How A Normal Person Can Make Money On Poshmark
Poshmark was the stuff when it first came out. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s a secondhand market for clothes only. And you can usually get better resale prices than on eBay, with a little extra work.
But…now it’s become a little bit harder to sale. It’s not impossible, but there are people making a full time job out of reselling thrifted clothes or even selling new clothes with Poshmark as their shopfront.
While this is great for those people, sometimes this means that it’s a bit harder for the rest of us who just want to resell our old clothes to make back some of our money. Like, I don’t have a running inventory of clothes, I just cleaned out my closet and want to make some money (and we all know it’s better to sell them yourself than send them off to a consignment store that only gives a percentage).
Is Poshmark still worth it for the little guy, though? And how can I, the little guy/gal, sell on Poshmark successfully?
Yes, Poshmark is worth it.
I’ve sold on various platforms and at local consignment shops, and Poshmark has been the best by far. Yes, it requires more effort from me, but I usually get back 40-50% of what I paid, sometimes more, depending on the brand or item.
When I sell on eBay, which takes some work for making a listing but that’s all, I usually get about 30% of what I paid sometimes less. I find eBay is really best for getting your money back on in-demand designer goods, which most of my closet is not. Poshmark is better for low to mid range brands. I’ve sold and bought $6 Old Navy shirts, stuff you wouldn’t really think there’s a market for. On eBay, those would never even sell.
With consignment websites like ThredUp or The RealReal, I get terrible commissions. If they’re selling my items for approximately 50% of their original value, and sometimes they do less, then I only get about 30-50% of that amount! It’s at best half of what I would make on Poshmark and at worst a third or less. It sucks. I’ve had the same experience at local consignment shops, and they’re even pickier about what they will take (don’t get me started on this).
If you really want to make some money from your old clothes, Poshmark is the way to go. But, don’t be mistaken. You make more because you work more.
When I clean out my closet, I usually have about 20 items to sell. On eBay, this would take me a couple hours to list. The process would take me maybe 2.5-3 hours to list on Poshmark, which is fine. But the real work is in promoting your items after they’re listed.
Luckily, I’ve gotten it down to a science after reading too many posts from people who are trying to make this their business and not just sell old clothes. If you want to make a full income from Poshmark, this post is not for you.
But, if you’re just wanting to sell your old clothes and fund some new purchases, then you’re right where you need to be.
How to sell successfully on Poshmark
Here are my top five tips that helped me sell my clothing quickly and at a good price.
Use product images from the site if possible. You’ll never be able to get those crisp product images on your iPhone camera. When I have an item to sell, I’ll look at the brand and find a defining characteristic or two and do a google image search. Something like, “J.Crew Polka Dot Mini Dress” and I’ll search until I find a nice image of a model in my item. I use this as my cover picture. I find this works wayyyy better than a picture of your item on a hanger. I use multiple model pics from different angles if I find them, but always include an image of the actual item at the bottom.
Poshmark will notifiy you of themed “parties” a couple times a day. Whenever they are relevant (sometimes they are seasonal or brand specific) share your relevant items to these parties. This really helps get eyes on your items, even if someone isn’t searching specifically for it.
Reshare/Relist all your items once a day. I would usually alternate day to day. One day I just reshare all of my items, and every other day I relist them, so they look newly listed. Newly listed items show up higher on search pages, so this can be helpful. I found doing it everyday was too much, though. Alternate sharing and relisting. If you have a ton of items to sell, split it into half and half.
Don’t like things you aren’t serious about buying. Liking signifies you’re interested in buying to most sellers, and you’ll get inundated with notifications asking if you’re interested. You want to be active on the platform by sharing your stuff and sharing other seller’s items so they’ll share your stuff back. Liking is more like saving something you’re interested in buying, so avoid that as a way of being active on the platform.
Take a break every now and then. You may feel like you have to go hard every day, but you really don’t. In fact, I noticed I got sales sometimes when I wasn’t spamming shares and relisting. Shares help, but you don’t have to be super regimented every day. Take a day or two off each week, you need it.
Bonus Tip: When you put a title/description for your item, be specific. J.Crew Dress is not going to cut it. J.Crew Polka Dot Mini Dress is perfect. This means someone could search for mini dress, J.Crew, or Polka Dot, and have your item pop up for them. Using more descriptive words means a better chance of being seen.
Is Poshmark for you?
Poshmark is for you if you have the time and desire. It can get tedious, but getting that offer or sale notification is day-making. If you’re wanting to make more money off of your clothing, then do Poshmark. It’s also helpful because if you don’t cash out your earnings, you can use the credit of things you sold to buy secondhand items. This is my personal favorite, as it all sort of washes out even, then.
After listing your items, your daily work should only take you 10-15 minutes, if this is not your job. It’s doable, and we spend that much time doing other stuff on our phones that isn’t productive anyway.
And, there is kind of a neat community on Poshmark. You can discover lots of neat items and sellers, so it’s not just a slog of sharing and listing. Share from people you’re truly interested in, it’ll be more fun for you.
If you don’t have the time, I recommend sending your items off to a consignment site. You’ll get a little bit of money back and contribute to the secondhand market. But, if this all sounds like too much work for too little, just donate it to a local resale store that you trust.
There’s no wrong option, really. Just choose what works best for you and your time.