on-line selling

selling used clothes

15 Premium Places for Selling Used Clothes to Clear Space in Your Closet

Selling used clothes is a tremendously smart way to make room for items that align with your current (or future) lifestyle!

It’s not easy to let things go, regardless if it doesn’t make sense to keep them. We are beings who feel deeply and so our emotions often dictate the choices we make.

But when you’re ready to say goodbye to outdated, ill fitting, or just plain “I don’t care for that any more” or “I never wear this” clothing, what next?

If you can’t shake the feeling that you’re throwing money away if you donate it, I get that. I’ve felt the very same way, especially when the clothing cost quite a bit! 

 Yet hanging on to the item isn’t the answer. It continues to sit there, so what kind of return on investment is that?

So I say the answer is to sell it! 

This Post is All about 15 Spectacular Sites for Selling Used Clothes

sell used clothes
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Obviously, there are an insane number of places to sell clothes! I’m breaking it down in two ways:

  • how you can sell locally and
  • where you can sell beyond your hometown
where to sell used clothes
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Local Options

Here are 5 ways to sell right in your own community, along with key points.  A face-to-face hand off (if you’re fine with that) means no mailing costs incurred by either side. So potentially, you may get paid sooner.

  1. Secondhand (brick & mortar) stores
  2. Facebook Marketplace
  3. OfferUp app
  4. Craig’s List
  5. 5Miles app
When it comes to secondhand stores, these include consignment shops, pawn stores, and thrift shops. You can Google to find what’s near you. Each of them have their strengths and drawbacks. You can get the summary in this other post of mine, Secondhand Stores Can Be Your Decluttering Partners.
 
Just realize that you’ll have the least amount of control with secondhand store pricing since they are doing all the work and providing the retail exposure for your items. But in return, going this route will require the least amount of time and effort by you.
 

Facebook marketplace groups are easily found in the app. Other local online selling groups are discoverable within the FB platform, when you type within the FB search bar, “Buy and Sell Groups near Me”. You can also insert the type of merchandise you’re selling to discover specialty groups, i.e., jewelry.

OfferUp and Craig’s List have both been around for a bit. Check out their basic rules. Then noodle around to see what type of clothing is predominantly sold in your community. 

Lastly, 5Miles is relatively new (to me) but growing rapidly as yet another buy and sell app. As the name suggests, it’s all about what’s within 5 miles of you. It’s touted as being both free and safe. It also has an auction feature for bidding on hot items.

sell used clothes online
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Expanded Market Options

A larger market will expose your items to more buyers and also provide specialty niches. 

6 Luxury sites

  1. The Real Real
  2. Vestiare
  3. Poshmark
  4. Tradesy
  5. The Luxury Closet
  6. LePrix

This is just a sampling of the top apps for buying and selling high end couture!

Take time to review the site rules before choosing where to list your clothing. Take into consideration any postage fees, mandatory price reductions, commissions, and seller protection. It’s always smart to see what comparable items are listed for, to avoid having your items over (or under-) priced.

I personally sold an LV duffel on The Real Real. Funny how a designer bag feels so special until it’s time to let it go and then you realize how many there are! So I priced it to sell and it did go quickly. It felt a little painful to see how discounted my return was but I reminded myself, “something is better than nothing”! The bag was simply not practical as it was quite large and I was concerned it would get scratched up if I ever had to check it in. So all kinds of lessons learned with that one!

Selling clothes on Poshmark can be lucrative, if you’re willing to put in the time. I’ve only bought, not sold there, myself. The sellers are quite active so you would need to stay on top of your listing and also connect with other sellers. When you network, sellers refer buyers to each other and also have combined “parties” with special discounts. 

Niche sites

  1. Fashionphile
  2. Worthy

These two sites specialize in handbags (Fashionphile) and jewelry/watches (Worthy). Both are highly reputable and worth considering.

Honorable Mention sites

  1. eBay
  2. Mercari
  3. thredUP
  4. Vinted

These four sites are all wonderful in their own way. The first two involve auction style selling. eBay needs no introduction. It’s good for scoring a decent return and selling things quickly. Mercari is similar and also allows selling a wide variety of items with easy listing directions.

For an online consignment store approach, thredUP sends you a Clean Out bag with a prepaid label. Pop in your unwanted clothing, shoes and accessories and ship it off! Plus, if your items don’t sell, thredUP will donate them on your behalf.  So selling clothes on thredUp is a fabulously convenient option!

And lastly, Vinted works similarly to Poshmark but without the luxury item category. It’s a good choice for mid-range priced clothing in decent condition.

The Wrap with Mary V
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The Wrap: This post shared 15 fantastic sites for selling used clothes

There is a wide range of sites for selling what you’ve pulled out of your closet! 

Unless you go the consignment route, understand there will be time and effort needed to keep your listing optimized and to ensure the sale closes successfully. It’s rare to realize a return which is the same (or greater) as what you paid for an item. But don’t let that discourage you from recouping some of your initial cost.

