Poshmark for Beginners Complete Guide (2024)
I recently received an email from a new Poshmark user who asked me, “What tips could you give a new seller on Poshmark to be successful?”
This is a great question because when you’re new to something like Poshmark, it can be hard to know where to start and what to focus on.
My response to that seller became this guide. After I wrote to her, I decided I should share my response with you because lots of new sellers are joining Poshmark every day.
The tips fall into three categories:
1 | Sell what people want to buy
2 | Showcase your items well
3 | Use Poshmark’s features to make sales
Let’s dive in!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive compensation when you click on a product link or purchase an item linked on this site. Click here for details.
***If you don’t have a Poshmark account, you can receive a free $10 bonus when you sign up with my code SFGIRL2015. Amount varies by promotion.***
***On Mercari, you can get $10 when you sign up with the code JENMHM.
1 | Sell what people want to buy
If you’re new to fashion and resale, it will take research and trial and error to know what to sell and what will sell well for you.
You might be surprised that many brands and items that sell for a lot at retail have low resale value.
The reverse is true too. Some brands and items that aren’t high-end or expensive can make for quick and profitable sales.
How do you know what people want to buy?
Take note of the brands sold on popular sites like Revolve and Net-a-Porter
Look at what celebrities like Meghan Markle are wearing
Read marketplace news and notices. The Posh blog has sales and trend reports. Mercari will tell you what to list because it’s hot right now. Kidizen has a list of top-selling children’s clothing brands.
Look at sold listings on Poshmark. Type something you want to research such as dresses into the search bar. Set availability to “Sold” items and filter to show only items $100 and over. Then look at the brands and styles that have sold recently. This is the easiest and fastest way to know what will sell.
Consider selling non-clothing items. Some people do well selling primarily shoes, home goods, and beauty products.
Related post: 17 Brands to Sell on Poshmark
Now you might be saying, “That sounds great. I’d love to sell those items. But how do I get them!?!”
I always suggest to starting to sell by listing items from your own home. List items that you have that are new or in good condition but you don’t wear or use anymore. They don’t have to be the most popular or profitable brands.
It’s an easy way to learn the ropes of a new marketplace. Your items might even sell quickly depending on what they are.
The goal is to get started growing the number of listings you have for sale and making sales to show you’re a legitimate seller. You mean serious business!
Many sellers then source items specifically to sell for profit.
I mostly shop at thrift stores. I look for sought-after brands like Reformation, Mother, Lululemon, and Zimmermann. I mostly stick to thrifting because it’s convenient and fun for me.
There are many ways to source profitable inventory. Here are a common few:
Retail store sales. Lots of sellers hit up places like Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx during their big sales.
Outlet thrift stores like Goodwill bins
Buy-sell-trade clothing stores like Crossroads and Plato’s closet
Yard sales and estate sales
Family and friends
Offer consignment services
Purchase liquidation lots and wholesale inventory
Related post: 26 Places to Get Clothes to Sell on Poshmark
Some final notes about what to sell:
Many, many brands that will sell well for you on Poshmark and other marketplaces.
Top brands can change as new ones pop up and gain popularity. Seasons and trends come and go. Remember the cold-shoulder top?
While Poshmark shoppers tend to be brand-focused or style-focused, many sellers make sales with basic styles and typical mall brands like Old Navy, J. Crew, and Banana Republic.
No matter brands or items you sell, keep your cost of goods low so that you make a profit.
Leggings are one of my favorite items to resell.
2 | Showcase your items well
How you show or market your item can make a huge difference in getting it sold. Two sellers can list the same item and they’ll sell quite differently, both the amount of time required to make a sale and sold prices.
How do you show your items so they’ll sell?
Pictures
Background
Take a look at how companies like Banana Republic and Anthropologie show items. They’re often on a a light color or white background.
There are instances when a bright color or a scene is the right background such as when showcasing a white dress or taking pictures of evening wear in a party scene.
