Poshmark is the perfect place to start making some side cash, or even a supplementary income if you want to put in the effort. This social marketplace allows you to shop from other people’s closets like never before. Keep reading and this guide on Poshmark for beginners will teach you everything you need to know to sell your first item on Poshmark.
This post may contain some affiliate links. This means I make a small profit from your purchase but at no increased cost to you. Thank you!
If you are new to Poshmark make sure you use code RACHELPEDRANTI to sign up and you’ll earn $10 in bonus cash after you receive your first purchase.
What is Poshmark?
Poshmark is a digital marketplace where people can browse items from all over the country to purchase for themselves. This also means that as a Poshmark seller you can reach a much larger audience than by selling at a garage sale for example.
Poshmark is similar to other marketplaces like Mercari or Facebook Marketplace (now that they offer shipping). However, there is one major difference because Poshmark also has a social media aspect. You can follow other sellers whose style you like and sharing your posts is an important factor to keep your listings in front of buyers eyes.
Is Poshmark Safe?
Poshmark is a very safe place to sell. Since everything is shipped to the buyers you do not have to worry about meeting strangers all over town.
Always make sure that you are facilitating all sales through the Poshmark app where you are protected by Poshmarks payment system and return policies.
Never give out your personal information, bank information etc to people on the app. That goes for when you are selling or buying. You should only pay for items through the poshmark portal and as a seller that is the only place you should accept payments from as well.
Does Poshmark have Fees?
The Poshmark app is completely free to sign up for and use for everyone. You can list and purchase items without paying Poshmark anything.
However, there are fees on Poshmark when you sell an item. Poshmark takes a flat fee of $2.95 on any item that sells for less than $15 and a 20% commission on any item that sells for more than $15. They remove the money automatically so you do not have to manually pay them. This system is nice because you only pay when you make a sale but it is important to keep the fee in mind when pricing your items and making sure you are making a profit.
Who Can Sell on Poshmark?
Anyone can sell on Poshmark! Since it is free to use and sell on, there is nothing to lose by trying it out. Start by clearing out your closet and listing clothes that you don’t wear anymore. That will help you get to know the app and see if you want to continue using it as a way to earn extra money.
What to Sell on Poshmark
Poshmark started as a clothing market place and clothes are still the top selling category by far. Items that tend to sell the best and the quickest on Poshmark are cheap trendy pieces or high end designer items. I list everything from my closet though and sometimes I am really surprised by what sells quickly. You really have to find what works best for you and your audience and then try to sell similar items.
You can also sell small home good items, jewelry, and NEW personal care products in addition to fashion items.
Best Selling Brands on Poshmark
Although I cannot tell you for certain which brands will sell the fastest there are ways to find trends and general brand information.
SuperPosher has a great guide to top brands to sell on Poshmark where they list out the top 200 brands that they see sold the most frequently. This is a great starting place while you are trying to figure out what sells best for you. Just remember that if a brand is not on the list it may still sell well for you.
Next, is by looking at other resell sites like Kidizen and Mercari Trend Reports.
One final way to find popular resell brands is to take a look at the sold listing on Poshmark to get an idea for yourself what seems to be selling quickly at the moment. This is also a great place to look when you are pricing an item because it allows you to see what comparable items were listed for.
To see sold listings open the app and select the “Shop” tab at the bottom. Then select the category you are looking to find popular brands for such as “Baby”. Now click on the “Filter” option (it looks like a funnel) and at the bottom click on “Availability” and select “Sold Items”.
This will show you all the recently sold listings in your chosen category and you can see which items and brands show up the most.
What NOT to Sell on Poshmark
According to Poshmarks community guidelines you cannot sell the following:
- Counterfeits
- Used Underwear
- Used Makeup or Personal Care Products
- Electronics
- Furniture
- Current Airport and Airline Uniforms
Please see Poshmarks prohibited items policy for a complete list of items that cannot be sold on Poshmark.
How and Where to Source Items to Sell
If you are wanting to make a consistent income from selling things on Poshmark then you will eventually need to come up with a system for acquiring more clothes to sell.
- Your Home: The best place to start is your own home and closet. Make sure to go through your husband and kids’ closets as well.
- Thrift Stores: My favorite place to shop for hidden gems is thrift stores. There is a never ending source of clothes and it is always turning over with new items. The biggest downside is the time commitment required to find the good items.
- Friends and Family: If you are comfortable with it you can ask your friends and family to give you any clothes that they were planning to donate to a thrift store.
