Alternative auctions for clothes selling...

kriss1977

My Mum seriously needs to make cash and seriously declutter - think 3 bedroom house so full she can only enter 3 of the rooms and move gainfully about (bathroom, kitchen and the smallest bedroom.)

After years of talking about it, I have finally convinced her to do something about it and she wants to sell decades worths of clothes.

Anyway feedback from friends' experience tells me Ebay is not so profitable for clothing. None of the stuff will be designer but many items have their original shop tags i.e. never been worn.

Are there any auction sites which specialise in clothes out there?
Or local selling sites (I used to use stuff4sale in the midlands) - my Mum lives in Cornwall near Launceston... ?

(She can't make it to do boot sales etc as she has no transport etc. )

LittleMissBride

I'm not sure of other sites, but I'd go for ebay. Even if alot of the items sell for 99p each, they're clothes that she's never worried about before, and all the 99p's will soon mount up! Good luck hun x

mobile48

No experience of selling clothes on ebay.

I do not see why these should not sell well. You have a unique selling point as it is rare for complete new outfits (with tags) to be available in the retro/vintage market.

For best looking items select some that go well together for the looks most associated with the decade. Do not worry about designer labels if they look great.

Even just putting job lots of new sixties, seventies or eighties clothes should get interest.

It will take time to work out how to get the best price but it is worth a try.

lucystardust

eBay isn't too bad for selling clothes. I've sold a fair few bits on there in the past. The best sellers are things with tags on and from recognisable brands, like high street shops. Make sure you can see the tags in the pix so people know its never been worn.

And its worth taking your time with the photos. A dress makers dummy or someone modelling the clothes is the best option. But I usually hang up them on a plain background (eg back of the white bathroom door). I use double sided tape or dressmakers pins to make sure you can see the full shape of the garment, eg for shirts i'll pin the arms out flat, using the pin to keep the arm of the shirt stuck to the door. It doesn't damage the clothes or the door and makes the garment look good in the photo.

Crowqueen

People are right about eBay - the other auction sites are sadly bereft of buyers, and the other big sites are not clothes-sellers, as a rule.

Make sure you put measurements and good photos on all the listings as clothes buyers are some of the pickiest on eBay. Overdescribe everything.

Unfortunately if your mum doesn't have transport, make sure she has arrangements that include being able to get to a post office. Lack of a PO within a sensible distance for visits as and when is a significant handicap to selling on eBay as buyers in general don't like it when sellers stick transport costs into the P&P, and it would inflate your prices beyond what people are prepared to pay. Paying someone else to do the mileage to a distant PO will be almost as prohibitive to her as doing a carboot sale would. People complain about buyers not accepting the fact that they have to go 10 miles to a PO, but IMO those people shouldn't be selling - they can't make it worth their while if everything they make just goes on petrol.

If she is mobile and has a PO within walking distance or in a location she can get to easily when doing other things (e.g. shopping), then go for it.

JesaRose

Another vote for eBay. There is no other site to compare for selling this sort of thing. I often clear out my wardrobe and sell a few items of clothing, shoes, bags on eBay (usually to make space for new )

I find clothes do sell pretty well actually, especially good high street brands with tags on. I sold a new tagged skirt of my mums recently for £15 (originally it was £45). I sold a used Monsoon angora jumper for £45 recently, it wouldn't even have been that much new. My mother in law, who it belonged it, was very pleased with me for getting rid of it for her because she was going to throw it away

CHARLIE

Hi
You could try hot deals clothes seem to sell well on there:T

pinkclouds

lucystardust wrote: »

eBay isn't too bad for selling clothes. I've sold a fair few bits on there in the past. The best sellers are things with tags on and from recognisable brands, like high street shops. Make sure you can see the tags in the pix so people know its never been worn.

And its worth taking your time with the photos. A dress makers dummy or someone modelling the clothes is the best option. But I usually hang up them on a plain background (eg back of the white bathroom door). I use double sided tape or dressmakers pins to make sure you can see the full shape of the garment, eg for shirts i'll pin the arms out flat, using the pin to keep the arm of the shirt stuck to the door. It doesn't damage the clothes or the door and makes the garment look good in the photo.

I agree with using a tailor's dummy or just a hanger against a door but I disagree with modelling the clothes yourself. I find it really unappealing, as a buyer - particularly if it's described as "new". I guess, logically, people do try clothes on in a high street store but I just find it yuck when browsing on Ebay. I always wonder if the clothes have actually been worn, even with the label/tag attached...

Oh, and another vote for Ebay. It's the only auction site I use and I have bought and sold clothes there. As a "hobby" seller, I essentially sell for peanuts. However, as a buyer, I am willing to spend a reasonable amount on new clothes. (I bought my wedding dress and some of my maternity clothes on Ebay!)

jasmineswhiskers

If she has masses of clothes (and you suggest some are 'vintage') might be easier to look for nearby vintage clothing stores and/or dress agencies. Listing clothing properly is quite time consuming. Personally I sell the odd item i'm tired of but really find it tedious. Some people obviously enjoy this as they do it for a business. Also that is the other thing which has been mentioned previously - listing lots of clothes has had sellers having to register as a business.

runnerbean17

I sell clothes on Ebay and would recommend it. Although it can be hit and miss sometimes. My best item was a waistcoat I bought from the car-boot sale for 50p (didn't fit) sold on Ebay for £17!! And I agree with Pinkclouds don't 'model' the clothes, really puts me off too!!!