Tips for Selling on Poshmark

Last year my 23 year old niece introduced me to Poshmark. Over dinner, she explained how she was able to sell some of her old clothes online & just how straightforward a process it was. Our conversation got me thinking about what’s in my own closet. Inspired by my niece’s tips for selling on Poshmark, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did!

By Jaunty Staff

“Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world behind oil. That’s a lot of dirt on our backs. If fashion helps us express who we are and what we stand for, then our clothing choices matter. It matters that we throw 26 billion pounds of clothing in to global landfill every year. It matters that fashion will drain a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. A single T-shirt takes 700 gallons of water to produce. The choices we make matter. ” – – Thredup CEO James Reinhart

Selling on Poshmark

Quick benefits to selling on Poshmark:

• Turns my under used items in my closet into cash. Since there is never enough closet space, thinning the herd is a good thing!
• Provides motivation to pin point the clothes I truly love versus those I’ve under appreciated or fallen out of love.
• Allows me to take part in the sustainable fashion movement, by keeping my clothes out of landfills.
• In addition to clothes, I’ve had success selling shoes,  used AirPods, iPhone cases & other household items.
• Having been a lifelong sales person, Poshmark also provides a fun side hustle, marketing my wardrobe online!

Have you read Jaunty’s article on MasterClass? Click here…

What is Poshmark?

Founded in 2011, Poshmark describes itself as “…the largest social commerce marketplace for fashion where anyone can buy, sell and share their personal style…” 

Essentially, Poshmark provides a clever, socially driven, shopping community where you can buy or sell clothing, shoes, bags & accessories. A vast majority of the products are previously owned, however, they also offer a “Boutique” category, from retailers. There are thousands of brands to choose from, ranging from mid tier brands like Lululemon, Cole Haan & Levi’s to the high end, such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton & Burberry.

How to Sell on Poshmark

How does Poshmark work:  For Buyers

After creating a login for free access to the site, you can begin shopping the many products offered by the army of sellers. You can narrow your search by a specific brand, style, size or product category. As I mentioned, the site is “socially driven” and interactive. Poshmark describes this as a “…one-of-a-kind experience in connecting people and their closets.”

If your fashion sense aligns with a particular brand, style or specific seller, you can follow them, getting a first look at what they are offering for sale or what’s trending. Currently, I’m following 3,000 sellers.

Sellers are also rated,  from one to five stars, on their customers overall buying experience. If you find the perfect item, click to buy and the seller ships your product to you. Don’t worry, your purchase is covered through Posh protect (discussed below)!

How does Poshmark work: For Sellers:

Selling an item on Poshmark is really easy. I take up to 8 photos of each item I want to sell, provide a description (brand, size, condition, etc…) and post.

Once you sell your item, Poshmark sends you a shipping label, you box the item up and drop it off at the post office. If fellow Poshmark buyers appreciate what your selling from your closet, followers begin to track your offerings. I currently have 7,000 followers. Some long standing Poshmark sellers have over a million followers! This cross promotion among buyers & sellers generates targeted looks from potential buyers.

Seen the latest items on our Shop page? 

Secrets to Selling on Poshmark  – A few tips

Getting setup with Poshmark is fairly straight forward. Once you’re up and running, I’m including a few suggestions that might aide your sales process. Here’s a few tips for selling on Poshmark.

Follow & Be Followed – I follow other Poshmark sellers and they often follow me back. This increases the number of people who see my “closet.”  Poshmark recommends you “share” other sellers items to your followers; and most reciprocate and “share” a few of my items to their “followers.”

Quality Pictures –  I take pictures using my iphone and then do quick edits on my laptop (crop, enhance). Great pictures let the customer see what I like about the garment I’m selling, and justify the selling price.

Use a Mannequin – Using a mannequin is a great way to market your clothes. Laying a jacket on your bed & taking a picture doesn’t do your jacket justice! I purchased a mannequin from Amazon for about $35.

Use a Model –  My son has generously agreed to model some clothing for me on a few occasions. A torso picture or pants picture is a great way to show off  how a garment might look and fit

Accuracy Matters – Try to be as clear as possible about the size and condition of what you intend to sell. An items with a blemish or minor defect can still be sold, provided your potential buyer is aware in advance and the cost reflects the true condition of the item.

