How to Sell Clothes Online
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Believe it or not, there is a relatively simple way to make some extra money that’s just sitting in your home. Do you have a closet full of clothes when you really only wear a few of those items on a regular basis? Are you holding on to clothes in sizes and styles that just don’t fit anymore? Why do you continue to keep these clothes in your closet?
Maybe you don’t want to take the time to clean out the closet. Maybe you are hesitant to throw away or give away items that cost a lot of money. Whatever the reason, there’s an easy way to sell clothes online.
Online Consignment Stores
Online consignment stores are an easy way for you to sell clothes online to buyers looking for a bargain. Some of these online consignment stores even specialize in designer brands. You either list the items for sale yourself or send the clothes off to the store to list for you. Some of the stores pay you up front for the items while others only pay you when the item actually sells.
Before you decide to sell used clothes, take a closer look at the options. You’ll need to consider how much work is involved in the sale, how much money you can expect to make, and how likely you are to sell your clothes at all. If the items have stains or show some serious signs of wear, you might be better off donating them.
1. ThredUp
If you don’t want to bother doing any of the actual work of selling clothes online, ThredUp is the consignment shop for you. ThredUp will mail you one of their “clean out” bags. Then, you fill it up with your clothes and send it back to them for free. They are pretty picky about the brands and condition of clothing they accept for sale.
For most items they pay you up-front, but they do take some special items on consignment and only pay you when they sell. There is a fee to return items ThredUp won’t accept for sale, but they will donate the items for free if you don’t want them returned. ThredUp also accepts shoes, jewelry, handbags, maternity clothes, and children’s clothes.
2. Tradesy
Tradesy specializes in helping you sell your designer clothes, shoes, and accessories. You fill out an online form and take pictures of the items you want to list for sale, and Tradesy enhances the pictures for you to make sure your listing looks as good as possible. There is no fee for listing items, and Tradesy sends you a free shipping kit to use when your items sell. You can set your own sales price or let them suggest a price.
They charge a flat fee of $7.50 for any item less than $50 and a commission rate of 19.8 percent on items above $50. You can list women’s clothes, shoes, and accessories on Tradesy; they also specialize in wedding dresses and accessories.
3. Poshmark
Poshmark is an online consignment shop for women’s clothes, shoes, and accessories as well as children’s and men’s clothing. Compared to ThredUp and Tradesy, Poshmark provides the least amount of listing assistance. You take pictures of the items you want to sell and fill out the listing information and price.
When the item sells, you can print out a pre-paid and pre-addressed shipping label to place on the box. So you ship the item to the buyer but don’t pay the shipping costs. Listing an item for sale on Poshmark is free. Poshmark charges a flat fee of $2.95 for sold items under $15, and they keep 20 percent of the sales price for items over $15.
Alternatives
There are other alternative ways to sell clothes online if you don’t want to use an online consignment shop.
Before online consignment shops became popular, a lot of people used Ebay to sell clothes online. This is still a great way to sell used clothes that may not be in good enough condition for one of the online consignment stores. Ebay is also a good tool if you would prefer to list items for sale in a lot. Many people prefer to sell children’s clothes this way. Buyers, however, prefer the guarantees offered by online consignment shops when purchasing designer brands.
Instagram offers another opportunity to sell clothes online. Although you can avoid the service charges by selling on Instagram, buyers may not want to purchase from someone they don’t know without the guarantees of a third party company.
Donating clothes is a great way to get them out of your closet, and you can claim a small tax deduction based on the value of your donation. If your items are not in excellent condition or you don’t want to learn the steps of how to sell clothes online, donation may be the best option.
Conclusion
If you want to earn some extra cash from your used clothes and accessories, consider an online consignment shop or other online sales option. The keys to getting the most from your sale are to research an appropriate list price, take several high quality pictures, and write detailed descriptions of each product.