But for the most part, the white or light background shows an item without detracting from it.
You can use photo apps like PhotoRoom to remove backgrounds as well.
Display
How you decide to show your items will likely depend on the item and your situation.
Take pictures of items
hung on a hanger against a plain background
on a body form
modeled by a person
as a flat lay against white or light colored posterboard
in a homemade or purchased light box (harder to do with larger items)
Many buyers like seeing how an item will look on a body. That’s usually done by using a body form or modeling the item. Those are relatively time-consuming compared to other display options.
My favorite display method is to hang items against a wall. It’s easy to set up and take pictures quickly.
Lighting
You’ll also need good lighting. Natural light is usually best if you can get it. This is hard in the winter or if you work on selling at night when the sun isn’t as readily available.
You can achieve a similar effect with box lights or a ring light. I’ve tried both and prefer box lights if I can’t get natural light. You can also use a photo editing app like SnapSeed or a background-removing app like PhotoRoom to get similar effects.
Titles
Put as much information as you can fit into the title. This will keyword your items to come up in Poshmark and Google search results. Here’s what to add and some examples:
Brand name – Athleta
Style name – Downabout
Item type – puffer vest
Size –
Color – pink
Pattern – striped
Material – wool and silk
Features – lace and rhinestones
There are character limits, so you may not fit all this information into the title. Try to have at least the brand and style names and item type. Then add the rest based on what you can fit.
Descriptions
A good description not only lets a buyer know what they’re getting, but also saves you from having to answer as many questions after posting. Try to be as thorough and descriptive as possible.
Common things to add to the description:
Brand and style name
Item type
Item condition
Details about the style or item
Any flaws
Color
Measurements
Fabric content
How to clean the item
Styling tips or seasonal info
My description might go like this:
NWT Tahari ASL jacquard floral jacket in pink and ivory
Size 12
Style 8180M851
Portrait collar, fabric-covered four-button front closure, shoulder pads, ruffle cuffs
Jacket only, no skirt
Measures 20 inches armpit to armpit, 22 down center back without collar
Measurements are approximate
Polyester, rayon, acetate
Dry clean
These are a few good examples I came across:
The seller above ended up being asked for measurements of the top in the comments and provided them.
Here’s another description that I thought was well written:
Use a template to speed up writing your descriptions and ensure you cover all details. It can be an actual template on your phone or computer or just one in your head.
You’ll find that many people’s item descriptions have the same format or sound similar to each other because they follow the same pattern each time. It makes listing faster and ensures you don’t leave out anything important.
Measurements
Measurements help buyers get a better idea of how an item will fit. They aren’t mandatory, but if you sell a lot of clothing and you don’t add them, you may find yourself answering lots of questions from potential buyers.
You might have noticed when shopping online that retailers often give the measurements of an item or the measurements of the model and what size she’s wearing. They do this because it helps people feel more confident in buying from them and selecting the right size.
Add measurements to your listings if you have the time and inclination to do it.
Pricing
It’s good to start with an idea of how much you want to earn for an item based on factors like how much you paid for it, how quickly you want it sold, and how much similar items are selling for.
Look up the comparibles AKA “comps” on Poshmark, other sites like eBay, or even on Google. Look at sold prices for rather than just how much items are listed for. There can be a big difference.
Once you have an idea of how much you want to earn, price your items above that. I tend to price my items about 20-25% more than my goal sale price. This allows for wiggle room to accept offers and to lower prices during sales.
Packaging
Poshmark promotes stellar packaging as part of the overall Poshmark experience. If you like decorating your packages with tissue paper, ribbon, and an extra gift , then go for it!
Don’t feel that you have to do that though. A clean and securely packaged item is enough.
Clean, lint roll, and/or steam items if needed.
Fold clothes or wrap other items so they’ll minimize wrinkles, keep their shape, and remain undamaged through shipping.
