I realize I’m about 8 years late to the PoshMark platform, but I’m no stranger to thrifting! A dimly lit second hand store is one of my happy places and has been since high school. Sadly, I didn’t know what to do with all the gorgeous items I’d snag. They’d either end up in my closet or left on the shelf. (My husband loathes the purse collection I have hanging from our closet door.)
So when I came across a large amount of name brand boys clothes that wouldn’t fit my son I decided to start “Poshing”. (Is that what it’s called? Anyway…) It seemed like a safe way to dip my toes into the pool of second hand retail. If nothing sold I wouldn’t be out a ton of cash. Perfect opportunity.
In honor of my first month selling, I thought I’d share (with those who are interested) what happened during this time!
What I think So Far.
Guuuuys, I DIG IT! With my first sale (a cute pair of black Under Armour shorts will always hold a special place in my heart) I was deeply in love with PoshMark. Okay, maybe seriously “smitten” is a more realistic word, but I was still hooked.
The app makes the whole process from start to finish pretty simple. And people really do buy! I now lay awake at night thinking about every Tory Burch shoe or Free People dress I didn’t buy because it wasn’t my size. My hobby now has a purpose. Yaaaas!
I experienced every buying/selling situation I think is possible.
I experienced price negations where I was offered a price and accepted or I countered and the buyer accepted. I bundled for people (had to YouTube how *face palm*) and a buyer bundled for themselves and I made an offer. I only had one item sell at listing price without negotiations. People want to save money as much as I want to make it.
Through all these diverse situations I learned to seriously think about an offer before accepting or sending one to a buyer. I got too enthusiastic about making a sale at times that I took less for items than I feel was fair. Don’t cheat yourself, make thoughtful decisions.
I also bought an item. Catch me rocking this colorful vintage bag this summer y’aaaaall.
I met and exceeded my personal goals!
Society says dream big, but I know myself. If I set a goal and don’t reach it I will give up much easier. Selling five items was my goal. That’s it! In total I sold 11. Selling those did take time. I had a week with no sales and then sold 6 items in one day! Patience is definitely key.
For the first time I sourced for new items with the intent to sell.
After my second sale I got the itch to go, as we in the resale biz call it, “sourcing”. It sounds fancy but it’s just me digging through countless tops, dresses, pants, and more to find quality items I can fix up and sell to the stylish people of PoshMark. I found some pretty little things and am ever so PATIENTLY waiting for them to sell.
I made a huge booboo
The blissful morning of my largest sale quickly took a tragic turn. I hadn’t realized it, but I mistakenly sent a listed top home with my uncle…to Florida! And the top sold as part of a bundle! There, I admit my horribly embarrassing Posh mistake. Needless to say, I panicked. I tore my inventory apart searching for that little blue and white top. When I didn’t find the darn thing I started Googling what to do. I was a melodramatic wreck until I learned of its whereabouts. I did take away an important lesson from all the drama though: stay organized…and don’t freak out so bad. It’s just clothes. Also, PoshMark support was extremely helpful and sent a separate label for the shirt (at no extra cost to me). I had my family ship the shirt from Florida and life went on as normal. Thank God.
People are shady and petty on PoshMark
I happened across a pretty Lilly Pulitzer dress
(two actually) at my local thrift store one day while sourcing. Ecstatic about my major brand score, I posted the “dressiest” dress for $75 and it sold in 3 minutes. Whaaaaat?! However, my happy dance ended when the comments started rolling in. Turns out my particular dress was called “Molly Haynes” and could go for $300 or more! (Since I’m not an avid Lilly shopper I was ignorant of this fact.) Unfortunately, losing money wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was how rude the other sellers were because I sold a dress for so cheap! I blocked them all. Move on ladies. Don’t you have your own closets?
I learned to manage my time better.
I got pretty sucked into promoting my closet and sharing my items. It can be more addictive than Instagram! I was getting overly irritated with my family and those around me because I was not mentally present enough. To avoid this issue, I set up a few specific times through out the day to share and post new products. I haven’t completely stuck to my schedule, but it’s helped keep the crazy thrifter side of me at bay. That’s good.
Well, there it is, a few of the highs and lows from my first month on PoshMark. May not sound too exciting to some, but that’s because they’re too busy paying full price for clothes at pretty smelling department stores instead of online shopping in bed while eating chocolate and binging Netflixs originals. #sad
Tell me what you first month of selling looked like in the comments! Do you have any tips? An embarrassing story of your own? Do you have any questions about Posh? Ask away! I want to read it all!
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