I Made $800 In A Month Selling Old Clothes

It's purging season folks. The time to Marie Kondo the heck out of your wardrobe.

A few weeks ago, I looked at all my clothes and thought "bugger, I don't wear at least 50% of these items". Maybe some items were too small or big. Others didn't suit me. Some weren't comfy or were so tattered that they were on the brink of death. Others, I kept saying "I'll defs wear this someday".

Now, I have as many business skills as a kid with a lemonade stand (probably less tbh), but that didn't matter! Selling clothes online is easy peasy. Time-consuming, yes, but I mean, it was worth it for me! In one month, I sold 17 items of clothing which amounted to A$798.00. Not bloody bad! Here's how I did it.

1. Be brutal

Blast some bangers or have FRIENDS playing in the background and try 👏🏼 on 👏🏼 everything. Suss each item in the mirror and ask yourself:

• Have I worn this a lot in the last few months?
• Does this suit me?
• Am I always waiting for the "right time" to wear this, but always go for something else?

Even if you love the idea of something, if it's not getting any wear, why keep it collecting dust in your wardrobe?!

2. Split everything into piles

For the clothes you're getting rid of, piles can include:

🌈 Pile #1: Things that need to be feasably adjusted. I'm no seamstress, but my Nana is a whiz with the sewing machine. She's made jeans shorter (I'm a short ass), sewed up holes and stopped fraying. If you, or someone you know can upcycle your clothes, get on it! 

🌈 Pile #2: Clothes that can be donated straight away. These are the basics. The things that maybe aren't in amaaaazing condition. Things you don't think would sell on Depop or Facebook Marketplace. 

🌈 Pile #3: Stuff that you think can sell online. Maybe they're branded, hardly worn or just really funky, it's time to make some money back from your clothes! So how do you go about selling??

3. Choose where 🤔

First up, suss out if there are any markets happening near you. If so, join forces with a few mates to make the stall fee cheaper, grab some clothing racks and folding tables and get ready to sell sell sell. Keep in mind, at markets, you'll wanna keep your prices pretty low, no matter the brand or condition. 

You can price up items online, but this way is a lot more admin obvs. You've got options like Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, and Depop #notspon, to name a few. You could even take pics and upload them to your Insta story. Whatever floats your dingy. 

I found that Depop got me the most traction. The downside of Depop is that they charge a 10% selling fee for sales on the platform buuut my items weren't selling as fast anywhere else.

A few things sold on Facebook Marketplace to people that lived nearby and were keen to pick items up. This saves them the shipping fee (and you a trip to the post office), but can be a bit of admin working out when best suits you both to exchange the mulla and item.

4. Take ✨aesthetic✨ pics

Yeah nah sorry, that tee isn't gonna look inviting if you've taken a pic of it crinkled, in crap lighting. 

The best way to save time, in the long run, is the take pics of the clothes on! If you don't, you'll get a milllllion messages "can you upload a pic of it on you?".

If you're not keen on taking pics of yourself, enlist the help of a friend to be your model!

Make sure you take pics from different angles and of any imperfections so the buyer can know what to expect. 

5. Give the deets

Again, a detailed description will save you in the long run from replying to a million questions. Provide sizing, price, brand, use, common search phrases, or keywords like "boho", "y2k" and "70s".

6. Get amongst it

When it comes to Depop, for example, people are more likely to buy from someone who has a good following. So follow people!! Follow a tonnnnne of people. Because then a tonne will follow you back and boom, more likes and more sales.

Make sure your Depop message notifications are on so that you can reply to messages and even follow up on someone if they've liked a tonne of your items. You could message "Hey, I see that you're interested in a few items I'm selling! Feel free to reach out if you have any q's or offers!"

✨ And with that, I wish you all the best in selling your unwanted clothes. ❤️‍🔥