Waterproof items with a plastic bag or Tyvek envelope if needed.
A thank you note is not necessary but a nice touch. If you add an order sheet to the package, you can write a thank you note on that. Other sellers add a business card or use a thank you sticker.
Shipping is easy on Poshmark. Print out the label that’s emailed to you or download it from the app. It’s good for shipping packages up to 5 lb. That’s enough for most sales of individual items. Stick the label on the package and ship it via the U.S. Postal Service.
Related post: How to Package & Ship Poshmark Sales
Sales ready to be shipped
3 | Use Poshmark's features to help you sell
Every marketplace has its unique features to help you bring in more sales. Poshmark is no exception, having many that are easy to use.
Here are the main ones:
Sharing listings
Poshmark is built on the idea of a social shopping experience. Part of that is sharing your own and other people’s listings to your followers and virtual parties. This results in those listings being seen more often.
The most important sharing to do is of your own items. Focus on sharing your items in the amount of time that you have. Then share other people’s listings if you have time and want to do more.
Note that it’s not necessary to share items. You can make sales without doing that. But sellers generally find they have more sales when they sell desireable items and share them.
Nowadays many sellers use automated services such as Flyp to automatically share their listings.
Discount features
Poshmark has several features to offer discounts that encourage shoppers to buy.
Offer to likers
This is when you make an offer to someone who has liked your item. You have to offer the item at a lower price and provide a shipping discount as well. If I have a shirt on sale for $25, I might offer it for $20 with $4.99 shipping. The seller pays that difference in shipping cost, so keep that in mind when determining how much you’ll make from the sale.
Some sellers make an offer every time someone likes an item and get most of their sales this way. Remember to price your items a little higher than you hope to sell them for to accommodate the discounts.
Bundling items
You can make a bundle of one item or several items for someone, or they can make one for themselves from items in your closet. Once a bundle is made, even if it’s just one item, you can negotiate with the potential buyer regarding price. Some sellers offer an automatic discount for purchasing multiple items such as 10% off of 2+ items.
Closet Clear Out
During this event, you lower the price of an item by at least 10% from its historical lowest price. As long as the item is at least $10, it will receive discounted shipping. That’s usually $3.99 or $4.99 instead of $7.97.
This is my favorite feature because Poshmark covers the difference in shipping cost. I’ve made many sales this way because Closet Clear Out happens often, at least once a week.
Relisting items
Relisting can help you make more sales on most marketplaces, not just Poshmark. It’s exactly as it sounds, which is deleting your old listings and listing the same items again as new ones.
This allows you to raise their price if you lowered them at any point. This also changes your items’ ranks so they place higher in search results.
Remember that most people purchase items on Poshmark by looking for specific items. Right now, I’m looking to buy a Frozen outfit for my niece. I’m searching by typing in “Frozen dress”, “Elsa sweater”, and similar search terms.
Those items come up based on how well someone titled, described, and categorized their items. Poshmark defaults to showing items by “just shared” but buyers can change the order. I’ll often look for the items that are “just in” to see what’s newly listed.
I rarely purchase an item by browsing the feed. I’ve heard this from other buyers and sellers as well.
So make sure your items are optimized to come up in searches. The higher in the search results, the better they are for getting seen.
Live shows
Poshmark most recently added the ability to do live shows. Once you’ve signed up for Poshmark, you can apply for approval to host live shows.
Live shows can be
You standing in front of the camera talking and selling items (like on QVC)
Silent auction style. The show goes through a reel of the items you selected to sell at the show. You don’t have to be active on camera.
Many sellers report having great sales with live shows, especially if they have a good following:
Be consistent with regular days and times for your shows
Sell certain types of products that buyers know to expect and want
Wrap Up
Now you know the main components of how to sell successfully on Poshmark! I wrote this guide for beginning sellers, but it has all the essential parts for anyone to make sales.
Good luck with your sales and happy Poshing!
Let me know if you have more questions :)
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