Does anyone find selling secondhand clothes easy on ebay?

sb44

I have tons of good quality clothes that I need to get rid of.

One of the charity shops in our area makes a good turnover as they only charge £1 for all adult clothes, 50p for kids, so they get a good footfall. It is difficult not to buy at those prices (especially when other shops are charging £3.50 for a secondhand Tesco t-shirt!).

Hence, I have far too many clothes and not enough space!

I have noticed that a lot of people sell clothes in bulk on ebay but a lot don't seem to get many bids even though they look to be good quality brands.

I have more Next trousers that you can shake a stick at!

Is there a trick to selling clothes on ebay?

Ta.

RFW

sb44 wrote: »

Is there a trick to selling clothes on ebay?

Only the same as for everything else. List well, good clear photos, precise descriptions including faults. Also the title is the most important thing as that is where the searches come from, include colours, fabrics, brand, size and anything else that's important, don't use up the title with words like 'l@@k' or 'bargin' (sic)!
Don't go for over inflated postage, offer postage discounts if you don't sell with inclusive postage. Show that the items will be posted quickly and efficiently.

Ensure items are clean and presentable. Also consider selling a few items together if they go together.

That's all the easy bit, whether it sells or not is another matter, some stuff just may not be wanted and that market is swamped already.

~~Diane~~

Make sure you take measurements, arm length, chest, nape to hem. Trousers/jeans inside leg and waist.

I know its takes longer to list but save the hassle of someone saying they bought size whatever and it is way too small.

Clothing can alter shape after washing so always best to give as much info as possible.

This has always worked for me and never had a problem.

Goldiegirl

I've sold quite a few of my clothes that are no longer required, on eBay.

There's no trick to selling your unwanted clothes - just time and effort.

My suggestions are -

Take very good photos and lots of them - show the garment from various angles and do close ups.

Go into detail on your listing - not only measurements, but what type of fabric it is, whether it's machine washable etc

Make sure your title tells the customer what you are selling - Include brand, colours, whether it petite sizing etc.

Make sure you don't overcharge on postage, but pack the clothes well.

Be prepared to start your auctions low, but not too low. Low enough to interest people, but not so low as they think there must be a catch.

As well as 'l@@k' and 'bargin' never use the word 'stunning'.

Finally work out what will sell and what will not. Clothes that are from popular brands and are only a year or two old will sell well.

It's it's a tired old t shirt that's 10 years old, if it doesn't sell the first time, it probably won't sell the 10th time either.

hope this is of some help

MrsCautious

I'm in my first time of selling clothes on eBay and will be very interested in responses here, thanks for asking this

My first auctions for clothes end on Sunday, I have some bids and what I'd consider a fair amount of watchers, my pictures need work!


I read on here somewhere from a forum member that when they first started selling clothes on eBay, they included free postage, I've done that with more expensive items, by that I mean what I'd call classic pieces -- Jaeger, M&S, Viyella and Berketex. I've tried to be realistic with prices after seeing what has sold for what previously.

Looking at previous listings, it's easy to see people can hold out for a higher price but things have remained unsold, I want to sell stuff quickly for minimum hassle so am pricing in a way I hope can help this happen.


I've listed around 20 items of clothing, going from 40p to a women's Superdry. Also New Look, Tammy and Topshop. I've put the more expensive items on for 10 days from a Thursday evening and looked at each item in completed listings to see what has been achieved previously.

I don't know what my expectations are really, will be very interesting to find out. I have watchers on most items, touch wood. I have more to list including a man's leather jacket, which I will do next Thurs, I'm going to list more 99p stuff on Sunday for 7 days, but have been starting most at 99p just to see what happens -- still better than I can get at my local boot sale or Cash for Clothes. I understand there can be lots of issues with buyers so am bracing myself.

I think the thing I am stressing about the most with it is wrapping the stuff to keep it safe in the post, I've just ordered some bags and have some nice tissue paper (that I was going to sell at a car boot!) to wrap stuff up in.

I'm sorry my ramblings aren't directly answering your question but hope my observations as someone who has literally just started, may be useful.

Good luck.

soolin

I don't sell clothes anymore. I used to and both my private and business clothes sales caused me so many issues I just gave up.

immie

If you can still track it down, include a stock photo for the garment. People like something pretty to look at. I find my items sell for more when there's a good quality stock photo included in the photos.

Strapped

immie wrote: »

If you can still track it down, include a stock photo for the garment. People like something pretty to look at. I find my items sell for more when there's a good quality stock photo included in the photos.

Very poor advice, especially for a second-hand garment. People want well-lit photos of the actual item they are buying, from different angles and with close-ups to show the fabric and any flaws. Along with every measurement.

Selling clothes is a PITA and hard work. I only do bundles of kids clothes (and only the higher end brands sell).

mum2one

~~Diane~~ wrote: »

Make sure you take measurements, arm length, chest, nape to hem. Trousers/jeans inside leg and waist.

I know its takes longer to list but save the hassle of someone saying they bought size whatever and it is way too small.

Clothing can alter shape after washing so always best to give as much info as possible.

This has always worked for me and never had a problem.

Got to agree with this, does feel like a pain in the rear at the time, but it saves a lot of time and there always be someone who asks in the last hr.

If you have named clothes from next upwards, they should go down well.

The thing I would say is avoid free listing weekends (unless their higher value) as I find as a seller that I'm competing against 100 other items, where as normal day may be 10, a lot of people will raid wardrobes to put stuff on, but a a buyer thats the best time to shop.

listing - this is me
I got for thurs early evening) (10 day listing) gets 2 weekends of viewing, and early evening you may get the last minute watchers putting a bid on iy.

xx

Digressing the OP sounds like you have a goldmine with that charity shop, we went to a local one when DD had to dress up titanic theme - 3 items they were £20, the woman on the till said have them for £5 (bless her heart) xx

greeneye

Buy a tape measure you will have a huge advantage over 95% of ebay sellers. *personal bugbear*

sb44

mum2one wrote: »

Digressing the OP sounds like you have a goldmine with that charity shop, we went to a local one when DD had to dress up titanic theme - 3 items they were £20, the woman on the till said have them for £5 (bless her heart) xx

.

Yep, it is great. The max price for any item is £1 except for kids clothes which are 50p each and all books are 10p each, I have had some great reference and cookery books from there.

I have no end of diet books (only a size 12 but I love reading diff diet books!).

Picked up a Dukan diet book in great condition yesterday, 10p, don't know why as I already have it. I just think, 10p, you can't buy a pckt of chewing gum for that so buy it!

:rotfl:

Hence I have more flippin' clothes/books around the house that I know what to do with.