Today’s post is all about selling on Poshmark. I’ll cover everything from Poshmark for beginners to more advanced strategies for increasing sales. This is an amazing side hustle where you can earn anything from a few bucks to a few hundred (or more!) a month, just selling your old clothes!
Compared to other platforms like eBay, where you can sell literally anything, Poshmark is mainly focused on clothing, accessories, and shoes. There are nuances to how to increase sales on Poshmark, but if you use all the tips in this post I guarantee you’ll start earning some coin.
In this super comprehensive Poshmark selling guide I’ll cover all the basic tips for how to be successful on Poshmark, including tips & tricks for optimising your listings, how to take photos, top selling items and brands, and everything else you need to know! Let’s get to it!
PS: If you aren’t on Poshmark yet, sign up using code JALEHHH to get $10 in free account credit!
Table of Contents
Poshmark for Beginners: How Does Poshmark Work?
First things first, if you’re new to how Poshmark works! Poshmark is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell clothing, accessories, and shoes. They’ve recently expanded to include beauty products and home decor, but Poshmark is mainly a fashion platform.
It’s unique to other selling platforms because there’s a social aspect to it, too! People can follow your storefront and like and share your listings. There’s a Feed kind of like Facebook, where your product posts show up for everyone who follows you. And you can even post Stories to advertise stuff you’re selling!
What’s EXTREMELY handy about this is that generally people who follow you will be a similar size as you, and like similar styles – meaning as you get more followers, you’re actually growing a targeted customer base. And you get to advertise directly to them with every post, share, and Story.
You can sell on Poshmark using the Poshmark app, or on your desktop. Both have a similar interface and are really user-friendly.
First you create an account and make your “Closet” – which is basically your personal storefront. It looks like this:
You then list new items one at a time – providing some basic details and photos for each item – and add them to your storefront. It’s super fast and easy and should only take a couple of minutes.
From there you get started on your marketing. You can re-share listings to your followers, promote them in your Stories, or add them to Posh Parties, which are daily themed marketplaces (like “Best Sweaters” or “Fall Fashion”) where you can reach a wider audience.
Customers can either purchase an item at the listed price, or make an offer. Once your item sells, you just slap a prepaid return label on it (the customer pays shipping!), drop it in the mail, wait for the customer to receive it, and get paid!
After the item is received, the customer has three days to confirm that they’ve received it, otherwise it’ll be be marked as received automatically. As soon as the item is confirmed received the sale is considered complete, the money hits your account, and you can cash out anytime! Easy peasy.
Start to finish the process of selling on Poshmark is seamless and streamlined. There’s a reason they’re ranked the number one app for reselling clothes.
How to Sell Clothes on Poshmark
Here’s the very basics for how to sell clothes on Poshmark. There’s some information you’re required to provide when you create a new listing on Poshmark:
- At least one photo of the product (the higher quality, the better. Way more on this below!)
- A title for the item including product details (brand, size, color, condition)
- A description of the item & its condition
- The item category (i.e. Womens Coats & Jackets, Womens Dresses, etc)
- The item size
- The item’s ORIGINAL price (what you paid for it)
- The item’s LISTING price (what you want to sell it for)
The following are optional, but HIGHLY recommended to include if you want to make sales on Poshmark:
- The item brand
- The item color
- Descriptive hashtags (i.e. bohemian, cashmere, or leather)
Poshmark takes a selling fee from all orders. For items above $15, it’s 20% of the price. For items below $15, it’s $2.95. There’s a handy calculator on the create-a-listing page that will tell you how much you’ll earn from the sale (after fees are deducted).
Make sure to factor these fees into your planning – sometimes an item’s price point is too low to make it worth selling on Poshmark. For example, I won’t bother listing a $5 item on there because it’s just… too much effort, for a low return. My personal minimum is a $10 sale ($7 in my pocket). There are other apps out there with lower fees which make more sense for items at a lower price point, more on those at the end of this post.
Now let’s get into the specifics of how to sell clothes on Poshmark – everything that will get users’ attention and make the sale!
Pricing Items on Poshmark
How to Find the Right Price Point
Finding the right price point for your Poshmark listing is key if you want to make sales. You want the discount from the purchase price to be enticing enough for someone to buy it – especially if the item is still available for purchase at a retailer – but you’re also trying to make money.
The easiest way to price items on Poshmark is to do a quick search for similar items, to get a sense of what other people are listing them for. To get a sense of current pricing, search for your item (or something similar, or the same brand, etc.) and browse the first listings that come up.
