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[this is one of my most popular posts from the old blog so I am moving it on over here for you guys to enjoy]
OK! I am always telling you to buy, buy, buy and showering you with photos of what I am getting in the mail. BUT I haven’t really focused enough on the other half of this whole boutique shopping world. SELLING. I would never be able to buy all of these clothes if I wasn’t selling ones that we are done with or no longer need. Would you believe that ever since Matt gave me “the talk” back in April I haven’t paid for a single item out of our real bank account or credit cards. It has all been through money that I have coming into my PayPal account from selling. Honestly, if you buy boutique clothing and are not reselling it then you are missing out on a lot. Most items I sell go from 40% of their Retail Value up to 2X Retail if it is something that is hard to find! So, I want to take some time and really give you a guide to selling your stuff so that you can keep buying! There are many ways to go about this and the pros and cons vary based on the amount of time that you want to spend doing it. So, lets dig in!
I want to start by explaining a couple of terms that I will use:
- When I say Paypal Fees I mean the 30cents + 2.9% that PayPal charges.
- When I say Shipping I am referring to the basic shipping costs which are typically $2.50-$4 for items under 13 ounces via first class USPS mail.
I first want to go through when to sell and also the various avenues and their pros and cons. At the end I will have several segments on shipping, PayPal, Item Condition, etc.
When to Sell
Chances are that you have a lot of assets in boutique children’s clothing. And yes, it is an asset. If you spend $75 on a dress you have money tied up in it. Selling it gets you a portion of that money back. To maximize your return on investment you need to sell things when you are done with them. I know that many of us are tempted to save clothes in bins for whatever reason. Let me tell you this. Unless you have already given birth or are pregnant with another child of the same gender then DO NOT SAVE THEM. Pick out a few special things for a keepsake box but otherwise don’t get too attached to them. If you don’t then the probability that you have another child of the same sex during the same season and still have the same taste by the time they fit into it are semi slim. And if you are a shopping ninja like me then you are probably going to want to get them new stuff anyway! Honestly, my mom probably still has my Spumoni outfits in storage from 1983. She should have sold them in 1984 when the getting was good. I should ebay those bad-boys. 
When selling timing is also important. Spring/Summer items sell best in Feb-April and Fall Winter in July-September. This is why right now I am storing the kids outgrown Spring/Summer stuff until next February and working on selling last year’s Fall/Winter stuff now. Stuff still sells in the off-season but you will only get about 1/2 as much for it. So, its up to you on how much you want to sell now and how much you want to store.
I am going through Fall stuff from last year and selling. Some things are still new and won’t fit. Some I just don’t love anymore. Some don’t really match things we have. And some are too similar to other things we have. Don’t be afraid to get rid of stuff to buy stuff that you really want.
Once ready to sell stuff make sure that it is clean and make an attempt to get out stains. [read my stain removal recommendations here]. And then you choose where to sell them!
Where to Sell
This is the bulk of this post. I just want to give a short summary of how each works along with the Pros and Cons! I am starting with the local options and ending with the big virual ones (Ebay/Facebook).
Consignment Stores
There are basically two kinds. The traditional consignment store that takes your items and tries to sell them. If they sell you get a % back. Typically you get 45% -60% of what it sells for. There is also the type like Once Upon A Child where they buy your item from you right there and then resell it. This is as easy as it gets but not always the most lucrative. I also don’t always trust these stores to price my items. For example, I just bought Jake a like new Mini Boden shirt for $6.99. That means that the seller had to have only gotten $3-$4 for that which is way lower than it is worth. This type of selling is better for the Carters type stuff vs the boutique brands.
PROS: Super easy.
CONS: You won’t make as much. You can’t set your own prices. High commissions taken out.
Consigment Sales
These big huge consignment sales are getting more and more popular. They take a LOT of work though unless you pay to have someone tag and hang your items. The sale also takes a % of the sale ranging from 20% – 40%. These allow you to price the item yourself. These get a lot of traffic too but there are also a TON of people selling the same things. If you have great condition items from higher end mall brands these do tend to sell pretty well here.
