Proving your stock's origin: the purchase register

You buy a batch of forty items from someone on a Saturday morning, you pay in cash, you leave with the bag. Three months later, someone asks you where one of those items came from. You cannot remember, you have no receipt, no name, no date.

This is not a rare situation, and it is not a moral question: it is a legal obligation that many sellers discover too late. As soon as you buy used clothes to resell them, you must be able to say where they came from. Here is what that means in practice, and how to do it without spending your evenings on it.

Why this obligation exists

The second-hand goods trade has been regulated in France for a long time, and for a simple reason: it is the natural outlet for stolen goods. The legislator therefore required anyone who regularly buys used moveable objects for resale to keep a register to identify these objects and the people who sold them.

This rule appears in the penal code, article 321-7, and comes with a prior declaration of activity to file with the authorities before you start. Failing to keep the register is a criminal offence, not merely an administrative oversight.

Two misconceptions keep coming up, and they deserve to be cleared up at the start.

It is not reserved for established second-hand dealers. The criterion is not the shop, it is the habitual nature of buying for resale. A seller who buys batches each month to resell online is exactly within scope, even without premises and even part-time.

Consignment sales are not affected in the same way. When you sell for a consignor, you are not buying anything: the item does not belong to you, you sell it in the name of its owner. Traceability then comes from the consignment contract and the signed inventory, not from the purchase register. The difference between the two models is explained in our article on selling without stock for others.

What the register must contain

The principle is to be able to trace from an item back to its seller. Each entry therefore describes both the object and the person.

For the object: a description that allows it to be recognized without ambiguity. For clothing, this means category, brand, size, colour, material if notable, and any distinctive marks. "Grey jumper" is not enough. Round-neck grey marl jumper, brand X, size M, wool blend, small tear on left sleeve, yes.

For the transaction: the acquisition date, method of acquisition, and price paid.

For the seller: their identity noted from an official identity document, noting the type, number and issuing authority, and their address. When buying from a professional, the invoice serves this purpose.

The register must be kept in chronological order, with no blanks or erasures, and presented on demand to the authorities. Depending on the form used, it may need to be signed and initialled by the competent authority before use. The exact procedures, prior declaration and forms vary depending on your situation and district: confirm them with your local town hall or prefecture before starting, rather than copying what a forum says.

Four buying situations, and what they require

Buying from a private individual

This is the most common and most risky case, because there is no invoice. It is also where noting the identity is essential. Prepare a standard form that you fill in and have them sign on the spot, in duplicate. This takes two minutes and settles it once and for all.

If they refuse to give their identity, the right decision is not to buy. This refusal is a warning sign in itself, and the purchase puts you at risk with no benefit.

Buying a batch or by weight

Buying one hundred items at once does not mean one hundred impossible register lines. The entry covers the batch, with an honest overall description, the number of items, the total price and the seller identity. What you must be able to do next is link a specific item to this batch, which requires an internal reference. Our guide on estimating a batch before buying explains how to correctly describe what you are buying.

Buying from a professional or wholesaler

This is the simplest case: the invoice already has everything. File it, reference it, and link it to the items concerned. Our article on negotiating with a supplier details what a proper invoice must mention.

Gifts, inheritance and your own wardrobe

These are not purchases, so they do not fall under the purchase register. But if these items enter your business and are resold through it, you have every interest in keeping a record for your accounts, in a separate form. The subject is covered in our article on accounting for a second-hand seller.

What the register actually gives you

Presented as a constraint, it seems like paperwork. Looked at closely, it solves four problems you will face anyway.

It proves the stock is yours. When an item is challenged, when a buyer claims to recognize a stolen garment, or when a platform asks you to justify a listing, you have an answer in thirty seconds instead of a week of worry.

It justifies your profit margin. Without a noted purchase price, you cannot prove what you actually earned. It is an accounting and tax problem, and it is also what stops you knowing if you are making money. Our article on calculating your profit margin shows just how much the purchase price is always the missing figure.

