The Rising Cost of Doing Business: Navigating 2026’s Price Hikes

Over the past year, the cost of running a small business has been quietly shifting. For many owners — whether running an estate sale business, a resale operation, or an antique shop — it’s become harder to ignore that nearly every part of doing business costs more than it did not long ago.

Insurance premiums are climbing. Rent increases are becoming routine. And the everyday tools businesses rely on — the ones that keep things running behind the scenes — are inching upward in price.

These changes rarely arrive with fanfare. More often, they show up as renewal notices, updated fee schedules, or billing emails that are easy to skim past. Each increase feels small on its own. Together, they begin to add weight.

Where the Increases Are Showing Up

Payment processing is one place where that weight is felt quickly. For businesses that rely on in-person sales, platforms like Square Point of Sale are essential. As pricing structures evolve across plans and services, the cost of processing frequent, smaller transactions can quietly rise — especially for businesses that depend on volume rather than high-ticket sales.

Software is another area where costs are becoming harder to overlook. Microsoft recently announced a price increase for its Microsoft 365 Family plan, raising the annual cost from $99.99 to $129.99 beginning February 14, 2025. For many small operators and family-run businesses, tools like Word and Excel aren’t luxuries. They’re part of the daily workflow. While Microsoft points to expanded features and security, the increase still represents a noticeable shift in yearly expenses.

Email marketing tools are changing as well. Flodesk, a platform widely used by small businesses for newsletters and customer communication, has announced that starting November 28, 2025, its long-standing flat-rate “unlimited” pricing model will no longer be available to new customers. Pricing will instead scale based on subscriber list size — meaning costs can grow as an audience grows. Existing users on legacy plans can keep their current pricing, but new businesses will face less predictable costs over time.

Online marketplaces are shifting too. eBay has revised how its promoted listings program works, changing the way sellers pay for visibility on the platform. For many small sellers, the update has resulted in higher overall promotional costs — even for those who previously relied on promotion simply to remain competitive in search results. What was once an optional boost is increasingly becoming part of the baseline cost of selling online.

Rent remains one of the largest pressures. Across many regions, commercial and warehouse spaces continue to rise in price, adding strain for businesses that rely on physical locations to store inventory, host sales, or meet customers face to face.

The Impact on Small and Secondhand Businesses

In the secondhand world — estate sales, resale, and antiques — margins are often tight by nature. Profitability depends on careful sourcing, efficiency, and keeping overhead low. When increases arrive across multiple categories — processing, software, marketing tools, promotion fees, insurance, and rent — they don’t just add up. They overlap.

Each adjustment may seem manageable in isolation. Together, they create real pressure, particularly for small operators without the scale or flexibility of larger retailers.

The Challenge of Raising Prices in the Secondhand Space

Raising prices in secondhand is rarely simple. Many customers are drawn to resale and estate sales because they expect accessibility. For some, that expectation is about value. For others, it’s about necessity.

Because of this, even modest price increases can feel out of step with what secondhand has traditionally represented. Customers may compare current prices to thrift store visits from years ago, assumptions about donated goods, or memories of what estate sales “used to cost.”

This places secondhand businesses in a careful balancing position. Operating costs rise the same way they do for any business, but the ability to pass those increases on is limited. Raising prices risks pushback. Not raising them quietly erodes sustainability.

Adapting to the New Reality

In response, many small business owners are paying closer attention to the details. Subscriptions are being reassessed. Insurance policies are being reviewed more often. Pricing decisions are becoming more deliberate. Platforms and tools are being evaluated not just for convenience, but for long-term value.

The reality is that the cost of doing business is changing. Staying aware of where these increases are coming from — and how they affect the bigger picture — has become part of staying afloat. As businesses move into 2026, understanding these shifts may matter just as much as finding good inventory or showing up consistently for customers.