Amongst my friends, I'm a broken record. "I made over $3,800 last year," I say. "What do you do with all of the things you don't wear?" I ask. I shop pretty infrequently and I still have a healthy rotating bank of possessions to part with. I don't like having extra things laying around, especially when they could easily turn into ca$h!
My seller platforms are Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari, and I'd rate my success rate with them in that order. Once people hear how much I've made, I get a lot of questions about selling online, so I thought a series of posts on what has worked for me would be beneficial to those who are just starting out. Selling online is a huge business, so naturally there are a crazy amount of topics to cover. In this post, I'll simply share how I came to resell. Please leave questions in the comments, I'll get back to you and include them in a future reseller post!
Here are some of my modest Poshmark credentials, just so you know I've actually had some success before you go taking advice from me. I'll mention all the platforms over time, but I'm focusing on Poshmark since it's been the dominant player for me. There are definitely people who exceed these credentials by a long shot, but in my circle, this is considered pretty good:
Followers: 35,477
Listings Sold: 263
Total Earned: $5,416
Best Month: August 2019 | $655
Ratings: 196 | 5 Stars
I joined eBay in 2005 when I was a teenager to buy discounted tanning lotion. That's right, I wanted deals tanning lotion! I'm over 30 now, so don't worry, no more tanning for me. A funny story we tell at Christmastime is when I put Tan Towels on my Christmas list because their prices had gone up on eBay, and my mom bought me tan-colored bath towels. Get it? :)
When I was in college, I needed more money, so I started selling on eBay in addition to buying. I got a job in a high end boutique that sold contemporary designer items from Tory Burch, Kate Spade, and the like. I loved buying designer items with my discount, and when I got tired of wearing things, I turned to my friend eBay! This is when I really started to see success, because I was selling gently used, most-wanted brands. To clarify: I never used my employee discount just for reselling. That's immoral and the profit margin would be so low, I'd probably lose money.
My best flip yet was a pair of Vince leather leggings that retail for $595. I purchased them for $8 at a thrift store and sold them for $100!
I still sell on eBay fairly frequently, but I become frustrated when buyers don't follow the rules. It is not allowed on eBay, but in my experience, buyers often message sellers saying they changed their minds and don't want to pay! Feeling defeated and annoyed, I stopped listing and let my sales quiet down.
I picked up Poshmark in 2018 at a coworker's suggestion. I learned that the risk of flaky buyers is mitigated by their policies, since buyers confirm payment at the offer stage and automatically pay when the item sells. But to me, the UX seemed complicated. I didn't want to participate in the social aspects of the app, which they make seem essential to success.
After conversations with experienced sellers, a little bit of "sucking it up," and determination, I was quickly able to become a Poshmark Ambassador and have seen great profits from using the app. Poshmark is natively a smartphone app, but the desktop functionality is great and how I prefer to use it.
It's easy to add a few thousand dollars to your income each year. Who wouldn't want that?
I've even sourced items from thrift stores to resell. My best flip yet was a pair of Vince leather leggings that retail for $595. I purchased them for $8 at a thrift store and sold them for $100!
Something to keep in mind is that I've never been lucky enough to resell full-time, even though I think it would be fun. Those stats above were all achieved part-time, before/after my full time job and on weekends!
Once you're armed with some of the advice I'll be sharing, it's easy to add a few thousand dollars to your income each year. Who wouldn't want that?
I'll tackle these topics in the series: Becoming An Ambassador, Community, Taking Your Photos, Pricing Strategy, Listing Descriptions, Shipping, Reseller Mindset, My Take On Sourcing, and Multiple Platform Cross-Listing.
What are you dying to know about reselling? Leave a comment!
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