To get in a practical state of mind, forget what you paid for the item. Seriously! What matters now is what you can get for it today. What you originally paid has been spent. So anything you realize now is “extra”! 

Start here to figure out what needs to go: Clutter Definition: What Exactly Is It So We Can Confidently Declutter With Clarity? Then dig in to uncover some money!

decluttering tips

3 Decluttering Tips Which Absolutely Maximize Your Return When Selling Your Stuff

It is essential that you understand the impact of the 3 expert decluttering tips shared here, when you’re ready to cash in on what you don’t need, use, or want any more.

When might selling make sense for you? You may struggle with letting something go because you spent a lot of money on it. Your children might have no interest in the item. Or you simply believe the item has high resale value. 

Regardless of why you want to pursue selling, the key to a successful transaction is three-fold: the current market demand; the time/effort investment; and the available venues.

Knowing what to reasonably expect will shorten the sales cycle and optimize your price. 

Can’t argue with that, right?! Let’s do this!

decluttering tips
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This post shares 3 decluttering steps to amplify the best return for things you sell in the present market environment!

tips to declutter your home
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Tip #1: Do Your Research

 

It’s smart to investigate if your items are in demand.

For example, Mid-Century Modern furniture is in vogue and has a good chance of yielding some dollars for you. On the other hand, Colonial furniture? Not so much, especially if you don’t live in the New England states.

And remember Precious Moments? What about Haviland china? Some of these collectables are worth more than others. However, many are collecting dust in resale shops, despite their high appeal a decade or three ago.

So start with exploring venues where particular items are often resold. For example, talk to local resale shop owners for their opinions on what type of furniture or which designer clothing is sought after in your town.

If it’s fine art that you’re looking to sell, check with a local art appraiser or art gallery for a professional opinion. In all cases, do a search on eBay for clues to prices of items similar to yours.

Ultimately, due diligence on your part will save you the disappointment of pricing items too high and having them sit idle in your home.

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Tip #2: Understand the Return

Determine a realistic price point so you can decide if it’s worth the work needed to sell your stuff.

Ask Yourself the Following Questions

  • Which selling method(s) will you use?
  • Do you need to clean or repair the items pre-sale?
  • How will the buyers receive the items: do you need to ship them or will they pick them up?
  • Will you sell on-line or on consignment?

Unless you choose to sell on your own, utilizing any 3rd party will reduce your net dollars. It stands to reason since they are doing work for you, such as attracting, displaying and dealing with the buyers.

Most resale shops put a time limit on how long items will be offered. They typically have a rigid markdown policy enforced as time goes by, too. This may be hard to accept but the shop owners need to maximize the return on their merchandise.

It behooves them to have their displays refreshed regularly. After all, if things aren’t selling, they need to move off center stage of the sales floor.

Factor in the Cost of Your Efforts

It take time to inventory, price, and prepare for a sale!

You may need extra hands to deal with the buyers. The same goes for selling on-line, whether through Craig’s List, a FB group, or e-Bay. Your ad needs to be smartly worded, refreshed, and optimized regularly until the items sell.

Potential buyers will have questions that you need to answer promptly. Some will still want to negotiate price or show up with less money, hoping you will settle. Others will want you to hold the item until they can stop by. Finally, a few may be “no-shows”… so the process starts all over … sigh!

You might be pleasantly surprised with what you may realize from your selling efforts. Or, you may be disappointed to realize the deep discount required to sell belongings that have served you well.  

However, “something is better than nothing” may become your new motto! Either way, be informed and prepared for what you need to do to capture some dollars.

decluttering tips for home
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Tip #3: Land on a Selling Venue

Ready to check out your options? Hang on ’cause there’s a lot of them!

Based on your research, (back up to Tip #2 if you didn’t do this yet, haha!) now you can decide if you want to do this solo or if you prefer some help.

If you prefer to sell on your own, you can do this one of two ways:

  • Using local apps such as OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace groups
  • Selling outside your hometown, using global apps, such as Poshmark, eBay, or thredUP.

With the first option, you’ll meet face-to-face to deliver the goods. But with the second option, you’ll be mailing the items somewhere in the world!

Otherwise, if you want help, any “brick & mortar” resale shop will do the bulk of the work for you. All you have to do is bring in your items and they will select what they believe will sell on their floor.

You can identify local options simply by Googling, “second-hand stores near me” or “resale shops near me”. Always call ahead to ensure they are interested in your stuff. Emailing pictures cuts back on wasted trips.

Finally, head down to the end of this post for related posts that share the latest various on-line selling sites! It’s an ever-changing lineup of possibilities but I’m always updating them annually.

I focus on sharing the best decluttering tips with you … because there’s always someone out there who wants to buy your stuff!

The Wrap with Mary V
image by content pixie from pexels

The Wrap: This post was all about 3 top decluttering tips to maximize your reselling efforts!

Your turn!

  • Have you sold stuff? How did that go?
  • What would you do differently? What did you learn?

Drop your thoughts below … and thanks for stopping by!

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