your own Shopify store shows up alongside a direct invoice you sent to an Instagram buyer.

• Incoming domestic wires at no cost. When a buyer pays $2,000 or more for a rare piece, a wire can be cheaper than card processing fees. Novo doesn't charge a fee to receive a domestic wire.
• EIN or SSN both work at signup.

The IRS issues an EIN online at no cost, and the online application typically takes about 15 minutes. Sole proprietors can invoice using an SSN, and sole proprietors can open a Novo business checking account using either an SSN or an EIN.

• Honest tradeoff: Novo business checking does not accept cash deposits, so resellers who take cash at markets need a separate cash-deposit plan. If you sell at flea markets or in-person events and take cash, plan to deposit that cash through another account or payment method that supports cash deposits, then reconcile the deposit to your sales records.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to charge sales tax on vintage resales?

If you sell through eBay, Etsy, Depop, or Poshmark, those platforms collect and remit sales tax for you in most US states under marketplace facilitator laws. If you sell directly (Instagram DMs, your own Shopify, flea markets), you're responsible for collecting sales tax based on where you have nexus and remitting it to the relevant state Department of Revenue.

How do I invoice a consignment sale?

Issue two documents. Send the buyer a normal sales invoice for the full sale price with your standard line-item detail. Separately, send the consignor a statement showing the gross sale, the agreed split percentage, your commission in dollars, and the payout amount and timing. Link the two by a shared reference number.

What invoice number format should resellers use?

Use a unique sequential format like YYYY-#### (2025-0001, 2025-0002). It sorts chronologically, makes gaps obvious if an invoice goes missing, and holds up cleanly at tax time when you reconcile against 1099-K forms.

How do I document authenticity on an invoice?

Include four things on each line item: era or decade, condition grade against a published scale, measurements, and any provenance notes (where you sourced it, distinguishing features that confirm authenticity, third-party authentication if applicable). Add an authenticity guarantee clause in your terms so the buyer has recourse if authenticity is later disputed.

Do I need an EIN to invoice as a reseller?

No. Sole proprietors can invoice using an SSN. An EIN keeps your Social Security number off invoices sent to strangers, and the IRS issues them online at no cost in about 15 minutes. Sole proprietors can open a Novo business checking account using either an SSN or an EIN.

Disclosures

Novo Platform Inc. ("Novo") is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services provided by Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A., Member FDIC. The Novo Debit Card is issued by Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A., and the Novo Business Credit Card is issued by Continental Bank, pursuant to licenses from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. The Novo Merchant Cash Advance is offered by Novo Funding LLC. Your eligibility for Novo products and services is subject to final Novo determination.

Novo Platform Inc. ("Novo") strives to provide accurate information but cannot guarantee that this content is correct, complete, or up-to-date. This page is for informational purposes only and is not financial or legal advice nor an endorsement of any third-party products or services. All products and services are presented without warranty. Novo Platform Inc. does not provide any financial or legal advice, and you should consult your own financial, legal, or tax advisors.