posted on October 3, 2000 06:58:19 PM
OK, I've only been selling since May and have mostly stuck to older collectible items that I'm very familiar with. But, on a trip to my local Goodwill, I found some clothes that I thought should be good resell candidates: a jr's or misses Abercrombie & Fitch shirt, a jr's or misses Calvin Klein top, two men's Abercrombie & Fitch long-sleeved shirts and one Tommy Hilfiger long-sleeve shirt. They were each $2.99 and really in like-new condition. So, at the time, it seemed like a good idea to buy them. I listed them all (with photos, measurements and good descriptions), and while they don't end for several days, I have NO bids! Did I make a major mistake trying to dabble in the clothes market?
edited to add I guess it won't be a total waste since I can give them to my niece & nephew.
[ edited by mapledr1216 on Oct 3, 2000 07:00 PM ]
posted on October 3, 2000 07:05:13 PM
No mistake at all! You found some "good stuff." My clothes auctions run for 10 days. Ending Monday through Thursdays. I've discovered that works best for me. All my A & F and Tommmy stuff sells really well. Although, I must say, these last few days it appears as though the bidding is slow.
posted on October 3, 2000 07:20:04 PM
To the person that said their auctions end during the week...You find that ending them during the week is better than weekends or Sunday night? I usually do mine to end on Sunday or Monday night, but I am always open to suggestions.
posted on October 3, 2000 08:17:46 PM
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have these scheduled to end late Sunday night. I was figuring most young people would be home then. I'll let you know how it goes.
posted on October 3, 2000 08:46:22 PM
Clothing is a big pain in the butt. Even if you give exact measurements, there are those who want refunds because they thought it was larger.
I gave away several bins of nice name brand clothing I planned to sell. I am currently liquidating what I have and do not plan to restock.
I have had good experience selling jewelry, so I'm currently looking for a good wholesale source.
The competition for antiques, glass and pottery is too fierce, so I'll pass on that.
posted on October 3, 2000 09:53:46 PM
Those are great names to grab, although we haven't had steller luck with them. Hang in there till the end, they should get bids.
I love selling clothing and would not change for anything, but it is a difficult catagory. You must have a clear TOS stating under what circumstances you will accept returns and then stick to it. We have had people who bought something that did not fit, but as we include measurements, we do not take those returns. They may have gone away mad, but to date no one has negged us for that.
If you continue to sell clothing, you will end up in a niche of clothing that you are successful in selling. We stick with business style suits and dresses mainly and name brands.
We do get early bids on some of our name brand items, but there are usually many last minute bids.
And I do agree with those that say to end on the weekdays. We end ours between 7pm-10pm PST and that seems to work best for us. We seldom have any end on weekends.
Now I've typed on too long. Good luck in you auctions.
posted on October 3, 2000 10:02:23 PM
I have been selling a upscale catalog new clothing line since April. The line does well and I agree that closing M-Thur 7-9 pm pst appears to be the best time. Sundays are fine, but not as good as during the week. My auctions do not attract young people (teenagers) so I believe that many of my buyers are bidding from the office.
I measure the item all over, and if I have more than one in the same style and size - I still measure. There is always a little difference here and there. To date, no one has sent something back because of size, but the measurements are on the auction site.
I have sold used clothing, and treat them the same as new. Bids on these items appear to come in the last day. I'm always holding my breath.
posted on October 6, 2000 11:30:20 AM
Try veniza.com fashion auction site. They are specific to clothing and fashion. There's a few bids on there. Small site
posted on October 6, 2000 01:23:11 PM
I love selling clothing (golf shirts) the trick is the name brands. The others dont sell on ebay. Evenings anyday of the week have been good for me. I always avoided Saturday but even getting a few hits there. This last week the number of bids was low. Baseball, Jewish Holidays, me thinks...
posted on October 6, 2000 01:51:49 PM
I was used to collectibles too and then tried the clothes thing. In my case, I never had any problem selling big name clothes with the tags still on. I could sell big name clothes without the tags but even if they were in like new condition I couldn't get as much money. I tried some lots of big name clothes when some items had minor condition problems and I had to practically give that stuff away. So now I'm back to collectibles, I only buy clothes for resale if they are big name with tags on because for me they are the only ones I make enough money on to make it worthwhile. Good luck to you.
posted on October 6, 2000 05:57:04 PM
I sell about half and half new with tags and used. Both do well for me, maybe because I specialize in plus sizes and it's so hard to find great-looking clothes in that size range. I also have a source for really cheap and good-quality used clothing (like, $2 for a silk blouse or $4 for a Donna Karan jacket) that enables me to start my auctions really low and still make at least 3X my cost.
I think a really good photo is KEY in this market. I can't tell you how often I cruise the other listings and see black dresses that are just big dark blobs with no details, or stuff hanging under a tree in deep shade with shadows all over it. Get a mannequin (they are all over eBay in all price ranges). This is a must-have to make your clothes drape properly and look like something a woman would want to wear.
In a way, we are selling the sizzle, not the steak...as the old advertising adage goes. You want the person to see the picture and immediately want to click the BID button. Make the fabric look luscious, show up the nice details (fancy buttons, satin binding, whatever), and write a description to die for. You WILL get sales!
One last thing...before you buy any clothing for resale, cruise the listings and see what specific brands and items are going for. If you aren't positive you can at least triple your investment, pass on that great Goodwill buy. My personal rule is to never offer for sale anything I wouldn't love to keep for myself (both the look and the quality). Even when I find items that are not "my" color or cut, they have to be great or I won't sell them. Good luck to you!
posted on October 6, 2000 11:12:27 PM
Start out by specializing in one or two categories. Once you master those, expand if you like, a category at a time.
After awhile you'll develop a sense of what will sell and what won't. Don't give up now, it'll come with experience.
For the clothes I sell, I put all the measurements in. In the TOS I put 'this is a final sale'. If people want more info, I encourage them to email me.
The post about getting a mannequin really is good advice. You can get a decent one for about $100. It's worth the investment. You don't have to get it right away, though.
The best part about selling clothing is that it is much easier to ship than glass or ceramic or other breakables.
