How I made over $2,400 selling clothes on Poshmark—and how you can too

For too long, I held onto old clothing I would probably never wear again because I couldn't stomach the idea of throwing certain items out or giving them away for free. That is, until I discovered Poshmark, the consignment app that lets you buy and sell women’s and men’s clothing, accessories, makeup, and more.

Three years ago in June 2017, I started selling old belongings I no longer wore on on the marketplace. As of June 2020, I have posted 277 listings and have sold 198 of them—which has provided me with a total of $2,436.89 in earnings so far.

Over the years, I have learned many things about the fashion reselling app, including what to sell, how much to sell it for, and how to sell it. Although posting items and keeping sellers interested can be a bit time-consuming, the money made is worth it. If your closet is full of things you barely wear anymore, I urge you to start selling on Poshmark and see what happens. Below are my tips and tricks to successfully becoming a Poshmark seller.

What is Poshmark?

Poshmark is a social marketplace created by Manish Chandra where people can buy and sell fashion online. As a seller, you can create a virtual closet, list items for whatever price you see fit, and lower prices when necessary. Buyers can purchase items for the prices listed or try to negotiate a lower price. As of September 2020, the retailer has reported that it has more than 4.5 million sellers.

In addition to being a place for commerce, it's also a social media network and community. You can follow other Poshmark accounts on the website/app (especially sellers who have a similar style as you or are the same clothing size), attend "Posh Parties," and connect with others.

How does Poshmark work?

After you create an account, you can post items to your virtual closet. To do so, you'll need a few pictures of the item, along with the following:

• Product name
• Description
• Category
• Size
• Original Price
• Listing Price

You can also fill in other optional information:

• Quantity (only if you are selling multiple items of something)
• Brand
• Color
• New With Tags (this is a yes or no)

Before posting, I always research on both that platform itself and the Internet to see if I can find anyone else who is selling or has sold the item. This gives me some knowledge on how much I can realistically sell something for on the app. I also search for original listings of items to find MSRPs (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price), official product descriptions, and professional photos taken in natural light to use for my listings. Although I always include photos of the actual item I'm selling from every angle (with notes in the description about any wear and tear), I do try to use professional photos as the item's cover photo if possible. Also, even though they are optional, I do recommend adding brand and color to each listing. And of course, if something still has the tags on it, be sure to say yes to "new with tags."

When you first price something on the platform, aim high. You can always lower the price of an item on the app, but you won't be able to go back up. Lowering prices helps to sell items because it will send a notification to everyone who has liked the item—and they will be offered discounted shipping as well. People can also offer you a price they'd like to pay for the item, and you can either accept or negotiate a higher price.

The other thing to remember is that people on the retailer have to pay shipping as well. Think about how much you would pay for the item in a consignment shop and go from there. I priced things WAY too high when I first joined. Now, I am better about pricing, but I don’t sell anything for under $6 (or more, depending on the item and its background). Knowing the retailer takes 20% of listings over $15, and a flat $2.95 from sales under $15 (they pay for shipping!), I look at how much money I would make from the sale. If I’m okay with that, I set the price.

TLDR: Price things at least 10% higher than the lowest price you would accept or you won't have room to lower or negotiate prices.

What's the deal with Poshmark shipping?

After you sell something, you'll need to send it to the buyer. The retailer pays for shipping, so all you have to do is print the pre-paid shipping label they email you after the sale is made and stick it on the box (or envelope, if it fits) that holds the items. Then you can drop it off at the post office or have it picked up for free from your home.

After the buyer receives their item, the money made will be redeemable, and you can deposit it directly into your bank account.

What brands and items actually sell on Poshmark?

At first, I thought I could only sell designer items and clothing from pricier retailers, but I was wrong. While it was easier to sell designer stuff, I ended up selling a decent amount of items from retailers like Target, Free People, and LOFT. When you have trendy clothes to sell, it doesn't matter where they're from.

Because of this, I now put anything up for sale that’s in good condition, no matter how old or new it is. Seasonality and trends don't matter as much if you have a quality item to sell. If there is damage, but the item is still wearable, I mention that in the product description and post a picture. This way, buyers won't feel like they're being taken advantage of and you can keep a good conscience (and seller rating!).

Does photography matter on Poshmark?

What I've learned is that pictures on the app don't have to be high quality or full of props to sell online clothing. You just need well-lit pictures that show what the item really looks like.

When I first started to post listings, I took pictures of items on hangers against a white wall in my apartment. You couldn’t see the exact colors and details of the items, though—and because of the poor lighting, the clothing didn't look very nice. Because of this, I didn’t see many sales.

Later, I changed up my photos and laid the items out on my clean hardwood floors. I took pictures of the front and the back of items, as well as close-ups of the item’s material, tag, and any damage I wanted to showcase. Here's the difference:

This was a game-changer. Users have the ability to ‘like’ and engage with listings—which is simple and fun—and I saw more engagement and sales with my new pictures.

For bags, I took a few different angles—of the outside and inside—and for jewelry, I just got one shot. If I had any images of me wearing the item, I added that to the item’s photos as well.

How does the Poshmark community help?

Sharing your Poshmark closet with friends and family isn’t going to get you tons of sales. To sell items, you need to constantly re-share listings with your followers—and then post your items to "parties," which are virtual events that the retailer hosts for users to share listings. In fact, I ONLY regularly sell stuff when I post to at least one party a week.

There are four parties each day. During these parties, users can share items that fall into a certain category. A party can be for designers (example: Tory Burch, J. Crew, Madewell), items (example: jeans, booties, etc.), or occasions (example: Date Night). Parties help get engagement on your listings and followers on your account. The more engagement on your account, the more desirable your closet will be!

After I grew a following, I got more engagement and sales after re-sharing items to my followers. This is a great way to keep your closet organized, too—re-sharing is how you can raise certain items to the top of your feed so that users see them first.

How to be a Poshmark customer service pro

After people buy from you, they can rate you between one and five stars. My first customer rated me two stars. I had packaged the item with gold-colored paper and a handwritten note, but still, this did not help. According to the user, I wasn’t transparent enough about a small rip in the Madewell shoes she purchased.

From then on, I made sure to ALWAYS photograph and write about damage in all listings, and I’ve received mostly five-star ratings since. I also learned that packaging and shipping supplies don’t matter. I stopped writing notes and using pretty paper, and I still had great ratings and repeat buyers. Avoiding pretty packaging will help save money in the long run. I mostly try to be as quick as possible with shipping items to keep my rating up, but sometimes it’s hard to get to the post office after you make a sale (especially during the Coronavirus pandemic). It's $7.11 flat rate for expedited shipping, via 1 to 3 day delivery times with United States Postal Service Priority Mail.

Is Poshmark worth it?

Selling on the retailer is hard work, but the money sure is worth it. I still have so much left to sell—and so many new (I mean, old) clothes to add to my closet. I’m coming for you again, Poshmark. I hope you’re ready.