It protects you on counterfeits. If an item turns out to be fake, being able to name who sold it to you changes your position entirely. Our guide on recognizing a counterfeit covers checking before buying; the register covers what happens if that check failed.

It gives value to your business. When you sell your stock, take on a partner or seek financing, a well-kept register is the first proof that your business is real and serious.

How to keep it without spending your evenings on it

The classic mistake is wanting to record everything in the evening, from memory, once a month. That is the best way never to do it.

Record at the moment of purchase, not after. A pre-filled paper form in your bag, or a note on your phone that you copy down that same evening: what matters is that the identity and price are noted while you are with the person.

Only photograph the identity document if they consent, and know that keeping such an image means you are handling sensitive personal data, with the obligations that come with it. Writing down the details by hand is often simpler and just as valid.

Assign an internal reference to each item as it enters stock, and note it in the register. This number links the register line to the physical item and the online listing. Without it, you have three systems that do not talk to each other. The corresponding storage method is in our article on organizing your stock at home.

Block a fixed short slot once a week to enter and check. Five to ten minutes is enough if information was gathered at the time.

Finally, if your volume exceeds a few dozen items a month, the register and the product record are the same information entered twice. This is precisely what a management tool for a professional second-hand seller does: one record per item, with its source, purchase price, reference and sales status, from which you can extract what is needed when they ask.

The mistakes that cost dearly

Waiting to have volume before starting. The obligation does not start at a turnover threshold, and reconstructing six months of purchases afterwards is impossible.

Recording the batch price without ever breaking it down. One hundred euros for forty items tells you nothing about the profit on each sale. Any breakdown, even rough, decided at entry, is infinitely better than nothing.

Mixing purchases for resale with personal items. This confusion makes accounts uncontrollable and exposes you most, because you no longer know what belongs to the business.

Thinking an online account counts as a register. The history of a buying platform is neither under your control, nor necessarily kept, nor compliant with the required details. It complements, it does not replace.

Where to start this week

Three steps, in this order. Verify with your local town hall or prefecture what your exact situation requires in terms of prior declaration and register form. Create your standard purchase form, with fields for identity, description, date and price, and put five copies in your bag. And catch up on what you can of your recent purchases while you still remember them.

It is not the exciting part of the job, but it is the part that tells the difference between a business that lasts and one that stops at the first inspection. The general framework for starting out is covered in our article on the status of a second-hand seller.

Frequently asked questions

Who needs to keep a purchase register for second-hand resale?

Anyone who regularly buys used moveable objects for resale, not just established second-hand dealers. The criterion is not a shop or turnover, it is the habitual nature of buying for resale. A seller who buys batches each month to resell online falls within this scope, even part-time and without premises. The obligation is found in article 321-7 of the French penal code and comes with a prior declaration of activity.

What must each register entry contain?

Three blocks. The object, described so it can be identified without ambiguity: category, brand, size, colour, material and distinctive marks. The transaction: acquisition date, method of acquisition and price paid. The seller: their identity noted from an official identity document, noting the type, number and issuing authority, and their address. The register must be kept in chronological order, with no blanks or erasures.

Does a sale on consignment fall under the purchase register requirement?

No, because you are not buying anything. When you sell for a consignor, you do not own the item and you sell it in the name of its owner. Traceability then comes from the consignment contract and the inventory signed with the consignor, not from a purchase register. If you use both models, keep the two systems separate.

How do you handle buying one hundred items in a single batch?

The register entry covers the batch, not each item: honest overall description, number of items, total price and seller identity. What you must be able to do next is link a specific item to this batch, which requires assigning an internal reference to each item when it enters stock. Also break down the batch price, even roughly, otherwise you will never know what each sale earned you.

What if the seller refuses to give their identity?

Do not buy. This refusal is itself a warning sign, and the purchase puts you at risk with no benefit in return: when the item is challenged, you have no one to point to and you bear full responsibility. Prepare a standard form that you fill in and have them sign on the spot in duplicate, it takes two minutes and settles the matter completely.