How should I sell these clothes? Car boot VS eBay?

tej88

Hi all,

A friend of mine (who works in events) has asked me to do her a favour and help her sell a job-lot of brand new DKNY clothing that she found discarded after a fashion event. They were in bin bags, a bit crumpled, some were a little dusty and the tags and prices indicate that they had all been in the sale, but there's really nothing wrong with them once you stick them on a hanger. They've got all the original tags on etc.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice as to the best way of selling new designer clothes, as I really am a novice when it comes to these matters.

I was thinking of selling the items individually on eBay, but having done some research have heard that buyers are wary of buying designer clothes on eBay as they are concerned about fakes.

Would a car boot stall be better? As then buyers would get the chance to see the products up close? Also might there be a possibility of making more money at a car boot, as you dont run the risk of a one 50p bid auction on eBay? I was also thinking that one day at a car boot might be less work than listing/posting 50 items separately on eBay.

That said, I know nothing about car boots. Do people sell designer clothes at car boots or is it deemed a bit spivvy? On that point, are you allowed to sell new items at car boots, or does it have to be second hand i.e. to stop car boot sales becoming like any other market.

Many thanks for reading. I would appreciate any advice/tips!

Tej

thegirlintheattic

I'd be more worried about the clothes being 'found'.

soolin

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I'd be more worried about the clothes being 'found'.

I have the same concern.

However, I would forget ebay, a new seller will be limited to around 3 items a month for several months if selling designer items.

tej88

thegirlintheattic - Thanks for the reply. I understand your concern but my friend is really not "that" kind of person, she was a senior manager at the show and just thought it would be a shame for them to go to waste. She's passed them to me as they're taking up space in her flat and wants them gone. If I sell them I'm keeping the money, so long as I take her out for a meal with it!

soolin - Thanks for replying. I've sold two things on eBay before, but not designer clothes. I have a 100% positive feedback of 58 (including 2 as a seller). Would this put me in your category of a "new seller'?

As for car boots, if anyone has any experiences to share relating to selling new clothes (designer or not) at car boots - or for that matter buying, or perhaps even merely observing - I would love to hear them and would greatly appreciate it!

Many thanks,

Tej

Crowqueen

This is probably not what you want to hear but I need to say it.

OP would need to declare them for tax purposes - you didn't buy them but they would count as business stock. So the designer label limit might not be relevant here on eBay unless they are otherwise restricted on first registering of a business account. If you have a day job all income you receive will be taxable since your personal allowance will be eaten up by your PAYE income.

Have a look at talkinpeace's Me page on eBay for more information.

Make sure they are clean - which means making sure that any effects of being poorly stored or crumpled into bin-bags have been ironed out. Clothes buyers are very picky and you want to be as professional as possible; use full measurements, take good photographs and, since you will be technically a business, bone up on consumer law by reading the OFT website "Distance Selling Portal" because your customers will be quite demanding in this market. Be prepared to defend the authenticity of your garments too.

Obviously bear in mind that you are going to face curious buyers and you are going to inevitably get asked the same questions as you're being asked here, possibly by officials at car boot sales. The more you protest, the more you will be suspected of not telling the truth - it may be that seeing a stall full of designer gear at a car boot sale is just too good to be true for any buyers to take a risk.

Sorry to be a bit of a dampener on such an awesome find but there are an awful lot of things to take into consideration here and the clothes need to be clean to sell well. If you could consult with your friend as to how to get them professionally cleaned so you can sell them as new seconds then that would be a start.

thegirlintheattic

I didn't mean to offend. It's just the first thing that jumped to mind with the story, and so I think it will jump to buyers minds as well. A lot of people are very cautious with designer items.

soolin

tej88 wrote: »

thegirlintheattic - Thanks for the reply. I understand your concern but my friend is really not "that" kind of person, she was a senior manager at the show and just thought it would be a shame for them to go to waste. She's passed them to me as they're taking up space in her flat and wants them gone. If I sell them I'm keeping the money, so long as I take her out for a meal with it!

soolin - Thanks for replying. I've sold two things on eBay before, but not designer clothes. I have a 100% positive feedback of 58 (including 2 as a seller). Would this put me in your category of a "new seller'?

As for car boots, if anyone has any experiences to share relating to selling new clothes (designer or not) at car boots - or for that matter buying, or perhaps even merely observing - I would love to hear them and would greatly appreciate it!

Many thanks,

Tej

2feedback from selling......yes, you would be treated as a new seller

tej88

Crowqueen - Thank you very much for you detailed and very helpful response.

Good point about tax, I hadn't thought about that! I had a look at talkinpeace me page, in which one line stood out in particular:

"Yes, the Revenue don't want everybody to be registered as self employed, but if you are buying on a regular basis, even on a small scale, you are trading."

This seems to imply that one-offs are ok. Wouldn't this count as a one-off? Seeing as I have only brought in one "purchase"? (despite me not purchasing it!)

I take your very valid point about cleanliness/presentation, one or two could do with an iron but the majority are completely fine. The aforementioned dust only affected a couple of items, no more than good shake cant get rid of. I am thinking of investing in a bodyform/mannequin to make the presentation more professional.

The OFT website also looks very useful, thank you!

As for discarded goods, what is the legal status? I've found plenty about "found" and "lost" goods. As far as I see it the clothes are no less my friends than the bin-diver's pizza is their pizza, if that makes any sense. (I suppose the difference being that the bindiver is not trying to sell the pizza on eBay!)

That said I am a fairly upstanding citizen and don't really fancy getting in trouble for something so trivial. As you pointed out, I wonder if I turned up with them at a car-boot sale some official having a bad day might choose me to pick on.

Thanks again!

tej88

girlintheattic - No problem! I understand it all sounds a bit dodgy. That's why I am seeking everyone's much appreciated wisdom! And yes I expect it would jump to buyers minds.

soolin - thanks

Crowqueen

I think you might actually give people more confidence if you did sort out the legal paperwork on this and do it entirely above board, including with the tax authorities. Simply put, you have to prove yourself - therefore you want to do this as rigorously as possible.

If you suddenly upload a lot of listings or have a pitch at a boot sale, you are not going to want to give anyone the impression you are a fly-by-night. Boot sales might not like what you have to sell at all if it even looks like it fell off the back of a lorry and you can't provide adequate proof of authenticity (and by that I mean e.g. receipts or certificates, not just verbal assurances of the provenance of the items).

And even if you are not registered with the tax office eBay are going to restrict you unless you register as a business - they will probably put restrictions on you to begin with anyway, though these would probably be slightly more generous than they would if you stayed as a private seller.

You are going to have to meet the authorities at least half-way, if not more than, on this.

Check they don't smell musty either.

If you are satisfied your friend got them legally then your confidence is fine. You just need to work on the confidence of the people who might not be so confident.

What you might do is put them on eBay as a job lot so a seller with a better and more established reputation can sell them on - that is personally what I would do. There would still be the issue of business sale and authenticity issues online, but retailing these would be much, much more difficult and risky.

hcb42

how long has friends had goods since they were discarded.

I work in hotels and the number of times companies leave stuff behind then call months later................