As a little girl, I loved my piggy bank. It was a simple, yet exciting way for me to save money and have a little bit of spending cash at the end of each year. For my 8 year old self, $10 was a big deal. Yet, even though now at the age of 19 I have brought my piggy bank with me to college, I don’t think $10 will quite cut it anymore.
So while I do still put the loose change from my wallet into the back of my little pink ceramic pig now and then, I have discovered an even better way to save a good chunk of cash each month.
Over the winter break, I read an article about an app called Poshmark where you can buy and sell used (or even new) clothing and accessory items. As with all money-making apps, I was initially very skeptical. I researched about the company and while there were a good amount of success stories from people making hundreds or even thousands off of their clothing, there were also just as many stories from disappointed users who never sold a single item in months of having the app. Nevertheless, as I thought about my prom dress hanging nicely in the closet that I would never wear again, I decided that it couldn’t hurt just to give Poshmark a try.
To my surprise, I made my first sale after only a week. I almost couldn’t believe it when I received a notification telling me that someone wanted to buy my bright green baggallini purse for $15 that had been sitting untouched in my room for years.
Even though Poshmark takes a 20% commissions rate, I still was left with $12 from something that was just collecting dust in my room. Just days later, my bright blue and pink floral prom dress that I had originally purchased for $62 on a major sale sold for $55. Over the following weeks, I sold Toms boots, James Avery jewelry, Kate Spade earrings, and a sweater which made my total earnings to date about $130.
For such an easy and almost effortless process, I would encourage every college student to download Poshmark and to upload pictures of their clothing and accessories they no longer use or want. You never know who may want your old formal dress, or even those shoes you never wear anymore. So while posting pictures of my clothes isn’t quite as easy or fun as emptying my change into my piggy bank, it sure is more lucrative.