Clothes & Accessories. Your Buying and Selling on Ebay Experiences.

lucy*locket

I mostly sell clothes on Ebay, mine and my daughter's.

I buy a lot of clothes at boot sales for us both which often don't fit (can't try them on first:D), Daughter doesn't usually come with me as too lazy to get up early on a Sunday so I take a chance and buy anything I think she'll like but quite do get it wrong sometimes.

I pay no more than £1 an item and if it's no good I list on Ebay starting at 99p so it's free....items find their own price, some only sell for a low amount but at least I've covered my costs...but lots of items sell for more than I paid so I make a profit, sometimes £20 or more if I'm lucky.I always accurately describe the item but keep it simple, and don't list anything I wouldn't want to buy.
I don't often buy clothes on Ebay, what's on offer for size 18 can be a bit rubbish, good incentive to lose a bit of weight;).

Definitely worth selling on Ebay, it funds my boot sale addiction!

SugarSpun

I buy a lot of vintage items on ebay and generally find they're as described - and sometimes in much better condition than I'm expecting.

The only times I've had a real disappointment were once when I bought a velvet trouser suit advertised as H&M size 8 - the jacket was an 8, sure, but the trousers were a 6 and they were a skinny fit so I couldn't get in them. The other time - I sawa long black dress from Gap going for 99p with no bids and about a minute to go, so I didn't check the seller's feedback the way I normally do and just bid. The thing arrived, and it was grey from washing, had deodorant stains in the armpits, was covered in cathair and smelled like a pub ashtray. It became instant cleaning rags, but I was gutted.

When I lived in the UK I sold a lot more often. Local here though it's harder - people don't buy clothing online and the international postage is too high for UK bidders. I sometimes start a bunch of auctions the week before I fly to the UK, and they generally cover about half my flight plus making room in my bag to bring stuff back!

minerva_windsong

I've never bought clothes on eBay (have occasionally bought jewellery though) but I used to sell quite a bit on there when I had end of term/year clear outs at university. I normally made about £20 a time on between five and ten items (skirts, bags, tops, shoes etc). Anything that I didn't sell then went in a black bag and I waited for the next reputable charity collection to come around.

The trick I find is timing it right. I put four dresses I'd worn for various uni parties on there at the start of May last year and made about £100 on the lot before postage, as that's prime season for proms and uni balls and stuff like that. It sounds obvious but you will get a lot more money for selling a wool skirt in September than you will in March.

I am also one of those really annoying people who weighs everything and gets prices for the envelopes before I send it out, so I know exactly what to charge for postage. Details like that, and photos of any marks on the item, are really important - I find that 90% of people will still buy something even if it's marked as long as they can look at the damage.

I've only ever had one bad selling experience on eBay, but that was with a computer game, not clothes (the guy claimed it didn't work when I'd tested it before sending and there was nothing wrong with it). So now I tell anyone who wants to buy stuff from me that whilst I will pay for the item to be returned, I won't refund unless the item is sent back to me first.

Bronnie

Well, I'm know I'm a bit slow on the uptake here, but have finally managed to put some stuff up for sale on Ebay:T

Took me forever yesterday morning, but I'm sure I'll get quicker as I get more practice. Problem is I can't stop checking up on it!! Such a waste of time, but I can't help myself!

Am I right in thinking it's best to put as much info into the title as poss
ie brand, size colour etc??

Floss

Bronnie wrote: »

....Am I right in thinking it's best to put as much info into the title as poss ie brand, size colour etc??

I think so, for example if people are searching for anything linen size 12, a Next 12L suit or a navy suit then "Next navy linen suit size 12L" will show in their search.

It always works for me anyway!

BitterAndTwisted

Floss is very clever indeed.

I'm an avid ebay buyer for clothes for work as I can't afford new and always buy a better quality garment than I could afford new, so I don't bother with Top Shop or River Island-type stuff. It's not really my age-group either but that's by-the-by.

What REALLY annoys me is when sellers think that one poorly-taken photo with no description will sell their item for them. I could be interested but am not willing to take a flier on even £0.99 plus postage based on no information whatsoever. I mean, who thinks they can sell black trousers with only a poorly-lit photo, no description of the fabric or cut and no measurements either? Crackers.

