what are the best types of clothes to sell on ebay

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When I was 16 I swiped my mom's bank book then I could set up an eBay account. Despite my stealthy tactics, I had innocent intentions: I wanted to buy anime videos that were sold only through this one eBay seller. I'd go money orders from CVS and mail them off to the seller, waiting over a calendar week for that sugariness padded envelope to get in.

eBay has changed a lot since then. For one, instant payments with my credit card is how I roll these days. Also, there are new competitors cropping upwards all the time offer sexier features, like gratuitous shipping kits and the ease of putting up a list in "less than sixty seconds." Nowadays, there'southward no shortage of avenues to sell your stuff online: Poshmark, Tradesy, The Real Real, Let Go, the listing goes on. And when these newer sites all tout simplicity, eBay, with its clunky, outdated interface, tin seem like a dinosaur.

Merely eBay is far from dead.

The Advantage of Selling on Ebay

Remember: What you get for convenience and simplicity, y'all pay for in fees.

Online Selling Fees

Platform	Listing Fee	Final Value Fee	Payment Fee	Sample Selling Cost	Sample Internet*
eBay	Up to $0.30	10%	2.9% + $.thirty	$50	$43.25
Etsy	$.20	iii.five%	three% + $.25	$50	$46.30
Poshmark	Free	$2.95 under $15; otherwise 20%	Complimentary	$50	$40
The Existent Real	Costless	45%	Gratis	$50	$27.50
Tradesy	Complimentary	Upward to xiv.9%	2.ix%	$l	$41.10

*For simplicity'due south sake, shipping fees aren't deemed for in this chart.

For a comparison of platforms, read nigh my experiment selling on 5 different resale sites.

But, if you sell on eBay, you're going to exist able to keep more of the profits than y'all would with many of the other sites. That's why it's my platform of selection for selling brand-proper name apparel.

I've sold clothes, shoes and bags on eBay, Etsy, through Instagram, and on some other site of mine. The same selling principles I talk about in this mail service volition use no thing the platform.

Why Sell Your Onetime Wearing apparel Online?

We live in a globe where everything is cheap and fast, then even the strongest can't avoid impulse buys. That's how we end upwards with closets stuffed to the brim with unworn clothes and feeling similar we have nada to wear. Just times are changing. Thanks to the KonMari method, nosotros don't desire the stuff that doesn't "spark joy" anymore, The Minimalists have inspired a cult-like following, and every day in that location seems to exist a new article about how buying experiences, non things, makes us happier.

Purging is suddenly cool.

You need to become adept at selling your clothes online, because the market is more crowded than ever. Unless you desire to face up sunk costs and donate everything for costless. Which is totally fine. Simply I call up most of us would experience better if we recouped at least some of our money, am I right? Then you tin can employ the profits to focus on a ameliorate wardrobe y'all dearest.

Common Seller Bug

• Have you ever wondered why your listings go lots of views, but no one always buys your stuff?
• Have you lot ever wondered if your clothes are even WORTH selling?
• Are yous stepping over heaps of clothes, because yous take no thought how to even start selling online?

Sit back and relax. This guide is for you.

What to Sell Where

The three platforms I'd focus on are:

• eBay – High-end designer (any designer that has a runway show) and rare items
• Etsy – Vintage and handmade items
• Poshmark – Mass-market place brands like J. Crew, Lululemon, Michael Kors, etc. and below

The other platforms don't accept enough volume or users to be worth it. Y'all know that saying, go where the fish go? Aforementioned thing with selling online: Go where your target audition shops.

The Cloak-and-dagger to Selling Clothes on eBay

The leather version of the Givry bag.

Real-life example time. A few years ago, I bought a used Delvaux Givry bag from eBay for $500.

It was absolutely gorgeous, but fabricated of suede, which is a loftier-maintenance fabric, and then I was afraid to use it. Instead, information technology sat in its dust handbag on the top shelf of my closet for months. In other words, I had no business organization owning that bag. So I decided to throw it back onto eBay.

A week later, the bag sold for over $870.

Was I able to sell it for $370 more, because I got lucky?

Nope.

That original list I bought the bag from? It was horrible. The pictures did it no justice, the description was riddled with typos, and I had to enquire the seller a million follow-upward questions because in that location wasn't plenty information. Since I was an imaginative buyer, I had very lilliputian contest and got the bag for a steal.

Only most buyers don't have the patience I practise.

For my listing, in that location were very specific tactics that I used to make it appealing to buyers, and I'll show you my exact strategies further down below.

And then, what's the underground to beingness better at online selling that everyone else?

It's and then unproblematic you're going to laugh.

The secret to selling online is to assuage people'southward fears.

