Sell-It-Yourself Closet Clean-Out
Insights from a professional seller and experienced buyer on how to successfully sell your stuff online
Reading time: About 10 minutes.
The first time I met Suzanne Carillo in person, my stomach was all butterflies. This was back in 2016. I had just started blogging and had been following her blog for months. I felt a kinship with her, but man, is she creative, funny, and bold in a way I wanted to be. Her colorful style and fabulous boot collection are unparalleled and inspiring. And the force of my imposter syndrome was strong.
Back then, I made an annual pilgrimage to Stratford, Ontario, for their theater festival. I met Suzanne for high tea on my way back through Toronto heading home. Within minutes of settling at our table, my stomach butterflies vanished. It felt like we’d known each other forever. We dove into deep conversation and laughter for three hours. We’ve been discussing our innermost thoughts, sharing our worlds, and cracking each other up ever since.
Over the years, I’ve come to see how her passion for fashion and sustainability drives her success in selling one-of-a-kind treasures on Etsy. As an artist, she instinctively hones in on the crème de la crème of vintage clothing, accessories, and shoes when thrifting or perusing estate sales. (Did I mention her boot collection???) As an environmentalist, she understands the value of keeping clothes in circulation for as long as possible. This combination of talent and activism has made selling vintage goods her full-time profession.
Suzanne’s shop is on Etsy, but she’s tested almost all the platforms, including Poshmark and eBay. Of all the people I know, she knows how to sell clothes online, so when I decided to write about cleaning out your closet this way, she was the first person I thought of. She generously answered all my questions via email for this article.
Which Platform is Best?
Before we talk about how to sell your closet, let’s talk about where to sell it. Do you create a closet on Poshmark? Post your things on eBay? Sell from Instagram or your Facebook account? No matter which platform you choose, Suzanne cautions you to brace yourself for the tediousness of the work.
The tedium is one of the main reasons I don’t sell my own clothes this way—it requires way too much prep with very little payoff. Even so, it does keep clothing in circulation for longer than if we punt it to Goodwill to deal with. So, if you have more oomph and organization than I do or want more control than what you get with consignment, keep reading.
As you already know, I love shopping on Poshmark for deals, but Suzanne’s experience as a seller has been less than stellar. She only recommends it if you have high-end designer pieces; even then, selling them can take years. “It’s like a garage sale,” she said. “People lowball you beyond reason,” and Poshmark takes a huge cut. Don’t expect too much money from this platform.
As for eBay, Suzanne has had better success there than with Poshmark, but she stressed that it had been a while since she used it. “As a Canadian selling on eBay, it is challenging,” she said. “Their shipping options aren't user-friendly for Canada.” Even so, she has heard that eBay has worked to streamline their services for all sellers, so she thought maybe it was better now.
Her biggest tip for selling on any platform is to market what you are selling on social media, like Instagram and Facebook. That will help your friends and followers know what you’ve got for sale.
And, speaking of social media, she said she knows people who have had success selling directly through these formats, including Facebook Marketplace. Her brother, for instance, shops on Facebook Marketplace all the time.
Tips for Selling from an Experienced Seller and Buyer
While I personally can’t offer a lot of tips from the viewpoint of a seller, I am an experienced buyer and know what draws me in and cinches the deal. As a professional seller, Suzanne knows what works for her. Between the two of us, we’ve generated seven tips to make your selling efforts foolproof.
Description Tips
Tip #1: PLEASE PROVIDE MEASUREMENTS IN YOUR LISTINGS!
Oh gosh. I’m sorry for yelling. As you might have gleaned from a previous post, bad things happen when we buy things without knowing how they’ll fit us. Measurements are key to finding a good fit, and Suzanne agrees. “The more info you can provide, the fewer questions you will need to answer,” she said, and this saves you time and energy.
For pants and jeans, the bare minimum measurements should include waist, rise, and inseam. I wrote about this in my post about buying jeans online. What’s good info for buyers is good info for sellers. Sellers who add hip-width and pant-length info go the extra mile, and you should be given a star on the Seller Walk of Fame.
For tops, bare minimum measurements should include bust (pit-to-pit) and length. If you throw in shoulder width, I will follow you to the ends of the earth and buy from you as often as I can.
Descriptors such as “pants come to my ankles” or “top hits me at the hips” (which I have seen a lot) are not measurements. Not all bodies are alike, and nobody knows how long your legs or torso are compared to their own. My sister and I are practically the same height and essentially the same weight, but skirts, for example, always fall longer on her legs and shorter on mine.
Posting a photo of the brand’s size chart is not helpful either. Within brands, across seasons, sizes can range. J.Crew, for example, jumps all over the place. My regular size is 0 or XS, but in J.Crew, I might need a 00 or a 2. That’s three sizes in the same brand, depending on cut, fabric, and fit. Having the measurements for the actual garment you’re selling is the only way I can make an informed decision about how it will fit me.
I realize my tone is strong here. But it’s peace of mind for both of us to have these things in place. As Suzanne said, it’ll be less work for you in the long run. So, if you want to ensure your item makes it into my shopping cart, provide those measurements, please!
::ahem::
Tip #2: Use the headline to your advantage
In the headline of whatever marketplace you’re using to sell your items, describe color, style, brand, vintage, and size. Use all the space you have to provide a clear description with keywords that show up in searches.
