PoshFest Takeaways to Improve Your Poshmark Business
I’m back after a weekend at PoshFest in Phoenix, AZ earlier this month. My goals in attending were to meet other Poshmark sellers and to learn tips that would help both you and me grow and improve our Poshmark businesses. I found plenty of tips and takeaways that I want to share with you.
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1 | Poshmark is a simple platform
You might be questioning this, but try using a site like eBay and you’ll see just how simple Poshmark really is. That simplicity of use is something that has continued over time and remains important to Poshmark.
Shipping is easy with one carrier and one rate.
Sharing is “the great equalizer.” Everyone has a chance to have their listings seen whether a new or experienced seller as long as you share your listings.
To that end, there’s often a lot of talk about how to beat the system or basically beat the Poshmark algorithm. You’ll hear “don’t do this” and “do that” to get more sales. It can be overwhelming, especially when it doesn’t work for you.
One Poshmark employee said that Poshmark has no real algorithm. Of course it has algorithms in place to keep it functioning, but it’s not meant to make you wrack your brain trying to figure it out or boost or penalize you for your actions.
If you keep in mind that Poshmark is a simple platform that you can take at face value, it will keep you from getting wrapped up on trying to crack some sort of algorithm. You can focus on your business, which is what you can control.
2 | More activity on the app means more chance of sales
Poshmark’s data team analyzed sales on the platform and came up with some amazing numbers. Sellers do better when they
Use >100 characters or 20-25 words in their listings
Have >4 pictures
Sell items in multiple departments
Self-share more than 10 times per day
Have over 20k followers
Use the Offer to Likers feature
Ship within 1-2 days of a sale
All of these things increased people’s chances of making a sale. It makes sense when you look at the data.
More descriptive listings give buyers the information they want to know and the confidence to buy the item. Sharing your listings more means it will be seen more, especially if you have more followers.
This reinforces the idea of being a “well-rounded” posher active on the platform to see more sales.
3| New features are coming!
If you thought Poshmark was done and over, do a double-take because Poshmark is far from its potential. Poshmark’s CEO says the company is only 1/10th of where he wants it to be.
There are plans to open up more markets (like the pet market) and expand further internationally. The goal is for people to be able to buy and sell easily worldwide.
Three new features were announced at PoshFest to take the platform one step further in that direction. In the coming weeks and months, these features will be released publicly:
Private listing fields – There will be three additional fields in each listing that are only seen by the seller. These are SKU for an inventory tracking number, cost price to keep track of the amount you paid for the item, and notes for anything you want to add.
My Inventory Report – We already have a sales report, but a lot of people have been asking for an inventory report too. This will include information such as your listing date, number of days an item has been listed, how many likes it has, and its lowest listed price.
Posh Stories – This is like Instagram Stories. When this launches, you’ll be able to upload video that lasts 48 hours. You’ll have the ability to tag other users in the video and link directly to your listings. It’s a chance to show your style and personality
4 | You can be a successful part-time seller
You can be a successful part-time seller even if you have a busy life. One panel of part-time poshers covered how they balance their day jobs with poshing on the side. They provided some great tips:
Allocate your time each day to the things that need to be done like your work and family care. Fill in the blank times or little moment of the day with work on your business.
Share from your computer instead of the phone. I agree that it’s much faster.
Organize your inventory from the start so you’re not spending time searching for things when they sell.
Also, when you’re a part-time seller or side hustler, it’s easy to become disappointed that you don’t have the number of sales of other sellers and that you don’t feel you have enough time to do it well. It’s okay that you don’t have 20 sales a weekend or 50 sales on a Closet Clear Out day.
You’re in a different stage of reselling that those who sell full-time or even those with different life factors. Maybe they have more time to source, cheaper inventory, a partner who helps with their business, or no other day job. As long as you’re meeting your goals, you’re successful as a part-time seller.
5 | You can be a full-time seller too!
Oh my goodness, there are so many full-time Poshers! Does that surprise you?
You might’ve seen sellers with thousands and thousands of listings in their closets. They were well represented at PoshFest.
