Flawed Clothing Selling (recouping money)

[bcfol440]

I had a month long streak of buying flawed clothing. I hit some estate sales that were not curated too well with bad lighting, and I was drunk with thrift goggles. Hence, i ended up with lots of majorly flawed St. John and some nice wool sweaters.

I was so mad, I listed it all immediately for about $10-$16/per piece + ship and they sold fast I felt better about doing this, the buyers left amazing feedback too. I just sold another flawed piece for $10 super fast.
I made barely $3 on these, but It made me feel good someone got a deal, recycling stuff, etc. So, don’t get down on yourself, try to list and recoup some or all your COGS at least.

I disclose in title “IMPERFECT.” I also add in condition notes, and also in description notes.

[sonia]

I have a really bad case of thrift goggles, too! Glad to hear you recouped your cost so quickly.

[Jay]

Once we bought enough clothes and shoes with flaws, we finally learned to look over each item before we purchase. Maybe 1 in 100 items sneaks through our buying fingers with a flaw these days.

Inspiration through desperation.

[aperture]

I have a healthy fear of selling something and getting a return or worse – a defect. When I come across significant defects in clothes I am listing, I pause and most often put them in the donate pile.

[antarestar]

I’m listing clothes tonight and have tossed 1/4 of my items back to redonate. I REALLY need to check better. Ugh!

[ChristineK]

With a brand like St. John, even flaws can be OK as long as you disclose them. I knowingly bought a St. John santana knit jacket that had a fairly significant ring around the collar and I disclosed that. It still sold surprisingly well.

[bcfol440]

The St. John buyers are very creative, and I love it. One lady just told me she turned hers inside out, did some creative tailoring, and VOILA.

Yes, it is only certain brands or designs of course. Today, a wool blanket sweater (southwet patterned) with a big ole hole sold (generic brand), a Peruvian Connection holey to the moley sweater sold for $40 overseas!

I am usually discerning, but I kinda went crazy a few times and supermarket swept-style some estate sales. ha! Have you seen the Melissa McCarthy supermarket sweep SNL sketch on youtube? Well, that was me.

i try to remember a phrase I heard ” Go slow to go fast.” This helps me from piling my Ikea tote into a Conestoga wagon

[almasty]

I’ve currently got a vintage t-shirt listed that is more stains and holes than shirt for $100 with several watchers. Another vintage t-shirt sold to Japan a few years ago for $150 that looked like it was shredded and unwearable, and I still got positive feedback. I wouldn’t entirely exclude clothes for condition issues outright.

[Jay]

Very true.”Distressed” is a a category of clothing on its own. As a rule, most clothes with holes and damage would be seen negatively.

[ebaymom]

This is a great topic! I love reading all of your experiences and sales… I think it is true “anything sells”… I also sometimes have the worst pair of “thrift goggles”…(what a great term – that is hilarious.) It seems I am always thrifting on the fly trying to get home before the bus stops at my house to drop off kids so when in a hurry, I sometimes grab things that have flaws that I don’t discover until I list. This is a great reminder to check everything thoroughly! What I have been doing lately is to throw anything with flaws (minor rips, holes, missing buttons/snaps, etc.) into a mending pile and when it gets full I hand over a bag to my friends daughter (she’s 14 and likes to sew). I pay her $2.00 each to make the minor fix.. which probably only takes her 5 minutes. So she’ll make $20 bucks and then I list everything and disclose “button was replaced” or “minor tear was mended” .. and the items always sell and I still make decent money and I don’t need to list them as damaged or flawed.

I once bought an awesome Hawaiian silk shirt and when I got home I saw both armpits/shoulders had major tears on each side (like the guy who wore it last tried to move a couch or washing machine and just completely ripped the seams out – I totally missed it in the store.) I still listed that darn shirt (disclosed major flaws sold damaged AS/IS) and I STILL made money on it.. 🙂 but I don’t want to make a habit of selling damaged items. These days I try to pass unless it is something truly special/vintage item and I am trying to find new-with-tag-items at the thrifts as they are so much easier to sell.

[antarestar]

I’ve sold vintage denim jackets with minor wear holes and a few small stains. I think those kinds of damage are ok because it adds to the authenticity of the garment. People want to feel cool when they wear it and if the jacket has been around and “seen some things” they feel like part of that been there/done that ethos is passed on to the wearer.
Denim overalls seem to have a similar appeal.

Clothing as a means to showcase ones personality has always been fascinating to me. We all have to get dressed each morning before we go out in the world. Why does each person choose what they put on their body? Sure, we dress for the weather, our job, a uniform but beyond that, we all try to show (or hide) our innermost self by what we put on our outsides.

[Terri]

For the few flawed clothing items I’ve decided to go ahead and list over the years, I’ve added AS IS DAMAGED in the title. Oddly enough, it seems like those items get more traffic than my regular listings. I think it’s like a car accident, people can’t look away.

[bcfol440]

Terri – I agree with the rubber necking! I add IMPERFECT or FLAWS into title and it’s a hot potato. Usually, the price doesn’t hurt. People love a deal – esp eBay buyers. They are curious “how bad could it be?”

[antarestar]

I listed 10 items of clothes the other day. Guess which one was the first to sell? The Levis Denim Shirt with Stains.
I paid about $1 and got $10 plus shipping. Not an awesome return but not terrible.

[Amatino]

I regularly list, and sell, damaged items. I list ALL the damage, so there’s no mistake and I don’t have a return later. I’ve got positive feedback, including items such as “honest seller” and “washed it and it’s perfect.”

If it’s a quick, small repair, I’ll do it myself. A basket of repairs next to the couch is an evening’s busywork while watching a movie or something.

[Author]

Posts