- Yard Sales: Similar to the thrift store you can find great items, it just takes some looking. Yard sales are often cheaper than thrift stores too.
- Buy-Sell-Trade Stores: Stores like Plato’s Closet that buy on-trend clothing often have sales you can shop to try and flip items for a profit.
- Wholesale Inventory: You could try buying new wholesale items to sell. Just make sure Poshmark is the right platform to make a profit on after their fees.
Learn How to Thrift Smart:
- 17 Helpful Thrifting Tips and Hacks
- 7 Things to Never Buy Second Hand
- How to Thrift Shop for Home Goods
How to List an Item on Poshmark
- Download the App
Make sure you have the app downloaded on your phone and that you’ve followed the steps to set up your account. To list an item simply open the app and select the “Sell” button at the bottom of the screen.
When you set up your Poshmark account make sure you use code RACHELPEDRANTI to sign up and you’ll earn $10 in bonus cash after you receive your first purchase!
- Photos
When listing something to sell, the first thing to do is take photos of the item. Poshmark gives you space to upload 8 photos. Try to use them all if you can.
Some ideas for helpful photos to take are: front, back, close up of any details, brand tag, clothing care tag, any additional tags, close up of the fabric, and any damage or flaws.
Make sure that your photos are well lit, try to use lots of natural lighting if you can. Put your item against a white or light colored background to avoid distractions and best showcase the piece of clothing. Lastly, try to display the item nicely. Using a live model (yourself or someone else) can better show the fit of an item. Or purchasing an affordable mannequin/bust can help too.
However there is no need to feel like you cannot be successful without these items. Using a hanger to hang the item against a neutral background works great too if that is what you have.
- Title
Your title should be as descriptive as possible. Try to include common terms that people would type into search engines such a brand, clothing style and color.
If the article of clothing you are selling still has its clothing tags with the style # (see photo) then you can google the brand and style number to find the original listed name of an item. This will help you sound more professional as well as allow you to reach people searching for very specific items. This may also help you appear in google searches.
- Description
Your description should also be as descriptive as possible. Try to include details about the fit of an item if possible such as true to size, fits small, or oversized.
A lot of people say that you should also include measurements. I have never included them but they could be requested from potential buyers. Since wrong fit is not accepted by Poshmark as a reason to return an item buyers want to be as sure as possible that an item will fit correctly.
Other details you can include are material type, feel, washing instructions, reiterate the brand and details about the clothing like neckline type. It is also very important to disclose any damage or flaws that may exist. An item with flaws can still sell but if you don’t disclose then they may make a case with Poshmark for a return. The buyer can also leave you a bad review which could hurt your chances at future sales. It is important that the buyers on Poshmark feel that they can trust you as a seller.
- Pricing
When pricing an item you want to make sure it is a competitive price to sell quickly but still make enough of a profit that it is worth your time. The price also needs to be high enough that you can offer deals to buyers using Posmarks features like bundles or closet clear out sales without losing money.
I recommend knowing the lowest amount that you are willing to accept for an item and then setting the listing price for about 10-15% higher than that. Poshmark buyers are bargain hunters and like to negotiate on the price to feel like they got an amazing deal. Setting the price high also allows you to accept some of these offers.
When a buyer sends you an offer, you can say no! Never feel pressured to accept a deal that you lose money on or that you don’t feel good about.
Shipping Your Sold Items
Pre-Shipping Care and Packaging
Before mailing off your item make sure that it is clean. That means that it is washed and dried, steamed or ironed to get any wrinkles out and maybe lint roll everything for good measure. I have a husky so lint rolling is a must!
Try to fold it in a way that it won’t get too wrinkled during transit. Although as a buyer I am always going to wash anything I buy from Poshmark before I wear it so I wouldn’t be too concerned about a few wrinkles.
You do not need to include anything else in the package except the item purchased unless you want to. Some sellers like to include small thank you gifts or notes. The thought is nice but all of those things usually end up right in the trash which just creates more waste. Plus it means it was a waste of your time as the seller to include them.
Some sellers also wrap the article of clothing purchased in tissue paper. Again, it looks nice but it is completely unnecessary. If you want to do it because it fits your branding or personality then by all means go for it. Just know there is no pressure and it most likely won’t increase your sales or anything.
Shipping Label
One of the best features about poshmark is that shipping is so easy. When a purchase is made Poshmark generates a prepaid shipping label for you. All you have to do is print it out, tape it to your box or mailer and drop it off at the post office.
It could not get any easier.
