Overflowing closet? But where to sell all of your old and tired clothes?
To all the girls who have sold their clothes to Plato’s Closet at least once, I know your frustration. Their lack of fashion sense, mysterious pricing system, picky buyers . . . the list could go on forever. I swear they’ll offer me $1.72 for a super cute, brand new with tags, trendy top—but will pay upwards of $5 for the Hollister tee that’s been sitting in the back of my closet since 2013. I’ll never understand it! After putting up with Plato’s lowball offers for years, I finally decided to start selling my clothes on Depop, an app where people can buy and sell second-hand from each other. I’ve sold over 50 things on my account in the past 6 months or so, and I’m loving it so far! If you’re new to the app or looking to make some extra cash off of your old clothes, here are a few tips for getting your shop up and running.
- Pricing
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Be strategic about pricing! When gauging how low or high to set your prices, always check references. Search the app for the exact item you are selling, and compare your price to that of other sellers and buyers of the same item. Setting prices too high won’t get you any buyers while setting prices too low will dent your profits. If there’s a specific amount you want to make off of a certain item, make sure you take shipping fees, Depop app fees (10%), and Paypal fees (2.9% + $0.30) into account as well.
- Shipping
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After someone purchases an item from your shop, you get to ship it out! While the app has a feature that can automatically send you a shipping label to the buyer’s address, it can be expensive. Going straight to the post office can be quite costly as well. A great way to save money on shipping is to alternatively ship through Paypal, which offers discounted shipping labels for people who have an active Paypal account.
- Reviews
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When buyers receive the item they ordered from your shop, they can leave a review. It’s important to get as many five-star reviews as you can because it reassures potential customers that your shop is legit! Most times people forget to leave a review on my page, but I’ll gently remind people by rating them a five-star customer once their package is delivered.
- Reposts
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After you post an item to your shop, you can repost that item as many times as you want. This is convenient because many buyers search by chronological order. Since recently posted clothes appear first on their feed, reposting items on your shop will push your listing to the top of their search results!
- Other Apps
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If your clothes don’t seem to be selling on Depop, branch out to other resale apps! There are so many to choose from, but my personal favorites are Poshmark and Vinted. I’ve actually noticed that different items sell better on certain apps—like bikinis have sold fastest on my Poshmark account while purses always go first on my Depop. Posting identical listings on various apps at the same time increases the probability of your items selling!