As a college student, young person, or just someone plain short on cash, it's not always easy to find side hustles that fit into your routine and do not require tons of extra time. Personally, I searched for a side job to supplement my income for a good while. And I tried various apps: surveys, task runner, etc. And none of them ever really worked for me, nor did I make any significant amount of money with them.
Now, I'm sure many of you have heard of "Poshmark"--I have bought things off of there and even sold a few, but I never really liked the app: it was not aesthetically appealing to me, and "Poshmark" took a good portion of any sales money I made. I gave up on selling my extra clothes online, and I had and still have, plenty of extra clothes, believe me, and pushed that idea to the back of my mind. That is until I was mindlessly watching YouTube videos and one of the people I was watching mentioned "Mercari." She said she had made tons of sales and a good profit. So I decided to try it out, and I sold something the first day! It was quite the rush, to be honest.
Since then, I've sold a good amount of items on "Mercari," but my sales have slowed down so I looked for other platforms to sell on. I tried "DePop," but my clothes weren't vintage enough. I tried "Letgo," but that is more for random stuff one has lying around their house. And then I stumbled across "Vinted" and my life was changed.
"Vinted" doesn't take any portion of the money one makes on a sale! It was truly a diamond in the rough when it came to selling apps. It's safe to say I have some experience selling clothes online, so here are some of my best tips for being a successful online salesperson:
1. Utilize multiple apps.
I cannot stress this enough. Double, or even triple, post your items. You are so much more likely to make a sale because you have doubled and/or tripled the exposure to the items you are selling. It is a little bit of extra work, but it's worth it in the end.
2. Don't just sell clothes.
If you have old books you'll never read again lying around, sell them. If there are too many mugs cluttering your already cramped living space, sell a few. If you have jewelry in good condition but it's not quite your style anymore, list it. I guarantee there is someone out there looking for that product.
3. Put notes in the packages you send.
It will make you seem like a more personal seller and will likely up your reviews. And having higher reviews will help your buyers decide to choose you over other sellers that have lower reviews.
4. Allow negotiations on prices and/or shipping.
Just do it, being flexible, even by a few dollars, can guarantee more sales. Sometimes people just want to barter a bit and plan on buying it at the listed price anyways. Also, it will make you seem like a better seller, which means better reviews.
5. Buy clothes for cheap at thrift stores and re-sell them.
Now, I, personally, do not do this quite yet, but it is a dream. I simply don't have the extra income to chance not selling the items I buy. But, there are plenty of people out there that make tons of extra money doing this. For example, ThreadsObssessed on YouTube pretty much does this for a living. Check her channel out for some more tips on how to do that successfully.
6. Model your clothes if possible.
Buyers like to see the items "in action" per say. It shows them how the clothes fit, especially pants, and will often sway their decision and/or decrease the likelihood of them being unhappy with their purchase. Now, if the clothes don't fit you...
7. Ask a friend to model your clothes.
You're selling these clothes for a reason, and oftentimes it's because they don't fit. Find someone that the clothes fit and see if they would be willing to take some pictures for you.
8. Message buyers back quickly.
If a buyer messages you about the fit, price, shipping, or anything else, message them back as soon as possible. If they're interested in the product they're on the hunt, and if you don't respond quickly they will find another item that is similar, and perhaps with a lower price, and not buy your item anymore.
Good luck selling!!
