A recent post was about buying an outfit at a consignment shop for auctioning on ebay. This hadn't really occured to me before. I've read here about people getting Gymboree baby clothes at yardsales, or even scarves at thrift shops. But is there a point in general in buying secondhand clothes for resale?
I guess this is a "if I tell you, I'll have to shoot you" question. But I am still curious what general sorts of things people look for when they do this. I have a hard enough time finding stuff to buy for myself or my children at thrift shops, and I never feel I have the time to spend picking over piles of clothes at yard sales. But I'll buy all kinds of books and be cheerful about a minimum $4-$5 return, so maybe that would be possible with some clothes, too?
posted on September 12, 2000 11:09:16 AM
Buying clothes for re-sell works well if you are near a large, flourishing city. That is where you will find women who have higher tastes and love to shop. The clothes at thrifts and yard sales will be name brand and worth picking up.
High end sells well. Uniforms sell well. Name labels are a must for most standard sizes. Plus sizes do well. Maternity is a hit and miss. Ski clothing does exceptionally well.
You can do well with clothes but you have to have the sources and patience or love to shop. As you will spend some hours looking at racks of clothing for that designer label and especially if new with tag etc.
There is a great profit in high end shoes - must be new or like new though (worn 1-3 times - look at soles for wear.)
Hope this helps!
The biggest benefit to selling clothes is they are super easy and quick to pack.
posted on September 12, 2000 11:22:08 AM
Most of my income comes from buying new and used clothing for resale. Much of what I buy comes from yard sales and flea markets; some of it comes from consignment shops. The new with tag is often simply purchased at ultra clearance prices.
I live in a half-horse town in the middle o' nowhere. Well -- outta the way anyway. I still find lots of stuff to sell. Patience is definitely the key -- and about 1 in 20 items I buy I find I cannot use once I get it home and do a more thorough look-over. It is, for me, a matter of balancing speed -- finding likely things and getting to them before the other buyers do -- and thoroughness. I do a basic check of seams and buttons before buying. A more thorough check waits until I get home.
I *never* buy women's clothing between size 4 and 12 any more -- it just didn't pay well enough even when it was high quality. I focus on quality children's clothing as well as (in deference to the folks offended last time) clothing above size 14.
I find that used bras sell well also; I generally can pick those up for a quarter a piece and sell 'em for $2+. Average over the last year on bra sales for me was $8 each.
posted on September 12, 2000 11:54:53 AM
I sell used clothing (it's about 25% of my eBay business--i also sell lots of other things) and I do fine. But aside from eBay I have prior experience in knowing what will sell. It doesn't do any good to just buy some clothing and try to sell it. Selection is all important, and you have to find a niche. I have 2 or 3 niche markets I work within and I use certain keywords to attract the small but eager group of bidders that likes those things. You will have repeat business if you have a good grasp of your niche. In the way I have marketed myself in these niches, quality is more important than quantity. However, those one or two clothing items I list each week will end at 20 or 30 dollars (and I usually buy them for 2-4 dollars). Added to my other ebay sales it is a nice payoff especially since I mainly pick up clothing while on shopping trips for other things.
posted on September 12, 2000 12:35:02 PM
Afternoon All -
I've been fortunate with my clothing sales. Aside from those I agree to consign (very picky about what is acceptable), I have been able to pick up some very nice business wear at yard sales. For the past month, I have been hitting yard sales in a very affluent area of town after 10 a.m. By this time, the sellers are hot and tired and ready to be done. Most of the houses in this area are owned by doctors, attorney, bankers and the sorts. You walk up, they say $1.00 for anything hanging and 50¢ for anything on tables. I have gotten some very nice, almost brand new, named brand clothing for $1.00 each. Put them through a home drycleaning system and wal-la!
Now I need a piece of wood to knock on or that's gonna change! LOL
Kim
P.S. Has anyone else noticed that the larger the size, the better the sales?
posted on September 12, 2000 12:45:54 PM
I'm not sure the poster - but the one in a small town - good for you. We are getting ready to move to a small town and I am hoping to find sources there.
Right now I have hundreds to list and I only do this part time. All name brands. I find with the thousands of clothing listed - the name brands or niche markets do well. I do well with the smaller womens sizes as well as the larger listings.
The following brands do very well:
Ann Taylor
Nordstrom
Nike
Monkey Wear
Ferragamo
Espirit
Gap
Givenchy
Liz Claiborne (especially shoes)
Men's shoes
As well as ski jackets and western wear does great.
I do agree with the poster that you have to know what you are doing. I was a manager at Nordstroms for about 2 years as well as read current fashion mags monthly to see what labels are 'it' right now.
