Let’s get real here. If you’re anything like the average college-aged girl, you probably have more clothes in your closet than you know what to do with. You might be holding onto that favorite pair of skinnies from high school, that super-cute-but-doesn’t-fit-quite-right leather jacket, or the never worn wedges that were gifted to you for your last birthday and are super cute, but not quite your style… Whatever it may be, you probably aren’t quite sure what to do with these perfectly good, but unnecessary pieces taking up valuable closet space. Solution? Selling your clothes, shoes, and other goodies through an app so that your unwanted wardrobe pieces make you some major cash.
Over the past year, application developers have been heavily advocating for a new market labeled as ‘social shopping.’ Apps for smart device users such as Depop, Mercari, Poshmark, and Vinted (to name a few) have been racking up hundreds of thousands online mobile transactions, boasting the advantage of a fun new way to buy and sell “from your own pocket.” Users are able to create their own accounts, essentially their own “store” and then sell their own goods through credit transactions, PayPal, concealed cash, or item swaps. Alternatively, users may create an account and buy items from other sellers! These resale apps typically revolve around clothing, shoes, accessories, beauty products, and electronics. However, there are all kinds of markets to be discovered in the social shopping sphere. (Think awesome things like custom painted furniture and flower crowns.) Essentially, these apps are often styled similarly to your Instagram feed—only this time you can actually purchase the items that you’re ‘liking.’
The pros of such a new methodology of online shopping are vast. You can find amazing deals (especially on designer pieces), search for specific items, follow users that you like, and make a profit off of your own pieces. Sellers are held accountable through review and rating systems, in which the buyer of any specific item is allowed to leave a ranking and comment upon their experience with the seller. Most sellers will also post proof of shipping, tracking numbers, and more for your purchase. When posting personal items for sale, users are able to determine their own selling prices and shipping fees and choose whether they will require buyers to contact them through the messaging interface of the app or alternatively allow a feature known as ‘instant buy.’ Check out some of the interfaces from the Depop app below to get a better understanding of how these functions work!
Whether you’re buying or selling, social shopping is drastically changing the ways in which we purchase and sell our own material possessions. Social shopping provides enormous opportunity to make a major profit and score awesome deals on your own buys. With popular apps such as Depop, Mercari, Poshmark, and Vinted gaining enormous popularity among online shoppers, we’re certain that social shopping is not only here to stay, but will continue to revolutionize the online marketplace.