My Experience Selling Clothes Online
By Eleanor Pontikes
The Clean Out
Towards the end of my senior year of high school, I decided to embark on a new endeavor. Amid classwork, sports, clubs, and other commitments, I did what any stressed-out, overworked person would do: I Marie Kondo’d the sh*t out of my closet. I threw everything I did not like or wear anymore into a pile on my floor--dresses I had worn to Bar/Bat Mitzvahs when I was thirteen, hand-me-downs from my two older sisters, and a slew of clothes and shoes that no longer fit my personal style or frankly, I had grown tired of.
The pile of my discarded clothes got out of hand, growing into a mountain of wasted resources and fruitless consumption. So many resources go into the production and buying of clothing: money, water, carbon, labor to name a few.
Sometimes clothing meets its natural end. In my case, pairs of jeans or blouses that had journeyed through the closets of my two older sisters had grown ragged or were ill-fitting. But how could I justify getting rid of all the items that I had spent my precious babysitting money on, that I had maybe only worn once or twice? Naturally, I decided to sell my clothes.
Selling Process
After some research, I settled on the platform Poshmark. For hours, I set up various dresses, rompers, and jeans on pretty hangers and took photos from all angles. I then began the painstaking process of individually listing each item on the app, including size, price, brand, condition, and a description for each item. Within an hour, a floral romper from For Love and Lemons sold!
Poshmark charges a fee for selling via the app: a flat rate of $2.95 for sales under $15 and 20% of the item’s selling price for items over $15. Poshmark has over 50 million users that buy and sell clothes on the platform, and they include a free printable shipping label for sellers (buyers pay a flat rate fee of $7.11 for expedited 1-3 shipping), so the selling fee it charges seems fair to me.
As far as selling clothes, certain items yield more success than others. I have found that items from name-brands like Lululemon, Patagonia, and Free People sell quickly and for decent prices, whereas items from less known brands sell at lower prices and not as easily. For items I want to sell that are lower quality or are not as ‘trendy,’ I usually bring them to places like Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads Trading, or ship to ThredUp, knowing that I’ll make less profit, but that the items will more likely sell. For items that are not selling or will not sell well, I donate to Salvation Army or Goodwill. ThredUp also has an option on their website to donate any clothes that they do not pick out to sell.
Over the course of three years, I have sold over $3,000 worth of merchandise on Poshmark and over $2,000 worth of merchandise from selling through places like Crossroads Trading and ThredUp. My earnings from Poshmark either come by check, direct deposit, or I use my redeemable balance and buy used clothes from other sellers.
If you’re interested in starting to organize and sell items from your closet, the first step is figuring out what platform you would like to try. Do your research, decide what is important to you. Then, begin to take pictures of your clean clothes or shoes from different angles. Be prepared to check the apps daily and answer any questions from prospective buyers. Oftentimes, buyers want to know why you are selling the item or have questions about sizing and how the item will fit them. Be honest with your responses and be prompt! Other tips: ship in a timely manner, package your items with care, and research prices of similar items that are already listed to gauge reasonable price points. Also, always clean your items before selling.
Looking for more specifics or other options for selling clothing? Read more here.
Buying Clothes
Poshmark has enabled me to alter my spending habits, shifting away from fast fashion to buying more second-hand. I love this platform because of the high quality items from brands I like and how I can purchase from brands that are typically out of my price range. Sometimes, brand-new, on-trend, new with tags items are priced 50% off. Part of the fun of shopping online on places like Poshmark is the thrill of finding trendy or exclusive items at marked down prices. It also has a feature where shoppers can essentially barter with sellers and make offers on items for below the asking price, much like Vestiaire. Sometimes, sellers do not budge on prices, but oftentimes, buyers can dramatically lower the price on items through reasonable offers.
Through Poshmark, I can practice shopping sustainably while still buying fashionable, on-trend clothing, shoes, and accessories.
Some of my favorite Poshmark purchases to date include:
SAM. puffer vest (retails at $250, I purchased for $50)
Vintage Obermeyer ski jacket I wore at winter carnival last year (retails for over $200, I purchased for $15).
Brand new MOTHER jeans (retail >$245, I have purchased a few pairs for less than $69)
Outdoor Voices MegaFleece sold out everywhere that I got for retail price.
Why I Sell and Buy Secondhand
I found that, in getting my bedroom organized and closet scaled-down, I have more control over other areas of my life. College closets and dressers are so small for all my stuff, and I loathe trying to find an outfit for the day in an overstuffed closet. Having a more minimalist wardrobe works for me. Plus, I can rotate items in and out of my closet by buying and selling used items.
I’m not perfect. I cave and buy cheap clothes from Princess Polly and even Amazon. Sometimes I value affordability and my own wallet over the environmental and ethical cost of producing fast-fashion.
I’m not a complete, all-caps ECO WARRIOR as I like to joke around and call myself, but I recognize that small, conscious efforts to reduce waste and lower my carbon footprint do make a difference in creating life-long practices that better serve the environment. Plus, I have found so much pride in selling clothes and excitement in hunting for used items. My consumption habits are changing slowly, but surely
Reach out to epontikes@middlebury.edu to have your fashion resell projects featured on Clover in upcoming editions!
Shop Clover Members’ closets
Nicole LeMesuir’s Poshmark Closet @nicolemessy
Molly Grazioso’s Depop Closet @mollygrazioso
Eleanor Pontikes’ Poshmark Closet @elp7511
Meili Huang’s Poshmark Closet: @lookavocado and Curtsy Closet: Look Avocado
Cover photo via Meili Huang