This was a major point of education during the conference as well, including a breakout session about it and another panel with full-time sellers on the main stage.
Some sellers chose to become full-time while others fell into it due to circumstances or losing their previous job. They’re successful at it too.
If selling full-time is your goal and you’ve been doubting yourself at all, know that you can make it happen. Poshmark is growing and improving. Other sellers are there too to help you along the way.
6 | Authentication tricks and tips
Poshmark created exhibits for several of its markets including the luxury market. Poshmark authenticators were on hand to teach tips and tricks to determine real versus fake shoes and bags.
While I know the basics of authenticating items, I’m not an expert and welcomed their tips:
Louis Vuitton hardware like zipper pulls have some weight to them. They should feel relatively heavy.
Gold hardware like zippers and nameplates shouldn’t be overly shiny.
Inauthentic Christian Louboutin shoes may have color bleed from the red sole to the sides of the shoe.
My fellow (Canadian) Posher @shopstylefinity and I had a good time looking at some pretty purses trying to figure out if they were authentic or note. The fakes ones were ones that had actually been sent to Poshmark!
The authentication service is automatic for items purchased over $500. The seller ships it to Poshmark HQ and after it passes inspection, it’s sent on to the buyer. If you ever have concerns about the authenticity of an item, even one less than $500, contact Poshmark for help.
7 | Do you
When you see people who are rocking Poshmark, YouTube, and Instagram, it can feel like you need to change your whole approach to see the same success that they have. Some of their recommendations are helpful to run your business better, but you should still try to be you and do your thing.
You may be someone who sells “bread and butter” brands because that’s what you have access to acquiring. You might like making plain and simple listings without much flash to your closet.
You don’t have to be fancy to see sales. Going back to the basics, you just need to take decent pictures and write a decent description of your items to make sales. Do what you can and don’t feel you have to match someone else’s style and content to succeed.
8 | Pre-package your items for shipment
Pre-packaging your items for shipment will save you time when your item sells. I used to wait for a sale, look around for the item, double-check it for cleanliness, wrap it in tissue paper, and then box it for shipment.
You can imagine how long I had to search when I didn’t remember where I stored an item. I rushed to get several packages shipped after work when the post office closed in 30 minutes.
Make things easier on yourself by doing as much as you can before an item sells. Clean and inspect items before taking pictures of them. Then put them into an organized inventory system that can be pulled quickly when the items sell.
Some people store their items ready to go in shipping envelopes like USPS Tyvek ones. You can store your shoes in USPS shoeboxes too. You might only have to seal an envelope or box and then it’s ready to ship.
9 | Personalize your thank you note
Several sellers said that they personalize their thank you note. One seller writes the story of her closet/business on the back of her business card.
Another said she asks buyers to tag her on Instagram if they post a picture wearing their purchase. I thought that was a great way to see happy customers wearing your items and bring more publicity to your closet.
10 | Poshmark is for everyone
Based on Poshmark’s marketing, it may seem that the platform is only for one type of seller – someone young who sells trendy clothes and loves Instagram. I met sellers that differ in every way:
Experience – Some just started selling a few months ago while others have been on Poshmark since 2011 or 2012.
Origin – Most attendees were from the US, but some flew all the way from Canada to attend. Canada’s market is growing!
Ages - One speaker shared that she’s 61 years old and started selling full-time because she was laid off from her corporate job. Another had just graduated from college and decided to do Poshmark full-time because she wasn’t able to find a job after graduation.
Items sold – Some sellers focus on selling any brands as long as they are sourced cheap enough to make a profit. Others curate their closets for high-end items. Still others are pushing out their own boutique items.
Reasons for selling – to stay at home with children, to have a creative side hustle, to pay the bills while dealing with medical issues, to leave a day job and be one’s own boss…
Goals – to be a successful part-time seller, to become a full-time seller, to open a boutique, to create a line of clothing…
If you’ve been wondering if there’s a place for you on Poshmark, know that there are many sellers out there who don’t fit the stereotypical idea of a Poshmark seller but are still successful sellers.
Did you attend PoshFest this year or view the sessions on YouTube? What were some of your biggest takeaways?