Tactically, this means that in a crowded marketplace, you need to stand up out by doing the things that other people don't practise. But expect, isn't snapping a few photos and putting upward a short clarification enough? Well, if everyone does that, how tin you stand out?

With how well you lot assuage people's fears with the pictures and the words.

With a $xv item y'all might be able to get away with being lazy, but the higher up you get in price signal, the more the details thing.

I believe that online selling is i of those things where the piece of work you put into it is proportional to what you get out of it. If you do lazy piece of work, and so you become lazy results. And lazy results = lower profits.

And so, if yous want to truly excel at selling your stuff online, prepare yourself to actually do the work. Yes, work.

Ready to coil your sleeves up? Permit'due south become started.

Part 1: Is Information technology Worth Selling?

The kickoff role is the hardest. Being honest about whether or not your item is worth selling is a critical cardinal to success.

Labels Matter

This is where many people, understandably, go wrong. I see a lot of people just purchase the clothes they like, put them all upwardly on eBay, then get frustrated that none of it sells. Afterwards all, if they liked that stuff, wouldn't other people, too?

Non necessarily.

You see, people are bad at assessing the value of their things. Information technology's chosen the endowment effect. The thought that something increases in value only because nosotros own it. It's an irrational style of thinking that keeps united states hoarding stuff that no one else values.

Example: 1 fourth dimension my roommate brought 20 of his Calvin Klein shirts to sell to our neighborhood consignment shop. They paid him $six for all 20 shirts. He was insulted. "They were brand-name from T.J. Maxx," he argued.

I can recount a dozen stories just like this. The shirts he bought were not really designer. You come across, Calvin Klein IS a designer. He DOES take fashion shows. Merely he has, like, a dozen way lines, and the merely one that is truly designer is labelled Calvin Klein Collection. Everything else (Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Sport) is regular mass-market stuff. My roommate's dress seemed like they were designer, but they actually weren't.

If we think objectively, simply regular Calvin Klein is not an in-demand make that people are searching for online.

And I don't care how cute that dress is that you got from Hong Kong. If it'south not a brand proper name that people recognize then it about likely won't sell.

To decide whether or not your particular is worth selling, do your research past searching for similar items on different platforms. Is there a market for your item?

Garment Type Matters

In my feel, dresses are the easiest to sell and pants are the hardest. I would recall twice about selling pants. The fit for pants are then specific many people are wary about buying them online when they can't return them. Shoes will need to be lightly worn. Workout clothes and swimwear will demand to exist brand-new.

Inquiry Prices

The cost you set is important. I think about people price their items way too high, probably due to the endowment effect! Pay attention to the market, and toll your item about the same or a footling bit college than similar items. You can cost it college if it's in dandy status, but lower information technology if at that place are flaws or wearable.

In your research you might run into some items selling for $3. My personal selling threshold is a minimum of $15. If I don't think an detail will sell for more that, it'due south not worth my time. And the work involved for a successful listing is not insignificant, so that also needs to be factored into whether or not you desire to sell online.

Wait for the Right Flavour

Pay attention to the seasons. If it's 90 degrees out, most people won't be in the market for a wool sweater. It's better to hold off until information technology's the right season. A expert guideline is to take a look at what stores are selling when. If the stores are selling bathing suits now, then you have the green low-cal to list yours, as well.

Tin can You Overcome Potential Buyer Barriers?

Similar I said earlier, your success depends on how well you lot get the client to trust you. Remember: by default, online items are missing a major component to how people store: bear upon and experience.

And as someone who buys near everything exclusively online, I nonetheless have a ton of fears. Allow'southward wait at the barriers yous're up against. I'm scared that:

• The item won't look the aforementioned as it does in the listing.
• The particular won't fit me right.
• The item's fake or stolen.
• The item will be in worse status than what information technology says in the listing.
• Yous're a sketchball seller who'due south going to have my coin and non send the item.

Remember, you're not a trusted brand like J. Crew. Repeat after me: to buyers, Y'all.Are.A.Sketchball.Seller.

If you want to increase your chances of success, every aspect of your list needs to address these barriers.

Office 2: Photo Product

OK, then you've figured out there's a market for your particular and you recall you'll become at least $15 or it. Now it's time for the photo shoot.

Fix the Garments

Most likely your particular has been folded abroad in a drawer, so 9 times out of 10 it will be wrinkly as hell and non photo ready. This won't do, and so bust out the iron or steamer . Accept scissors nearby in example yous see whatsoever loose threads. Loose threads are a sign of wear, and you want people to feel like your item is in the newest condition possible.

