Spring cleaning is simply a holiday in its own right. The sun no longer sets at 5 PM, the weather is getting warmer, and the world is ready for a fresh start. You might head back home for spring break and realize you no longer connect with the way your room is decorated. And it’s messy. And overflowing with items you didn’t realize you still owned. Well, there’s a fun addition you can add to your spring cleaning routine and that’s selling your old clothes. Beginning to sell your clothes can be intimidating but this breakdown can be a great starting point to getting rid of your clutter and making some extra money from it.
There are different platforms to sell clothes on, but the most popular are Depop, Poshmark and eBay. This article is mostly geared towards using Depop but all three of these apps are user friendly and have good reputations. Whichever one you choose, kickstart your journey to becoming a seller with these six steps for beginners selling secondhand clothing online.
Step 1: Clean Out Your Closet
Spring cleaning, of course, starts with removing the items you no longer need or need to reorganize. Play some music, go through your drawers full of clothes and begin your own inventory. When cleaning out your wardrobe for selling clothes, categorize the items you pull out. You have the freedom to choose how you label each pile: by color, by item type, by size. This will make it easier to identify everything you own as well as make it easier for the next step.
Step 2: Dress Up & Photoshoot
To know which items you are confident in giving away, you need to try on the clothes. You might find a hidden gem that will be added to your daily rotation or possibly notice that you still own that embarrassing t-shirt you had in middle school. It’s similar to a try-on haul just without the new clothes but it can still be as fun. While trying on the clothes, take the opportunity to take some photos of what you are deciding to sell. Your face doesn’t need to be in these photos, it is just a reference for potential buyers to view the item on a person and therefore feel more comfortable purchasing it. Setting your shop up for success is how you’ll be able to bring in buyers.
Step 3: Supply Run
Let’s go shopping because you can’t sell anything if you don’t have anything to ship it out in. There are few items that are needed in order to sell but there are also alternative options if you don’t want to go out and spend a lot of money. Envelopes and boxes are needed to ship out clothes and the two best ways to get these are the USPS website or recycling. Reusing the envelopes and boxes you get from packages sent to you or family and friends is a great way to save money and help the environment. If you want to use new packaging, USPS is the way to go and the best part is that it’s free! If you go onto the USPS website, you are able to order packaging supplies for free and you can choose whatever suits your particular needs. The most versatile option they have are the padded envelopes. Each are great options depending on how much clothing you are deciding to sell.
An extra item you could possibly use is a postal scale. This is used to accurately measure how much your package weighs. This impacts how much the shipping costs will be and will be marked on the shipping label. While having the scale is not necessary, it helps to not overpay for a shipping label or underpay for it and have to pay more at the post office.
Shipping label stickers are another helpful tool for selling items. These are a type of paper you can put in your printer to create shipping labels. An alternative is to print the label out on regular paper and tape it onto the package as securely as possible. Large tape is the best option if you go that route. It’s a fairly easy process once you have all your supplies and sending out packages will be a breeze.
Step 4: Be Studious
Okay, anyone asking you to study outside of school feels very skeptical but in this case, it’s worth it. Go onto the selling app of your choice and evaluate the prices on items similar to what you’re looking to sell. This will give you an estimate of what other people are willing to pay for a particular product and if your item might be deemed rare or in style currently. Looking through listings can give you ideas on what key words to feature in your descriptions so the algorithm can highlight what you’re selling.
Step 5: Details & Descriptions
To get your items noticed, you want to highlight all the details you can that might make someone interested. Because it is online, they can’t touch the item so providing as much visual information is helpful. You may have an item that is tagged as a large but in your opinion it fits more as a small, make note of this in the description. Pictures are a great resource too. As stated before, images of you wearing the item are favorable but also including close ups of any damage or special embroidery and things of that nature to get the full scope. Including ways to style the item can be really valuable. Resources like Pinterest and TikTok can give you outfit suggestions and you can include those in your descriptions. Using those sites to find popular aesthetic genres to list your item under will bring more eyes to your listing.
Common acronyms you might come across are NWT and NWOT which mean new with tags and new without tags respectively. If your item is still available online, use the store’s description to add to yours as well. Stores might say things like high waisted jeans, the amount of pockets, and the fabric makeup. The best advice is to use your own perspective: what words would jump out to you and make you want to buy an item, what do you typically want to know about clothes before purchasing and writing descriptions should come easy.
Step 6: Social Butterfly
In addition to the descriptions, you should incorporate a connection. “Feel free to ask me questions!” and “Open to negotiation” are phrases that are inviting and allow potential customers to speak to you to ease any concerns they may have. This leads into the number one thing to do when selling clothes online: be active. If you’re offering to answer questions, make sure you have your notifications turned on and you check the app every couple of days.
In the app, you have many techniques at your disposal such as discounts, sending offers and bundles. Discounts are a general percentage taken off of the price you set for an item and the app will automatically notify anyone who previously liked the item that it is now on sale. Sending offers are individual deals you can send to people who have liked your item in order to increase the chance they purchase your clothes. Bundles are special discounts when a buyer purchases multiple items from your shop. They can be advertised in your descriptions and in your shop bio.
Once someone buys something from you, keep in contact with them. Send a thank you text message after the purchase, add a goodie inside the package like a handwritten note or some stickers and share the tracking information once it’s shipped. Showing consideration and appreciation to your customers will make them more likely to write a positive review of your account, increasing your credibility as a good shop owner.
Spring cleaning brings out the good in people and there are many environmental benefits to supporting secondhand clothing. Reducing the amount of brand new clothes that are bought and quickly disposed of, reducing the amount of clothes in landfills, and providing unique pieces that are not available in stores. Online thrifting allows for more accessibility for both the seller and the buyer. Don’t be shy and promote your shop on your social media accounts and to your family and friends to get the word out. And most importantly, it just helps you clean your room!