How To Sell Clothes Online

*AD- This is a collaborative post, but thoughts on how to sell clothes online are my own

I hold my hands up to admit that I have way more clothing than I’ll ever need. Although for me a lot of those are in boxes for when I ‘lose weight’. And my day-to-day wardrobe isn’t quite as overspilled. Of those clothes which I have set aside for one day, I’m sure a lot of them will go unworn. Bought when I loved a particular trend or design and a year down the line when I go through it all I no longer love the design. It seems a lot of people are in a similar boat. According to Statista, 2019 over the course of a lifetime, the average woman in the UK accumulates an estimated £22,000 of unworn clothes. That figure is crazy, so you may be thinking about how to sell clothes online to at least make some money back.

I’m sure we all have unwanted items sat in our wardrobes or in boxes that we can sell. During the lockdown, eBay says that 50,000 new sellers signed up in April 2020, and Depop saw a 90% increase in visitors in the same month. So it seems that while things have been tough people are looking to both declutter and make themselves some extra pennies.

How to sell clothes online- Packaging

If you have quite a lot of items to sell then it’s worth being prepared before you list them. Make sure you have enough packaging to cover your items including labels, sellotape, and bubble wrap for anything delicate you’re selling. If you’re concerned about the amount of packaging then look into Lil Packaging who is eco-friendly. As of this year, they’re officially a fully plastic-free company. So you can sell your items online without worrying about adding a lot of wasteful packaging to the landfills.

Tips on how to sell clothes online

There are so many elements on how to sell clothes online that it can be a bit of a minefield. A blurry photo with little information just won’t cut it anymore.

Here are some tips on how to sell clothes online successfully:

Build up a good reputation on the site you’re using

Even when you buy items people can rate you as a buyer which can give you good ratings and feedback. And when you start selling you can ask people to leave you feedback. Building your feedback and reputation can mean more people feel comfortable buying from you. If someone has loads of 5-star reviews I’m always a lot happier buying from them.

Take time on your photos

Make sure you take photos in good light, against a plain background, and from different angles. You want to show all aspects of the item so have some full length, front and back, and closer images. If there is a pattern take a close-up of the pattern. And if there’s any damage make sure you highlight this well in photos.

Keep good communication

If people send you questions through the site you’re using reply to them politely and in a good timespan. Once someone has bought something keep them updated with when the item has been posted and any additional information they may need.

Look into all of the different postage options

Most of us will think about the Royal Mail as our first choice, but in some cases, I have found Hermes to be cheaper. Yes, Hermes doesn’t always have the best reputation but I have found their update on when things will be delivered to be very good.

Keep your prices competitive

Look around at how much similar items have sold for when choosing your pricing. You don’t want to overprice your item so no one buys it, but of course, you want to make as much money as you can.

There will always be some items that don’t sell online and that’s okay. Some sites such as H&M, Zara, and Levis do have collection points in some branches for clothing donations and they’ll give you a voucher to spend in-store if you donate.

Sites you can use to sell clothing

I used to use eBay all of the time to sell clothing as it’s a hugely well-known site and it’s reasonably simple to use. But I always found that I was paying so much in fee’s so I tend to only really use it for higher-priced items and not the £1-£4 smaller items.  If you do want to sell on eBay look to end them when the site is busiest between 7 pm and 9 pm Sundays. I always think it’s worth allowing people to submit offers as you may get a pretty good offer and it makes the sale much quicker.

When thinking about how to sell clothes online one of the most popular sites is Depop. The site tends to have a slightly younger audience, and like eBay charges 10% fees but this comes straight off when an item is sold and paid. So you don’t have to pay invoices which makes it easy to keep track of. Images are even more important on Depop and if you can take photos of you wearing the item. Be prepared for people to try and haggle with set prices on Depop as well so have an idea in your mind of the lowest you’ll be willing to accept.

Other places to sell clothes online

If you want to avoid having to post items you can choose to sell items through Facebook Marketplace. Although be prepared for time wasters, and always make sure you’re doing it safely (especially with COVID).

Another site you can use is Vinted which unlike the other sites doesn’t charge a fee to sell clothing. So it’s worth trying out here first to see if your items sell as you’ll make more money. Then move over to Depop or eBay if you’re having no luck.

Have you ever sold clothes online?

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