I spent plenty of time sorting through clothes, taking pictures, and loading everything into sites like Craigslist or local Facebook swip swap groups. I would list my clothing for as little as $1 per piece and wouldn’t get bites. Worst of all, I had some nice Gymboree, Crazy 8, and Baby Gap clothes that were barely worn that I would have been HAPPY to have paid a dollar for (it’s practically stealing lol). That just left me feeling like everyone was looking for handouts.
I pulled my listings and began populating eBay. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have wasted my time with the other sites! Here’s what I’ve learned in the process, what works for me, and hoping it helps you, too.
Paper and Ink for your Printer
Plastic Mailing Envelopes (choose a size appropriate for your clothing)
Camera or mobile phone camera
1) Most important is NOT to be attached to anything you’re planning to list. I kept some favorite outfits that I didn’t want to get rid of – saved me the heartache if they didn’t sell well.
2) My most recent sales were clothes for the future. It’s winter when I’m writing this and I’ve been selling Spring and Summer items. Apparently, people like to plan ahead.
I list each of my items as 7 day auctions starting at 99 cents. I have no reserve. While there were plenty of times in the past that clothes didn’t sell, or someone got the best deal at 99 cents, I do have some tactics that should help and will mention those shortly.
Put in as much of the details as you can! I always insert information from the clothing’s tag and I accurately describe each item.
BE HONEST! As a buyer, I bought clothes from a seller who described a stain on a shirt. For the right price, a stain on a child’s night shirt wasn’t that big a deal and I couldn’t blame her for falsely advertising the item. I bought the item AND was able to get the stain to clean up better than I received it. I appreciated the seller’s honesty!
Use uninterrupted time! Do this at a time when you’ve put your kiddo down for nap or bed. I’ve found mistakes in my listings more when I’ve been distracted. It’s not fun going back to update your listing and finding out you can’t correct a title 😐
That said, I treat the sale of her used clothing as a business … I try to give it the attention I would give a business transaction. It has it’s time and place and deserves to look as professional as I can make it.
Currently, eBay allows for up to 12 FREE pictures. Use as many of those as it takes to accurately portray your item(s). I use my mobile phone to take my pictures (and list my item) for the simplicity. Good photos are easy – choose a well lit room (indirect sunlight is my friend). I take a full front and full back photo. For girl’s clothes, I make sure to take pictures of details
2 key points here! You could pay eBay to feature your items, but that’s going to eat into some of what you’re making. I haven’t gotten around to trying it yet to compare results, but here’s a few things you can do for FREE!
1) As soon as you list an item, share it to social media. I always share with a note *newly listed*. This gets attention and usually gathers watchers quickly.
2) Watch your items! If the auction is a couple days from closing and has no bids or looks like will be going for a bargain, share it to social media again! I typically share to twitter (I have a decent following there thanks to the blog) with some kind of note like “going to let this one get away?” or “wow, what a bargain!”
It’s important you’re getting attention. These tactics cost you nothing but a few extra seconds with the potential to reach more people and hopefully more sales.
If you have used the added features of eBay to get extra eyes on your products, please tell me if you’ve found it worth it!
Did I miss anything?