To get even more useful data, go to the “Availability” filter and filter by “sold”. That way you can see what price points are selling consistently and what buyers are willing to pay for that item or brand.
Pricing varies WILDLY by brand and it doesn’t always make sense. Some brands will go for like, 5-10% of purchase price on Poshmark, and some you can ask for 90% and it’ll sell. The best way to price items is just scope out the competition and see what going rates are on the platform.
Offers & Haggling
A unique feature of Poshmark is that shoppers can make Offers on your listings, so you can haggle back & forth until you agree on a price.
This can be really useful for sellers because you can price items a touch high, expecting people to lowball – thinking they’re getting an awesome deal – when really it’s the price you wanted!
As always, scope out the competition beforehand and price accordingly. If you’re competing with 15 other identical/similar listings, don’t price high, price competitively. This strategy only works for items where shoppers don’t have many other options.
How to Sell More on Poshmark – Strategies for Increasing Sales on Poshmark
Include Extra Detail in Your Descriptions
Wanna know how to sell on Poshmark fast? The easiest way to make a sale is to make sure the shopper has NO questions or doubts. If the person wants your item but has to stop and ask you – hey, what’s the size? Or hey, what condition is this item in? (etc) — that kills ALL the momentum you had going for you.
The best sales are impulsive lol. You want someone to come across your listing and go SH*T I NEED THIS, bought, sold, done, in two seconds flat, before they even know what came over them.
So make sure that you answer every CONCEIVABLE question in your listing. And provide photos. This is one of my top tips for selling on Poshmark. It will make a world of difference, seriously.
Price Drops & Shipping Discounts
Poshmark has an awesome feature which sends out an alert to EVERYONE who has liked your post – provided you drop the list price at least 10%, and provide a shipping discount. For high-ticket items I’ll offer free shipping, for lower-priced items I’ll just do reduced shipping, so the sale is still worth my time.
Price drops and shipping discounts are a great way to get peoples’ attention — this is a great strategy if your item has been listed for a while and isn’t selling. People who liked your post are clearly interested already, so sometimes a price drop is enough to finally make the sale.
Bundles
Another cool Poshmark feature is Bundles, which allows you to set a discount for customers who buy more than 1 item at a time. This discount is advertised on your storefront so customers know up-front that if they Bundle they’ll get a discount. Great way to entice people to poke around your shop.
Share Your Listings Frequently
Resharing your existing listings is a great way to sell more on Poshmark. Sharing bumps your post to the top of your followers’ feed and basically looks like a new listing. If you have a large Closet some of your newer followers may not have even seen your old listings.
So make sure that you’re sharing products from your Closet consistently – like, a few times a day! The best Poshmark selling strategy is to get your listings in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
Utilise Posh Parties
Posh Parties are a virtual themed storefront run by the Poshmark platform itself – there are 4 every day at different times, all with different themes. Themes are super varied, some of them are brand-specific and some are as vague as “Winter Wear”. Check your notifications every day to view what Parties are being run that day.
Then it’s simply a matter of Sharing your listings to the Party after its start time. Loads of people are actively browsing these while they’re live so it makes sales and shares much easier.
Leverage Your Social Media Networks
Some top sellers on Poshmark have big IG presences and use social media to push their storefronts, sharing outfits & new pieces. If you’re trying to turn Poshmark into a legit side hustle (there are some girls out there making upwards of 5k/month so this is VERY viable lol), starting a fashion IG or sharing your listings on your existing IG is a great place to start.
Optimising Your Listings on Poshmark for Search
There are TWO main goals when optimising your Pinterest listing. The first is obviously to get people searching for items on Poshmark, to come across your item. This means writing titles and descriptions that match potential user searches. The second – often overlooked – goal, is to get your listings ranking in ACTUAL search engines. As in, Google.
Optimising Listings for Poshmark Search
You want your Poshmark listing titles to be as specific as possible and include a ton of identifying info about the product. Do not title things “Black Dress”. ALWAYS include the brand, where possible, and the size.
Ideally, also include some extra information that a) makes people want to click b) is SEARCHABLE on Poshmark. No one looking up “black dress” is going to find your black dress in a sea of other black dresses. But “black lace maxi dress size M” or “black off shoulder sun dress size XS” – now you capture everyone who’s looking for that specific style.
Optimising Listings for Search Engines
You don’t want your products to be restricted to the Poshmark platform and the Poshmark user base – which is way smaller than like, the entire Internet. You also want someone Googling your item to come across your listing.
