If you've joined any of the selling communities I mentioned in my last blog post, you may have come across the term "crosslisting." Cross-listing is when you post your inventory across multiple platforms, such as Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, Tradesy, ThredUp, Depop, etc. Even as a fairly established seller, I don't have the (girl)power to cross-list on all of the platforms, but I force myself to at least use three, and here's why.
This post was going to come way later in the Reseller Series–I actually had it noted down as post #12, but I had a surprisingly satisfying experience with cross-listing this week and wanted to elaborate on this topic while that pleasant experience was still top of mind.
Basically me cleaning out my closet on any given weekend–lol! My happy place!
Let's talk generally about the platforms I just mentioned with a high-level overview of pros and cons.
Poshmark is aimed at "fashionistas," promising popular brand names from the closets of people just like you. Many of the accounts of Posh Ambassadors are actually "professional" reselling accounts that source and sell, so they're not all accounts of women cleaning out their closets as Poshmark might have us believe–but that's a topic for another day. The pros of Posh are: Built-in audience with over 60 million users, built-in community (easy to comment and ask questions), great sorting/filtering, good app & desktop capability, and a USPS Priority Mail deal that makes shipping simple. If you ask me, that first pro point is the most important. You don’t need to work on getting clients for your closet. They are already there and using an advanced filtering system to find items they like in their sizes! The cons are: Photos need to be square (which is just weird), the 20% Posh fee is steep, and they never pitch in with shipping (any discount you offer potential customers comes from your earnings).
eBay, also known in the reseller community as the "OG," is obviously known as the first online selling platform. For this reason, the pros are: Built-in audience, and an auction structure option. The cons of using eBay are: Confusing fee structure, bad/complex user experience (I always recommend newbies use the app–the desktop site is way too much), complicated shipping for inexperienced sellers, and there are lots of unreliable buyers. This last con is the worst. Even though bids and offers are "binding" on eBay, they don't enforce it. Rather than securing payment at the offer stage, eBay allows buyers 2 days to pay. Due to this, buyers often try to cancel a sale via messaging, saying they've changed their mind or something. This is not allowed per eBay's terms of use, but sellers are left to deal with it. I have to report unpaid items all the time.
Mercari is the new, younger generation's eBay. The pros are: Simple UX via phone or computer, and only 10% fee structure. The cons are: Smaller audience than other platforms, and seems to favor really low pricing. In my experience, very cheap items sell here. My earnings are pretty minimal since I prefer to ship myself and offer free shipping, rather than ask buyers to pay $9.99. I have only sold a few bigger-ticket items here.
The platform I almost ditched gave me 4 sales in one day...
The reason I wanted to write this post tonight is because I almost dropped Mercari recently, thinking, "it's not worth the effort to crosspost here when most of my sales are $8-$12." I was listing a handful of items on Sunday and I decided to make a final effort to cross-post on all 3 platforms. Within minutes, I had two reasonable offers come through Mercari that I accepted, and by the evening (so within 12 hours), two more. The platform I almost ditched gave me 4 sales in one day, while the Poshmark listings gathered "likes" but no takers. It just goes to show that you never know, and it's worth spreading your offerings around the internet.
Something that puzzled me when I began cross-listing was how to price things. Poshmark and Mercari encourage offers, so I need to price higher than I hope to receive on those platforms. However, in my experience, eBay auctions outperform flat price listings, so on eBay I am more likely to list items for the minimum I'd take for them. This presented a problem: Any savvy shopper could theoretically conduct a simple internet search and find my items for lower prices elsewhere (like eBay). I spent a lot of time worrying about this.
At the end of the day, I don’t want these items and I don't want them to end up in a landfill either.
Over time though, I've concluded that most people just don't do that. Most shoppers are only looking at Poshmark or Tradesy or TheRealReal, whichever site they like best. I have not noticed that I sell more items on eBay, even though some of them are priced really low (like, $2.99 low...) At the end of the day, I don’t want these items and I don't want them to end up in a landfill either. I'd rather ship them to a happy customer for a few bucks than keep them laying around my 1BR apartment. I think this is the attitude you need to have when it comes to reselling.
When I see pretty closet pictures like this, I always imagine the rest of the wardrobe thrown in a heap behind the camera!
To touch on the other platforms I mentioned in the first paragraph:
Tradesy is for people who like designer labels. I have sold with Tradesy but a huge con was how long I had to wait for my earnings. Tradesy would hold my money for 20 days or so, giving the buyer the opportunity to file a return! It was unnecessary torture. I prefer platforms that favor their sellers, because after all, sellers are how they make their money.
ThredUp encourages you to send a big bag of clothes for them to resell for you. They will not accept most of what you send, they control the price they sell it at, and you get a small cut. Plus, they charge you to send back whichever items they don't accept. To me, this isn't worth it. But if you're someone who does not have the time or skill to photograph your own items, it's an acceptable option. Just don't expect to make any money. Actually, plan to have zero attachment to whatever you send in, otherwise you will probably be disappointed.
I have not tried Depop, but I hear it is the best platform for vintage and "pop" items. Brands like Urban Outfitters and slightly funkier items will do well here.
Here's a quick & helpful Buzzfeed article about resale platforms.
Which seller platforms do you use? Which ones do you want to learn more about? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Comments