There are loads of Poshmark success stories online. But I'll tell you right now, I'm not the subject of any of them. I've listed a few pieces here and there on Poshmark and even closed a couple of sales. And that's where my success on this resale platform ends.
Here's a look at where I went wrong on Poshmark, along with a list of other online destinations that can help you convert your old clothes into cash.
Poshmark is a lot of work
Poshmark is a massive, app-based social network that's built around clothing resale. According to Poshmark.com, the community has some 70 million registered users across the U.S. and Canada and more than 200 million items for sale in North America. A sale is closed every second.
All of that activity is good and bad for sellers. You have access to a huge audience of buyers, which is great. But you're also competing with many other sellers, including some who've basically perfected the art of selling on Poshmark.
For that reason, it's not realistic to think you can snap a few pics of your old clothes and raise some quick cash with Poshmark. That's not to say the process of creating listings on Poshmark isn't easy. It's actually quite simple.
But the people who are making all the sales -- your competitors -- aren't taking the easy road. They're meticulous. The photography is thorough, well-lit, and generally high quality. The listings are descriptive and enticing. And, these power sellers are good at pricing their items to sell.
The work doesn't stop with the listing, however. You have to promote your goods to capture buyers' attention. You can do that within Poshmark, by:
- Joining virtual shopping events called Posh parties
- Following top sellers
- Listing and resharing your listings often
- Holding flash sales
You can also share your listings outside of Poshmark to generate more attention, say, through your social media accounts.
I may have shared my Poshmark listings a couple of times, but I'm sure I never followed anyone or reshared my own listings. Nor did I join any Posh parties. And, honestly, my photography wasn't that great either. It's not that I didn't want to do these things, but I never made them a priority. So, it's no surprise my Poshmark resale efforts stalled out.
Thredup is easy but unknown
Once I realized I don't have what it takes to kill it on Poshmark, I decided to give Thredup a try. The model there is far less work-intensive. Basically, you send your clothes to Thredup. They look through your stuff and choose the pieces that are sellable. That decision is based the garment's brand, style, and condition.
Any piece that is accepted for consignment will be listed for either 60 or 90 days. What they call "value and mall brands" like Target, Forever 21, Gap, Old Navy, Express, etc. are marketed for 60 days, while designer brands like Prada and Calvin Klein get 90 days of exposure. You do have the opportunity to adjust their suggested pricing before your listings go live.
When one of your items sells, you earn credit to shop on Thredup or you can request a payout. The payouts are pretty minimal, ranging from 3% to 80%. The lower the listing price, the lower the payout.
If you send in any items that are not accepted, Thredup will donate them or send them back if you pay for shipping. And if your accepted items don't sell, you can reclaim them or let Thredup keep them.
One more thing to note is that Thredup's timeline can be very long. I sent a box in December and they notified me I won't get an update until March.
You've probably surmised this by now, but Thredup is not going to be a big moneymaker -- for you, me, or anyone else. But here's what I like about the site. I spent very little time, and I didn't have to learn a new skill or spend hours grooming the perfect listing. In return I get the potential to earn some nice shopping credit, which is more than I would have gotten for donating all of my things straight away.
Yeah, the income potential with Thredup is lower vs. Poshmark, but so is the time commitment. And I'm OK with that.
4 Other Places to Sell Your Clothes for Cash
If Poshmark and Thredup don't feel like good fits for you, here are four more ways to sell your clothes for cash.
Mercari
Mercari is making a run at the consignment market right now with some fairly heavy promotion, including TV commercials. Like Poshmark, you publish your own listings from the app by adding photos, a description, and a price. The marketplace has many categories besides fashion, though the fashion collection is substantial enough to attract an audience. There is no fee to list your items for sale; you only pay a piece to Mercari when something sells.
Tradesy
Tradesy is a fashion-specific marketplace that specializes in authentic, designer fashion. You'll likely earn top dollar here, but only if you have a closet full of labels like Bottega Veneta, Coach, Tory Burch, and Chanel. You can publish your listings from the app or the website.
Also, shoppers love Tradesy because the site is very good at removing fakes. The site claims 99.7% of the goods available are authentic.
If you have a large network of online friends, you could open a Facebook group, invite all your friends, and use that platform to sell your stuff. You can also create listings in Facebook Marketplace for used fashion. Either way, you get to keep 100% of your earnings, since Facebook doesn't charge a fee.
Shopify
Shopify is an easy ecommerce solution. You would use it to set up your own ecommerce store and use it to market your clothes. The advantage is if you know a bit about SEO, you might have access to a larger audience. The disadvantage is that this will route will be too much work for most people (including me).
Bottom line
The bottom line: Selling your old clothes takes effort if you intend to make more than a few bucks. Then again, you might enjoy having a new project to dive into, especially one with profit potential. Personally, I have too many projects in my life to justify the hustle required to sell my Calvin Klein dress for $12.
If you've had a different experience, I would love to hear about it!
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