My Side Hustle

I work full time as a Prison Counselor/Case manager and I make decent money doing so. But do you know what is awesome? Having a side gig to get you an extra boost in income! Guess what is even more awesome? It’s a super easy side hustle that ANYONE can do and that requires very little effort! I don’t get any thing for plugging this, by the way. I whole-heartedly think it is an amazing way to make some extra money and figured I would spread the love by sharing my experiences!

I came across Poshmark randomly one day when I was looking for a way to sell some of my clothes that I never wear anymore. I didn’t have much luck with Facebook marketplace listings or yard sales. I did donate quite a few items but had a few things that were in new condition that I couldn’t just part with for free. Plus, I wanted to find a way to save some extra money so that I can make this dream trip to Iceland happen as soon as restrictions get lifted! I didn’t really have any knowledge on how Poshmark worked but figured I would list a few things and see what happened. Within 2 weeks, I had made quite a few sales and decided to dive headfirst into the world of reselling.

I really did have quite a bit of stuff out of my own closet that I needed to get rid of. I also had some kids clothing from my boyfriend’s daughter and some men’s clothing from my boyfriend. I listed as much stuff as I could. From January 26^th to April 23^rd, I had made $436 from selling random stuff that wasn’t even being used anymore! This further inspired me to start thrifting for some items to flip and resell. I started going to thrift stores and yard sales to source some items for my Poshmark closet. Eventually, I grew my closet large enough to have almost 80,000 followers, over 300 sales, and a total earned that is nearing $2,000! And you can easily do this, too!

What is Poshmark?

Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace where people can buy and sell new or used clothing, shoes, accessories, and many other items. It’s a fun and simply way to buy and sell fashion! Here is a link to some of the deets on Poshmark.

Sourcing

Obviously, you can source from your very own closet! This is how I started. I had a bunch of things that I have kept for so many years but have never really worn but after I started making some money selling stuff, it made it a lot easier for me to part with those items. Ask others in your household to go through their things, as well. You could also ask friends and family members to donate any unwanted items to you  before dropping them off at the local Goodwill.

You want to keep your cost of goods as low as possible so you can turn a good profit on each item. Typical thrift store costs around where I am from usually don’t exceed $5 per item but can occasionally reach around the $10 price point. Depending on the items condition and brand, $10 can still be very worth it. If you can grab a coat for $10 but sell it for $40 or $50, you just made $30-$40 just by shopping and taking some pictures! I mainly use Goodwill and Salvation Army because they are the two major thrift stores in my area and typically have lower prices than other privately owned thrift shops.

Make sure to research which brands are reselling well before going. And don’t get discouraged! Some items may sell very easily for one person but may be harder to sell for another. For example, I ALWAYS see people buying Torrid brand items for higher prices, usually no matter what condition, but I have had a few excellent condition Torrid items for a while now that just haven’t moved for some reason. If you can get your hands on some luxury items for cheap, DO IT! I have yet to have any luxury items, but I have definitely been keeping my eye out for some. These items seem to sell pretty quickly on Poshmark and even have their own Posh Parties dedicated to focusing the spotlight on these high-end items.

Wholesale bundles are another way to go when sourcing for your closet. Poshmark even has its own wholesale section built right into the site/app! You can also find liquidation sales and wholesale boxes if you search online. I have ordered one box of items wholesale, which was a bulk lot of novelty t-shirts, and have done pretty well with it! Some people are able to get their hands on some really popular items at wholesale prices (e.g. LuLuLemon, Adidas, Free People, Lucky Brand, etc) and can make a killing reselling them! I keep my eyes open for these opportunities but unfortunately, I personally haven’t stumbled upon any yet.

My all-time favorite way to source is by going to yard sales/garage sales/rummage sales! Typically, the cost of goods at these sales are SUPER low. I have gotten quite a few items for 25 cents and have been able to turn a profit of $10 or more for each item. I think one of my best flips from a yard sale was paying $5 for some cowboy boots and making over $40 on them! Make sure to really check out the condition of the items when sourcing from a yard sale. I found that these types of sales are a good place to find a lot of items that are new with tags, because most people don’t want to just donate brand spanking new items. They would rather try to get a few bucks back.

Building Traffic

In order to sell more items, you need more people seeing your items. Poshmark works on a sharing and following system. You follow other closets, they follow you back. You help them by sharing their items, and they return the favor. Anyone that is following their closet will see the items that they list as well as the items that they share. The more followers you have, the more likely you are to get sales, because more eyes are viewing your closet. The easiest way to get followers fast, despite it being a bit boring and tedious, is to go into someone’s closet and click on their followers. From there, you can scroll down the list and follow people. You will see that when you start following people, they typically follow you back, and this is the goal! I typically spend around 15 minutes a day (at least) just going through lists of closets and clicking the follow button. That’s how I was able to gain 80,000 followers within 6 months of selling on Poshmark.

Share, share, share! You HAVE to share your own items as much as you can. Some people that do REALLY well on the platform will share their entire closets 5 or 6 times a day. I don’t quite have the time to do that (it’s especially hard when you have a large number of items in closet, because you have to share each item individually) but try to share all of my items at least 2 or 3 times a day. Sharing items from other sellers on your feed can help, too. When you share another seller’s item, they typically repay the favor by sharing some of your items. That is giving your item exposure to everyone that is following that other seller!

This is a screenshot from my closet.

I know a lot of successful sellers have Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and twitter accounts linked to their Poshmark account. They use social media to promote items in their closet and it does tend to help! I have only very recently started trying my hand in posting on Pinterest and Instagram and have honestly seen an influx of followers since doing so.

Other Random Information

Listing seriously takes less than a minute to do. You snap some pictures and fill out a few fields and your item is live before you know it! The more detailed your listings are, the better, but there is a comment section available for people to ask questions if needed. Make sure to use good lighting and note any flaws. People will still buy things with some flaws, but make sure you disclose them! Initially, list your items higher than what you intend to actually get for them. This leaves room for offers and price drops!

Poshmark does charge a listing fee after an item sells. For anything under $15, Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95. If it sells for more that $15, you keep 80% and Poshmark’s commission is 20%. The sale has to be delivered and accepted by the buyer before the funds are available to you. You can then withdraw your money as a check or direct deposit or use your earnings to purchase items from other sellers within the app.

Poshmark provides a flat rate of $7.11 for expedited shipping on all orders. The buyer typically pays this shipping fee. All orders are shipped through USPS 1-3 day priority mail. If someone purchases more than one item within a closet (e.g. you come to my closet and want 3 items), it is considered a bundle and the buyer will only pay the shipping fee once. As a seller, you also have the option to offer discounted or free shipping (which comes out of your earnings if you do this) to the buyer.

This screenshot is an example of some of the many things you can list on Poshmark!

Poshmark is NOT just for clothing! Many people sell their own homemade items. I have seen paintings, ceramics, earrings and other jewelry, home décor, and more! You can list makeup, books, signs, beauty supplies, stationary, pens, blankets, pillows…. The list goes on and on!

Overall, my experience with Poshmark has been excellent! I mean, I guess that’s why I am recommending it here on my blog. Haha! If you are looking for a way to make some extra cash, this is definitely something you should consider. In fact, if you are reading this, I challenge you to create an account and find a few items to list. I guarantee you will be making money in no time! Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have and check out my closet here!