January 30, 2024
Editorial GuidelinesJessica is a writer for SideHustles.com. Her side hustles include freelance academic writing and editing, which she's done for...
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NoneIf your wardrobe is in need of decluttering or your kids have outgrown their outfits, selling your clothes online is a great alternative to throwing them out. Not only can you make spare cash with this side hustle, you’ll also reduce textile waste and help the environment.
Read on to find out about 15 of the best apps for selling your clothes online.
These apps are a popular choice for buying and selling regular used clothes of all types. Some also offer the option to sell shoes, accessories, and other miscellaneous items you may find around your home.
Poshmark is a “social marketplace” for buying and selling new and used clothes and other items. You can follow people, use hashtags, “like” listings, and use many other features that are popular on social media sites.
Although Poshmark’s main focus is on clothes, you can also list:
To sell an item on the Poshmark app, follow these steps:
After that, you just have to wait for someone to buy your item and then send it to them in the mail. You must print out and use a prepaid shipping label that Poshmark will send to you.
You can also easily list items on the Poshmark website by clicking on Sell on Poshmark at the top right corner of the screen, uploading photos, and filling in the requested information (description, price, size, etc.). However, it’s worth noting that you can’t exclusively use the website—you need to get the app first.
Listing fee: None
Selling fee: $2.95 if item sells for under $15; otherwise 20%
After the buyer receives the item, Poshmark will release the payment to your Poshmark account within 3 days. You can then withdraw the money in one of several ways:
If you opt for a direct deposit, it will normally take 2–3 business days to reach your account. Checks are the slowest payment method, as they’ll need several days to arrive in the mail.
Depop is another social marketplace for buying and selling clothes, shoes, and accessories. Many of the items sold on the site are used, vintage, or repurposed fashion pieces.
In addition to fashion items, you can sell other miscellaneous items like homeware, books, art, records, and cameras.
The interface is very similar to Instagram’s, and it’s very popular with Gen Z and young fashionistas.
To list something on the app, follow these steps:
To list on the website, log in to Depop.com on your computer, click Sell, and then follow the same process.
Listing fees: None
Sellers’ fees: 10%
Transaction fees: 3.3% + $0.45 if you use Depop payments; 3.49% + $0.49 if you use PayPal
When you receive a payout from a sale, the money is sent to your bank account 10 working days after the sale date, or 2 working days after the item is delivered—whichever comes first. Payments can then take 7–10 days to clear.
This is an online marketplace where you can sell almost anything, including clothes and accessories. It’s sometimes described as a “flea market app.”
As well as clothes, Mercari has categories for:
To list on Mercari, upload a photo and write a description of the item, including the brand, condition, and category. Choose a price and whether you want to pay for shipping yourself or have the buyer pay.
If you pay the shipping yourself, there’s an option to buy a Mercari prepaid label for packages that weigh less than 50 lb.
Listing fee: None
Selling fee: 10%
Transaction fee: 2.9% + $0.50
You won’t get your payment until three days after your buyer receives their item, as you have to wait for them to inspect it (and report any issues if anything is wrong with it).
Once your Mercari account is credited, you can transfer the money into your checking account by direct deposit or get paid in minutes with Instant Pay. Alternatively, you can use your balance to buy items on Mercari.
Vinted is another marketplace for buying, selling, and exchanging new or secondhand items. They have categories for:
To sell your items, list each one with photos (if it’s an item from a well-known brand, Vinted recommends at least five pictures to show its authenticity) and a detailed description. Then, select the correct package size.
Once your item sells, pack and ship it within 5 business days.
Listing fee: None
Selling fee: None
As soon as the buyer indicates that everything about the item is OK (it arrived on time and is in the expected condition, etc.), you should see your payment in your Vinted balance.
You can then go to your Vinted wallet and press Pay Out to Bank Account. The money might take up to 5 business days to arrive. Alternatively, you can use your Vinted wallet balance to go shopping in the app yourself.
thredUp is a bit different from the other sites we’ve mentioned. It calls itself an “online consignment and thrift store.”