A title like “super cute black sneakers” might do okay on Poshmark search, because everyone looking for black sneakers will see it eventually. But it will do TERRIBLY on Google. Whereas an accurate, descriptive title like, “Sam Edelman Black Poppy Sneaker Size 7.5” is guaranteed to show up when someone’s searching for it.
Relevant story – I was recently looking for the eternally sold out Anthropologie monogram mugs that everyone and their mother has. I Googled and stumbled upon a pair on Poshmark. By some miracle the seller had BOTH letters I wanted, I bought them immediately, and now I have mugs lol. I didn’t find that seller’s listing through Poshmark and she never would have made that sale if her listing hadn’t shown up on Google. Optimise your listings, seriously.
Taking Photos for Listing Items on Poshmark
Take Clear, Well-Lit Photos
If you’re wondering how to get more sales on Poshmark, the single most effective way is TAKING. GOOD. PHOTOS. There are a few basic ways to ensure that you’re showcasing your clothes in the most appealing way possible.
You can either take photos on your phone and then upload them to Poshmark, or you can take them through the app directly. Keep in mind that Poshmark uses SQUARE photos, not portrait, so if you’re not taking your shots through Poshmark directly make sure to frame your shots accordingly, so that the product doesn’t get cut off.
To take good photos for Poshmark, find yourself some soft natural lighting and a plain background. Artificial light is a no. Harsh lighting is a no. God forbid you use flash photography. Take your photos in daylight. iPhone photos are totally fine – the most important thing is using the right lighting.
HANG your clothes instead of laying them flat, it makes a huge difference – if you don’t have a plain wall to use, you can hang the hanger over the top of a door frame. Products that are photographed flat – from my personal experience – literally do not sell. And it’s obvious why. They aren’t appealing.
See example here, lol. I can’t imagine why everything in my closet has sold except these 4 pieces I was too lazy to photograph well.
Make sure to include a MINIMUM of 3-4 photos per product. Just one or two doesn’t cut it. For more expensive items, include a photo of the label and/or any authenticity cards. For bags, include photos of edges with any wear. Include detail photos of any accents like lace, sequins, etc. The idea is to showcase your items as clearly as possible.
Get Creative with Your Product Photography
I’ve seen some girls have a ton of success on Poshmark by using presets, doing flatlays, taking mirror selfies, etc. Pages with a strong aesthetic and branding attract more followers. And again, since Poshmark is a social platform as well as an online marketplace, building a brand actually is a smart business move.
Like I said before, the point of your images is to catch someone’s eye as they’re scrolling. So get creative. If you think you can get people to follow you with cute mirror selfies or some good edits, go for it. The more followers you have, the more sales you’re likely to make.
If Your Pics Suck, Use Brand Imagery
If all else fails, and your product photos aren’t turning out well, use brand imagery instead. It’s better to use a good but generic brand photo than a poorly lit, crappy photo that makes the clothing look unappealing.
If you choose to do this, use the brand photos as the “cover” photo for the listing, to catch peoples’ attention with nice photos, but make sure to include your own images also. Shoppers are highly unlikely to purchase your listing if you don’t have any of your own photos to go off (because they can’t assess the quality/authenticity of the item).
Prepping Items Before Listing on Poshmark
Make Sure Items are in Mint Condition
The top selling items on Poshmark aren’t always the best items, they’re the best presented items. No one wants to buy dirty, stained, or wrinkled clothing. So a tiny amount of prep work before listing your items will seriously do you WONDERS.
First things first, make sure the clothes are – and look – clean. Don’t assume you can’t sell an item just because it has a small spot or stain because odds are you can get it out. A Tide pen is simple and effective for getting out basic food & drink stains. For sweat stains you can try a mix of white vinegar and water. And for super wrinkled clothes, a handheld steamer or a quick whirl in the dryer before taking photos is highly recommended.
If you plan on selling clothes consistently I’d definitely recommend picking up some basic cleaning supplies, it’ll make your life so much easier!!
Review Items for Any Damage Before Listing
Returns are not normally allowed on Poshmark. This protects you, the seller, from customers trying to get money back because they changed their mind or didn’t like how the item fit, and it’s a HUGE perk of selling on the platform.
But there are a couple exceptions – one of which is if the customer says the item was misrepresented. If you fail to disclose stains, damage, etc on a listing, that can come back to bite you in the *ss later.
Damage doesn’t mean you can’t make a sale. But you HAVE to disclose it beforehand in your listing.
If something is scratched, stained, missing a button, broken zipper, etc, as long as you include that information in the description, you’re golden. Even if the customer comes back later and tries to complain, you can refer them & Poshmark to the disclaimer in your listing, and the sale will stand.