Save your Boxes – Make a habit of saving smaller boxes from gifts, packages etc… to recycle into your Poshmark process (save money & recycle). You can always break them down flat, for storage until it’s time to use them in your next sale.

The Right Packaging is important!

Step up your Packaging –  A satisfying customer experience leads to more customers! Stuff tissue paper into shoes so they don’t get crushed in shipping. Wrap everything in tissue paper using the “thank you” stickers to keep the paper in place.  If recycling a brown box, make sure all old tags are removed or covered by the label Poshmark provides. I’ve found my customers not only give me 5 stars, but they confirm their acceptance immediately and my funds become available quicker; A Win-win!

How to Make Money on Poshmark

Poshmark seller fees are as follows:

Sales under $15 – Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95

Sales over $15 – Poshmark takes 20% of the sale

Once your sale item has been delivered to the buyer, you receive your earnings. While 20% might seem high to some, earning 80% for an item I’m not using still seems like a good deal!

How Does Poshmark Shipping Work?

Poshmark provides a flat rate of $6.79 for expedited shipping for all orders. Each order is shipped using 1-3 day USPS Priority Mail. Shipping is paid for by the buyer. You can use a USPS flat rate box (free with the USPS flat rate) or any standard brown box of similar size works too…even better if it’s being recycled!

Is Poshmark Safe?

Poshmark Return Policy – “Posh Protect”

Poshmark’s “Posh Protect” policy goes to great lengths to protect both buyer and seller. To date I haven’t run into any problems. Once an item has shipped, Poshmark provides the tracking number so you can follow the sales process right up until the buyer receives your item. The buyer then has 3 days to accept it.

Poshmark will refund a buyers money if:

• items never ship
• There’s an incorrect or missing item
• undisclosed damage is found
• item is not as described
• The item is not authentic

Once, I sold a blouse and marked it as a medium, when it was actually a large. Poshmark provided the buyer a label and it was shipped back, without a problem and the buyers funds were returned.

If no claim is made within 3 days of receiving an item, payment is released to the seller.

Items that don’t fit as you’d hoped or are not your style do not qualify for a refund (You could always resell it, on Poshmark).

Poshmark Customer Service

I’ve always had success with Poshmarks email customer service when an issue comes up. They’ve always been very responsive.  One time I received a one star rating (my only less than 5 star rating BTW) from a customer because I missed a question from a buyer in the news feed, after the buyer received the item. While the customer liked & kept the product, they gave a 1 star rating because I hadn’t responded quickly enough. I contacted Poshmark customer service, and they responded the next day. They agreed that the rating was unwarranted, and although they couldn’t remove the rating, they gave me a $5 credit toward any purchase, for the trouble.

What is a bundle on Poshmark?

A Poshmark Bundle allows a buyer to purchase multiple items from a sellers closet. This allows the buyer to ship more than one product  for the cost of a single shipment. Bundles are also a good selling tool for moving multiple items out of your closet!

Poshmark Parties

Several times a day Poshmark parties are launched within the app.

These are virtual shopping events where potential buyer gather to shop, share from their closet and sell clothing and accessories. You can peruse through multiple showrooms with the parties, for curated items that have been shared. “Poshmark parties” is one of many tips for selling on Poshmark as it offers offer both shopping and selling opportunity!

Prefer a less “hands on” approach?

I really love having control over the entire sales process: setting the pictures, description, setting the price. Looking on Google and Poshmark I can get an idea of what my items might sell for and how aggressive pricing should be.  If your schedule is such that, you like the idea of clearing out your closet and recycling, but lack the time or interest, there are some alternatives to Poshmark

Thredup   – Thredup is focused on the lower to upper middle tier market. They will provide you with a “clean out kit” to gather up your unused items ad send them off to Thredup. They take care of the rest.

Therealreal –  Therealreal focuses on the high end market. Send them your clothes and they too will handle the rest.

Have you read Jaunty’s article on MasterClass? Click here…

Seen the latest items on our Shop page? 

Share