Choosing What to Source at the Thrift Store for Fast, Predictable Poshmark Sales
When you're deciding whether to pick up an item for resale at the thrift store, how are you choosing whether it's coming home with you or not. You likely consider 1. condition, 2. style, 3. brand, and 4. type of piece (though probably not in that order).
Let's walk through assessing these:
Brand, ie. "Is this a Bolo?"
This is arguable the first and one of the most important things resellers look for while sourcing, and for good reason: users shopping for clothing on the internet often search by brand as their first parameter. The exception is technical clothing, or selling on platforms that put aesthetics at the forefront, like Depop. If users are shopping by looking at what's cute on others, or by searching the function of an item first (like "padded figure skating shorts"), they're less likely to be brand sensitive. Know your platform and your buyer while assessing brand.
But, assuming you're selling on Poshmark or eBay, you'll need to know your Bolos. One of the best ways to learn is simply to research what you're seeing in thrift store by searching for it on your Platform under "sold" (and be sure to set sizing to "all sizes" if you have your own sizes set for searching). Depending on your average cost of goods, a $20-25-selling item can be considered a BOLO (which stands for "Be On the Look Out")--or maybe you need to make around the $30 range to have a more comfortable profit margin. More on that in a minute.
To get you started, here's a good resource--and honestly, I trust Mogi Beth SO hard on her brands. She also gives you great info about styles/categories that are especially profitable or best avoided for certain brands, which is very key info.
Style
After brand, you're going to take a look at the item and assess whether it's something buyers actually want.
Depending on how trend-sensitive the audience for the piece is, you may want to skip (as of 9/2022):
- Skinny jeans
- Cropped yoga pants
- Cold shoulder tops
- Tunic tops
- Platform stiletto pumps a la Brian Atwood (chunky 90s/70s-style platforms, on the other hand, are great!)
- Tie dye
- Anything super trendy from more than a year or two ago
Comping will be your final answer on whether a piece can still sell despite being a bit off-trend, but at least being familiar with what's in style now can be helpful for making quick decisions on items.
It's also a good idea to stay up on what's selling on Poshmark specifically. Here's a quick guide to more exploratory research on the platform's fastest and highest-price sales:
Item Condition
We have an in-depth post on assessing condition of items at the thrift store before buying, but generally, check "high risk" areas of items, ie. hotspots for wear and tear, staining, and stress. I always look at an item for a general impression (Is the color vibrant? Fabric smooth or showing some texture from washing? Is it dingy or very worn looking? Is elasticized fabric looking thin or saggy?). Then I check sleeve cuffs, underarms, crotches/seats, hems, and seams for stains, tears, and damage. Be sure to watch out for missing implements (missing jacket linings; empty loops around a dress for a sash) and signs of alterations.
Type of Piece
Experience will likely tell you what items sell best for which brands, but comping can also build this knowledge. For example, black pants sell best for me for BetaBrand; sleeveless tops sell worst for me for Lululemon; jeans aren't worth buying at a markup for Reformation, but they definitely are for Agolde. Spanx leggings and shapewear are excellent, but look closely at the brand tag to ensure they're not "Assets" by Spanx, which is from their diffusion brand.
Generally speaking, people are willing to spend more on substantial pieces they'll get a lot of wear out of. Think: a great pair of rigid denim jeans in an on-trend cut, a warm coat, shapewear, supportive bras from great brands in big sizes, good condition leather boots, flattering, high quality leggings--you get the idea.
How to Comp Items
MogiBeth (sorry, we're not affiliated, we just love and trust her content) has a great video on this:
But generally, to comp while in the store, you'll need your phone and the app for your reselling Platform. We'll assume Poshmark for this example. Make sure you're searching "all sizes" and search for the item your researching under "sold items." Use the brand, type of item, and few style notes. Expect to get about 20% less than the average sales price you're seeing.
Example: "Reformation Puff Sleeve Wrap Midi Dress Long Sleeves."
Refine the search if you're not seeing your item and you suspect style is very important (as it often is with brands like Reformation).
For jeans or brands that have specific style numbers (Athleta, J. Crew, Madewell), search those names (and google the numbers first to get the names). You can also try using the Google Image search app to help identify what you're looking at. Lulufanatics is also great for id-ing Lululemon styles, where the specific name of an item gives you vitally important info about recentness and popularity.
(Note: take these results with a grain of salt! Because Poshmark sorts most search results by "just shared" and many users share with bots that share *everything*, including sold stuff, your results are likely to be skewed towards prices power sellers got, and they're not sorted by how recently those transactions happened. An exciting sales price may show as your first search results, but you'll have no way of knowing whether that sale happened two years ago.)
For a step-by-step guide to comping on the app with screenshots, check out our post Top Tips for Selling on Poshmark in 2022: Part 1, Researching Fast-Selling Brands and Styles.
Already bought your items, or just playing around with research? Try ClosetWitch's free comping tool for desktop. And bonus: this tool offers date of sale info and average sales prices, to help you make stronger decisions about pricing and future buys.
Final Notes: You Get Final Say on What You Want to Resell
The more experienced you get as a reseller, the more you're likely to value your time and energy. You might find yourself picking up lower-profit items because you know you'll enjoy photographing or selling them (totally valid), and you might likewise pass on items likely to sell for a good amount because they require a lot of work, they might sit for a while, or you're uncomfortable with having to authenticate them.
This is fine! You know yourself better than anyone, and it's important to make decisions for your daily life as a reseller that support your happiness and sanity.
But... flying blind by avoiding comping, getting so excited about a brand that you ignore how out of date or in poor condition the piece is... not ideal!
Bonus: Beyond Gut Instincts: Doing the Math of Profit Margins
Okay, we've all been there: paying $12 for pilled, 8-year old designer sweater you'll need to spend 30 minutes working on and will likely only be able to only sell for $25 with a shipping discount ($20 earnings after Posh fees).... for a grand total of $8 profit overall? Yeah, that sucks! So how to avoid emotional decisions? Have a profit margin in mind while shopping. There's a lot to be said about this, but MogiBeth breaks it down the best, so... click over to her site!
And that's it for today. Any nagging questions about comping, assessing items in the store, or calculating profit margins? Drop below. And happy sourcing!
Love and Magic,
Cathy@ClosetWitch
Read More:
Alan
Cathy Vandewater
Cathy Vandewater