Shopping for pre-owned, pre-loved clothing is at an all-time high and I’ve got 5 valuable tips for a happier online resell buying experience. These tips are based on several years of personal hits and misses as both a seller and a buyer on Poshmark, the web-based marketplace for new and secondhand styles for women, men, kids, and the home.
My experience with Poshmark started in May 2016. Since then, I’ve learned a thing or five about selling and buying on that platform. Some of it from the stories shared by others and some of it through my own experience. The good, the bad, and the ugly. More so than with an in-person type of purchase, there’s a bit of extra scrutiny you should make when considering a purchase from a resell site.
1 – Thoroughly Read User Guides And FAQs
Whether you intend to buy or sell (or both), your first step will be setting up an account. After setting up your account, take the time to read through all of the user guides. Most of that content is likely geared toward sellers but as a buyer, these guides will help you better understand what’s involved in that process. Anything that adds to your information base will help to ensure you have a good buying experience.
2 – Imagine That You’re In A Real Store
Many online resellers are small operations, kind of like a Mom-&-Pop store. They’re not a nameless, faceless corporation located out of country. These very real people are tickled that you’re looking at their listings and eager to make a sale.
Let a seller know you’re interested in an item by “liking” it ❤. Just like in a brick & mortar store, you’re under no obligation to purchase an item that you spend time looking at but a ❤ can serve two purposes. First, it helps keep track of items that have caught your eye which will help if you want to remember them for future consideration. And second, you’ll be notified if the seller reduces the price on the item or if the seller is interested in offering you a limited-time discount.
3 – Trust What You See (And Don’t See) In The Listing
Sellers are encouraged to take and post photos that show all the details and features of the items they list. Some are better than others at producing well-lit images and including all pertinate views. A seller can include up to 16 photos (previous limit had been 8) so there is no legit reason for a lack of visual information to support the written description. Personally, I like to see the back of a garment and have often asked a seller to add that to their listing.
And be sure to read that description very carefully. Does it include all of the information you need to make an informed decision? Sometimes the item is NWT (new with tag) and one that you can find on a brand’s website. But if the item is older or vintage, then the description should cover the basics of fabric content, washability, and any damage or flaws. Don’t let your excitement about the item cloud your judgment.
4 – Ask Questions When In Doubt
Never be afraid to ask the seller questions or request additional information (or photos). Especially if there might be a concern about the size or how it will fit you. Most sellers include some basic dimensions but sometimes will overlook a detail like across the shoulders on a top/sweater that has a room fit or the length of a purse strap. Experience has taught me that ommissions can be for a reason. Options for making returns are very limited and as long as the seller has not misrepresented the item or its condition, you may wind up with a less than satisfactory buying experience. A good seller will respond in a timely manner and encourage you to ask as many questions as you want to help win your business.
5 – Check The Seller’s Love Notes
Once a buyer receives their Poshmark purchase, they are asked to give it a rating of one to five stars (unless they want to not accept it and open a dispute). Depending on the number of stars given to the item, the buyer is then asked for additional comments. For ratings of one to four stars, there are prompts to provide the reason for the item not getting a five-star rating. These comments are for internal use and are not made public. Comments on five-star ratings are called “love notes” and those can be seen in a seller’s “about” information. “Love notes” that you’ve written are visible in your “about” information. Leaving a comment on a five-star rating is optional and some buyers choose not to do so.
When considering a purchase, I look at a seller’s account and profile information. I make note of when the account was opened, how many listings it has, and how many sales have been made. There are no published stats for a seller’s sales but you can use the filter feature to select the items that have sold to get a general sense of the quantity. Poshmark also does not publish stats on 5-star ratings; however, some sellers will reference being highly rated in their profile. To get a better sense of the level of satisfaction of a seller’s buyers, I look at their “love notes”.
For instance, on my “about” you’d see that I have received 43 “love notes”. You could also discern by filtering on my listings that I sold a lot of stuff, way more than 43. I will tell you that I’ve received over 150 five-star ratings. Remember, not all five-star ratings get a “love note”. It seems that some buyers are reluctant to leave one, maybe only 25 to 30% do. Even so, I’m cautious about buying from a seller who has a significant number of sales and yet no or very few “love notes”. You’d also need to consider whether the lack of “love notes” is due to the seller being new to the platform. Asking a seller about their stats would likely be seen as harassment so I don’t recommend you do that. But taking the time to ask questions about the item you’re interested in would be one way to dispel any qualms you may have about the seller.