Stage a Photo Shoot Area

A moving-picture show is worth a one thousand words, so accept the time to get this right. You lot'll need:

• A prison cell telephone photographic camera (if you have a nicer camera, go alee and apply it, but I don't recall it'south necessary)
• A clear, uncluttered background to take pictures against. Nether no circumstances exercise I want to meet your messy bedroom in the groundwork. I usually put a nail in a wall, or hang items from the back of a door. If yous don't accept whatsoever of those, you can also lay the items flat on your bed with a dainty-looking, unwrinkled duvet encompass or sheets. If it's shoes, you tin can put them on the ground in front of a make clean wall.
• Wooden hangers to aid elevate the picture. Wire or plastic ones await inexpensive. Just to reinforce my signal, when in doubt, mind to Mommie Love .

• Painters tape. Some wearing apparel don't wait their all-time on a hanger. I've used painters tape on the back of the garment to stick information technology to the wall. This manner you lot tin ameliorate control the drape.
• Natural lite. Wink is terrible, and no, I don't care if you merely have time to take a picture at 11pm. Await until y'all tin can do information technology when there's natural calorie-free. The wink will distort the colors and makes everything look worse.
• An image editing programme, like iPhoto or Photoshop. Don't practise whatsoever editing also brightening the photo a little chip. Yous want the colors to look exactly like they practise in real life.

Clean and Uncluttered Photos

Take Multiple Photos

Barrier: The particular won't look the same as it does in the listing.

Every bit a reminder, I'chiliad going to drop in the buyer barriers where necessary, because you always take to put yourself in their shoes when creating content for your listings.

Many listings don't accept nearly enough photos. At the minimum, you should show:

• Front
• Back
• Shut-Up
• Any flaws

If the platform allows, I ever add actress pictures:

• Shut-upwards of the label
• Whatsoever interesting design details
• A stock photograph of the particular. Go onto Google and discover a retail picture of the detail on a model. Nevertheless, this stock photo SHOULD Non be your primary movie. The reason being that everybody uses stock photos as their primary motion picture. Remember, you desire to stand out, then utilise your ain photo equally the principal moving-picture show instead.

For Etsy, Put Information technology on a Body

If yous're selling something on Etsy, to increase your chances of success, you need to bear witness it on a body. On that platform, people expect to see how it looks on a person.

Why this is important:
People are bad at looking at a flat slice of article of clothing and connecting that to themselves. So, if you put the item on an bodily model, and show a complete look, information technology's much easier for a potential buyer to imagine how it might look on them. For example, await at this pair of striped, chambray pants I got from a thrift store:

Simply past themselves they're zip special. Permit's be real: they look like pants your grandma might wearable. They don't have what y'all call "hanger appeal."

To my badgerer, my friend'south sister threw some shade: "No ane's going to buy these!" But I knew she was wrong, considering we'd address the barrier in our listing. The barrier was: "I don't want to vesture these pants and look like a grandma." Then in our primary film, we put the pants on a model to show a complete expect. And so with the not-grandma styling, here's what we came up with:

The pants sold in a few days. You can judge how smug I was about that auction.

Nonetheless, Practice NOT model the item for eBay or Poshmark. I discover that buyers don't want to be reminded that non-vintage wearing apparel are used, or will get discouraged easily if your body blazon is different from theirs. If your particular doesn't take any hanger appeal, put it on a mannequin or notice a retailer image from Google to use. And for the love of God I don't want to see anyone's feet modelling a pair of designer shoes I'g considering.

Part 3: Crafting the List

Now that pictures are out of the mode, it's fourth dimension to outset wordsmithing.

Search-Friendly Titles

Your title is the central to discovery, so using keywords buyers would employ is important. And I meet then many listings that are missing something every bit basic equally the size. Let'south check out a bad instance:

'Rag & Bone Jeans 25'

That isn't descriptive plenty. You're merely appearing in search results for these 3 keywords:
'Rag & Bone'
'Jeans'
'25'

How many other listings practise you lot think will have those same exact keywords? That title doesn't help people find you. It helps y'all get lost in the fray.

Now, consider this much ameliorate title:
'Rag & Os Black Kassidy Skinny Jeans 25 XS'

Use the championship to help users find y'all. Hither'southward a guide for what to include, with examples:

• Brand name – Rag & Bone
• Color – Black
• Style name (if in that location is one. Do a Google search offset.) – Kassidy
• Garment describing word – Skinny
• Garment type – Jeans
• Size (since sizing isn't standardized, feel free to use multiple equivalents) – 25, XS

Extras to include if there'south room:

• New (if it's new, duh)
• Rare (if it'south collectible)
• Material (if it'southward something like silk or wool)
• Whatever interesting design details

Descriptions That Tell a Story

Barriers:
The item'southward fake or stolen.
The detail will exist in worse condition than what it says in the listing.
You're a sketchball seller who'south going to have my coin and not transport the item.