PROS: Lots of traffic. You price the item.
CONS: A lot of work. You are left with a bunch of stuff if it doesn’t sell.
Craigslist
I thought I should at least mention this because my friend has had great luck buying on Craigslist. She has seen some sellers post a few Matilda Jane things for great prices. This does open you up to a lot of SPAM and also is the most unsafe way to go as you are dealing face to face with strangers.
PROS: Zero fees. No need to ship. Pretty easy to list.
CONS: SPAM that comes in. Dealing firsthand with strangers.
Garage Sales
I don’t recommend this for your boutique clothes. These are a lot of work and typically you have to sell pretty cheap. However, if you are having a garage sale make sure to write the brand names in the advertisment. People will often flock to sales that boast boutique brand and often they know the value of them and will pay a bit more than standard garage sale prices.
PROS: No fees.
CONS: A lot of work unless you are already having one. Lower pricing typically required to move things.
Direct to Friends
If you have a friend that loves something that you have then you can always offer it to them. I have told a few friends about something that I was going to sell and offered it to them for less than I would have asked online. This is good if you have a personal relationship with them but does create a little awkwardness in pricing an item.
PROS: Easy. Quick Cash.
CONS: Awkward sometimes.
Trading Assistant
There are people called Trading Assistants who sell items for you on Ebay. They often take about 20% – 30% of the sale price. So after ebay and paypal fees you end up with about 60% of the items sale price. This is a pretty easy way to sell. First, you have to find a good trading assistant. Often they have a LOT of ebay followers and can get you a pretty penny for your stuff. You do have to mail them a big box or two of items to sell which can cost a lot. But they take care of all of the dirty work and send you PayPal money as items sell.
PROS: Easy. More potential buyers. Money trickles into your PayPal which is a nice surprise.
CONS: More fees. Have to bulk ship items.
Instagram has become a hot place for selling these days too! To join Instagram you just start by creating an account named what shop name you want. Once you have an account you can list items by taking detailed pictures of the item, list brand, size, any flaws and the price and you’ve essentially opened a shop. To buy, people leave their paypal email under the picture of the item they would like to purchase and you send an invoice through Paypal and get paid through Paypal. The best way to get your item noticed is to Hashtag {#} with the brand name. You essentially build up a friends list just as you would on Facebook.
PROS: Pretty hip. Pretty Easy. Only fee is Paypal fees.
CONS: Less personal. Less traffic. Need to keep up with notifications from buyers. Hard to add multiple pictures without clogging up the feed.
Online Resale Boutiques
There are sites like Bitty Birdie Boutique and Thred Up that allow you to send in used items for them to sell. These are basically like online consignment stores. A great idea if you are busy. Many offer payment or exchange of store credit when your items sell. But many payouts are very low. Think of the prices they often charge at these sites and cut that in at least half to see what you will get. I know for example that Thred Up pays under $1 for a majority of items. Also, it’s sometimes a hassle to get back the things that they didn’t accept from your bag/box.
PROS: Easy as it gets.
CONS: You get less money back. They set the prices
Facebook selling has become more and more popular. There are a TON of pages that you can use to sell niche items. Matilda Jane has several. Boden has some. There are shoe pages. And pretty much a page to sell anything boutique. Now, if you are selling from your own Facebook page then thanks to the Big Brother Facebook ticker all of your friends can see what you are doing. Some people choose to have a Shopping Account to keep their buy/sell/trading life separate from their regular Facebook. This is technically against Facebook policies to have a fake/duplicate account so try not to choose an inanimate name like “Closet” or “Shopping”.
People choose to load things to a general For Sale album with pictures or prices while others just list things directly onto that buy/sell/trade pages wall. Either way make sure to take accurate pictures and disclose any flaws, wear, stains on the item. Always try to include shipping and fees in your price. When people have questions or want to buy an item from you then they will comment or PM you and you can get their PayPal address to send an invoice. Avoid posting your PayPal address in public for security reasons. Once they pay then you can mark the item SOLD and then print the shipping label from Paypal.