As I close this post, perhaps you’re curious about the outfit I’m wearing in these photos. Most of the items are ones that I’ve bought on Poshmark. My top, skirt, boots, crossbody purse, and necklace are all resell purchases and I’m quite pleased with each. The belt and the denim jacket (a DIY distressing project) were bought at thrift stores.
I hope you’ve found my 5 valuable tips for a happier online resell buying experience informative. I’ll be putting out a post on tips for sellers in a few weeks. What tips would you offer to someone new to resell buying?
Be well and let’s stay in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Note: This is an unsponsored post; however, some or all of the links to clothing items are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.
22 Comments
Wonderful tips! This is handy! Thanks for sharing!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
You’re welcome. And thank you for commenting.
These are such great tips! I started selling my clothes on poshmark a few years ago because it’s so much better than other resale/consignment money!
I’m so glad that you found these tips helpful.
This was interesting to me: I have bought 45items from one person on Poshmark and really ended up really liking 3. I know to be more careful and ask more size questions next time.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
I find myself fighting urges to buy without fully researching items that have caught my eye. Also, find the time delay between purchase and delivery to add to my disappointment. But that is true for most online buying.
I started out years ago buying vintage on eBay and think those are sound rules. I have no problem asking questions if I think something doesn’t look right. On Poshmark, I only buy used-I’ve noticed a lot of “new” boutiques have popped up there.
I also only buy preloved items from Poshmark as I pursue slow-fashion. In my opinion, there are better options for new items than a platform that does not permit returns.
Good tips. I’ve never used Poshmark – not sure if it’s available in the UK – but I buy and sell on Ebay and Asos Marketplace quite a lot and the same tips work there too. Thanks for linking at #WowOnWednesday
I’m glad that you liked the post.
I’ve only ever bought used clothing from eBay. I’m not actually sure if Poshmark is available in Europe, but if it is, I will definitely take your advice into account! Thanks Rena!
Hugs
Suzy xx
Unfortunately, I don’t think that Poshmark is available in Europe but I think that the tips can apply to most resell platforms.
These tips are super helpful, Rena. I’ve been inspired by you, Nancy, and Shelbee, and recently bought a cool vintage dress on Etsy. It turned out to be too big and now I have to decide if it’s worth it to have it altered. Ugh. I should’ve read this first! Lol!
xx Darlene
How wonderful to know that I’ve been one of the reasons you’ve been inspired to embrace vintage fashions. Most clothing doesn’t fit perfectly and can use a little nip/tuck to look better on us. Please do consider having your new dress altered.
Rena, this was such a great post! I have learned so much selling on Poshmark as well. Before I knew any better, I would like people’s listings just be friendly and expand my following. And then I would get all these notifications of sale prices and stuff on things that weren’t even in my size! Haha. Lesson learned…only heart the things that you really are interested in purchasing. I used to provide all the measurements on my listings, but with 500 current listings, it became too much and so now I really only list measurements for little known brands. Things like Old Navy and Gap, I don’t take the measurements although buyers usually ask for them even on these brands (which does confuse me a little bit…I figure most people would know their size in Old Navy and Gap). I was very happy when they expanded the amount of photos permitted. I add a lot of photos from every angle including pictures of the tags which list fabric content and washing instructions. It requires less typing by sharing photos of the tags. And now I need to get back to photographing and listing some more things on Poshmark!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
It is time-consuming to provide details but worth it in the end if it helps buyers decided to buy. I also provide a lot of photos and I don’t understand how a seller thinks you can get away with just one or two.
A very informative post, Rena. Thank you for those invaluable tips
https://lookingfabulousat50.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Anna. I hope the tips help you when you make purchases from resell sites.
Super informative post Rena! I have been thrifting since I was age 15 and begin first selling on eBay 20 years ago. There is so much to consider when shopping second-hand online or in person. Your tips are great and I cannot street enough to encourage questions (if selling) and ASK all your questions BEFORE hitting the “buy” button – no matter how excited you are about your find. The few times I’ve been disappointed was when I didn’t ask enough questions. And any good seller will happily take your questions and answer it honestly.
Two questions, that I feel is so important are; (1) has this been dried and shrunk and (2) has the garment been altered in any way. And from there, be sure to get measurements.
Great post!
xx
Suzanne
http://www.AskSuzanneBell.com
You do have a lot of experience and those are excellent questions to ask. I too have been disappointed to find I overlooked a detail that I should have asked about.
Very helpful tips and agree with you. Asking questions before a purchase is really important as it can be very limited in terms of refunds or exchanges. And with so many different seller these days, looking at profiles is also helpful as well in terms of a piece of mind.
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
There’s a bit of a “buyer beware” mentality with resell sites so asking questions is super important.