https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:31:24 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-274296 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:28:32 +0000 Diana 274296@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have a digital jewelry scale that I purchased for about 10-15 bucks on ebay. I primarily use it to weigh yarn for knitting but have used it in the past to weigh things for shipping. Only thing is that it's a bit small so sometimes I have to precariously balance things on it. In my experience, even the cheap scales are very very accurate-I work in a lab and have compared my cheapo little digital scale to the very expensive lab balance and they match up very well (just fewer decimal places on the cheap one, but honestly you'll never need to know how many thousandths of a gram your package weighs). My mom has also used her food scale for weighing packages. </p> <p>I second the suggestion not to use flat rate packaging although sometimes for convenience I will ship small items in the flat rate envelope (just because you don't need to bother to weigh things and stuff). Lately the post office has been REALLY strict about people misusing flat rate packaging. A couple of months ago, I was trying to mail some things in flat rate envelopes that I had reinforced w/tape (because their adhesive sucks IMO) and they were rejected (and I was berated) because "if you have to hold it shut w/tape, it's really too big for the envelope". I promptly repacked them in new envelopes without tape, but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I've also seen a couple of other incidences of customers getting berated by post office employees for overstuffing flat rate boxes, etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-274283 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:56:29 +0000 Anonymous 274283@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Stephanie,<br /> I appreciate this helpful information so much. I have been wanting to purge my closet and learn to sell on Ebay.<br /> I'll use your guidelines but I am still afraid to get started. I know it can't be that difficult so I'll jump in with your encouragement.<br /> I also am curious about a postal scale. I have a digital scale, will it do the job?<br /> Thank you! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-274269 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:58:02 +0000 eds 274269@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Can anyone suggest a postal scale to purchase? I have done some ebay selling, but setting shipping costs always trips me up. I usually guess, and it is usually not high enough. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273822 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:30:50 +0000 wilson 273822@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Totally spot on! As someone who purges on ebay regularly I could not think of one single thing that you missed. I have had incredible success with selling my clothes on ebay just as you described. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273777 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:17:28 +0000 JulieinMI 273777@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you so much for all this info Stephanie. I do quite a bit of selling on e-bay also. I feel that I do much better on e-bay than what I would receive at the consignment store. Than being said, there are brands that really go well, like The North Face, Abercrombie, Hollister, Hanna Andersson, Keen are some that I've sold with great success. I am also planning to purchase a scale to cut down on my trips to the post office. Just curious, which boxes do you use from USPS? Are they the Ready Post ones that you buy, because I am running out of the ones that I had at home! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273699 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 17:38:33 +0000 Louise 273699@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow this is great. I buy loads on ebay but have never really got into selling my stuff. With this useful info I may give it a go and make some pennies to buy new things x </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273658 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:24:05 +0000 Stephanie 273658@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks, everyone--I am glad you are finding this useful. A couple more things I thought of.</p> <p>Rae is right about Paypal shipping--it makes things quicker at the post office and saves you a bit of money (and you get free tracking!). BUT you have to have your own shipping scale (I don't, but if I had known when I started what I know now, I would have bought one). </p> <p>(This is a big one, so I am sorry I forgot it!) I do not find flat-rate priority mail boxes to be cost-effective, unless you are shipping to Alaska or Hawaii or something extremely heavy. You can just ship normal USPS priority in most cases (still using the USPS boxes, just not the flat-rate boxes) and generally save at least a couple of dollars.</p> <p>I experimented with packing up my items when I listed them, but I found it to be a hassle, because sometimes someone would ask a question and I would need to unpack the box to answer the question. Of course, your mileage may vary.</p> <p>The biggest thing to emphasize is that you don't need to do everything at once. If you only have time to take pictures tonight, that's fine. Then you can write the listings when you have a chance, and list them when you have a chance, etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273627 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 10:30:50 +0000 Polly (thunalata) 273627@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Stephanie - what a wonderful post! Thank you! