Welcome to Day 2 of the blog takeover by Sarah Nicolls of The Mother Clutter. Today, she’s going to walk us through what to do with those clothes we’re ready to remove from our wardrobe. Enjoy!
Hi guys!
Remember that DONATE/SELL pile we made when we decluttered your closet yesterday? Today I am going to give you some of my top secret tips on how to sell your gently used treasures online, so you can treat yourself some new things. Reselling is at an all time high; there was recently an article in Forbes about how luxury brands are freaking out that resale sites are diluting their product and hurting their sales. Whatever! Reselling can help you recoup some of the money spent on items your over and put it towards something you’ll actually use. Also, it’s good for the environment.
EVALUATE YOUR PILE
First off, go through the pile. We need to tier down the pile and decide what can be donated and what can be turned into cash. Anything that has a stain, holes, rips or weird odors needs to be binned. We have to be elitist here, but this is America after all, so. . . .
Mall Stuff
Donate anything from lower-end high street stores, such as Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Loft, Ann Taylor, etc. It doesn’t matter that you paid full price for them, or that they are in great condition. The fact is that they are not desirable and you’ll get pennies on the dollar. Not worth your time. Target (except for their designer collabs) and Kohls need to be donated too. J.Crew is hit or miss, depending on how special the item is and how new it is. J.Crew coats and jewelry are usually sale-able. I would donate any clothing from J.Crew that is more than 2 years old. Zara items weirdly can sell well on a few sites so if they are not too trendy, we can try to sell them.
Athletic/Athleisure
This category is a sticky wicket. I personally would not buy used workout clothes or leggings but the resale market for gently used Lululemon is huge. Hang on to those. There are people out there who covet and collect Lulu. Alala and other high end items will sell, but not for much. I would donate anything lower end, or give to a friend if you aren’t wearing them.
Denim
Reselling denim is disappointing on many levels. Even the most fabulous Frame jeans that cost me $260 are worth . . . not a lot. Denim will ALWAYS sell, but at a very low price. A lot of people just sell their jeans at $25 a pop just to move them.
Mid-Priced Items
This group includes Vince, Theory, Diane von Furstenberg, Rag and Bone, and other brands of their ilk. These are all good to go provided they are in good condition and priced well (see below). It ain’t my thang, but Lilly Pulitzer does very well in resale. So does Tory Burch.
Designer
Based on popularity and availability, these will net you the most. Chanel, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton are worth the most in resale. Same goes if something is really hot (e.g., right now, Bottega Veneta’s The Pouch Bag is selling for like 2.5 times what it sells for at Neiman Marcus. If you have one, sell it now, because that will be over soon).
Some things appreciate in value on these secondary markets. A while ago, I almost bought an LV Virgil Abloh Yellow Brick Road scarf and passed on it. I recently saw it on Fashionphile for 2x what I could have bought it for. AHH! Chloe and Valentino are worth less these days. Celine has also somewhat fallen out of favor as well, so it’s a good time to snatch up a deal on any of those 3 if you are buying! But all of these are still worth selling.
OK, SO HOW DO I GET STARTED?
The first thing you need to understand is that this takes time. Maybe months. How much time do you have? If you have a huge pile and cannot be bothered, please call me to come pick it up and I will sell it for you using The Mother Clutter consignment service. Or, The Real Real will also do this for major high end brands, but fair warning: they take a huge commission and they take ages to pay out so you can wait for your check for like 30-45 days.
Another tip: DO NOT use ThredUp. Their payment is notoriously atrocious. They also will CHARGE you a sh*tload to send back whatever they do not take to sell. I’ve heard some people have had to PAY ThredUp to send them back their own clothes. Um, no thanks.
If time is no issue, use a sales site like Poshmark or Ebay and list. Poshmark does not have a time limit on listings so you can list your stuff easily with their app, pack away the clothes, and forget about it. They do take a fee, so you need to factor that in, though. Ebay is an auction site with timed listings so you have to stay on top of it. Fashionphile is a new site that will actually buy your high end bags and accessories outright. Their payout is a little bit lower, but you get a check right away and can be done with it, which is definitely appealing.
BE SMART ABOUT YOUR PRICE
This is probably the most important part of this post: you MUST price accordingly. Check The Real Real and other sites for SOLD items that are similar to yours. Not what they are listed at, but what the SOLD price was. Remember, pre-loved clothing typically sells for ¼ or ⅕ of the retail price. You will not sell a $200 used Vince sweater for $140 or $100. Try $50 or $40 to start. Adjust your price every week or so. This is not the case for sold out or hard to find items. Price high and let the offers roll in! Shoes and bags will always sell faster and net more than clothes for obvious reasons.
TAKE GOOD PICS
You don’t need to go crazy and hire a photographer but photos do matter. Steam your clothes so they are not crumpled and look fresh. Take your pics in good lighting and lay them on a pretty rug or your bed. Don’t use a gross hanger and have a lot of clutter in the background. Simple, clean and well lit.
I hope you found this helpful and make a little side hustle cash from these tips. No time to list your clothing? Do you have an enormous mountain of clothing, shoes and handbags that you cannot deal with? Go to www.themotherclutter.com or visit me @themotherclutter to learn all about my consignment services!
Keep it minimal and keep it classy, ladies!
