How to Make Extra Cash Selling Your Old Clothes

At some point in life, many women realize that they have too many clothes, so why not find out how to make extra cash selling your old clothes online? Your old clothes may be piled in corners or stuffed into cupboards and you begin to wonder not only how many clothes do I need , but also where is the best place to sell used clothes online.

What could be nicer than earning a little cash from clothes you don’t wear anymore? Perhaps you could find potential buyers for your old clothes and fund your next vacation, or use the money to buy presents for family and friends, or update your wardrobe to include clothes you actually will wear?

So if you’re fed up with your clothes, or if you have children who’ve grown out of their clothes or you have too many clothes hoarded away, then read on.

How to Be Successful Selling Clothes Online

If you want to be successful selling clothes online you need to do the following.

• Price the clothes appropriately.
• Categorise garments correctly.
• Make sure the clothes are in a good condition.
• Wash and launder everything for sale.
• Take good photos.
• List items with description labels that describe them well.
• Package garments up securely, and if possible add a handwritten note to personalise your second-hand clothes sales.
• Find the best delivery agents or carriers.
• Decide on the most appropriate place to sell them either online or at a garage sale.
• Don’t forget to tell all your friends on social media platforms that you have clothes for sale.

You can bet that there are tons of used clothes belonging to different generations stashed, forgotten and collecting dust in closets all around the country which should either be given away or sold for a bit of extra money.

And with this clutter of clothes we keep assets trapped. We are not considering sustainability. We are not really acting responsibly when with a little time and attention we could successfully redistribute and sell our pre-loved clothes online.

We can also of course give our used clothes away to charity or thrift stores. Or we can sell them online and give the proceeds to our favourite charity. Just don’t leave them sitting unworn in dark cupboards!

You might also like : 47 Charity Fundraising Ideas

In addition to the monetary rewards, a decluttered closet will make you feel better, give you more mind space. Plus a streamlined cubboard space will help you create the perfect capsule wardrobe, which means you’ll never wake up, look into your cupboard and declare: “I have absolutely nothing to wear!” Been there! Done that! Haven’t we all?

To help you achieve an organized closet, today’s post looks at selling your used clothes, especially if they have intrinsic value – perhaps they are designer clothes like Louis Vuitton or come from well known stores and have hardly been worn.

How to Price Used Clothes

Get a feel online for what others are charging for pre-loved clothes.

A great place to start is to look at clothing items already listed on the online marketplace at sites like EBay, Shopify, ThredUp, Poshmark and Amazon. Do a search for thrift shops online and see if there are any clothes similar to yours on sale, and look at their sales price, so that you can guage what price to sell yours for.

Don’t just pick a selling price off the top of your head and hope for the best. There are some very savvy buyers and sellers out there in today’s second hand market who will be well aware of the correct sale price.

A great way to start is to carefully consider the intrinsic value of your for sale items, and what others might pay for them.

How and Where to Sell Clothes for Cash Online

The good news is that there are different ways of reselling used clothes to either free up some space for your new collections, or to make some extra cash along the way.

There are quite a few different places to sell your pre-loved clothes online and some of the best options are; Facebook Marketplace, Asos Marketplace, Etsy, Poshmark, Tradesy, the RealReal, eBay, Vinted and more. But it takes time to list on each separate marketplace.

So before you start posting your old clothes for sale on numerous site, check out Crosslist one of the best apps – a web application that allows sellers to list quickly on marketplaces such as Ebay, Poshmark and Mercari.

How to Make Extra Cash Selling Your Old Clothes

 Selection and Categorization

The first step is to get all your clothes out of the closet.

Put a sheet or blanket on the floor and spread the items one by one around the entire room. Don’t just throw the clothes out in piles because you won’t be able to inspect every single piece of clothing.

Now you can start categorizing the items.

First of all decide all the clothes you want to keep and put them back in the closet. If you’re planning to become more organized, read our article about how to organize a small closet if you have lots of clothes.

Then begin sorting all the other clothes into categories and similar items.

You could make labels for various piles such as men’s, women’s, and children’s clothes. Then add sub-labels based on different seasons or occasions.

This is a wise thing to do in the beginning because it will help you later when labeling the clothes for sale, for example, “Women’s spring coat for formal occasions”. 

Check out every piece of clothing for stains, holes, missing buttons, and any other defects. Avoid putting stained or damaged items for sale because they will generate negative buyers’ feedback, which could affect your sales in general. 

Preparing to Sell

Now that you’ve decided what clothes are for sale, it’s time to prepare them properly so that you can earn yourself some extra cash.

We’re going to do a little bit more categorization, this time for washing purposes because all used clothes need to be spotlessly clean when you sell them. 

Divide the items into washing machine friendly and those that need dry cleaning.

Don’t wash old coats, jumpers, overcoats, and similar clothes made of wool, tweed, and other delicate materials, but have them dry cleaned instead.

If your clothes look meticulous, you’ll attract more buyers.

When all garments have been properly washed and cleaned, it’s time to iron those that need ironing. Creased clothes tend to look shabby, and you want your used clothes to look as pristine as possible in the adverts.

Photographing the Clothes

Categorized, cleaned, and ironed clothes are now ready for sale. 