My friend Katya is allowing me to use her as an example. She has albums listing items that she has For Sale that are public so that you can get an idea of how this works. You can click here to see them. People also have NFS (not for sale) albums to keep track of some stuff that they have an to use in negotiating trades on boutique clothes.
Many people use the term OBO (or best offer) or FIRM to welcome or discourage haggling.
This is an easy way to sell things that you know will move quick and avoid the ebay fees. But selling of Facebook is something that you have to manage actively. You need to be prepared to answer PMs and respond to questions/comments on your items. I find that either items sell really quick or you find yourself constantly relisting them and/or reducing. Also, on the niche pages things go in cycles. When a new line releases from that brand and everyone is buying retail then its harder to sell things sometimes because your buying pool is buying elsewhere.
I also have made a lot of friends with common interests through buying/selling on Facebook so I really love the personal nature of it.
PROS: Avoid Ebay fees. More Personal.
CONS: More Work to Manage. Sometimes Time Consuming.
Ebay
Ebay is the big-boy in the resale world. It has the biggest buying pool and people can search directly for items like you are selling. It does take a few minutes to put up a listing but then I use the ‘sell similar’ feature to list the next one and just change the parameters. With Ebay you are able to list and then walk away. (with the occasional buyer question). You don’t have to be actively monitoring messages or questions. Ebay Final Value Fees are about 9%-10% and are billed monthly. After I have a bunch of items sell I like to manually go in and pay the fees right away to avoid a surprise later. Go to Seller Account to do this. With Ebay you do have some nonpaying buyers but it is easy to open a case and then relist the item. Once you have been selling for a while you will find that buyers have you saved and often the same people keep buying your stuff because their child is a size under yours or they have been happy with past purchases from you.
Setting up an ebay account is easy. You get up to 50 ‘free’ listings per month) avoiding the 50cent fee. You are still charged the Final Value fee but not charged if it doesn’t sell. It is also very important to ship fast, represent items honestly and leave feedback. This will earn you Top Rated Seller and Power Seller status and lower your fees a bit.
Pay attention to when you list and the listing’s duration. It will end on the 3rd, 5th, 7th day at the time that you listed it. Try not to have listings end at 2am or Friday night at 8pm. You want them to end at a time where people are on and can be bidding. I like to do weekday evenings after bedtime.
PROS: No need to monitor. Large buying pool.
CONS: The ebay fee. Time to set up listings.
Item Condition
I always represent condition as best as possible. This is very important to buyers when spending money on used boutique clothing. This is my guideline and I always include it in my listings on Ebay as well. Always use the acronym when listing things whether it is on Ebay or Facebook.
NWT = Brand New With Tags or NWOT = New Without Tags
Like New = probably NWOT, never washed and likely never worn or worn for 10 minutes at pictures
(E)EUC = (Extremely) Excellent Used Condition – worn only a few times, no rips, stains or pilling, very very light wash wear
VGUC = Very Good Used Condition – may show light wear, no stains or flaws unless otherwise disclosed
GUC = Good Used Condition. Shows more wear. Light pilling possible. Likely some stains and flaws as disclosed.
Play = Some staining or flaws. Play condition.
How to Price Things
Do your research! Don’t shortchange yourself but also don’t ask way more than the item is worth. Check out completed listings on Ebay or look around on Buy/Sell/Trade pages on Facebook to get a good idea as to what that item is selling for. Or think about what you want for it. If it still fits and you don’t need to sell it then price it a little higher because if it doesn’t sell then I will just keep it and have them wear it. If it is outgrown and you want to get rid of it then price it competitively. I like to start those ebay listings at 99cent and just let the market run with it. There is a pool of millions of buyers out there and if the winning bid is $4 then that is probably the market value at that point. If selling online then factor in the shipping and Paypal fees. It is common courtesy on Facebook to have an inclusive price that includes shipping and fees. Ebay allows you to directly set shipping.