So before you list anything make sure you give it a solid once-over and note any damage.
Top Sellers on Poshmark
Poshmark is a data lover’s wet dream. Every year they release a JUICY Trend Report on what sells best on Poshmark – with all the year’s top performing categories, brands, and trends. The 2021 release isn’t out yet, but the top 10 brands in 2020 were:
- lululemon
- Nike
- Free People
- Victoria’s Secret
- Coach
- PINK Victoria’s Secret
- American Eagle Outfitters
- J. Crew
- UGG
- Michael Kors
If you’re sensing a theme, you would be correct lol. These are all young, trendy brands, but most importantly they’re in the Poshmark sweet spot price-wise. Items that originally retailed from about $50-$200 are PERFECT for Poshmark because they get priced down to a very affordable $10-$70 or so. Which is a f*cking FANTASTIC deal for high-quality clothing.
Best Items to Sell on Poshmark
Going off that theme — what sells best on Poshmark? Think TRENDY, high-quality pieces from recognisable brands. Reformation, Revolve, Aritzia, etc. If you have pieces from there it’s pretty much a guarantee they will sell – Poshmark’s customer base is mainly young, fashionable women.
Top selling items on Poshmark are seasonal, just like any conventional retailer or reseller – heading into spring/summer unload your sundresses and sandals, heading into autumn/winter start pushing sweaters, boots, and coats.
Price point is important here. Poshmark tends to favor higher-quality pieces, so fast fashion typically isn’t going to cut it here. I would avoid listing items from retailers like Shein or Forever 21 simply because the profit you’ll make is often too low to justify the work. Also important to note the customer still has to pay the pretty steep shipping fee even for cheap items – they’re not super likely to want to pay $7 shipping for a $3 shirt.
So if you’re trying to figure out how to sell more on Poshmark, definitely consider which clothing brands are popular on the platform and get a lot of Likes.
I only list my higher-end items on Poshmark and save cheaper stuff or less cute products for consignment or thrift shops.
Pros of Selling on Poshmark
There are TONS of pros to selling on Poshmark, that make it stand out against other platforms.
- User base: Poshmark has a HUGE volume of users – over 40 million! That is a lot of potential customers shopping around.
- Shipping fees are paid by the customer, not you.
- Sales are final unless the item was misrepresented or damaged. This means the person can’t return your item just because they don’t like it or it didn’t fit, which is a huge safeguard for sellers.
- Ease of use: Poshmark FOR SURE has the best user experience of all similar platforms, for both buyers and sellers. The search function is great, it’s easy to sell, everything is straightforward.
Cons of Selling on Poshmark
There’s really only one major con of selling on Poshmark, and it’s the fees. 20% is… significant.
I honestly can’t think of anything else that should deter you. I love selling here and am going to step up my game this year and start taking it more seriously as a side hustle!
Apps Like Poshmark
If you aren’t having success, you might want to try out other apps like Poshmark. There are a few great options for similar selling platforms where you might have more luck!
Mercari
The best alternative to Poshmark is probably Mercari, which has lower fees. This makes it a much better choice for fast-fashion pieces selling at a lower price point, where you can’t really afford to lose 20% of the sale price, and where the customer probably isn’t gonna be keen to spend $5 shipping on a $5 shirt. If you have a lot of Forever 21 or SheIn clothing to unload, Mercari is probably your best bet!
ThredUp
You can also try ThredUp, another reseller. ThredUp is not an online marketplace, it’s a traditional consignment shop. Which means they purchase the items up-front from you and resell them to buyers on their platform. You don’t market or sell directly to customers.
Selling is super easy! ThredUp will ship a giant, empty bag to your address. You just fill it up with your old clothes and send it back. They choose what they’d like to buy from you, price the clothing, and send you your cash!
ThredUp has a payment structure that varies by the price of the item. As of Nov. 2021, these are the current consignment payouts.
eBay
I have 0 experience with eBay so can’t share any personal anecdotes. But obviously they have an INSANELY huge user base. So if you have items that aren’t selling on Poshmark for some reason – add them to eBay too. Don’t forget to keep inventory if you choose to list products on multiple platforms, so that you remember to take the listing down from all of them when it sells.
Hope this post gave you some GREAT tips for how to sell on Poshmark and that you have a suuper comprehensive understanding of how Poshmark works now! Feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email at jalehmichelle@gmail.com with any questions, and don’t forget to check out my Poshmark here, or sign up using code JALEHHH for $10 off!
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