A few years back, I was trying to make money in any way possible. I have serious anxiety when it comes to money and I had read that the wealthiest people in the world have numerous income revenues, so I decided I needed to create multiple ones for myself. Meanwhile, my closet was full of clothes I no longer wore, because I had long since graduated and my college party dresses were far from “business casual.”
I don’t remember if someone told me about Poshmark or if I just happened upon it. I was probably talking about needing to make more money and needing to get rid of clothes I don’t wear… and all the microphones in my phone recorded my predicament and then magically produced an ad for Poshmark on my Instagram feed. *rolling my eyes* I know the rest of you can relate to this fuckery.
Anyway, I’ve been working on being less anxious about spending money. I splurged on a hotel room last minute in Ocean City, MD, for Memorial Day weekend. I have dropped some big bucks on my Stitch Fix subscription. I didn’t hesitate to go all out on my birthday/”I completed my master’s degree” cruise this summer. And you all recall how much money I spent on wine this past December.
Even so, I’ve found myself in a recent place where I’m strapped for cash. Could be the fact that I got a flat-tire and ended up needing to replace all my tires unexpectedly. Or the fact that I’ve gotten two DC speed-camera tickets amounting to over $150. Or the fact that I have been eating out far more than I ever have in my entire life. That shit adds up.
As such, I’m planning to re-open the doors to my Poshmark closet! When I was previously active on Poshmark from June 2015 to January 2016, I managed to earn nearly $500 and clear out my closet of unwanted items.
I wanted to share my top tips for being successful on the app. But first, let me explain what Poshmark is exactly. “Poshmark is a digital marketplace where people from the United States can buy and sell clothing.” I took that from Wikipedia. Sue me.
Essentially, your profile is your virtual closet and you create listings for the clothing and accessories you’d like to sell. Your listings consist of photos, a name of the item, the brand, the size, category of clothing, the price you bought it for (which people lie about), and the price you’re asking for it. People are able to like and/or comment if they have questions about the item. They can either choose to purchase or make a lower offer on the item. Once someone purchases, Poshmark notifies you that your item has been purchased and e-mails you a prepaid shipping label. You package that fucker up, slap on the label, and drop it at the Post Office.
Is it really that simple?
Yes and no. Here are my top 10 key tips and advice to anyone who wants to sell items on Poshmark.
- Be ready for it to feel like a part-time job. It takes effort to be successful on here. You have to first choose the items you want to sell. Then you have to stage attractive pictures (typically multiple angles/views). After sharing in your closet, you have to regularly check the app to be answering questions in the comments and monitoring offers.
- Sharing your listings is important! There is also a social component to Poshmark. The “Share” feature allows you to share your listings (and other people’s listings for that matter) and this means it will show up on all of your followers’ feeds. I was religious about sharing my items daily, and sometimes multiple times a day. Additionally, when others were kind enough to share my listings, I went and shared theirs as well. Engagement meant that people were way more likely to see your items. Again… part-time job.
- Don’t be over-anxious to drop your prices. When people like your listings, they automatically receive a notification when/if you decide to drop the price of that item. I typically wait until at least 15 people have liked my listing before I even contemplate dropping a price. More importantly, be strategic about when you drop prices… I like Fridays when I know I got paid or Fridays at the end of the month, because I can almost guarantee people also got paid on those days.
- Search for items similar to yours. You’re going to think I’m crazy for this, but, I’m telling you it works. Once you search for similar items, or even brands, view those listings and go follow every person who has liked or commented on those listings. They’ll be likely to view your closet and see that you have similar items to offer. Yet again… part-time job.
- Organize your closet. Much like many people strategically plan their Instagram posts, I found it very helpful to organize my items. I sold a lot of Pandora charms and having them side-by-side on my feed meant that people looking through my closet could easily see “related” items. Your closet is organized based on your personal Shares. So, if you’re going to share one dress, share all your dresses.
- Ignore low-ball offers. I swear there were women on this app that would offer $2 for an authentic Pandora charm. Mind you, Poshmark does take a cut of your sales (I assume to help pay for shipping), so not only would I only make a NICKEL off that sale, it was just insulting. Do I think Pandora charms are actually worth what you pay, no. But they are worth more than $2!! The app allows you to “counter-offer” and I used to entertain such low-ball offers. I’d come back with $5 discount off the total and then they’d counter at $5. Ma’am. Remove yourself from my closet. Honestly, though, just ignore and DECLINE them from the start. As I’ve said three times already, this is already like a part-time job and I don’t have time for y’all cheap-ass bitches.
- Model your items or use photos from brand’s Web site. This seems to go without saying, but I cannot tell you how many listings I come across that don’t show what it looks like on a model. Like… go to any major fashion retailer’s online store and you’ll see that they have models wearing their garments. People want to know what the item looks like. If they are unsure on size or fit, seeing it on you or a model will help them know if it will fit.
- Take the extra time to package your item nicely. I always washed my clothes when they sold (even if I hadn’t worn them recently). I don’t have pets and I live in a smoke-free home, but even so, a fresh wash was something I prided myself on. I also wrapped them in cute tissue paper and wrote a card to the buyer thanking them for purchasing, hoping they loved the item, and would come back and shop again in my closet. For a fifth time… part-time job. But I swear, I had repeat customers and I can only assume it was because of this. Also, people are able to leave comments and ratings on their experience shopping with you. Other future buyers can view these ratings/comments and it helps your chances of selling items when people know you are serious about “poshing.”
- Ship quickly. Poshmark gives you overall ratings for how quickly you ship. They use Priority Mailing labels, but the quicker you ship, the happier the buyer. Duh. I went to the Post Office one day and copped (not really, they’re free) about 50 paper Priority Mail envelopes to keep at my house. As a result, I was able to be a same-day or next-day shipper.
- DON’T SHOP ON POSHMARK. Admittedly, I became quite addicted to searching listings for myself. I probably would have made $700 on Poshmark had I not bought anything from other sellers. Whenever you make a sale, your money exists in Poshmark as credit (to buy on Poshmark). However, you can opt to direct deposit into your bank account or have them send you a check to deposit. I used to cash-out whenever I had $100 in my Poshmark bank, but maybe if I had done it sooner, I wouldn’t have spent it as Poshmark credit.
There you have it! I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever used Poshmark? What are your top tips for new Poshers? How do you handle low-ball offers? If you haven’t used Poshmark and want to give it a try, let me know and I’ll be happy to “mentor” you! In the meantime, I’ll be over here trying to decide what clothes I can part ways with. My policy is if I haven’t worn it in the last 6 months, it’s out! I always say that though and then immediately say, “But I love it!” Yeah okay… you love it so much that it’s been collecting dust in your closet for half a year… untouched.
FEATURED IMAGE BY: Fabian Blank
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Hi! Thanks for reading. It’s a great little side hustle! I should have also pointed out that I don’t buy a lot of “high-end” or “name-brand” items. If you’re someone who does, you can make way more on Poshmark, especially if you also use my tips! Lastly, I also have a friend who never takes the tags off her clothes when she first buys them. Being able to mark your listings as NWT (New With Tags), it is even more enticing for buyers.
-Melanie