Spending months in quarantine allowed for many new projects to take place, whether it be baking, painting, or simply catching up on Netflix. For me, that project was finally tackling the abyss that was my closet. After hours of sifting through the mountainous piles of clothes I had thrown on my bed and floor, I realized not only that I had way too many clothes, but also that most of them were no longer my style. It was clear I was due for a wardrobe upgrade.
While the thought of a closet full of new clothes is highly tempting, it’s also very expensive. All I wanted was to be able to take my old clothes and replace them with new ones and luckily, Depop helped me do exactly that.
Depop is an app used to buy and sell clothing, accessories and other gently used or new items right from the comfort of your own home (which for quarantine, was exactly what I needed). Encouragingly, within a day of putting up an array of items, I already made two sales. In the months that followed, I had not only played the part of a seller but also a buyer, slowly replacing those sold items with Depop’s finest clothes and accessories in top tier condition for a fraction of their original price.
When I first started to clear my closet, I definitely felt unsure of how to attract buyers, but after a number of sales, I feel like I’ve got it down pat.
Before a sale
Product shoot like you work for Vogue
Photos that elevate the item are much more eye-catching and appealing to potential buyers and are more likely to end up on the “explore” page. Items that I’ve tried on for photos or are shot with good lighting and a clean background sell faster in comparison to items I admittingly have lazily shot and posted.
Hit that follow button
Often, following an account leads to a follow back from them and building up your followers leads to more people seeing what great stuff you have to offer.
Be reasonable about your prices
You have to take into account the item’s original price and current condition and remember that you’re selling secondhand. If an item is difficult to sell, the “sale” feature is useful as it visibly lowers the price of the item and shows the buyer that they are getting a discounted price.
#Hashtag #Hashtag #Hashtag
Use the hashtag feature to tag your items appropriately. Useful tags indicate the brand, the style, the season the item is for and often the era (e.g y2k, 90’s, or vintage).
Refresh
While it may take several weeks for certain items on your page to sell, you want to keep your posts current. By subsequently hitting the “edit” and the “post listing” buttons on your posts, it refreshes the item so that when a buyer searches certain tags, your posts pop up first and don’t get lost in the pile up of other items.
After a sale
Add a personal touch to the package
Some sellers include stickers, beauty samples, or notes in the buyer’s package to express their thanks. This leads to better reviews which are always great for boosting sales as it credits you as a reliable and thoughtful seller.
Worried about selling in a pandemic?
Since there was no way I was going to be entering a post office regularly during a pandemic, I figured out a way to ship items myself so that I could just drop packages off in a post box.
Lettermail Shipping
Often, the items I sell are light enough that they can pass for Lettermail. In these cases, I package the item(s) up in a shipping envelope and put it on a food scale. After which, I refer to a handy dandy weight expense sheet provided by Canada Post and add the amount of stamps equivalent to that price onto the envelope.
Tracked Shipping
For heavier items which require tracked shipping, I print my own shipping labels and use shipping packaging from the dollar store, or even reuse packaging from items I’ve received in the mail myself.
Remember, selling items can take time! I can go a couple weeks without making a sale, or I can have items bought up several days in a row. Try not to feel disheartened if an item you thought was great isn’t selling right away. The right home for it will come along soon enough.