Take a look at the headline in Suzanne’s listing for a dress in her Etsy shop:
“70s 80s Green Wrap Dress - Vintage 1970s Midi Shirt Dress - Summer BBQ Picnic Dress - M/L.”
She lists the decade(s), style of dress, length, and size. She even provides ideas for where you might wear the dress. These are all search terms for buyers. Using descriptive keywords moves your listing toward the top, if not to the very top, of someone’s search.
Tip #3: Go all out in the description
In the body of the listing, provide as much information as you can. Pretend we can’t see the photos. Long-sleeves? Crew-neck? High-rise? Good condition? Any pilling or stains? Does it have a musty smell? Tell us! Suzanne says all that information, even the bad stuff, is vital to selling your item and not having angry buyers coming at you later. She emphasized adding “Sold as is” in your description, especially if the item has some issues.
Here’s a sample description from Suzanne’s green dress listing on Etsy:
"Wrap dress features contrast piping, tuxedo pleats on chest, white buttons with loop closure, elastic waistband. Although I have shown this belted in the photos, no belt comes with the dress. There is some discoloration around the neckline and on one shoulder. I didn't notice these prior to washing, so they might come out with stain remover. Please see photos. Sold as presented."
Even if I didn’t have photos, I learned a lot about this dress from Suzanne’s initial description. Did you notice she even mentioned the discoloration on the neckline and shoulder? I know these aren’t easy things to point out, but they will make your life easier in the long run.
Suzanne continues a more detailed description in the listing, providing measurements, her best guess at fabric content, and the fact that the dress comes freshly laundered or steamed and ready to wear. She even points out how she calculates shipping from Canada.
Providing all these details is key to building trust with your potential buyers. Suzanne says it saves her from having to answer a million questions that could easily be answered in the description from the get-go. From a buyer’s point of view, it tells me the seller is ethical and trustworthy. It builds loyalty and means I am likely to buy more than one item from that seller.
Pictures
Perhaps it goes without saying, but pictures are vital to selling your item. I’ve seen a ton of listings with just one photo. I’ve even seen some listings on eBay with no photo at all. Whether it’s one photo or no photo, I give those listings a pass. Lots of photos are key.
Below are our tips for catching the attention of your buyers.
Tip #4: Front, Back, and All Over
Just like with the description, go in for details when it comes to photos. At the very least, you want to show it from the front and the back. But to really make your listing pop, keep going. Photograph a close-up of the sleeves, the neckline, and the hem. Suzanne also says it’s important to be forthcoming with any stains or flaws in the item, so photograph those as well.
Take a look at these photos from Suzanne’s green dress listing for a good example of what that looks like. (And these aren’t all the photos on her listing!)
Tip #5: Good lighting and a model if you’ve got it
If the photos are dark and I can’t see the colors or other details well, I will move on quickly from a listing. Suzanne also recommends photographing the items on a model or a mannequin, if possible. You can see from her photos that she takes to heart her own advice. That green pops under the lighting, and the mannequin shows how the dress looks on an actual body. This helps buyers imagine how it might look on them.
Tip #6: Zoom in
Get in there and show us the details of the item, even the flaws. As I said above, being forthright with stains, pilling, etc., builds trust with your buyer. It also saves you later if a buyer has an issue after they’ve purchased it.
In addition, show the label. Suzanne says people like seeing the label to know that it’s authentic. A photo of the fabric content, if available, helps a buyer know how the item might feel against the skin, if it’s stretchy, or how it might drape.
Tip #7: Be polite and ship quickly
I know I don’t need to remind you to be polite when dealing with people. And I know it’s not always easy. There are some interesting personalities in the world, to put it mildly. Still, it’s important to remember your own dignity and to hold onto it when answering questions and taking care of the business side of these transactions. Suzanne adds that responding quickly to inquiries and offers is part of being polite. Don’t leave people hanging.
The same goes for shipping. The sooner your buyer receives their purchase, the sooner you can rest easy and start counting the extra cash you’ve made.
Go Forth and Conquer the Closet Clear-Out
Now, it’s time to fire up your seller’s account in your chosen marketplace. If you are game for taking lots of photos and measurements, writing good descriptions, and coming up with headline keywords, you can join the circular economy and make the world a little bit better. May your sales be frequent, and may your closet become less cramped.
If, however, this is way too much work, and consignment or precision donation is not for you, Suzanne recommends hosting a clothing swap. It’s a way to clean out your closet, have some fun with friends, and maybe find new-to-you treasures at the same time.
With that, I say, “Stay tuned.” In a future article: Swapping clothes with friends and people you don’t know.
There are no affiliate links in this post. Gratitude to Suzanne for the use of her posting and photos.
Thank you so much for this very informative article Sherry! You did such a great job noting all the areas to cover when listing items.
Another option to consider is if someone has a large amount of vintage clothing that they want to divest themselves of they can approach vintage shops in their area with the option of a bulk buy. They will normally get wholesale value for their pieces (depending on the condition ) and might be able to sell it all in one fell swoop.
Robert and I often think back to our first meeting with you with such joy. Miss you girlfriend!
Suzanne
Such excellent advice from, Ms. Suzanne, The Queen of online Vintage!!! Thanks for bringing it to us. And the thought of the two of you bopping around together just gives me the warm fuzzies.