What to Ship Your Poshmark Sales In
Since all Poshmark sales are shipped priority mail through USPS you can use the free USPS supplies to ship your items. You can either pick the mailers and boxes up at your local post office (if it is a big enough location) or you can order them on the USPS website and have them shipped right to your door! You can’t beat free supplies.
Another option is to use boxes you already have. You can save boxes from your amazon orders or any other boxes you have as long as it has the Poshmark shipping label attached and the maximum combined length and girth of the box is no greater than 108″. That’s the USPS policy for priority shipping.
Lastly you can bulk order cute mailers off of Amazon. There are options for every season or holiday as well as fun colors. This is a fun option to dress up your Poshmark orders, especially if you run it as a side hustle or business.
Shop Poshmark Supplies
Poshmark Features to Make More Sales
Sharing Listings
Poshmark lists items in order of most recently shared. That means buyers are seeing newly listed items and recent shares first. In order to keep your listings at the top and in front of people’s eyes you need to share them on a regular basis. This way your items move from the bottom of a search que to the top.
Offer Discounts
You can offer discounts to potential buyers to incentivise them to buy quickly. When someone “likes” your item they will get notified of any discounts you offer them.
Virtual Parties
Sharing your items into any relevant virtual parties you get invited to will allow you to reach new audiences on Poshmark which increases your odds of getting a sale.
Bundling Items
Potential buyers can bundle items from your closet which allows them to save on shipping. You can also set up a discount to be offered to buyers that bundle from your closet. This encourages people to shop more from your listings.
Closet Clear Out Sales
Every so often Poshmark runs closet clear out sales; You share your items into the sale at a discounted price and Poshmark offers discounted shipping. People looking for extra great deals often shop from these sales.
Returns and Exchanges
Good news for you as I mentioned before, an item cannot be returned because of fit. Since the majority of items sold are clothes, that is really great.
Returns are allowed for undisclosed damage however which is why it is very important that you are honest in your description about any flaws an item may have. Other than that Poshmark only allows returns for wrong or missing items and items that are not authentic. A buyer has three days to request a return from Poshmark after which point all sales are final.
All returns are mitigated and decided by Poshmark. The item will be returned to you if Poshmark accepts the return so you aren’t out any money. If you are honest in your descriptions you shouldn’t run into this very often.
Other Ways to Make Money
Getting Paid on Poshmark
Getting paid on Poshmark is simple. Simply go onto the mobile app and select the button in the bottom right-hand corner with your username under it. Then you can either click on the money symbol in the top right hand corner or select “My Balance” from the menu options.
There you will see your earnings from your sales. Anything pending is still awaiting a buyers approval. Buyers have three days after receiving an item to accept it. It is automatically accepted on the fourth day. At which point the money moves from pending to redeemable.
When you click on the “Redeemable” tab you are taken to a menu where you can select to be paid by direct deposit or check. Then you simply follow the instruction and get paid!
Taxes
One important thing to note is that Poshmark does not take out taxes for you. So if you are selling on Poshmark as a way to make money, like a side gig or a job, then you will need to set aside money to pay your taxes come tax season.
Can You Make Money on Poshmark?
Yes, absolutely!! How much money you make up depends on how much you list and how active you are on the platform. Since Poshmark is considered a social marketplace it does require that you are actively sharing listings and interacting with others to keep your listings relevant and seen. Regardless, you absolutely can make money on Poshmark even as a beginner. Especially if you are following the tips in this post.
Helpful Tips for Success on Poshmark
These tips are just a couple things I’ve found helpful while selling on Poshmark and it will definitely be helpful for any beginners.
First is to clean an item thoroughly. Nobody wants to receive a smelly item covered in dog hair. Sending a clean item will leave the buyer happy with their purchase.
Second is to check carefully for damage and always disclose. You don’t want to deal with the headache of a returned item and unhappy customer so don’t give them a reason to be unhappy.
Lastly, and the tip I have found the most helpful is to post new items consistently. The more you post the more eyes on your profile and the items you’re selling. This increases your chance of making sales. The Poshmark app rewards active users so make sure you are consistently sharing listings and listing new items as often as you can.
Selling on Poshmark for Beginners
I hope you found this guide to selling on poshmark for beginners helpful and I wish you nothing but success. Don’t forget if you are new to Poshmark to use code RACHELPEDRANTI when you sign up and you’ll earn $10 in bonus cash after you receive your first purchase.
I know if you follow the tips and tricks in this guide that you’ll get the hang of Poshmark in no time. If you have any questions or suggestions for Poshmark success just leave them in the comments!