Instead of listing your items on the site to be bought directly by other people, you send your clothes to thredUP. They decide which items are sellable and deal with the entire selling process for you.
thredUP accepts:
They don’t accept:
To sell with thredUP, you order a “clean out kit” from their clean out page, which will include bags for your items and a free shipping label. You then send the bag back to thredUp. They’ll email you letting you know how long the kit will take to process.
Listing fees: None
Seller’s fees: The commission you’ll have to pay depends on the value of the items:
You’ll have to wait for 14 days after your items are sold to get paid. Buyers can return their items during this time. You’ll then have two payout options—cash or thredUP store credit.
Note that if you send thredUP an item they don’t accept, they won’t return it and you won’t get any money for it. This means you have to be cautious about only sending them items you’re confident match the guidelines on their site.
Swap is another thrift and consignment store. It’s less generalized than the other apps we’ve mentioned, as it’s mostly limited to clothes and shoes (although they allow a few other items, like toys and games).
You can use Swap to buy and sell pre-owned clothes and accessories for:
To sell your items on Swap, follow these steps:
Swap’s fees are quite complicated, and the commission you’ll pay depends on whether you choose to be paid in cash or in store credit.
First, you have to pay $19.99 for an “inbound label,” which allows you to send your items to Swap (with potential surcharge fees if a lot of your items are rejected or if your box is oversized). This money comes out of any profits Swap makes from selling your items.
In addition, Swap will take a further cut of your profits as a commission. If you opt to be paid in cash, you’ll receive:
If you opt to be paid in store credit, Swap will add 20% to the value of your payout.
Swap processes payments for sales by the end of the following month after the item sells.
If you choose to get paid in store credit, you’ll get this in your account on the first business day they process your payout. If you choose to receive a PayPal payment, it might take a couple of extra days.
If Swap rejects any of the items you send them, they’ll either recycle them or return them to you (you’ll have to pay the postage if you want anything returned).
Flyp calls itself a “fashion studio in your pocket.” Like thredUP and Swap, it’s a consignment platform. However, Flyp doesn’t actually do the selling; instead, it connects you to other independent sellers who’ll do it for you.
You can use Flyp to sell:
Flyp will only sell good quality designer and name-brand items—not nonbranded items or ones from generic, unknown, or boutique brands.
Follow these steps to sell your clothes on the app:
Flyp says that, depending on the overall value of the items you send, you’ll typically make anywhere between 40% to 60% of the profit (after the seller takes their cut). They’ll also charge you a 10% service fee themselves.
The professional seller will pay you as soon as they get paid from each individual sale. Flyp says that this normally takes 14 days, but it can take up to 30.
The money will be added to your balance, and you’ll be able to transfer it to your bank account (which might take up to 3 business days).
As the name suggests, Kidizen is specifically for kids’ clothes and other items. They also have clothes and accessories for moms.
Their categories include:
To list an item, tap Sell and then enter an item description with photos. Include the estimated shipping cost in the price.
Listing fee: None
Selling fee: 12% + $0.50
PayPal fee: $0.25
You’ll be paid when you’ve scanned your package tracking number and shipped your item. You can then use the balance as store credit, or you can cash out via a bank deposit (which has no fee) or PayPal (which has a $0.25 fee).
The platforms listed above are great for selling most ordinary items, but if you have high-end designer or luxury clothes, you’ll probably be able to get more money using one of these apps instead:
The RealReal is a luxury consignment and resale company that operates both as an e-commerce platform and a brick-and-mortar store. You give them your clothes and they sell them and give you a portion of the profits.
The RealReal buys and sells:
To sell your items to the RealReal, you can:
The RealReal charges a commission that depends on the value of your sale:
If you choose to get paid in credit to use on the site, you’ll get an extra 5% added to your balance, effectively lowering the commission you pay.
You can get paid via direct deposit or check. Payments are made on the 15th of each month (following the month when your items were sold). For example, if you sell something in September, you’ll be paid on October 15th.
You also have the option to receive site credit for shipping on the RealReal. If you do this, you’ll receive your credit within two weeks.
Rebag is a retail platform for buying, selling, and trading luxury items, including:
Note that although they buy and sell clothes, and you can even use the platform to sell designer shoes, as the name of the company suggests, their major focus is on bags.
