Clothing Primer

It’s better to just show up with your phone fully charged. Research the brands that you see for sale. Use your gut on items you personally like.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Jay.

Years back, a well-known High Street retailer of somewhat conservative fashion employed a Leicester firm to replace “Made In China” labels with “Made In England” (I knew one of the seamstresses). That ended in litigation, but the tradition continued, and the city became the world centre of dodgy labelling.

Counterfeit clothing makers prosecuted

Since I’m relatively new to reselling, I’ve primarily been selling clothing because it is the easiest for me to source and provides a good base to build on with other finds that can bring more money. It’s really opened my eyes. I’m discovering brands that I thought were “high end” aren’t. I’m also discovering brands that I’ve never heard of before and now know to look out for.

Clothing is purely market driven on eBay and has a very unique learning curve. Some brands that sell new for hundreds of dollars can’t be given away on eBay while others that sell new for the 50-60 dollar range can still be sold regularly at half price. I think what happens is that good brands get flooded with sellers and then the race to the bottom happens. Ralph Lauren is a great example. Good quality, but so over saturated it’s hard to profit from.

These trends change regularly. The best way to research is to just do a search through the solds looking at things that sell above a certain minimum. You’ll start to see brand trends. You can also go to the “growth” tab in seller hub and use the sourcing guidance section. I wouldn’t use that info to set pricing, but you can see the top ten brands in any category based on their sell through rate and popularity.

Clothing is tuff and time consuming, but as I said, it can be good bread and butter for your store.

Good luck.

~Christian

debitsandcredits, I too despise selling clothing for that very reason. It’s so difficult to decipher what will sell, what will not. I have a death pile of clothing and shoes that just sit there, because I dread listing them and who knows if they will sell. I feel your pain.

I have worked in the garment industry since I was 18 years old. I currently do clothing alterations. Back in the day, you would have names Like the song states: “Halston, Gucci, Fioruccci”. Now you have names like Anthropologie and under that blanket label, many other sub labels. It’s so complicated now.

http://www.fashionofgoodwill.org/blog/guide-to-anthropologies-brands/

Yea. It’s a lot to take in. Jay is correct. Trial and error. My tip is, grab clothing which speaks to you, or that you would wear. This way, if you get stuck with it, well, at least you can use it.

I’ve pasted some links which may (or may not) help you. I’m hoping they help someone.

Ultimate List of Brands that Sell on eBay

How to Sell Clothes on eBay Better than Everyone Else

Good luck!

I would search based on type of clothing item. Shoes and jackets will usually sell for more than t-shirts and jeans. I would also look for really unusual items – bright colors and patterns rather than solids/basics. Look for weird and potentially ugly items. Those are the things that always sell first for me.

I would assume that an indie film is going to have a lower budget than a blockbuster. I would focus less on labels and more on looking for unusual pieces.

Clothing brands that were hot sellers a year ago can be hard to unload now and vice versa. There are a million Youtube videos of people who sell clothing on ebay and Poshmark. Watch the most recent ones to get an idea of what sells but be careful because older videos will be outdated and will lead you astray. For example: Lularoe used to be hot – now you can’t give the stuff away. Michael Kors is another one. It’s best to just take your phone with you and search ebay Solds when checking brand names.

Some other things to consider when selling clothes: RETURNS! Clothing buyers are notorious for returns – although men’s clothing isn’t as bad as womens. Even if you list every conceivable measurement, you’ll get returns for fit. Also, because clothing is so plentiful, unless it’s a very rare sought after piece, any little flaw will make the clothing item pretty much unsaleable.

If the Indie movie had a well known celebrity wearing the item (whether that exact one or one identical) & you can find a screenshot of them wearing it that will bump up the price. Some people want to dress like celebrities.

“Ultimate list of brands that sell on eBay”…the same list is on my local mall’s directory board…

They are all brands I can buy new, locally, and at dozens of locations within a few miles. Plus the same brands are on every new scavenger’s list, are abundant, and all over eBay. Thrift Stores over-price these items all the time.

While middle-of-the-road mall brands like PINK, Lululemon, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, etc. do sell, it’s a tough game with lots of competition and lots of picky buyers. Don’t play that game unless you are looking for little profit and long sales times. If you can get those brands for free or next to nothing, great, if not, don’t put too much money into them and inventory.

My advice is to have a niche – where you know some very unique brands that have a small audience that is willing to pay big $ for and most other scavengers look over trying to find the next Nike or Nautica shirt. These same brands get priced low as the Thrift Stores have no clue what they are. You will not end up with a shopping cart full of clothes at the end of a scavenging trip, but a few very nice items that will bring in good profit once you identify a few brands in a niche area. Plus, a few good items that make $100 or more each are much easier to list and ship then 50-100 items that may make you $5-$10.

There are also lots of local brands or corporate shirts that have a wide appeal across the country or internationally to the right buyer. Typically if you find these items, you will be the only one selling one on eBay, and buyers will pay top dollar for it. There is a local company in my area that has a huge niche following with certain nerd subset that I buy anything I can find with there name on it.

Also, anything that is on a publicized list that is a common thing to find and sell will become a bread and butter item very quickly on eBay. The stranger, weirder, odder, or overlooked items are where the money is at with clothing in my opinion.

You can make money with common brands, but I would not recommend playing in that space as the time, effort, and profit were not worth it for me when I’ve tried.