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273620 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 09:01:51 +0000 anne 273620@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Stephanie what a thoughtful and comprehensive post you wrote! Thanks </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273591 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:40:36 +0000 MNsara 273591@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, Stephanie, you are very astute about selling on ebay and I appreciate you sharing your experience! </p> <p>I have only used ebay to sell off higher end handbags and jewlery. I've always shyed away from listing clothing, but thanks to you, I may try a few items. (Consigning is still a fair amount of work with laundering, pressing, bringing there, etc. and often not much earned in return.)</p> <p>One ebay thing I liked to do was put the bags/jewelry I intended to ebay into shipping boxes and put a post-it note of the contents on the outer box. I stacked them in my laundry room, and when the mood struck, I could grab a box or two, do the photos, weighing (to calculate postage), etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273556 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:51:48 +0000 Diana 273556@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks! This is very helpful and I will take these tips into consideration next time I list things on ebay. I've not had as much luck selling clothes on ebay lately and have reverted to the consignment shop, although I have the feeling I'd get more on ebay. I've found that certain types of items, such as designer denim, always sell well, and others, like heavy shoes, are not really worth the hassle. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273536 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:25:23 +0000 Tricia 273536@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is fantastic! I've been selling a few things on eBay lately as I purge and I haven't had as much success as I had hoped, so this might really help me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273532 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:17:15 +0000 MsMary 273532@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, this is just fantastic information! Thank you!</p> <p>I will add that a friend of mine who sells on ebay suggests that you pack your item BEFORE you list it, so there's no chance of any delay in shipping once the item sells. I thought that was a great idea. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273523 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:36:33 +0000 taylor 273523@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>WOW!!! invaluable info here!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273514 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:28:38 +0000 rae 273514@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great and comprehensive list!</p> <p>I'd like to add that, when pricing my items, I always use the "Show only completed listings" feature on the left side of the screen. Search for what you would be selling, check the "completed listings" box, and you can see what price points resulted in sales, versus which ones went unsold. </p> <p>I also very much like using Paypal Shipping. You get a bit of a discount, and if you print your labels from home, then you can simply drop off the packages at the post office without waiting in line at all -- I don't think I would sell if not for this feature! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273506 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:18:16 +0000 Anonymous 273506@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is an excellent post on selling clothes on Ebay. Definitely worth bookmarking. Thanks so much for taking the time to compile this detailed how-to list for us!!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-closet-purging-through-e-bay-selling#post-273429 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 21:52:12 +0000 Stephanie 273429@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Although I'm sure that I'm no expert, I have had much more success than I expected cleaning out my closet on e-bay, and so (as I said I would on the SYC thread) I'm posting my suggestions for those of you who are doing some closet purging in the new year. I will say that most of my listings were in the $10-50 range; if you have high-end items, I don't think my advice will be worth much to you.</p> <p>1. E-bay ran a free listings promotion in October, November and December; it's going on through January 7. This was/is great because it enables you to list things at the price you would feel good about selling them at, with no risk--if you don't sell them, you haven't lost anything. (And you can always relist them.) If you have a lot of selling to do, I think free listings are a huge boon.</p> <p>2. I set my prices by thinking about a couple of things: (1) what the e-bay seller search engine suggests that a 'Banana Republic wool sheath dress' (or what have you) would sell for; (2) any condition considerations; and (3) what I would get for it if I sold it at the consignment shop. At my consignment shop, the prices are split 50/50 between owners and the store. So if (I estimate) the dress would sell for $25 at the shop, I would get $12.50. In this example, I would start the bidding at about $15 on e-bay. </p> <p>2a. Often you will sell your item at the starting price; occasionally there will be a bidding war for it, but probably not as often as you think, so I think 99-cent listings do not work well for clothing (I tried a couple of times and sold a couple of items for 99 cents that were worth significantly more). </p> <p>3. Bearing in mind (1) and (2), don't worry too much if your item doesn't sell immediately. Keep in mind that the market for a particular piece in a particular size might be quite small. Often I would list a piece two or three times at the same price before it would sell (and then sometimes I would have three people bidding on it). So if you feel like your price is fair, don't feel like you necessarily have to reduce it because it didn't sell the first time around. (Occasionally I have had luck *raising* the starting price. Normal 'free market' thinking doesn't work that well on e-bay, since there is so much margin for error.)