Whenever you do a closet cleanout, before simply tossing things in the trash or giving them away, ask yourself if the item has any real value, in terms of saleability. If you have designer pieces (that are in great condition), unworn items (especially with tags still attached), or even budget-friendly trendy pieces that still look good (with minor signs of wear), you can use resale or consignment websites that sell your fashion and accessories.
Resale & Consignment Websites That Sell Your Fashion & Accessories
To help you figure out which resale and consignment websites are best, here’s a comparison of 3 popular sites that fashionistas often rely on to sell unwanted fashion and accessories.
Poshmark
Beloved by fashion bloggers and avid shoppers everywhere, Poshmark allows you to “create a virtual closet” by posting photos of items you want to sell. From budget-friendly brands (like Zara and Ann Taylor) to authentic designer pieces (such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton), Poshmark is one of the most popular resale websites out there.
In addition to having an easy-to-use smartphone app (that allows you to quickly upload photos and post item descriptions/pricing), Poshmark also has a social aspect to it, that encourages shoppers to “follow” your closet and even “share” your listings to their feed (which helps you reach more prospective buyers). They also regularly host “Posh Parties” which allow you to share listings and expand your reach to interested shoppers.
The upside of Poshmark is that you can reach a wide audience of shoppers, set your own prices for items, and even negotiate directly with buyers on pricing. The system takes a small percentage of each sale, and you are responsible for shipping the items (along with taking/uploading photos of each item). Oftentimes, fashion bloggers will post photos of themselves wearing the pieces, which allows shoppers to see what it looks like being worn (as opposed to a flat lay or product photo).
As an example, a brand new pair of Rothy’s shoes (which retails for $145) could be easily sold for $95. For that sale, you’d earn $76, which is 80% of the selling price. That’s a great payout for an item that’s otherwise sitting in your closet taking up space.
The downside is that, in addition to having to take photos of your items, create each product listing, and handle the sales, promotion, and shipping of the items, oftentimes pieces can remain unsold in your closet if you don’t have a large following on their site or are offering items/brands that aren’t especially popular or appealing to shoppers.
The bottom line is: if you aren’t in a rush to make a sale and care more about how much you’ll earn back on each item sold, Poshmark is a great option for selling unwanted fashion and accessories.
thredUp
Another popular resale and consignment website that fashionistas often use is called thredUp. I first learned about this website & app from a friend (who has made over $1000 selling unwanted fashion through them).
Unlike Poshmark, this site sends you a complimentary bag (with a pre-addressed return label on it), allowing you to simply ship back all the items you want to consign with them. Depending on the level of service you sign-up for (some are completely free, whereas others have a small fee), the company will take up to a couple of weeks to sort and process your items.
They then take professional photos of your items, upload each listing to their system, including brand names, product descriptions, and pricing (which can be edited by you).
The upside of using thredUp is that it’s honestly the simplest and easiest way to consign your unwanted fashion and accessories online since they do all the hard work.
The downside is that they offer a very small payout (between 5%-15% on average, depending on the brand of each item), and it takes a while for payouts to close or be released. In addition, since most of their shoppers are looking for “major deals” on items, each product listed is offered at a price that’s far below retail value.
As an example, a brand new (with tags still attached) dress from the brand Bar III (which retails for $79) was listed as $28.99 on the site. Based on this rate, the consignor would only receive 15% of the sale, which equates to $4.35.
If you don’t have the time or interest to take photos and post listings online, then threadUp is a great service to consider using. However, if you care about how much money you earn back on each sold item, then they’re probably not an ideal choice.
The RealReal
If you have unwanted authentic luxury and designer pieces (like a Gucci watch, Louis Vuitton purse, or Stuart Weitzman shoes), then one of the best places to consign your pieces online is at The RealReal. Renowned by avid shoppers and designer brand addicts around the globe, this consignment site has become so popular and successful in selling designer fashion and accessories that they recently IPO’d.
The site allows you to ship them your unwanted designer pieces (that are in good to excellent condition). Similar to how thredUp works, they take professional photos of the items and post the listings to their site. Their commission structure varies depending on what you’re selling and how many items you have sold (the more you sell, the more money you make).
The upside is that you earn between 40-60% on the sales of your items, which is fantastic – especially for high-priced pieces. As an example, a Gucci watch (which retailed originally for $450) would be sold for $145-$175, of which you could earn 50% of the sales price. This means you’d earn between $72-$87 for consigning that item.
Another upside of the service is that you can consign, sell, or even trade designer pieces. This is especially appealing to anyone who loves changing out their designer pieces on a regular basis or are often looking for new items to add to their wardrobe.
The downside of The RealReal is that you won’t make back nearly what you paid (retail) for the designer item. So, if your earnings on unwanted fashion and accessories are important to you, you might consider using a different service.
Below are example designer pieces you can currently shop (at up to 60% off retail). To shop these items or for product details, simply click each product photo. For more shopping tips and ideas, check out the Shopping section on Inspirations & Celebrations.
This article was originally sourced from here.
