What’s old is new and trendy again, especially when it comes to selling used clothes online. What used to be the hallmark of garage sales and thrift stores is now one of the fastest-growing ecommerce trends.

Whether you’re looking to clean out your closet or start your own resale shop, selling used clothes online has never been easier.

In this post, we’ll review how to sell used clothes online and share best practices to ensure you get top dollar for your clothing.

Options for Selling Your Clothes Online

The best way to sell used clothes online may be through one of the many apps and marketplaces devoted to reselling clothes. Think of these apps as digital consignment stores.

If you’re wondering where to sell used clothes, start with one of these apps or websites:

• Poshmark. This app is simple to use. Take pictures of your items and start selling right away. Poshmark does keep 20% of the final sale price, though.
• ThredUP. With threadUP, you can clean out your closet all at once. They mail you a package. You fill it with everything you want to sell and ship it back to them. They provide you with an estimate and handle the rest if you want to proceed.
• Depop. This global fashion marketplace allows sellers to list their products quickly. Depop also charges one of the lower commissions at only 10%.
• Flyp. Flyp works a little differently than other marketplaces. The app connects sellers with professional sellers. You just take a picture of the items you want to sell, and the app connects you with one of their professional sellers. The seller handles the photography, listing, and fulfillment for you.
• eBay. eBay’s tried and true marketplace is one of the original places to sell clothes online. Sellers’ fees vary by product category. Clothing ranges from 8% to 12.9%.
• Mercari. Mercari works a lot like eBay. Sellers just pay a fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents for each payment received from a buyer.
• Tradesy. Tradesy is a marketplace dedicated to clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories. Sellers pay a flat commission fee of $7.50 for items sold for less than $50 or 19.8% for items greater than $50.

Options for Starting an Online Resale Store

What if you’re interested in more than cleaning out your closet? Gen Z shoppers tend to be more concerned about the environment. They also are more cost-conscious and look for higher quality products. Fast fashion is notorious for poor quality and sustainability. As Gen Z enters adulthood, you can expect greater interest in buying quality used clothing online.

Many clothing resellers shop their local thrift stores as well as the marketplaces we’ve already reviewed to find their inventory. When it comes to listing that inventory in their own online shop, they have two options: using a marketplace or setting up their own ecommerce website.

Setting Up a Storefront on a Marketplace

Resellers can use any of the marketplaces for their store. Some platforms, like eBay, even have options for creating your own storefront. Others may have an option to build a profile where people can view your selling ratings and see all your available inventory.

The downside to using a marketplace is the selling fees, which could eat up to 20% of your sales price. If you’re purchasing used clothes to sell online, the platform selling fees could make your profit margin slim.

Building Your Own Ecommerce Store

Consider building your own online store to make more money selling used clothes online. You’ll need to pay for hosting and possibly your ecommerce platform, but the only seller fees you’ll pay will be the payment processing fees for a credit card.

Building an online store is not as intimidating as it sounds. With the right online store builder, you can create a store without ever writing a single line of code.

Selling used clothes through your own online store also allows you to collect customers’ email addresses to utilize email marketing for special promotions or when you add new inventory.

Best Practices for Selling Used Clothes Online

You should follow some basic guidelines no matter which way you sell clothes — on a marketplace or through your own store. These best practices will help you avoid customer complaints and earn the most money for your items.

Tips for reselling used clothing online include:

• Use Quality Photos. Images sell. Post professional quality photos for your listings. Take DIY product photos in an area with good lighting so shoppers can clearly see the clothes’ patterns, colors, and conditions.
• Use Keywords in Your Listings. Apply SEO best practices to your listing titles and product descriptions. Use the keywords people might type in a search bar to find the type of clothing you’re selling. If you’re selling a premium brand, include the brand in the title to grab shoppers’ attention.
• Accurately Describe the Condition. Don’t say something is “like new” if it’s stained and ripped. You’ll have the most luck selling quality items, but if your clothing does have normal wear and tear, let buyers know what to expect when they see the item in person. No one wants a surprise when unboxing an online order.

Sell Used Clothing Online with StoreBuilder

If you want to open your own online resale shop, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi makes the process fast and simple. Just answer a few questions about your business, and StoreBuilder takes care of installing and setting up your ecommerce store. You just need to customize the look and add your used clothing lists.

Try StoreBuilder risk-free for 30 days.