Warning: this post is not for the sentimental. I legitimately do not have emotional connections to things. I sold my wedding dress a few months after our wedding. People ask me if I miss it, and I can honestly tell you I haven’t thought about it once. I keep photo albums and I do have one banker’s box of “memories” (a few sports medals, some hysterical passbooks of notes between friends in high school, and a book of really mediocre poetry that I wrote as an angsty adolescent), but other than that, I regularly purge everything in the house.
So what’s a girl to do with all those clothes your kids wear three times before they grow out of them? Well, for many of them, I hand them down. My daughter’s clothes have mostly gone to my niece, and about 70% of my son’s closet is made up of hand-me-downs from my nephew, which are now cycling back to the newest baby boy in the family.
But I do end up with a few things that I prefer to sell. Namely, the designer clothes I mostly get from my in-laws, which my siblings don’t care about inheriting, and a few clothes whose tags didn’t even come off before my kids outgrew them. Selling them is a win-win. Someone else gets great quality, designer clothes for a fraction of the price, and I bank a little bit back to cover the cost of next season’s wardrobe.
The Logistics
I used to go to consignment stores to sell designer garb, my own wardrobe included, but a friend told me about the app Kidizen and I was hooked (this is not an ad–just my own preference). They make it so, so easy. Some people on there literally make their online “stores” look like a professional children’s boutique, but I don’t have the energy or the creativity for that. Instead, I keep it simple. My photos are taken with my iPhone on the wood floor in my family room. I list clothes in bulk every 6-10 weeks when cleaning out the closets. It should go without saying, but seasonally appropriate items sell best. Be sure to list holiday-specific items a couple months in advance to give people time to find and order the item.
Before I list the items I search around for similar products to see where pricing lands. My personal strategy is to go a little cheaper because I am more focused on the purge than the monetary return.
Available for Droid and iOS.
The Goods
I’m not quite sure how I manage to come out the other side with clothes in such good condition, but I personally don’t even try to sell clothes that aren’t new or like new. There is an option to list the quality as “play condition” so you certainly could, but I’d rather donate those clothes.
I inspect all the clothes closely before I list them so there aren’t any surprises when I’m ready to ship, or worse, a customer gets an “excellent used condition” outfit that has a surprise hole in the back.
Brands that sell the best for me are Crewcuts, Splendid, Ralph Lauren, and various Nordstrom brands like Tucker + Tate, Peak, etc. I’ve also sold some of my higher-end maternity clothes and even a baby wrap I no longer used.
Find me on the app as OCLawyer
The Sale
Once I started selling a few items, I ordered bulk half-sheet printable adhesive shipping labels and mailing envelopes so I always have them on hand rather than running to Staples and the post office every time I need to ship something. I also try to keep smaller boxes on hand for when I sell shoes or the occasional baby gear item.
I’ve opted to purchase a shipping label through the app every time because I’ve found they are the cheapest option. I print them out, affix them to the envelope, and I always fold the clothing item neatly into tissue paper to give it a little more elevated feel. Then I just pop it in my mailbox and off it goes.
The Profits
You can cash out to your bank account or use the money to purchase things from other users on the app. The app takes an 18% fee on each transaction. Some might say that’s a lot, but it’s more than reasonable for my purposes, and it’s far better than the 70% most consignment stores take if you want to cash out rather than spend in store. I did test out a couple of other apps, but I found there to be fewer active users, so I stick to Kidizen.
In the year that I’ve been using the app, I’ve netted just over $400 from the sale of clothes, after transaction fees and shipping material investment. It keeps the closets organized and is a great excuse when your husband questions your third Nordstrom Kids shopping spree in a month. (“What?! I can totally re-sell these next month and get 15% of my investment back!”)
Get Started
You don’t need to be a professional stylist and marketing guru to sell your stuff on this app (although there are plenty of those and they really do have awesome pages). Make a buck or find some amazing clothes for really great prices. Use my referral code (cmv8z) to get a $5.00 credit (peanuts, I know, but hey, it’s something).
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