How to *actually* sell your clothes online
By Florenne Earle Ledger published 06/06/2024
Selling your clothes online is a great way to make money and create space in your wardrobe. If you want to sell your clothes quickly, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite tips to help your items fly off the shelves.
Deciding what to sell
Deciding what to sell is where it all starts. I always have some items I haven’t worn for months that I know it’s time to depart with, but sometimes there are other items I feel attached to that are better off being sold. It’s simple, if you don’t wear it, sell it.
Whering makes it so much easier to decide what to sell. Take it from Polina who uses Whering to ensure she’s confident in what she’s selling:
I can sell clothes without any doubts because I have data about it from the last year, so I'm pretty sure if I didn't wear it for the last year, maybe I won't wear it anymore.
Here’s how to use Whering to choose what to sell:
Track your outfits daily to see what you’re actually wearing
Get data on your most worn items when you start tracking your outfits daily in the Planner. What better way to see what you’re actually wearing than numbers and stats showing exactly what you’re reaching for most?
Review stats and see which items might be worth getting rid of
Once you’ve logged your outfits daily you can review the data and make your decisions. Or, simply filter your Whering wardrobe to the most and least worn to make it even easier.
Browse your wardrobe and choose what you don’t like
If tracking your outfits daily seems like too much effort, simply seeing your wardrobe in the palm of your hand makes it easy to decide which items you’re not loving. Rather than pulling everything out of your wardrobe, Whering lets you flick through your items and choose what to get rid of.
You can even select items and swipe to the Styling tab to see how many outfits you’ve created with your chosen piece. Those with fewer outfits are probably worth selling.
Trial a new wardrobe with the Archive
If you’re the type who finds it hard to get rid of clothes (just in case you need them in the future) why not archive the items you’re contemplating selling to see what your wardrobe would look like without them? You can even see how many outfit combinations you’d have with these items gone if you use Dress Me to swipe through your wardrobe minus the archived pieces.
Now that you’ve decided what to sell, let’s talk about how to photograph your items in the best way possible.
Photographing your items
Style it
Styling the item how you would wear it is a great way to show it in its best light and encourage people to imagine how they would wear it, and maybe click buy. It will make your image stand out and encourage people to interact with your listing, boosting it for more to discover.
Use natural lighting
Take the pictures in day time for the best results. No need for fancy lighting arrangements, a good bit of natural light is always the best and easiest way to go.
Use a self-timer to get a clear shot of the entire item.
After taking your photos, it’s time to start listing them.
Listing items
Add lots of photos
It’s always useful to actually see how an item looks without having to message and ask for a picture of the item being worn. Be sure to include lots of photos of the item, front and back. Don’t forget to show it worn and laid flat down to ensure you have all bases covered.
Give an accurate and detailed description
Make sure to clearly describe the item with measurements/ sizing details, as well as the type of material. If people have what they need from your listing without needing to message you, they’re more likely to buy it.
Be honest about the item’s condition
Lying about the condition of an item will always come back to bite you. To avoid negative reviews and unsatisfied buyers, be honest about the condition of the piece so that the buyer knows what they’re getting.
List it for a fair price
Circular fashion should be accessible for everyone, so don’t be one of those Depop gurlies selling something they found in a charity shop for ten times the price. Price your item an amount you would be happy to pay to avoid ripping people off. A good price will also mean you’re more likely to sell something.
If you want to be a bit sneaky, you could add a couple of pounds to your asking price so you can message people who show interest with an offer, encouraging them to buy. But don’t go too far with this and always be sure you’re selling something for a reasonable amount and not tricking people into thinking they have a good deal.
With your items listed, it’s time to make some sales. Here are some easy things you can do to boost your chances of selling your items.
Making sales
Share you profiles
Let people know you’re selling your clothes. Consider sharing your Depop or Vinted profile on your Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.
Upload to multiple platforms
It is more effort and it does take more time to manage your listings, but uploading items to multiple selling platforms increases your chances of shifting old clothes. Try listing items on Vinted, Depop and Ebay for the best results.
Edit your listings regularly
Periodically editing your listings increases their chances of showing up on other people’s feeds and will help your listings get favoured by the algorithm so more people can discover them. Edit your listings every few days to increase your chances.
On Vinted you can also pay a small fee to ‘bump’ items to help people discover them.
Lower the price
Be prepared to lower the price of your item if it’s not sold after a week or so. Lowering the price might interest people who have been watching the item and it also counts as an edit to your listing which will help others discover it.
Consider messaging those who have liked the piece to let them know about the decrease in price to see if it piques their interest.
Offer next-day postage
If you’re chatting with someone interested in buying something from you, letting them know you can post the item quickly may help them decide to buy.
Be attentive
Respond to questions quickly so the user can decide if they want to buy the item before they forget about it.
With these tips you should be armed for a successful summer of selling your clothes online. Good luck!
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