Selling your clothes?

[puglife15]

Do you sell unwanted clothes? If so do you do eBay, Facebook selling groups, nearly new type sales etc?

I sell my best pieces at a designer preloved type place but they don't accept everything. I'm planning on Kondoing everything this weekend, there's a load of stuff that will go to charity but I'd also like to recoup a bit of cash as I'm on mat leave so things are tight.

The items in mind are typically high street brands like Reiss, Whistles, Joseph, Boden, Monsoon, plus some good condition maternity jeans and dresses from Topshop & H&M.

Any advice on the best way to sell for the least hassle, and items likely to sell (or not), greatly appreciated! I'm guessing I should try to sell summer stuff now and winter stuff later in the year?

[RaisingSteam]

I sell on ebay, just made about £100 for six items. Things that were expensive to start with, known brands that people will search on, plus good clear photos and measurements. I often offer free postage.
It's a bit time consuming, you do have to weigh up the hassle factor and be realistic about what ppl will pay by looking at previous listings.

[LovelyWeatherForDucks]

I buy and sell a fair bit via Facebook buy/sell sites. There's lots for Boden, in particular, and easier than eBay I think.

[puglife15]

Thanks Raising Steam, do you use auction rather than Buy It Now? I listed a Boden silk top for 99p last year but by the day before it still had no watchers or bidders so I took it off as thought I could do better...

[puglife15]

Thanks lovely - how does it work re payment or are they all local?

I can't really be arsed with packing and posting stuff but I also don't like the constant stream of people traipsing over to buy stuff on my local selling pages.

[leedy]

I've sold quite a few things on Ebay, as the PP said it's time consuming but once you've done it a few times you pretty much know what kind of things sell, what to put in the description, what kinds of photos to take, etc.

IME the things that tend to sell well are leather bags, coats and jackets, dresses, and shoes (either unworn or worn once). Jeans and trousers don't seem to sell as well, possibly because it's harder to tell if they'll fit. Also higher-end high street brands (eg Toast, fancier Boden, All Saints) sells better than more inexpensive stuff (Gap, Topshop) unless you sell for very little, in which case the effort of listing may not be worth it.

[puglife15]

Great - so first step is to tier stuff depending on brand and item - i reckon I've got about 10 pieces worth ebaying and maybe another 15 I'll try on a local selling group. If I can make £200 I'll be very happy!

[puglife15]

The thing I find hardest about eBay is setting the starting price - do you basically start low and hope for the best?

[revealall]

eBay is great until the invoice comes in. You may not make as much as you think. I found Facebook much better. No postage and it's first come first served so people are keen to show interest ( unlike eBay where it's all last minute).

[CointreauVersial]

On eBay never start the auction at a sum lower than you'd be happy to sell the item at. I wouldn't start an auction at 99p because if it sold for that I'd be out of pocket.

So I might start "ordinary" things, like Next tops, random unbranded stuff at £3 - £5, but nicer/more sought-after brands like Boden, Baukjen, White Company etc. at a higher amount. Do a bit of research on what similar items have sold for, and start at the low end of that.

Some stuff doesn't really attract much interest, so if I've listed something a couple of time with no bids I will put it on as a Buy It Now for 30 days. This attracts a sale if you are lucky.

Or try bundling the lower-value stuff. This works especially well for kid's clothes.

Obviously choose a sensible time for the auction to end!