Spring Cleaning: The Rising Trend of Selling Your Closet
Selling, buying, and swapping no longer wanted items is becoming a trendy pastime with sites like Vinted and Tradesy. Consumers should know it may cause bigger issues.
Time to Read: 4 min
If you all haven't heard yet, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted a short winter. This means that spring could be here in about a month! It may seem a bit early to be talking about spring cleaning, but you'll want to get a head start. You'll need time to go through your closet, commit to letting items go, and maybe list your items for sale.
Where to start? Which items to get rid of?
Depending on the person, knowing what and when to get rid of clothes varies. Some give their old clothes an expiration date of six months. If you haven’t worn something in over three months, then it’s a pretty good indication that it’s not of interest to you anymore. Everyone undergoes style and job changes that can leave you with too many clothes. Or perhaps, you just have too many things to choose from. Don't let your items go to waste, especially when someone else can make good use of them!
After you've ransacked your closet, the only question you face now is: What do I do with all of my unwanted items? You may not know how to repurpose your clothes or the available reselling options. That’s when it helps to research resale websites and shops in your area. You’ll find that selling, buying, and swapping no longer wanted items is becoming a trendy pastime with sites like Vinted and Tradesy!
What is Tradesy? How does it work?
Tradesy is one of the only reselling companies that makes the process a piece of cake! The website not only gives you comparable prices for the items you want to sell, but it also lets you adjust the retail selling price to your specific good. It also sends you the materials and packaging needed to ship your items off to the buyer at no cost to you. It’s not only free shipping for you, but for the buyer as well. If the buyer chooses to return your item, it will come at no cost to them.
To break it down: you basically post your garment, wait until it sells, and drop it off at the UPS store or your local post office. Easy, right? Now, if you’re thinking this sounds too good to be true... you aren’t wrong to be concerned. Tradesy does take 9% of the profits you make, which some consider to be more than fair for a company that is doing all the hard lifting for you. From that point, you decide if you want to spend your money buying other listed items on the website or if you prefer to put it back in your own pocket. If you do choose to save that coin for another day, Tradesy applies a 2.6% safe transfer fee to transfer the funds over to you.
How do you price your item?
Out of all of the resale websites, Tradesy has to be the most convenient because it helps you determine listing prices. When you’re ready to list your item, Tradesy will give you a market price. Tradesy will also tell you which price-comparable items sell the fastest and guide you through price setting and matching.
The other neat thing about pricing your garment through Tradesy is that the shipping will be included in the final price for the buyer, so it’s advised to be realistic when posting your items. If your item has wear and tear, be honest and present it in your listing. Buyers won’t be happy about a misleading ad, Tradesy won’t be happy that you're taking advantage of them, and you won’t make any money. Even if your item is gently used, the value of a garment does go down with time and usage. Just be aware of this as you’re going through your entire closet! It’s a great feeling to make a quick buck and clean out your closet at the same time; however, be smart and cautious about how you describe and represent your garment.
What about fast fashion and clothing waste?
Beware that giving away, and at times, selling your closet can foster a false sense of security. It may cause you to consume more often, especially when fast fashion sales are “too good” to pass up. You’ll want to be mindful of how often you’re consuming, replenishing, and decluttering your wardrobe to avoid producing unnecessary clothing waste. The goal of building a capsule wardrobe is to purchase pieces that are practical, durable, and represent you throughout all seasons, not to chase trends. As your style evolves, you can find make-and-mend workshop events that breathe new life into your most-worn pieces. After you’ve tried to prolong the wear out of your clothes, then you can earn a few bucks when the time comes for you to part ways with pieces to downsize your wardrobe.