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Agree on Paul Smith. Great seller, I just don’t see them often out here.
Nice call!
Benefits of being in a major metropolitan area.
And I almost always buy on 50% off days. I may pay up to $10, if I think I can get at least $50 + shipping.
I would too. The $100+ suits are hard to come by. 90% of the suits I sell are in the $50-$80 range…
Banana Republic is a good brand, but the price you get will vary depending on cut, features, material, etc. I pass on some, pick up others.
There is a lot in this to cover, but yes, there is good money in Suits & Sport Coats if you have the knowledge.
Suits sell better than Sport Coats (by 2-4x)
Ensure that a “Sport Coat” is exactly that…not a suit jacket without the pants. How to tell? Mostly experience and vision. Can you see someone wearing the jacket with multiple types of pants (both color and material)? If so…Sport Coat.
Suits and Sport Coats must be PERFECT. My rationale is that this person is wearing this in a very formal setting, and as part of their career, so ANY minor flaw on the outside and it is OUT. PS – Same goes for dress shirts & ties.
These are long tail items. Know that going in that it may take 6 months to 2 years to sell. They must be stored hanging in a climate controlled / bug controlled / dust controlled place.
They take longer to photograph, especially suits, and with suits, you WILL use all 12 photos.
If you want good money, you need a mannequin and you need EXCELLENT photos. You are asking a buyer to purchase a used piece of clothing for maybe $100+ that they are wearing in a formal setting…you have to treat it like gold and display it to the buyer as such. PS – Yes, well known that the shirt & tie are not included
Brands
High End – Canali, Brooks Brothers, Zegna, Brioni, Armani, Samuelsohn, Tom James. Check for fakes.Middle – Albert Nippon, Hart Schaffner Marx, Jones New York, Circle S (Western), Jack Victor, Orvis, Hickey-Freeman, Hugo Boss
Low End – Tommy Hilfiger, Banana Republic, Chaps, Joseph Abboud, Michael Kors
95% of what you will see in a thrift store are not worth it, so start out with some brands in the High and Middle range above. There are variances in the low end that I won’t touch, but some that I will, because I know what sells them.
Some brands can move up and down the spectrum, depending upon the model and how it is made. Brooks Brothers 346 is their low end brand, where Madison is on the higher end.
Harris Tweed will sell very well ($65+ for Vintage), but make sure the look isn’t dated and out of fashion.
Specifics
Learn ALL about how to describe the suit. These details and where they are on the spectrum sell them faster and for more moneyMaterial – Wool, Cashmere, Silk, Linen (Cashmere and Silk blends sell for more). Don’t buy Polyester or Cotton.
Lapel – notched, peak, shawl
Lining – Full or half
Cuff – Working Sleeves (high end), Faux Working (middle-high), Waterfall (Middle-high), Kissing (Middle)
Vent – Double (High), Single, Ventless
Canvassed – Very high end. Takes lots of practice to feel if a suit is Canvassed
Pants – Flat front and non-cuffed (current style for trim), Pleated and Cuffed.
Measuring – you MUST learn how to measure a suit properly, especially if it is not labeled with the size. I learned how, but it takes a while. Learn Portly/Executive vs Classic vs Modern/Athletic cuts on the suit (not shown on the label). It is the difference between the Chest and Waist measurements. Provide Chest, Waist, Shoulder, Sleeve (including material inside that a tailor can let out), Length. Pants are Waist, Inseam (including material inside that a tailor can let out), Rise, Thigh, Cuff, and Overall Length.
Economics – I buy suits and sport coats in the $3-$5 range, and can sell them in the $30-$250 range. I don’t spend more on them unless I know that I will get at least a 6x on my money, preferably more, due to the time it takes to prep (lint roll and steam), photo, list, and store them. I can shop for 2 days sometimes and only get maybe one or two to sell. When I started, I made mistakes (and some of them are still listed…need to weed that garden!), but I have learned a lot. Like everything else in this business, you have to enjoy it first!
Welcome from a fellow Coloradoan!
Yeah, if it is handmade, it is harder to sell unless you have a lot of other good keywords to use. For clothing, brand names are 99% of what gets the initial click. I think Etsy would be a better place to sell those, as that platform caters more to that type of item.
Veronica kills it with Holiday items, primarily Halloween and Christmas. Like most things, 99% of the items you will see are not worth it. But doing your research, you will find the good stuff. Look for the Vintage and Unique items and you will find the money.
If it is plastic, Wal-Mart looking stuff (99%), it is worthless. Fitz & Floyd, Dept 56, Mr Christmas, or old vintage & unique, then you may have something.
I would love to see that Tommy shirt that sold for so much! Is it a color block shirt?
Very nice sale!
I can echo Jay’s sentiments. Sometimes when we are thrown off the cliff, we find our own wings.
If you are “safe” at your job and are still there, I would urge you to continue to work hard, build your inventory, improve your processes to make them efficient, and keep putting money away. FU Money. There is no better feeling in the world when you are working for someone else than to know that they DO NOT OWN YOU. Having options is true freedom.
Good luck either way. And if you ever have questions, this forum is a great place to ask and get great answers.
Outstanding work! I know that it gets a bit nerve racking when you spend larger amounts of money for inventory, but as long as it isn’t a fatal mistake, it is good to stretch out and bet on yourself.
Very nice investment!
Week of 10/1-10/7
Total Items in Store: 1,794
Number of Items Listed: 57
Number of Items Sold: 76
Weekly STR: 18%
Total Product Sales: $1,993
Cost of Items Sold: $465
Gross Profit for Week: $1,303
Highest Item Sold: $110 – Rock Revival Jeans
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Troy wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 23-16.As a follow up to our listings and eBay Guaranteed Delivery, we can now see that some of our items are showing as Guaranteed. I called Concierge to ask why some items were showing as Guaranteed (Shirts, Shoes) but some were not (Collectibles, Pants). The rep let me know that the rollout isn’t by account, but by eBay category. That makes sense, and all items are supposed to be rolled out by sometime in early November.
Had an interesting case where a buyer stated that a pair of Franco Sarto shoes were fakes. Franco Sarto shoes are not a high enough brand to be faked, so we figured that they wanted to have the return shipping paid for. I called eBay Concierge this morning, and got a nice lady from the UK, who conferenced called me in with another UK person, that said that they were going to look into the buyer and see if they do this on a regular basis, and that eBay will pay for the return shipping for us. I opened the case, accepted it, paid for the label, and will get a credit on our account to cover the shipping, and they will monitor the case as well as looking at the buyer. Service was excellent.
