How to sell clothes online

Where to sell used clothes online

There are three broad ways to sell, and they trade effort for money. Peer to peer marketplaces and sell clothes apps let you list each item yourself, set your own price, talk to buyers and ship the order. You keep the largest share, but you do all the work. Some advertise that listing is free and take a cut or charge a fee when an item sells; others charge the buyer instead. Read the fee page, including payment processing and shipping, before choosing, since the words free and no fees can refer to only part of the cost.

Consignment and managed resale services work the other way round. You send in a bag or box, and the service inspects, photographs, prices and lists the pieces, then pays you a share of what sells. It is far less work and far less money, and many services decline a large part of what they receive; find out in advance what happens to rejected items, whether they are returned for a fee, donated or recycled. Luxury consignment adds authentication for designer pieces. Finally, local marketplaces and neighborhood groups let you sell to someone nearby who collects in person, which avoids shipping altogether.

If you want money the same day, an online listing will not give it to you. Shops that buy used clothing over the counter are the quick option: you bring clean, in season pieces, a buyer picks what the shop can resell and offers cash or store credit on the spot, usually a modest share of the eventual shelf price. Such shops are the realistic answer to where you can sell used clothes for cash in person, and it pairs well with online selling for the pieces the shop turns down.

Decide what is worth listing

Each listing takes ten to twenty minutes once you include photos, measurements and a description, so be selective. The pieces that tend to repay the effort are well made outerwear, leather shoes and boots in good condition, denim and knitwear from makers people search for by name, occasion wear worn once or twice, and genuine vintage. Fast fashion basics, heavily worn pieces and anything with stains, pilling or stretched necklines rarely sell for enough to cover your time, and those are better off going to a charity or textile recycling through our guide on where to donate clothes.

To see what is in demand right now, search a marketplace for the item and filter for sold listings. If similar pieces sold recently at a price that repays your time, list it. If there are hundreds of identical unsold listings, the market is saturated. Children's clothes need one extra check. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's resellers guide says federal safety law applies to individuals as well as stores, that selling a recalled product is illegal, and that hood and neck drawstrings must be removed from children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 12. Check recalls at cpsc.gov before you list.

Prepare and photograph each piece

Wash or clean each piece according to its label, since buyers can tell from a photo and certainly when they open the parcel. Remove lint and pet hair, shave off pilling with our guide to removing pilling, sew on loose buttons, and steam out creases; steaming clothes is faster than ironing for most listings. A garment that hangs smooth looks cared for, and buyers pay for that.

1. 01

   Use daylight and a plain background

   Shoot near a window during the day, with the light coming from the side, against a plain wall, a door or a clean floor. Turn off overhead lights, which tint colors. Colors should look in the photo the way they look in your hand.

2. 02

   Show the whole piece first

   The first photo is the one buyers see in search results. Show the full garment, front on, on a hanger, laid flat or worn. Make it square and centered, with nothing else in the frame.

3. 03

   Add the back, details and labels

   Photograph the back, the fabric up close, the brand label, the size tag and the fiber content and care label. Buyers use these to judge quality and authenticity, and the fiber content answers the question you would otherwise be asked.

4. 04

   Photograph every flaw

   Show any mark, pull, fading or repair in a clear close up, and mention it in the text. Disclosed flaws rarely stop a sale at a fair price, while undisclosed ones lead to returns and bad reviews.

Describe and measure so the buyer can say yes

Sizes vary so much between makers and decades that measurements sell more clothes than any adjective. Lay the garment flat and measure across the chest from armpit to armpit, the length from the top of the shoulder to the hem, sleeve length, and for trousers the waist across the top, the rise, the inseam and the leg opening. Our guide on measuring yourself for clothes explains the points on the body that these flat measurements correspond to, and a buyer can compare them with a piece they already own.

Write the title as a buyer would type it into a search: brand, item, key detail, color, size. For example, navy wool double breasted overcoat, men's medium. In the description, list material, measurements, condition in plain terms (new with tags, excellent, good with a small mark on the cuff), how it fits, and whether it comes from a smoke free home if that is true. Keep it factual. Answer questions promptly and politely, since a quick reply is often the difference between a sale and a buyer who moves on.

Price from what actually sold

Asking prices tell you what sellers hope for; sold prices tell you what buyers pay. Filter for sold or completed listings of the same item in similar condition and price in that range. Then subtract what the sale will cost you: the platform's fee, payment processing, and shipping if you are covering it. If the number left over is not worth the effort, bundle the piece with others, offer it to a consignment service or donate it.

Leave a little room if the platform lets buyers make offers, because many will. If nothing happens after a couple of weeks, look again at the photos and title before cutting the price, since a clearer first photo or a searchable title often matters more than a small reduction. Seasonal timing counts too: coats and boots sell in fall and early winter, linen and sandals in spring.

Ship quickly and get paid safely

Ship within the time you promised, ideally within a day or two. Fold the piece neatly, put it in a clean plastic bag if it could meet rain, and use a padded mailer or a box for shoes and structured items. Weigh the parcel before you list so the shipping price is right, and always use tracking. Our guides on folding clothes and storing shoes help pieces arrive in the shape they were photographed in.

Keep every conversation and payment inside the platform, where seller protections apply. The Federal Trade Commission warns sellers about buyers who send fake payment notices through mobile payment apps, who send a check for more than the price and ask for the difference back, or who ask for a verification code. Never accept an overpayment, never send an item before the payment has truly arrived, and never share a code. For in person sales, the FTC notes that many sites suggest meeting a local buyer and accepting cash.