Congrats on the one who sells childrens clothing. I only stick to junior and adult as, unless a jacket etc. I could not make enough money doing childrens.
I pick out items with a quick review - buttons, tears etc. Then before paying at check out or yard sale I look in bright light. I put back at least 1-3 items per trip that I see stains upon further check out or not up to quality.
To be successful with clothes you need to:
Have patience or love to shop ( as I do!!! )
Find a niche or only sell name brands
Offer 1st class as well as priority for smaller items (buy bubble mailers in bulk)
Ship clothing in a bag of some sort. (Turkey bags, ziploc bags and dry cleaner bags work well)
Keep a mailing list - when you have same brand, same size e-mail buyers to let them know (of course, compile your mailing list with buyers permission only )
posted on September 12, 2000 12:55:56 PM
I sell clothing. All new, most without tags, some with. I find it is most helpful to purchase things in multiples. One picture, same description, different sizes. When I do have something in multilples, I list a size chart at the bottom of the description with critical measurements for all sizes. That way, if someone comes across an auction for a size that doesn't fit, they can find out which size will and check my other auctions.
Some things do better in lots, people get involved in a bidding war. I don't put more than 3 items in one lot (4 at the absolute most) because when checking closed auctions, the ending prices for very large lots are not significantly different than small lots.
I will say that name brands do much better. Try browsing and you will see why people mainly keyword search for the brands they like.
I do find that it's much easier to auction men's clothing because unless you're selling suits (or something like that), they generally do not need to know the measurements.
If you live near an apparel center (SF, LA, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, NY, etc.), they usually have sample sales a few times a year where you can get new items. I also hear that many eBayers hit the clearance racks and outlet stores.
One tip with selling clothing is that if you are auctioning lightweight items that can go first class, send it that way. Buy some tyvek envelopes at the office supply. It really, really helps bids when people can get that kind of break on shipping.
posted on September 12, 2000 02:36:01 PM
name brand is the key. I make about $2 profit per golf shirt. There is the exception where there is a war. However, more and more people are selling so prices are going down. I mail priority. It is the easy way to mail. Just put the golf shirt in small new plastic bag and into an envelope, slap a stamp on it, and out the door to the mailman. Will new summer clothing sell around Christmas time??? This is my question..
posted on September 12, 2000 02:51:10 PM
Wow, I expected to be flamed for even asking the question, but you people are so generous! I don't think I'll be getting into this..I care little for clothes, personally, and know nothing about brands or styles. I do know a bit more about little kids clothes from my own children. I expect I'll stick to books!
posted on September 12, 2000 02:58:49 PM
I have done extremely well with my clothing sales as well. I have found that the best way to sell childrens clothing is to put them in lots, the bigger the better (at least that has been my experience). I can sell individual mens sweaters, ladies slacks, etc., but have very little luck in selling individual childrens pieces.
The sky is the limit with sources. I shop yard sales, thrift stores, consignment shops (though there isn't usually much profit here), higher end department stores and outlet stores. When buying NWT, I make sure I can triple my money and still sell for less than the tagged price, or it's just not worth it.
Since I started selling clothes, my kids are dressed to the nines. I don't hesitate to buy them something nice and expensive because I know that when they outgrow it, it will sell on eBay! Course, this means they have to stay clean (not always the case with my kids). For instance, my son's first walking shoes were a $37 pair of Nikes. I wouldn't have dreamed of spending that on a one year old before eBay. He wore them for 4 months and I resold them...ending bid was $21.
If you decide to sell clothing, just be sure to list each and every flaw, even if you think that it's so minor it's not worth mentioning. I can't tell you how many times I've purchased used "mint" clothing only to receive it and find one flaw after another. OTOH, I recently bought a big lot of clothes from a yard sale. I didn't look over everything as well as I should have and realized that the all 4 pairs of Disney pj's had small tears on the seams. I listed them anyway, noting all of the tears, and they sold at a nice profit. I'm sure the winner was handy with a sewing machine and knew she could repair them with very little work. My point is, she knew what she was getting and there were no surprises.
posted on September 12, 2000 03:14:26 PM
Where do you get the bags to put clothes in to ship? I've looked on the web sites of companies who sell packaging supplies, and their poly bags all seem to come in rolls of 1000!
Well -- outta the way anyway. I still find lots of stuff to sell. Patience is definitely the key -- and about 1 in 20 items I buy I find I cannot use once I get it home and do a more thorough look-over. It is, for me, a matter of balancing speed -- finding likely things and getting to them before the other buyers do -- and thoroughness. I do a basic check of seams and buttons before buying. A more thorough check waits until I get home.