Buyers tin't bear on and feel your item, so exist every bit thorough every bit possible in the description. A great place to commencement is to Google the item and then you tin run across how retailers described it. I commonly cantankerous-reference a few, and slightly wordsmith the exact descriptions. Then fill in the details with your own opinions and experiences with the item. Tell a story. Hither's a checklist for what to include, based on what the heir-apparent volition desire to know:

• What'southward the item name and style?
• What kind of occasion is it for/how does it fit into my life?
• What color is it?
• What size is it? Does it fit true to size, run big or small? Is information technology European or United states of america sizing?
• What features does it take?
• What materials is it made of?
• What condition is it in?
• How long/much had you used it?
• Is there annihilation incorrect with information technology?
• Where did you buy it?
• If there isn't anything wrong with it, why are you selling it?
• Is it rare or sold out? Is there whatever urgency to this listing?
• What was the original retail value? Am I getting a deal?
• Where is it made? If the item was made in Italy, French republic or the US, and so include it.

Detailed Measurements

Barrier: The item won't fit me right.

People are agape your item won't fit them for good reason. Sizing is non standardized across brands. It'southward your task to tell them exactly how you are measuring your items. For example, if yous say the bust is "42 inches," did you lay the item apartment on the ground? Did you measure from armpit to armpit, and and then double that measurement? Or did you measure across the actual bosom part? Explain exactly how you are measuring.

Extra Credit: Tags for Designer Clothes

Barrier: The detail'south fake or stolen.

For all college-end designer clothes, here'southward a mega pro-tip: continue all the original tags and boxes.

I don't keep all these tags for my health. Selling is about PERCEPTION. If you're the blazon of person who would take the time to keep the tags, then you're probably the type that would accept good care of your apparel. Let'south retrieve about it, would you lot rather buy from someone who just crumples upward their apparel into a ball on the flooring, or someone who takes care of their things? With counterfeits being a problem, showing a moving-picture show of the tag with your item gives the buyer another reason to trust you, getting you closer to the sale.

Putting It All Together: Example Don't

This Mansur Gavriel Red Saucepan Bag got bids, merely only up to $128.38, despite information technology existence brand new. There are lots of pictures, and while the quality and angles are not peachy, that's non the main trouble of this list.

Click to enlarge.

The reason why this bag did not sell is because of the description below. All the description is is a repeat of the title plus the aircraft. In that location's no information about the size of the handbag, why they are selling it, where they bought it, etc. Too the pictures, this listing made no effort to ease my fears as a heir-apparent.

Click to enlarge.

Putting It All Together: Example Exercise

Here'due south an example of a corking listing. It'southward the same Mansur Gavriel bag, but in a dissimilar color. Information technology'south used, and nonetheless, it sold for $395, then over $200 more the other example. Beginning of all, the primary picture stands out a lot. Many people use a white groundwork and this picture immediately caught my middle. This seller also cued that she takes intendance of her things past adding 'dustbag + tags' right in the title. She too was upfront that this handbag is used in the seller's note, merely instead of saying 'used' or 'preowned', she chose more than positive phrases, like 'beautiful patina' and 'well cared for'.

Click to overstate.

Where this listing really shine is the description. The seller went above and across by leading with her own story. She too included the retailer clarification at the very cease. Basically, she overcame every fearfulness that a buyer would have by appearing actually trust worthy.

Click to enlarge.

Save Time past Batching

Equally y'all can see, making a perfect listing is time consuming. To save fourth dimension, I wait until I accept multiple items to list, then check the conditions report for the upcoming weekend to see which days will be sunny so I can get optimal natural low-cal. I'll take pictures for everything in the morning time/mid-afternoon for the best light. Then I'll get through each step like an assembly line.

Shipping Tips

I once had to pay $25 to transport a pair of shoes from New York to California. Considering I offered free shipping, this had a big impact on my overall profit. Ouch. It's important to have an idea of how much it will cost to ship your item. eBay has a handy aircraft calculator that can help you lot research costs before you lot even listing your items. And if you're going to be list lots of items, investing in a stamp scale (I had i for my online store) tin can exist a smart motility. Brand certain to weigh both the particular PLUS the packaging (tissue papers, envelopes, boxes, etc.) That way, there are no surprises when you actually pay for shipping.

But to keep information technology really unproblematic, I've only used 2 aircraft methods:

• USPS Outset-Class (anything up to 15.99 ounces)
• USPS Priority (annihilation to a higher place 15.99 ounces)

Revisit and Reframe

If your item doesn't sell the first time, at that place are lots of reason why that might exist, but information technology's about always the price. Don't exist afraid to relist, but tweak merely one thing. I would first tweak the price, and and so the pictures. If you make multiple edits, you lot won't know which part of the listing converted the sale and won't take learnings for future listings.

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Source: http://www.theluxestrategist.com/how-to-sell-clothes-on-ebay-better-than-everyone-else/

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