</p> <p>4. In titling your listing, use all available characters and think about what you might be searching for if you were looking for an item like this. "Little black dress" is not nearly as good as "Banana Republic wool bouclé sheath dress velvet trim 2 4." If your item might fit more than one size of person (as in my BR example) include both of the sizes in the title.</p> <p>5. Make sure you fill out the 'item information' with drop-down menus of size, fabric content, etc. This is another way people can find your item.</p> <p>6. If you have space, adding adjectives like "CUTE" or "FAB" in the title does seem to help (edit as appropriate).</p> <p>7. In writing the description, play up whatever drew you to the item in the first place. I had a couple of cashmere sweaters that I had bought because they were so soft, even though they were too big for me, and so I wrote exactly that. (This also answers people's question: "If this is so great, why are you getting rid of it without hardly having worn it?")</p> <p>8. If you have a styling suggestion for the item ('cute with skinny jeans and boots') you can offer that too.</p> <p>9. Probably most important are measurements and fabric content. I usually offer bust/waist/hip as relevant, and also include information about me (i.e. "I'm 5'5'' and 128 lbs., generally a size 2/4, and this item is too big for me). If I'm getting rid of the item because, for instance, I think it would better suit someone with a larger bust than I have, I say that. If I anticipate that the bust or hip or waist might present a fit challenge, I mention that too ("I'm a 34B and it fits me in the bust, but if my chest were bigger, it would be too small.")</p> <p>10. If it's in good condition and by a recognizable designer (and assuming you don't want it, for whatever reason), list it. You really can't predict other people's taste. I had a couple of skirts that I couldn't imagine why I had bought, but (I think because they were from J Crew) they did quite well.</p> <p>11. Think about how the items will best display in pictures. If the item fits you reasonably well, model it (use your camera's self-timer or get someone else to take the picture). If it doesn't, it's probably better to hang it on a hanger. </p> <p>12. It helps to take all your pictures at once. I would do dresses, one evening, and put on black tights and booties and a strapless bra, and I could take twenty pictures in thirty minutes.</p> <p>13. You get the first picture with your listing for free. I did not find it cost effective to add extra pictures on my listings. I did however often snap extra pictures when I took pictures of the item (of any detailing that I thought might interest people) so that I could just send the pictures along if a potential buyer asked.</p> <p>14. It makes sense to list things of approximately the same size/style profile at the same time--many buyers will buy several items at once. I had one buyer buy nine different items within a few days, because I had listed a bunch of classic cocktail dresses at the same time. (This is the holy grail of e-bay selling, as far as I'm concerned.)</p> <p>15. Don't burn yourself out. I had weeks where I listed thirty items and weeks where I listed none.</p> <p>16. Have 'standard policies' that you include in a couple of cut-and-paste paragraphs at the end of each listing. I chose not to accept returns (though I would have made an exception if I had made a mistake) and requested payment within 48 hours. I then promised to post within 48 hours of payment.</p> <p>17. Figure out when the post office is not crazy. At my post office (in Chicago) the best times were the first and last hours of the day. </p> <p>18. Pay attention to when your listings will end; make sure you're not excluding anyone via your scheduling. I generally tried to end things between 8.30p-10.30p CST (before 11.30 on the east coast and after 6.30 on the west).</p> <p>19. Clump your listings to end together. I generally had a clump on Sunday evening (the best time in my experience) and sometimes some on Wednesday evening. This helps to minimize trips to the post office.</p> <p>19. I sent most things priority mail. It's generally just a bit more expensive than parcel post, and you can use USPS packing materials (you can even order them and have them delivered to your house for free). This is particularly useful for things that require boxes. </p> <p>20. Don't underestimate the cost of postage. (This is particularly important with shoes and boots, and *particularly* important when you are considering faraway destinations.) Sending a pair of high heels to CA from Chicago, for instance, can be nearly $10 for postage alone.</p> <p>21. Sending things under 13 ounces (blouses, lightweight dresses), you might as well send them first class. It's a lot cheaper than priority and just as fast. </p> <p>22. I started out paying extra for tracking everything but I stopped when I never had any problems.</p> <p>23. Don't burn yourself out. I had weeks where I listed thirty items and weeks where I listed none. You can without much effort relist items (making adjustments as necessary) when you have the listing done; if I was feeling uninspired, I'd just relist old items that hadn't sold. </p> <p>24. I just consigned my dining room to ebay stuff for the fall--I had a shipping corner (with all requisite supplies) as well as piles of stuff to sell, already listed, etc. This helped a lot, I think--I had everything ready to go when I had some time. </p> <p>I really got into the fun of purging after a while and came to regard e-bay as a break (as well as an opportunity to undo a lot of misguided shopping, etc.). E-bay keeps a running total of your sales so you can 'see' your success, which is encouraging--as is all the closet space you see open up, as well as the idea that you are sending things to people who will get more use out of them than you did.</p> <p>I hope this is helpful--I'm sure I've forgotten things, but this is at least a start. Good luck! </p>