Wardrobe clear out - best place to sell on clothes?

[Helplesshair]

Hi,
Where is the best place to sell on unwanted, hardly worn clothes? Is it eBay or somewhere else? Very behind the curve on this clearly but I need to clear my wardrobe and it would be nice to raise a bit of extra cash. Thanks

[DenPerry]

I tried ebay several times over the last 20 years or so but not much luck apart from the odd thing selling, I think clothes are so cheap these days from proper business sellers on there that people would rather have new. So now I either give to charity or take them to one of those shops who give you so many ££ per kilo of clothes. Not much at all! Just done 10 black bags of clothes recently so would be interested in others comments to see if I could have made any money! 😳

[DenPerry]

10* years!

[RandomUsernameHere]

I'd recommend eBay, I've done quite well selling clothes on there and because they are light the postage is cheap. Some items you can even post as a large letter which really saves on the postage.

[Helplesshair]

Thanks DenPerry. Tbh, I’ve never bothered before and I’ve given away loads of decent stuff to the charity shop already but have some hardly worn Hobbs and Hush that I’d like to sell if possible because have been ill (getting better now but not able to work yet) and if it will help me to even buy stocking fillers would be helpful this year.

[mrsmildred]

With eBay some brands sell better than others, combined with general condition, and how on trend or relevant it still is.

From the high street, higher end does best, so certainly Hobbs and also Toast, All Saints, Jigsaw, Cos, Sweaty Betty... Dorothy Perkins, New Look, Primark etc I wouldn't bother, doubtful the condition would be great if they've been washed but won't get enough to be worth it. My bench mark is I want to sell for upwards of £10 to be worth it after fees and general effort of listing and posting.

Hush does well because it's only available online for many people and key things sell out really quickly.

Key for eBay though above anything is to get your advert right. Put as many key words in the title, it doesn't have to make grammatical sense. Take clear photos in good daylight, in full and also close ups of any details and definitely any faults. Never model the item, hang it on a plain hanger against a plain background. Write an honest but factual description and include measurements. Sell it for the size on the label and if its sizes large or small or whatever, keep it as clear as possible. You don't want any returns or messy after sales because somethings been interpreted wrong. The app is really good for loading ads quickly.

[AnaViaSalamanca]

watching with interest. ebay never worked for me and neither did vestiaire, it basically becomes a full time job to field BS offers and time wasters....

An MN buy and sell thread would be nice!!

[PNGirl]

I use eBay. Mainly for shoes, bags and jackets though - Radley, AllSaints, Dr Martens have been good for me but I didn't manage to sell a pair of new Nike trainers that weren't a trendy model.

[NisekoWhistler]

MrsMildred nails it, follow her advice and you won’t go wrong.

One thing to add, starting an auction at 99p used to be great. Nowadays listing buy it now with offers considered is the way forward in my experience. Start with a buy it now 10% above what you want. Then someone will likely make you an offer 10% less buy it now.
Hope that helps.

[Helplesshair]

Thanks MrsMildred and Niseko. Very helpful advice. Will give it a go!

[NinonDeLenclos]

Brands in good condition sell well on ebay. Non-brands, poorer condition - not really worth the effort.

You don't have to put loads of key words in the title - & I find it really annoying when sellers do that - just put item, brand, size, condition.

It's much quicker to list on ipad app than laptop & easier to attach photos.

Put on your listing that buyers must pay within 3 days thereafter it will be relisted.

Send everything Signed For (first or second class), unless you're prepared to lose the amount if it goes missing, or the buyer says it's gone missing.

I find Buy It Nows with best offer tend to shift things fastest & they're less hassle.

[ilovecherries]

I've had reasonable success on ebay recently. I don't sell anything for less than 12.50, because I want to clear £10 per item to make it worth my while - otherwise it goes to the charity shop or textile recycling. I always do BIN these days. Most things are gone within 48 hours, which suits me just fine. And I ALWAYS send via a signed for service, even if the buyer requests otherwise - If RM is really as bad as ebay sellers claim they are, then they are losing about 15% of Mail.

[NinonDeLenclos]

^^Agreed.

The only time it's really worth doing an auction is designer items where people go crazy outbidding each other.

[Floisme]

If you don't fancy Ebay and they're reasonably current and in good condition then a local dress agency might be worth trying. I've never used one for selling but I buy most of my high end clothes this way! Of course they'll take a cut of whatever you make but you don't have any of the hassle you get with Ebay.

[mrsmildred]

Ha - am glad others recommended Buy It Now as I meant to also say that. I always list BIN, sometimes priced higher and accepting offers, like PP. I never use auctions either now, as I know the minimum price I'm prepared to pay, it's very often free to list, so I just keep listing until it sells, never more than twice usually.

NinonDeLenclos I would respectfully disagree about lots of keywords. As a buyer I've had some absolute bargains because of this e.g. "brand new Hobbs black suede pumps stilettos high heels UK4 EU37" - this is how I would have listed this item which I snapped up on auction for the starting price of £12.50 because they were listed as "Hobbs black shoes"

[mrsmildred]

*minimum price I prepared to SELL at, obviously!

[BikeRunSki]

I’ve had a lot of success with eBay - brands like Boden, Toast and white Stuff in really good condition though.

An MN buy and sell thread would be nice!! there was once a very active MN forum for this.

[crochetmonkey74]

I love Depop- quick, clear and no waiting for bids

[DollyPartonsBeard]

For posting, you can use Parcel2go website which links directly to your eBay account and offers various tracked services much cheaper than Royal mail etc, especially for heavier things than shoes, and you can drop off at local shops (always get a receipt!) or lockers.

[DollyPartonsBeard]

Meant To add, cheaper postage often attracts more buyers.