The first step in the sales process is to photograph them in good lighting, preferably natural light.

You are probably not a professional photographer but that’s okay. Many people who sell clothes online are only amateur at taking photos.

You just want to make your clothes stand out and look as visually appealing as possible.

Here are the main tips for taking photos of clothes

• Don’t waste money on expensive cameras. Every modern mid-range smartphone can take photos adequate for online advertisements.
• Get a tripod to avoid taking blurry images. 
• If you have a natural source of light, place the clothes against it. If that light is not enough, a good option is to buy a small reflector. 
• Use foam boards and white paper boards as the background for items you’ll capture on a table or any other surface. 
• Think about getting a mannequin if you have many jackets, coats, shirts, and other similar clothes that require one. 
• Go through all the photos and retake the ones that don’t look professional enough.

If you want to find out more about photographing clothes for sale, check out Shopify’s guide on clothing photography. 

Posting the Ads

When your images are ready, it’s time to post the ads to relevant platforms.

This will depend on your location.

For instance, if you live in Europe, eBay and relevant local shopping platforms are a natural choice. 

On the other hand, US residents have Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, and many other online platforms at their disposal. 

Bear in mind that preparing and placing ads on several different platforms separately takes a lot of time and energy. 

Either narrow down your choice to one or two platforms or use one of those cross-listing apps. 

Check out how Vendoo Vs. List Perfectly compare to Crosslist in various features that make it easy for sellers to present and post multiple clothes ads on different platforms. 

Shipping and Buyers’ Feedback

First and foremost, shop around to find the right shipping company for your needs. For instance, if you want to resell your old clothes only in your nearby area, make a deal with a local delivery company. 

Aiming at a wider audience on a national or global level requires working with a bigger carrier. 

If you’re planning to sell a lot of items or start reselling old clothes as a business, negotiate discounts on larger shipments. Can you negotiate a flat fee?

It’s also important to work with a delivery business that allows package tracking and communication with buyers. That way, both you and the buyers will be able to track the shipment. It will add to your reputation and convenience. 

Consider whether you will provide a prepaid shipping label for any return.

When a customer gets the item they’ve ordered, ask them to leave you feedback. Every sale and testimonial is valuable in building an online portfolio as a used clothes retailer. 

Is Selling Clothes Online Profitable?

Selling old clothes can bring a potentially substantial income. However, keep in mind that you may or may not pay various middlemen and fees along the way. 

If you begin making more money selling your unwanted clothes than you initially hoped for, then you might need to open a separate bank account. This is the best way forward, particularly if selling used clothes becomes more of a business and you start up your own online consignment store as a result of your success.

You might also need to decide how you will handle refunds. Will you offer a store credit or cash refund? What will you do about return postage costs?

If an item sells for a good profit margin, will you be encouraged to sell more, and will you need to begin to keep track of all your sales in an organised way?

As sustainability becomes more important, people are not willing to just chuck their clothes away anymore. Giving them to a thrift store or charity shops, or to those in need is obviously really commendable, but if you need to make some cash then sell them.

There is demand for second hand clothes at reasonable prices.

How to Organize a Garage Sale

Even though going online is the most convenient way of reselling old clothes, don’t underestimate the power of the good old garage sale. 

Depending on the neighborhood you live in, you could sell your clothes locally.  

Start by spreading the word about the sale. You can make leaflets and distribute them when you go for a walk around the block. 

Share a post on social media, announcing the garage sale. 

Tell all your neighbors, friends, and relatives in the vicinity what you’re planning to do. They’ll tell their acquaintances, friends, and colleagues, and before you know it, dozens of people might visit your garage sale. 

Also, think about bartering with your neighbors or relatives. Perhaps someone wants older clothes to nurture a retro style and you can get newer clothes to look chic and fashionable. Let them know that you follow the first-come, first-served rule.

Who knows, maybe you’ll get an entirely new line of clothes for the next season via that barter. 

Stop Polluting the Planet with Unworn Clothes

Keeping old clothes that you don’t wear in the closet is both cluttery and potentially expensive.

It’s also not good for the planet if eventually you just become fed up with all the clutter and add your clothes to the overflowing landfill.

We often buy new items without getting rid of the old ones. Not only does it affect our living space and our home budget, but it harms the environment, as well. 

As reported by the World Bank, the garment industry is one of the major pollutants on a global scale. So, the more clothes we can exchange, swap, give away or sell to other people, the lower the carbon footprint we leave on this planet.

For all these reasons, reselling old clothes is an eco-friendly and financially rational thing to do.

The tips shared in this article will help you prepare and sell your clothes and make some extra cash along the way. 

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This is a guest post by Gilles Couvreur, the founder of Crosslist, a productivity tool that allows sellers to list quickly on the world’s largest online marketplaces. Crosslist is a web application that is accessible from any device and designed to make selling clothes online easier. In his free time, Gilles loves to share simple tips that help resellers reach more customers.

Disclaimer: This post, ,”How to Make Extra Cash Selling Your Old Clothes” contains affiliate links from which I stand to earn a small commission but at no expense to you. Any gifted items are marked with an *.  Lifestyle Fifty Website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  Please read my full disclosure here.