You’re ready to start your Poshmark hustle. You’ve picked out about 20 items and you’re ready to start. Let’s walk through getting your items ready for sale.
Inspect your items
Regardless if your items are new with tags (NWT) or worn, you should thoroughly inspect each item.
One of the major ways a buyer can bypass the “no returns” rule on Poshmark is if the item is “not as described”. If you post an item and you don’t disclose damage or flaws like sweater pulls, missing buttons, etc., these can cause you to get hit with a return. Plus, you want to cultivate a good seller reputation from the start with buyers, so they will return and buy again, and keep your account healthy on the platform.
Take a good look at each item:
Sniff it. Does it smell of perfume, food smells, moldy basement odor, or body odor? If it does, wash it.
Give it a once over. Check the pits and crotch. Are there rips, tears or holes? Check the hems. Are they frayed or worn? Check for food stains, deodorant stains and the like, and wash if needed. Check for missing buttons, and if the zippers function properly. Make note of any flaws as you will want to photograph and add these to the description of the item.
Make a dedicated storage area
I cannot emphasize this step enough. Before you post a single item, set up a place where you will store your “for sale” items. One of the common issues newbie sellers have is cancelling or being late shipping orders because they can’t find the item or it gets “borrowed” or moved by a family member or pet. Missing items = missing money.
Your dedicated storage area doesn’t need to be large. Maybe clear out the bottom of your closet and place an empty plastic storage bin there. Maybe clear out a corner in your basement, or put an empty storage bin in a corner in your bedroom.
The location doesn’t matter as long as the location is:
Off limits to family. Let everyone know that this is your business area. Touching, moving, using items from your business area is a no go.
Clean and odor free. If your basement is a bit moldy, don’t store your items there. Don’t store your items too close to the kitchen where they may absorb cooking smells. If you have pets, don’t store your items in an area where they rest or eat.
To start, you can use what you may have on hand for a storage bin as long as it can be closed to prevent dirt or accidental damage: a clean cardboard box, a clean plastic bin, zippered moving bags, or a clean clothes hamper. Or, you can buy a couple plastic bins or zippered moving bags pretty cheaply to start.
Check the market pricing
Typically, new with tags items will sell for more than used items. There are exceptions, of course, used popular items that are rare in either color, size or style, or luxury items will go for more than new items.
Search for similar items on Poshmark and check the pricing. Consider:
Is the seller a new seller with a small number of items like you? Or are they an experienced seller with hundreds of items for sale? Buyers may be less willing to pay top price from a new seller, plus as a new seller you want to price your first items to sell fast.
For example, if you have a new with tags Michael Kors scarf, and large sellers are pricing similiar items for $69, and small sellers are pricing theirs at $39. Slip just under the bottom and price yours at $35.
Prepare for haggling and Poshmark offers
Every online marketplace like Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, etc. have their own “culture”. Poshmark’s culture encourages haggling, or in Poshspeak “offers”.
On the app, each product has an “offer” button where buyers can offer to pay a lower than listed price. You are not obligated to take the offer price. You can decline or counter offer with a price that’s more acceptable to you. Have a bottom line price for each item and do not go below it. I would suggest for your initial items that you did not buy, set your profit at least $10 per item. Your first 20 items should earn you at least $200. That may not sound like much, but it’s $200 for items that just would have collected dust in your home. And it provides a start for you to begin to scale up your Poshmark hustle.
Be warned. Newbie Poshmark sellers draw the cheapskates like flies. Be firm. Even though your first round of items didn’t cost you anything, as they were gifts or items you had lying around the house, your time is worth money. Again, your time is worth money. And…you want to generate a bit of cash to start to scale up your Poshmark business and start making some real money.
So don’t give away your items. If a buyer offers you $5 for an item you listed at $35, counter offer for $30. If they keep counter offering you in $1 and $2 increments, ignore them. Again, your time is worth money, and pointless haggling with cheapskates wastes valuable time you can use listing more items.
Make a list
This is part of the starting the right way strategy for your Poshmark hustle. You now have picked out and inspected your first set of items, set aside a designated storage area, and researched your pricing. Now, keep that same organizational energy and make a list of your items either as you post them for sale or before. When you expand and your Poshmark store has 500 items for sale, you will be grateful for this habit!
You can keep it simple. Use a notebook and list each item in a grid format:
Item name. A simple description of the item. Example: Calvin Klein pink sweater with logo.
Item retail price. The price on the tag, or the price you paid when new. Example: $89
Item list price. The price you will sell the item for. Example: $39
Item final offer price. The bottom line price you will accept for the item. Example: $20.
You can use this list as a checklist to mark the items off as you list them for sale and as the sell.
