Selling Online

Many of us are holding on to stacks of clothing, home decor, or gadgets that we plan to sell online. You may even try it a few times and find out it doesn’t sell, offers are under what you want to accept, or it just takes too much time to list. These can be common truths to selling online but it doesn’t have to stop you if you want to make a little extra cash.

What to expect

  • Better brands & limited release items are easier to sell closer to your buying price: Lululemon, Banana Republic, Nordstrom Purchases, Athleta, Designer Brands (Handbags, Clothing)

  • All Apps take a fee from your earning price but shipping is added to the seller (Unless you choose to cover it)

    • Poshmark: 20%

    • Mercari: 10% + Fees

Tips & tricks

  • Don’t try to sell low-value items unless you’re committed to making $1-$2 sales. It’s likely not worth your time to list and ship, even if they sell.

  • Be Efficient! Read the steps below on how to efficiently list, sell, package and ship. Unless you’re looking for this to be a full-time job, think about running it like a garage sale.

  • Put it on your calendar- I have calendar slot on a Sunday evening in my calendar once a quarter to take photos and list items. If I don’t have enough items to make sense, I skip the quarterly session.

  • Keep your expectations realistic. During a good year, I make about $1,500 as a casual Poshmark Ambassador/Seller.

  • If you’re not looking to be a premier seller, don’t worry about putting in the extra time for incredible photos, measurements, etc. initially. If someone wants it, it will sell. If someone wants measurements, they’ll ask. In years of working with Poshmark, I get maybe 10% of sales with questions.

How to sell

  1. Gather Items: Identify your items and build up until you have 10-15 listings. (I have a designated basket in our guest room closet).

  2. Clean: Wash/Fold clothing and Clean/Sanitize any items you’re ready to list.

  3. Take Photos: Pick a clean wall or spot to take decent photos (good lighting). Use a tape measure laid out to show quick length/width measurements (If wanted). Take all photos as once and ensure size tag is included, if possible.

    • Important! Don’t list items one-by-one. Take all of your photos at once and re-fold and stack back into their spot. (This allows you to take a break if you get tired at this point. This is the most work of listings.)

  4. List: When you get some downtime (Watching TV, sitting in a waiting room at the Dr.’s office), create your listings. You’ll have to fill in some structured info but you can template much of the description and then copy/paste to each listing (or you can dictate, which saves a ton of time if you want to include more detail).

    • Example! I save this template in my ‘Notes’ App on my iPhone and then copy/paste when I list: “This piece is in like new condition with no rips, stains, or tears. It is freshly laundered from a smoke-free, dog-friendly home.”

    • Pricing: You are likely going to get less than you want for any pieces that aren’t designer. I mark items about $15 more than I want to get for the first day. I then go in and lower items by $5 daily until they sell. If they go below $5 and don’t sell for a month, I delete them and pull them for donation or recycling.

  5. Daily Price Drop: Go in to drop your price $1-$5/daily until the item sells. Set a low-limit of when you’ll decide to lower no longer or pull the listing.

    • The important part is that you try to sell but call it once you hit a limit of time or money to sell.

  6. It Sells! Each app will have a limit of time you have to get your package shipped but they make it extremely easy. Print your label, schedule a free pick-up and be on your way without even leaving your house.

    • I swing by USPS and grab a handful of their free Small-Large boxes on occasion to have on-hand. You can also order various box sizes and shapes on USPS.com

    • For high price and/or breakable options, to protect myself as a seller, I set-up my camera and record as I pack the item and show the label to prove what was sent (I haven’t had problems but I’ve heard stories of buyers that sometimes claim the wrong item was sent).

  7. Doesn’t Sell: That’s okay- Put that pile in the back of the car and drop it at a local recycling/donation center the next time you’re out.

Katie Arvidson