A lot of entrepreneurs get their start on eBay, and often through selling clothing. Everyone has clothes, and parents so often find themselves with outgrown clothing that they have little use for. But, clothing is by far the largest category on the site, and the competition is fierce. With the recent raise in fees, it is often not profitable to sell used clothing on eBay at all, but there are a few exceptions.
One of the exceptions I have found is for very high end clothing. These are the brands that people will be actively searching for. If you have a blue sweater, not many people will be searching for a simple blue sweater in their specific size. If it is an expensive brand name, not only will people be searching for it regularly, there will be quite a few people who have set up email alerts to let them know when one of these items in their size has been listed.
Another exception is large “lots” of clothing. For someone needing 6 month girls’ clothing, buying one item at a time and paying the shipping fees for each is likely more expensive than just going to a store. But, if you have 10 or more of these items together, that is a bargain. Not only is this a time and money saver for the buyer, but for the seller as well. Listing 10 clothing items priced at between $1 and $10 apiece would be $4 in seller’s fees. Pricing one lot of 10 pieces of clothing would cost .40. Photographing each individual item is time consuming as well, and there is nothing wrong with photographing an entire lot of clothing in one or two pictures.
The last exception to the no-profit clothing rule has been unusual designs or sizes. Plus size items in the upper range of sizes do well, as they are hard to find in stores. Also, clothing with an unusual design or pattern do well. These items are hard to find, and there may be email alerts set up for those as well. Someone looking for a child-sized poodle skirt could shop all day in stores and not find one, but if you have one, you will likely be one of the few sellers at the time with one listed. When you have an item that has very few other ones listed, it is much more likely that it will sell.
Related blog entry:
Spring Cleaning: What to Do After You Purge Your Closets
Getting started on eBay:
How To Sell