Fashion resale apps worth the download
By Liz Reichart, A&E Editor//
The latest trend in fashion? It’s not the drop waist or mock neck- it’s resale! Women across the country have taken up selling all those impulse purchases that ultimately sat at the backs of their closets. Bringing out the entrepreneur in each and every one of us, it seems as though recently, we’ve seen the development of more and more applications geared towards the selling of gently used or new clothing. For many years, the giants of online consignment were eBay and Etsy, but both lacked the accessibility of a mobile app, and the massive amount of merchandise was difficult to sort through. Within the past year, services for selling both those Apple Bottom Jeans and the boots with fur have been popping up left and right. So that you too can take advantage of being your own seller, here are the top applications and services for selling your priceless pieces.
Vinted – A popular application for the resale of clothing, Vinted allows users to take pictures of their clothing they wish to sell and set their own pricing terms, while buyers can make an offer. If you’re looking to completely redo your closet at a low cost, this app allows you to swap with other sellers, of which there are 8.5 million. Vinted takes a 19 percent commission on every sale. However, complaints about counterfeit goods and shipping scams are voiced in user reviews of the application, about which headquarters does very little. Still, it’s a great place to get every brand from Ralph Lauren to Forever 21.
Poshmark – I and many of my friends use Poshmark for its accessibility and easy-to-use interface. You have your own “closet,” which acts like a profile where your followers can see what you’re selling, and then bid or straight-out purchase items from there. For the sellers, it’s a great deal. It’s free to use, you can accept bids on your own terms, and Poshmark only takes $2.95 if the item sells for under $15. However, for sales over $15, Poshmark will take 20% of the sale. Everything on the application has a flat shipping fee of $4.99, which makes it easy as a seller not to have to haggle with estimations of shipping costs. Poshmark will even send you a shipping label to affix to your boxed item once the clothing sells. The process is seamless and with a ton of users and the ability to list items by brand, type, price, etc, buyers have flocked to the opportunity to buy high quality clothing at affordable prices. Poshmark definitely focuses on the social aspect of buying and selling, encouraging users to create a profile and meet “poshers” who are just like them.
ThredUp – The way ThreadUp works is completely different from both Poshmark and Vinted. ThredUp doesn’t allow buyers and sellers to directly interact, but rather acts as a middle man. The application buys clothing from users and then resells it to an audience of captive buyers. It’s a consignment store concept updated with twenty-first century technology. You can request a “clean out” bag for unwanted items and ship it to headquarters at no cost, for which they will pay 50-80% of the resale price upfront.
Tradesy – Tradesy offers users the most opportunities to be a fashionista. With the ability to curate a personalized style feed, you can explore new brands and sell everything from Old Navy to Oscar de la Renta. Known for it’s wedding boutique section, the application only charges users 9 percent of their sales, far lower than most others.