I have bought some extremely beautiful items for a song because they've been inaccurately listed so no-one bid against me. I once got a pair of the most superb-quality Italian boots, worn once by the look of them, which came from a store on Sloane Street where the price new would have been about £300 plus for £20 in this way.

Also, I'm usually on the look-out for winter items like coats and sweaters in the summer because I reckon the competition is less, so don't think you can't sell that lovely MaxMara cashmere coat until September because I'll buy it but maybe not for what you think it should sell for. Hehe

Unreasonably-high starting prices also put me off even though I'd probably consider buying it if the bidding got that high, IYSWIM

Floss

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Floss is very clever indeed.

Aww, shucks

Thank you!

I must admit that it is easier to sell if you give the sort of info you would look for if you were the buyer

BitterAndTwisted

So true. Sometimes I think that because the seller knows the item extremely they imagine well that other people are automatically going to as well.

If I ever chose to sell on ebay I think I'd describe the item as if I was doing so for someone non-sighted IYSWIM. More info is always better than less, although I really don't care to know why someone is selling. Why do you suppose sellers want us to know that they are selling due to weigh-loss and how could it possible be relevant to a buyer? I'd rather know that if an item is listed as "used" they'd give an indication of how many times an item has been laundered. There could be a huge different between once or twice and dozens

FairyShazza

I buy and sell a lot of clothes on Ebay. I buy stuff at the car boot and what I buy for me that doesn't fit or look half decent goes on Ebay along with the occasional thing I see at a low price that I think I might make a bit of cash on.

Unfortunately the thing with Ebay is there are no hard and fast rules, especially at the moment. I am finding I am not getting anywhere near the prices I was 12 - 18 months ago for things which is probably because of the bloody credit crunch. I recently listed a load of stuff including tops from Coast which were in great condition and they only went for 99p each which was mighty annoying, yet a Pineapple top I bought for 50p I sold for £10 plus postage. I actually thought the Pineapple top wouldn't sell and that the Coast tops would go for a much better price but hey cest la vie.

I recently had a massive clear out of my own clothes and put a lot of them on Ebay for sale (about 85 items) the money I made I have used to buy a few key pieces off Ebay - yes you get the odd turkey but I either just put it back on, give it to friends or send it to the charity shop which isn't so bad if I only paid a couple of pound for it in the first place.

I have to say I am actually more likely to buy my clothes from Ebay or the car boot at the moment. I am trying to lose weight so it isn't worth me buying as load of full priced gear from the High Street to only possibly find it doesn't fit in a few months. Plus I don't follow 'fashions' I have my own sense of style, I dress for myself and don't tend to follow trends so I don't mind if something is from last seasons collection.

I always try to put a full title with as much information that will be picked up under many different searches - size, shop, colour are the most important but I get as much as I can squeeze in. My auctions always have a personalised paragraph about the item saying what it is, whether it is worn or new, condition (including any problems) and suggestions for what it could be worn with then I copy and paste all the general info to. Yes it takes longer but it is worth it.

My husband and I are planning on starting a family and we've agreed I will stay at home when that happens and I will probably attempt at making Ebay my main income. The more time you have to invest in your auctions the better the end result you should get.

You can only give it a go and see what happens really

Lobell

I sell my bits and pieces that I no longer want on ebay...impulse buys in many cases! Some go for very little but I have done quite well on some pieces.

I am in the process of losing weight so I have loads of stuff to get rid of that no longer fits me. Some of it is brand new and most has only been worn once or twice. Today, I sold an item for £26...I bought it originally in a sale for £16 and wore it once so I'm well pleased with that.

One of my best items was a £6 piece of tat costume jewellery from TopShop that I'd never worn....sold for £46!!! I could hardly believe it but 2 girls got into a bidding war over it. Personally, I didn't think it was even worth the £6 I paid originally

I find things sell best if you have several good, clear photos on the listing and a good description. As well as a description, I always list the measurements, fabric composition (as this is something I always look at when buying any item) and a bit about why I'm selling/how often it's been worn/ if there are any marks on it etc. I only ever list things that are in a condition that I'd be happy to receive if I was a buyer.

Sometimes the things I think will only go for a couple of quid surprise me and make a lot more. Similarly, some things that I think will do well disappoint in the end so it's swings and roundabouts.