A Look at the Best Resale Websites for Clothes and Accessories

A list of the current resale websites that give you the best options for selling clothes, accessories, and shoes, and some tips for selling on them.

Owning a closet bursting with high-quality and stylish clothes is a goal many fashion lovers have, and without fail, it is one they tend to accomplish quickly.

The problem is that once this goal has been achieved, many tend to realize that they only wear a percentage of the clothes and accessories they currently own. Plus, once you have filled your closet, you have then run out of room for future growth and creativity.

When this occurs, as it always does, discerning shoppers know they can actually get quite a bit of cash in return for the clothes and accessories they no longer wear. But in our modern world, the traditional methods of clothes resale are going by the wayside, and online options are growing in popularity. These websites are reinventing how clothing resales work and is putting more power into the seller’s hands than ever before.

This article will briefly investigate the state of online resale sites, which ones are worth your time, and some best practices when trying to sell your items.

Popular Resale Websites

These are some of the most popular resale websites for luxury, vintage, and street clothes and accessories. This is not the most exhaustive list by far, but it will give you a nice view of the most popular sites of varying sales formats.

1. Flyp

Flyp is a newer option but one that seems to have learned from, and improved upon, a number of other sales methods and sites. Combining UI aspects of social media, as well as bidding mechanics reminiscent of eBay, Flyp has created a service that allows you to quickly sell your clothes with the help of professional sellers.

All you need to do to start with Flyp’s straightforward approach is to take photos of the items you wish to sell and create a ‘lot’ on which the professional salespeople will bid for the right to sell. They will also give you estimated sales numbers and a requested commission percentage in order to help you make a final decision. It is highly recommended you at least give JoinFlyp.com a glance.

2. Facebook Marketplace

You have likely seen Facebook marketplace items and ads even if you have never actively used the site. Facebook and its associated marketplace are very popular, but the vast amount of items available can both work for and against luxury sales.

If your items can rise above the noise and get noticed, you will have a lot of potential eyes on that product, and a sale is almost guaranteed. However, standing out in such a large ocean of people is getting increasingly more difficult without third-party consultants or advertising money.

3. Instagram

Instagram is amongst the most used websites and apps in the western world. There are countless general users on Instagram, as well as shoppers scrolling through hashtags like #gentlyused and #recycleyourstyle.

Selling on the site comes with pitfalls and requires quite a bit of personal effort, but the number of buyers is impossible to ignore. For some, it may be even worth a class or two to learn how to set a selling price and really sell your clothing items on Instagram.

Instagram is set to continue to grow well into the future, and relatively newer options like Instagram video may still yet hit a popular trending nerve and provide future versatility for promotion.

4. Vinted

Vinted is a site focused more on lightly used or near new clothes and allows for people to follow you on-site. This follow feature and the ‘near-new‘ philosophy has allowed for some fashionistas to use it as a place where they curate new styles and looks for their followers - and quickly resell clothes they have worn only once or twice. Some sellers even turn a profit on items if they initially got a great deal on it.

Suppose you are looking for a place to post and sell clothes that has a bit more interaction in-between sales and allows one to generate a bit of a personal following. In that case, Vinted may be a way to get a niche audience going, which can function very similar to a traditional mailing list when promoting future goods.

5. Craigslist

While Craigslist has gotten a bad reputation for the lack of protections and the many scams on-site, it is also too big to ignore. One who is able to successfully navigate Craigslist and put up gripping ads for their clothing items should have little issue emptying their closets.

This site still has thousands of daily users, and any ability to cut through the noise and get noticed in that marketplace will have a good payoff.

6. Etsy

Etsy has long been a hot-spot for self-made and creative wares, but it has evolved into a full-fledged marketplace for a number of luxury items over time.

Etsy has a lot more seller to buyer functions than places like Instagram since it is, at its core, a storefront website and gives you a lot to work with. On the other hand, as with other sites that cater to many types of wares, it can be harder to get your product in front of the correct potential buyers. Etsy requires the buyer to be typing in and searching for your specific item, so accurate labeling is as important as ever.

7. eBay

eBay is another high-volume marketplace that comes with all of the pros and cons indicative of such a place. It is challenging to get noticed, but many buyers are logging on every day. eBay does have some issues with scammers, but it has gotten much better over the years.

Most are pretty familiar with this site, and there are plenty of guides and videos out there that can help you get started. Start slow on EBay and figure out a system that works for you, then slowly scale up in order to keep the quality of your sales high.

8. Poshmark

Poshmark gives you an excellent personal storefront to work with, letting you create a sort of digital thrift store for your closet.

A nice aspect is that Poshmark has options to sync up with your social media accounts, giving you even more opportunities to work with. It isn’t perfect, and you will need to be doing photography, graphic design, copywriting, and salesmanship yourself in order to thrive and get top-dollar.

9. Depop

Like Poshmark, Depop allows you to create your own digital storefront with all the downsides and upsides that entails. For many, Depop is a secondary site since once you have taken the photos and done the work in creating a storefront, it doesn't take much to copy and paste the process elsewhere.

10. ThredUP

ThredUP is another variation of the consignment system that focuses more on mass mid-grade vintage goods rather than proper luxury designer goods like Flyp.

You simply bag up all of the items you wish to consign and send it in. ThredUp will then buy the best items outright from you, donate the ones not worth anything, and then put the rest up for sale where you will earn a percentage. The downside is that ThredUp gets to fully dictate which items will go to which category.

11. Honorable Mentions

There are a lot of other sites that may be able to offer you what you are looking for. Sites like Tradesy, The RealReal, Mercari, Rebag, Grailed, Zara, and Amazon are also all decent resale capable sites. Most of these sites have great potential with the right initiative and skill. Take a visit to each site and see which ones best fit your needs and sales style.

Selling Clothes Online and in Consignment Shops

Luxury consignment refers to the reselling of high-end items like Prada accessories, Kate Spade luxury handbags, Cartier, Burberry, Balenciaga, Gucci, Chanel, and other designer brands.

When you consign something, you place it into the hands of a sales professional who takes a portion of the sale. This percentage goes towards the fact you didn't need to find or sell anything to the customer yourself. For those who still want to earn top dollars for their items but don’t have the time to take in a part-time sales job, so to speak, online consignment has been a real boon.

Designer clothing, luxury collectibles, and timepieces are very common and effective consignment store goods.

Authentication Helps to Boost Your Consignment Sale Price

Dior, J.Crew, and Louis Vuitton designer items retain their value incredibly well as secondhand items when properly cared for.

While the consignment payout is almost never as high as the original retail price, you can greatly increase their resale value on online consignment shops with the ability to authenticate your luxury items.

In fact, the box, dust bags, and anything that the item came with at the time of purchase can help you to make money on resale sites and consignment shops. The same applies to most other sales sites; buyers will pay much more for items they know are authentic.

Start Reselling Your Clothes Now

There are a ton of ways to go about emptying your closet and packing your wallet; while the final decision is ultimately up to you, you should take the time to investigate and see which sales style fits you best and motivates you the most.

Some truly enjoy trying to pitch and sell their own clothes; others enjoy finding the best deals in their local thrift shop and then handing it off to the pros for a substantial resale. Wherever your quest for a more empty closet takes you, make sure you enjoy the process.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes