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I love the idea of making money reselling items you no longer want, or even items someone else no longer wants. We have heard so many success stories in the past from those selling on eBay, Amazon, Facebook and Craigslist.
Today we are looking at a few sites devoted to helping you sell your gently-used clothes for cash. These websites all have handy smartphone apps to make the listing and selling process even easier.
Vinted
This is a marketplace allowing users to buy, sell or swap. There is no fee for selling through the site, although buyers are expected to pay a fee of 5% of the order’s cost plus $0.70. Vinted asks for proof of authenticity on luxury items, and reviews indicate there are regularly hiccups with the process. Sellers are free to set their own prices. There is both good and bad in these setups. As a buyer, beware of possible counterfeit and overpriced merchandise. As a seller, only accept payments through the site, document everything, and be prompt in following up with any issues. Payments are made and received via direct deposit only.
Poshmark
This marketplace gets bonus points for not only their app but also their virtual Posh Parties. These online events happen 4 times per day and feature Posh picks from among the available items in the marketplace. That’s great publicity for your designer items.
One other thing I like about Poshmark is their Posh Concierge service. This is an extra layer of protection for buyers on high price items. For $39, or free for items over $500, buyers can have their purchased item first shipped to Poshmark to be verified for authenticity and quality. Buyer protection can mean more sales for the sellers.
Poshmark’s commission is 20% of each sale over $15 or $2.95 for those under $15. They charge a flat fee of $6.95 for shipping (as long as a package doesn’t exceed 5 pounds), and all items are shipped using 1 – 3 day priority mail via USPS. Nice!
Tradesy
I have bought and sold through this site several times over the years. Their app helps you touch up your photos for a more professional look. They allow listings for everything from casual wear to wedding dresses and jewelry to handbags. When you sell an item and it’s time to ship, they even send you a pre-paid, pre-addressed shipping kit that lets you package your items stylishly.
Tradesy isn’t picky on brands, and they will even help you price your items to sell. Their commission is $7.50 for sold items less than $50 and 14.9% on items more than $50. They charge an additional 2.9% when you cash out your funds as opposed to using them as store credit for your own purchases.
ThredUp
This is perhaps the most well-known among clothing consignment shops. ThredUp used to be for kids only, but they now deal with women’s clothing, shoes, and handbags as well. They are a full-service shop. You send them the clothes, they pay you upfront and then sell and ship the goods to the buyer.
ThredUp is all about quality, and only accepts like-new items with absolutely no defects. They also won’t accept clothing purchased more than 5 years ago, or seasonal wear (like Christmas sweaters) out of season. To send your items to ThredUp, simply order a Clean Out Kit – free processing of your items takes on average 2 months currently, while you can move to the head of the line for a fee of $9.99. If you want any clothing that’s not selected returned to you, be sure to pay for Return Assurance ($10.99). The site pays immediately for “Upfront” items (those items that are on-trend, in-season, and in great condition) and pays upon sale for “Consignment” items (those items that are off-season, in great condition, but just take longer to sell). You earn up to 80% of the selling price based on a number of factors.
Depop
Depop is a global marketplace sporting pre-loved clothing, shoes, and accessories in an active and interactive forum. Headquartered in London, they have offices in Milan and NYC as well. You can buy and sell from anywhere with their app – and be quite successful at it, too! Just check out this interview with Hazel, who earned $18,000+ per year selling through Depop.
When you sell with Depop, you must clearly describe your item and any defects; you must also steer clear of listing items on their prohibited list. (Repeated offenses against these rules will get you banned.) Depop charges a flat fee of 10% on each sale, which they deduct from your Paypal account as a separate transaction from depositing your sales earnings. You decide in the app whether to charge your buyer for shipping or cover shipping yourself. Depop also encourages people to get to know their buyers and sellers through the app – promoting safe sales and global community.
eBay
We all know and love eBay. Sarah Titus has even shared some rockin’ reseller tips with us in the past. For a category like clothing, it’s generally free to list up to 50 items per month, though some exclusions apply. You will just pay 10% of the final selling price. When listing more than 50 items per month, you may pay $.30 per item depending on your listing type (auction-style or fixed price) plus the 10% commission to eBay.
Krista from The Quinntessential Mommy also recommends eBay. She says, “My best tip is to sell NAME BRAND clothing and be sure it’s a very reasonable price. Even if it’s new with tags people want to get a good deal!”
Have you made money as a clothing reseller? I’d love to hear your tips and favorite apps. Looking for more goods to resell? Check out my post on 45 ways to buy low sell high with retail arbitrage. You may also be interested in Cynthia Stine’s tips on earning $40,000 as an Amazon FBA seller.
This post couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve recently gone through my closet and have been trying to sell some items on Facebook yard sale groups. It’s going much slower than expected. I’ll definitely be checking a few of these places out.
It’s worth a shot, Terri.
I always feel like eBay is such a headache for selling, but I have made a little on Poshmark and ThredUP. Tradesy is a new one to me… thanks for the list!
I’ve sold things on eBay a few times, but it’s a little too much “babysitting” for me.
You should check out VarageSale. I’m surprised it’s not on the list. It’s an awesome app for selling stuff.
Never heard of it, Danielle. I’ll check it out!
Mercari is another app for buying and selling used clothing and other items. Though I haven’t browsed through it but a few times, it looks decent. Seems a bit like Vinted as far as moderation goes, but some good deals.
Thanks, Jane!
I have never heard of the apps but some look quite useful! I sell a lot of clothing on eBay and it is not difficult once you have the rhythm of it. I am always amazed at what sells! And you have a huge buying pool out there that you don’t get with anything else except Amazon. I might give ThredUp a try with some items I have as I love the idea of just sending off the stuff and letting someone else deal with it!! Thanks for posting!
Thanks for stopping by, Joanne!
I’m familiar with eBay and Poshmark but not the others.
Who knew that there were apps that could help you make money now? It makes a lot of sense to be able to list your items with your phone since most buyers are browsing on their phones anyway. Thanks for the suggestions!