Also, keep in mind that some articles of clothing are collector items especially when it comes to hard to find shoes or limited edition Matilda Jane Platinum. If I paid $150 for a hard to find dress then I typically can get that or close to it back. So, I start listing it at the $150 and then come down if the market is not feeling it. These pieces really are assets and typically are priced as them. Always think back to what you paid for an item, how much you used it, the condition that it is in and the market when pricing things.
Another thing to consider is what you are looking to buy. If you have a favorite dress from last year that is outgrown then look at what it will cost you to get a bigger one. Then you can sell yours for that price and you just sized up for only dollars (to cover shipping/fees).
Paypal
Unless you are selling locally you NEED a Paypal account. These are free to set up at www.PayPal.com. I use PayPal several times a day. When taking payments in PayPal (through Facebook selling) you always want to make sure to receive payment as GOODS or send the buyer a PayPal Invoice (under Request Money). This protects both you and the buyer. In the NOTES section I always relist the item as I had it posted with condition, size and any flaws listed. Paypal is very good about handling claims from both the buyers and the seller. When you go into your ‘history’ section on PayPay you can see the payment from the buyer and click Print Shipping Label right from there. This uploads tracking to Paypal and provides a trail that it was sent and delivered. Paypal always charges the standard fee. It takes out 30 cents and 2.9%. So, if you sell and item for $30 then you will get $28.92 deposited into your account. This is the same on all sales whether from Ebay or directly through PayPal. Do not be tempted to take a payment as a GIFT to avoid fees. It provides no protection to buyer or seller.
Shipping
I always try to ship within 24 hours. I always ship USPS. I print labels from home directly through Ebay or Paypal. I then drop them off at the drop box at the post office. If you do have at least one Priority Item you can schedule a pickup here. I use PolyMailers to ship items. It is important to take care when packaging. I put the item in a zip lock bag and/ or wrap with tissue paper prior to putting it in the mailer.
In regards to shipping costs 13 ounces is the magic number. Anything up to 13 ounces can go USPS first class mail which is the cheap shipping. Costs always vary based on weight and location and costs are typically $1.50-$3.50 and most around $2.50. This is important when pricing your item on Facebook and adding shipping costs on Ebay. I have a small postal scale that I use to weigh my items. Click here to see the one that I use. I have a post about shipping supplies from a month or so ago. This will link you to polymailers and labels that I use. Click here to read that.
The costs of these mailing supplies are low vs the stress of taking toddlers to the post office. Trust Me.
Here is an example of how I package items. I save these plastic bags that come with clothes that I buy and reuse them to package up my own packages.
How I Sell
I know there are a lot of options out there. For the most part I stick to Ebay. I list things on Facebook when there is a demand for it or if I know it is going to sell pretty quick. If I get no bites on Facebook then I list on Ebay. Its a bit more work but you still get over 85% of the sale price back after fees and I like the ‘set it and forget it’ aspect. I can spend an hour a couple times a week listing things and then let them ride. I like that the market sets the price and I don’t really have regrets because I know that it went for what it went for after having a pool of millions of buyers. I like the ease of tracking sales and keeping it all organized in your Ebay account.
I have a post here on buying Abby & Jake’s clothes with a link to my ebay account. You can look at my listings to see how I do it.
Share Your Stuff
Now its your turn! Get to work selling things so that you aren’t overwhelmed with clothes and so that you have money to buy more! This is a great way to get your husband off your back too! Please feel free to comment on this post with a link to your Ebay listings or your Ebay ID. Also, if you have a public Facebook for sale album then you can post that link too!
I want to leave you with some more advice. Pick the route that is best for you based on how much time that you have. For many of us this is a hobby and we can’t get too wrapped up in it. Remember these kids are only little once and we don’t want to look back and remember how much time we spent selling stuff online and missing moments.
And if you have ANY questions please ask me! I am here to help you! Either comment below with them or your can always email me at [email protected]!
I had winter stuff to sell, but think I’ll wait! Thanks for the tips!