How to Make Money Consigning Clothes! {+ 12 Tips for Selling on Ebay}

sellClean out your closet and learn how to make money consigning clothes with these simple tips and tricks!   Earning cash while organzing is a win-win!

We all could use a little extra cash, and you’ll love these Frugal Fashionista tips for How to Make Money Consigning Clothes from the Saver Queen!

Every woman has her own version of “skinny jeans”. You know, the coveted pair of jeans that sit in the back of your closet for years, on the hope that someday, you will manage to fit back into them. Now is the perfect time to go through your closet, pull out those skinny jeans, and sell them.

Consigning is a great way to make extra money. After all, while conventional retail stores may be suffering, thrift boutiques are likely to thrive, as thrifting becomes more popular. Here are a few tips on how to maximize your profits when selling your used clothing…

How to Make Money Consigning Clothes

Related: 20 Easy Closet Organization Tips! {How to Get Organized in 15 Minutes}

#1: Try Selling to Local Consignment Stores

While E-Bay and Craigslist are two great ways to sell your previously loved goods online, local consignment shops may be just as effective. After all, you don’t need to worry about shipping, and someone else does all the work. While you do not get to keep all the profits, you may get a reasonable return on your investment; some thrift stores will offer you 40% or more of the retail sale. Other benefits include the fact that there is no fee to sell your clothes, and no loss if your item doesn’t sell. Standard practice is to offer you the choice to pick your item up or donate it to charity. So if you are unable to sell your item at the store, selling online can always be used as a secondary option.

#2: Sell Seasonal Items at the Beginning of Each Season

Whichever method you choose, it’s best to do it soon.  For example, Spring clothing is now in season so you want to make sure that you get your clothes out there while consumers are doing their Spring shopping.

#3: Pick your Best Pieces

Go through your wardrobe and cherry-pick your best items that are most likely to sell. If you are like me, you hang on to designer clothes or items that are still in great shape, even if they no longer fit or suit your style. I have hung on to designer jeans and dresses, only worn once or twice, even though they are several sizes too small. Knowing that you can earn money by selling them may help to ease the pain of parting company with your former favorite outfits. Select contemporary or classic vintage styles that are in excellent condition. Don’t bother with ratty, out-of-shape or out-of-style clothing; the consigner won’t want it, and you’ll end up wasting your time.

#4: Launder and Press your Clothing

Make sure the clothing is clean, and it helps if the clothes appear neat. Make them as attractive as possible to the consigners and potential shoppers; this will help you get a better price for your clothes. Take the extra time to make any repairs or touch-ups, and remove any stains that exist. These few extra minutes of care can make the difference between selling and not.

#5: Offer to Consign for Friends and Family!

While it may take some time to clean out your wardrobe, spring is an excellent opportunity to finally rid your closet of clothes that are doing little more than taking up space. If you want to make even more money, offer to help out a friend or family member by helping her with her with her spring cleaning. Offer to help her sort through her closet and take her rejects off her hands. In return, you can keep whatever profits her clothes yield.

While it takes a little bit of upfront work to select the right pieces and ensure they are in good condition, it’s a relatively minimal investment of time with almost no risk involved, and a good way to make extra money – especially if you have clothing that are likely to sell at a good price. Using these techniques, you will be able to enjoy the fruits of passive income generation.

Want even more helpful tips for how to save money and makes your clothes last longer?  Check out these creative and helpful ideas…

12 Tips for Selling Clothes on Ebay:

1. Clean, Iron and Steam your Garments.  Make sure your items are in pristine shape before listing.
2. Stick with High Quality and Name Brands.  eBay shoppers love to find deals on ‘Gently Used’ or ‘New with Tags’ high quality or name brand clothing, shoes, and bags.  So skip the handmade items, and try selling those on Etsy instead.
3. Research Prices Before you List.  What are similar types of items selling for on eBay?  Price just slightly below your competition to stand out.
4. Skip the Auctions, and sell as ‘But it Now’.  Many shoppers on eBay are quick to skip over auctions and prefer to snatch up an item they love.  So to gain even more interest from eBay shoppers, try selling your items as ‘Buy it Now’.
5. Take Amazing Photos!  A picture is worth a thousand words, and that applies to clothing, too!  Make sure to take plenty of time to take the best possible photos of the clothes you’ll be listing, and always take them during the daytime to take advantage of natural light.
6. Stage Clothing on Wooden Hangers or Torso Mannequins!  Consider purchasing a plastic torso mannequin to display your clothes on.  Or use a wooden hanger to hang the item on to make the garment appear more high-end.  Little touches like this may bring in more money for your listings!
7. Take Pictures of All Sides of the Garment.  When a shopper can’t physically touch and feel the item, the more pictures you have, the better your listing should do.  So be sure to take photos of the front, back, and sides of each garment you will be listing.
8. Don’t Forget to Snap Pictures of the Tags!  Take the time to also take photos of the tags on your garment… showing size, brand, washing instructions, etc.  It’s an extra little detail that eBay shoppers love!
9. Keep the Background of your Pictures Tidy.  Nobody wants to see messy piles and clutter in the background of your photos, so consider having  a designated photo shoot area you use over and over.  Maybe against a clean, crisp white wall.  Look at other listings on eBay, and pay attention to what ones you’re first attracted to, then analyze what it is about the picture that you like and can try to implement in your own photos.
10. Optimize your Listing Titles with LOTS of Keywords!  Think about what people might be searching for: name brand, features, color, size, length, what type of setting it would be worn: casual/formal/wedding, etc., then add as many of those types of keywords as you can into your listing title.  This will help your item to come up in more searches, giving you a larger pool of potential buyers!
11. Offer a Return Policy.  Buying clothes online can be scary, because… what if it doesn’t fit?  So if you offer a generous return policy, eBay shoppers will be much more likely to purchase from you, knowing they have the option to return the item if it doesn’t fit.
12. Flip Clothes you Find on eBay for a Profit!  If you run across a great ‘Buy it Now’ deal that you know could sell for more, you could grab it with your FREE eBay Gift Card and then sell it yourself for a profit!  Cha-ching!

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Have you ever tried to Consign Clothes?  Or do you have a favorite tip or trick for How to Make Money Consigning Clothes?  

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