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what's the best starting price for decent children's clothes

18 replies

pippibluestocking · 16/08/2008 07:32

Hi. Thinking about getting started soon with trying to sell some of DDs' autumn / winter clothes. For makes such as Boden, Gap - what is people's experience of the best starting price in terms of getting the best sale price - is it best to start at 99p and hope you get lots of attention and bids but risk a low sale price, or to go a bit higher - say £2.50 - £3.00. Talking about dresses etc rather than tops. Any advice appreciated! Thanks.

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powpow · 16/08/2008 08:06

well you have to think about what people would be willing to pay for the whole thing, that means shipping as well.
boden tends to sell well, but i wouldn't start it over £3, and it has to be in really good condition.
if you start at .99 and it sells at .99 - by the time ebay fees and paypal fees are taken, you end up with £.60.
to me, it's not worth it anymore for low price items.
ebay just isn't a small sellers market anymore.
just the fact that buyers can leave - FB and sellers can't makes it really un-enjoyable for me.
i am always worried i'll get some crackpot.

i'm doing carboots again and i price all my nice stuff at £3 and the rest at £1 and it sells and i don't have to deal with fees and post and crack pots (well, not usually)!

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nelix2000 · 16/08/2008 08:06

from personal experience as a sellar...things with a 99p start price sell more as a buyer a higher starting price puts me off looking at an item right away....see what similar items are selling at to get an idea.....you can always add buy it now

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powpow · 16/08/2008 08:09

i actually think BIN is the way to go.
i'm not actively looking for BIN's instead of the auctions.

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kslatts · 16/08/2008 08:43

I agree with powpow about car boot sales, I have been listing quite a few things on ebay, I always start with a low start price hoping that it will attact bidders, but often the stuff sells for the starting price. I've now decided to do a couple of car boot sales over the bank holiday.

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pippibluestocking · 16/08/2008 09:47

Thanks everyone - must admit that the summer stuff I sold in the spring got disappointingly low prices. I think you are right about CBS, Pow Pow and kslatts, just need to try to find the time to do them! Might try BIN to see what happens.

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nicolamumof3 · 16/08/2008 14:39

have you tried clothes exchanges as well? Im taking some immaculate gap/next/boden bits along to my local one in September, may work out even more profit then ebay without the hassle!

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lindseyfox · 16/08/2008 15:34

why not list them with starting prices of 99p and buy it nows of £4 or £5 then if someone wants it badly can buy it now or take the option of bidding

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pippibluestocking · 16/08/2008 16:46

What are clothes exchanges - haven't heard of them in my area (SE London) - how do I find out about them?

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Romy7 · 16/08/2008 16:49

i do mine twice a year via the local nct sale... they take a percentage, but only what i'd lose on faff and postage tbh. and i only have to do it twice a year...

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hollyandnoah · 16/08/2008 18:07

nicola what's clothes exchange?

Pippi, I sold lots of baby clothes 0-3 stuff all branded timberland, burberry, ralph lauren ect and i was guttttted! The burberry sold well but nothing else did really. I found making a bundle and taking lots of good photos worked better.

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nicolamumof3 · 16/08/2008 19:35

there must be some in london. Its just an agency a lady runs in my town to sell seconhand kids stuff, they take a percentage, i sent her some pics of my stuff and she wants to see it in September so if I got a pound for each item i would be pleased!

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nappyaddict · 16/08/2008 19:38

powpow - at the carboot how much do you sell tshirts, trousers, jumpers etc for? and where abouts are you? people seem to want things for 20p at my car boot

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powpow · 16/08/2008 19:54

i'm in se london. i sell the more worn stuff for £.50 (it adds up!) but everything nice gets a good price. they usually sell. i hang them on hangers on a rail with a tag.

i heard that you had to iron and tag all the clothes to sell for NTC - is that true?

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powpow · 16/08/2008 20:02

and that good price is....(sorry forgot to say)
£1 for gap or next stuff, unless it's a coat or fancy dress, then £2-3
£3 for any designer stuff like shirts jeans shorts etc.
but again if it is something really expensive and nice i will ask for more depending on what it is.
if it doesn't sell i will then try ebay.
i love BIN when i'm selling because i just put up the price i'd be happy with and put the starting price very near to that. it just makes life easier for me.

you CAN get really ridiculous prices for designer stuff on ebay if it's nice.
i once sold a really tatty oilily coat (my dd wore it for two straight winters)
for £45
i mentioned every flaw and took photos but it still went for that much. it was an awesome coat though.

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fizzbuzz · 16/08/2008 20:42

Are items fetching lower prices than a few months ago?

I rmember seeing a Next top the same as dd's selling for about £5.00. When I put hers on, it sold for £1.20

What's BIN?

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CuppaTeaJanice · 16/08/2008 20:47

I'd go for 99p and make the postage a bit higher. Make sure you have a good photo too - I bought a bundle of 30+ clothes the other day for £5.50 because the photo was crap!

Also try local NCT sales - you can hire a table for £15 and get better prices.

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nicolamumof3 · 16/08/2008 20:58

BIN is Buy it now...ebay is just quiet as summer hols plus all the summer sales still on so everyone got their clothes now. But it is starting to pick up with autumn winter stuff now I think and will get better next month when kids go back to school.

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powpow · 17/08/2008 11:30

you have to be careful with using higher postage prices. buyers are not going for it anymore and if they notice a high postage with a small actual postage you could find yourself with a negative and a suspension.

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