Selling secondhand is great for the environment, but no one said it was simple 🙂. Getting started on Poshmark requires a bit of legwork, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself incrementally adding and shipping items with ease. Below, we’ve put together 10 tips on how to effectively sell on Poshmark.
1. Accurate listings
The most important part of any listing is its accuracy. A buyer will be disappointed if the item arrives and is different than described, which could also lead to a poor rating for you. When creating a new listing, make sure to verify the brand, size, color, and description. Although it’s tedious, doing it correctly once is enough to prevent problems down the line. A win-win for yourself and the buyer!
2. Clear images
The average seller won’t have the time and resources to take beautiful photographs, but there’s still something to be said about clear images. I minimally aim for a set of four: front of item, back of item, picture of tag, and picture of myself wearing the item. I also try to keep the background clean and consistent (usually just a white wall). To be honest, this takes time, but because Poshmark doesn’t offer free returns, it really helps increase a potential buyers’ confidence.
Sometimes you’ll see sellers using stock photos taken from the brand’s website. Although this makes showcasing an item easier, it also violates DMCA regulations, and Poshmark will remove your listing if they find it’s using a copyrighted or trademarked photo. In my opinion, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
3. Descriptive titles
When anybody searches for a specific brand and style on Google, Poshmark listings will actually appear at the top of the page! This is great news for sellers, because it means that targeted buyers, whether on Poshmark or not, will see your item at its discounted price. Including keywords is also a great way to quickly convey the condition of your item, such as:
- NWT = New with tags
- NWOT = New without tags
- EUC = Excellent used condition
4. Realistic prices
Poshmark is an efficient marketplace, meaning that the perceived value of your item will largely be determined by the value of other items on the platform. When you create a listing, Poshmark will actually suggest a price range based on similar listings, and you can click on the link to understand which listings they’re referring to. You can also perform a manual search if you want to narrow the scope to only identical listings.
When calculating a final price, remember that Poshmark will take 20% of your sale as commission (or $2.95 for sales under $15), and the seller will pay $7.67 in shipping. For smaller items, this can really widen the gap: for example, listing an item at $10 will result in $6.95 for the seller at a price of $17.67 for the buyer. For that reason, I use $15 as a minimum price, knowing that I’ll likely get a lower offer that I can evaluate later.
5. Fast shipping
In a world where 2-day free shipping and returns is the norm, Poshmark’s flat-rate shipping and final sale policies are in stark contrast. That’s why it’s important to make the experience positive by shipping quickly. I always keep a small box handy so I can package sales on the same day, drop them in the mailbox, and guarantee they’ll be shipped the next morning.
6. Discounts on bundles
Another way to sweeten the deal is to offer discounts on bundles. A bundle is a collection of items in your closet, grouped together by a potential buyer. In your Poshmark Account Settings, under “My Seller Discounts”, you can offer a standard discount on bundles of various sizes (10% off 2 items, 15% off 3 items, etc.). This will incentivize buyers to look through the other items in your closet, since the price of shipping will be fixed.
7. Quick responses
Poshers can leave comments on specific items or their created bundles. To close the deal, it’s beneficial to address any questions right away, and maybe make a private offer to the buyer in question. Poshmark does not allow editing or deleting comments, so be sure to double-check any details before clicking “Send”!
8. Seasonal items
The most common type of clothing purchase is for a seasonal item that can be worn in the near future. If you’re new to Poshmark, I’d recommend posting your seasonal listings first: a winter coat may be great, but it’s still way less likely to sell in the summer! Similarly, just before a season change, go through your closet and see if there’s anything you’d like to sell. By listing ahead of the curve, you’ll gain a competitive edge.
9. Strategic relists
Poshmark promotes “New Listings” in a special category at the top of Poshers’ feeds. Even if your listing isn’t new, you can relist it to make it seem that way. To do so, simply click “Edit Listing”, followed by “Copy Listing”, and create a duplicate listing before deleting the original one. A relisted item will not retain the comments and likes from the original item, so it’s important to relist thoughtfully (e.g., if an item has 20 likes, it would be more advantageous to offer/price drop than relist). At the end of a season, I typically go through my items with 0 likes and relist them.
10. Frequent shares
Last, but definitely not least, sharing is the best way to sell quickly on Poshmark. For new sellers with 50+ listings, I recommend sharing 2,000 times a day. As your closet size grows, you can gradually work your way up.
Sharing thousands of times might sound like a lot, and that’s because it is! Most sellers who do this are using Poshmark bots, which automatically share on their behalf. Because of bots, it’s actually quite difficult to make sales by sharing manually unless you have a large following. At a certain point in your selling career, whether you want to increase your inventory or give your stagnant closet some momentum, you might consider making this investment yourself – starting at $15/month, Auto Posher will pay for itself in a sale or two.
Thanks again for tuning in! As always, we welcome feedback at [email protected].