Like some of the other apps on this list, Rebag isn’t a marketplace. Instead, Rebag buys your items from you and gives you the money directly.
To sell an item, you can use the site or app to get an online quote. If you accept it, Rebag will give you two free options for passing your items to them:
Alternatively, you can just visit a Rebag store and they’ll give you a quote in person, authenticate your item, and pay you in under an hour.
Rebag doesn’t charge any fees, although it’s up to them how much they offer you for your items.
As mentioned, if you take your items to Rebag in person, they’ll pay you on the spot. If you send them via mail, you’ll have to wait for Rebag to receive them. They’ll take 2–3 business days to vet it. Once they do, they’ll start the payment process.
You can choose whether to get paid via:
Vestiaire Collective is an online marketplace where people can buy and sell pre-owned designer clothing, bags, watches, and jewelry.
When you sign up, you’ll have to enter a telephone number to verify your account.
To list an item, write a description, add a few photos, and set the price. Then, ship the item using a free prepaid label provided by Vestiaire Collective.
Listing fees: None
Selling fees: $12 (flat fee) for items below $80; 15% for all items priced between $80 and $13,000; $2,000 for all items priced above $13,000
Payment processing fee: 3% (or $3 for items priced at less than $80)
Once Vestiaire Collective receives your item, they’ll check, approve, and package it, then ship it to the buyer within 2 working days. If the buyer approves it, you’ll be paid the next working day.
Vestiaire Collective doesn’t accept items worth less than $18.
Grailed is an online marketplace with a focus on men’s clothing (although they also buy and sell womenswear). They buy and sell top brands, including designer and vintage clothing, streetwear, and more.
To sell an item on Grailed, follow these steps:
Listing fee: None
Selling fee: 9%
After you make a sale, you’ll have 7 days to ship it. You’ll get paid 3 days after your item is delivered (barring certain circumstances, like if the buyer reports an issue). It may take 2–3 business days for your payment to show up in your account.
You can get paid into your bank or PayPal account.
Here are 3 more popular options for selling all kinds of clothing:
Facebook Marketplace acts like a classified ad section of Facebook. You can sell almost anything there, including furniture, electronics, vehicles, and appliances. Of course, you can also sell clothing.
To use Facebook Marketplace, you’ll have to sign up for a Facebook account if you don’t already have one.
To sell an item, follow these steps:
Listing fee: None
Selling fee: 5% for items costing $8 or more; $0.40 for items costing $8 or less
Facebook Marketplace pays via Facebook’s own payment processing system. You link your bank account or PayPal to it, and it pays out 15 days after you mark the item as shipped, or 5 days after receiving delivery confirmation.
Once your payout is initiated, it may take up to 5 days to reach your account.
eBay is one of the most well-known e-commerce platforms in the world. You can use it to sell almost anything, including clothes.
eBay lets you create two types of listings:
To sell something on eBay, you have to sign up for an account if you don’t already have one. You can also use your Facebook, Apple, or Google accounts.
To list items on eBay, follow these steps:
Note that, with an auction-style listing, you’ll have to provide additional information, such as the duration of the auction, the starting price, and the minimum amount you’re willing to sell it for.
Listing fee: Usually none
Selling fees: Variable, depending on the category of the item, but usually 8%–15% + $0.30
You can receive payouts directly in your checking account or on your Visa or Mastercard debit card.
After a buyer’s payment is confirmed, eBay will typically transfer it to you within 2 days (as long as you haven’t specified in your settings that you want less regular payouts). It may then take a few days for the money to actually arrive in your bank account.
Etsy is a well-known platform that you can use to sell handmade or vintage items and craft supplies and tools.
They sell many different kinds of items, including:
Their rule is that everything you sell must be handmade by you, vintage, or a craft supply. As such, Etsy is only suitable for vintage clothing (which means items that are at least 20 years old) or clothes that you made yourself or heavily modified.
Go to Etsy.com and tap Sign In to register an account. Alternatively, you can sign up to the app and register for an account there.
Follow these steps to sell your items:
Listing fee: $0.20 listing fee
Transaction fee: 6.5% (including shipping and gift wrapping)
If you’re a new seller, your funds will take longer to become available. For your first 90 days on Etsy, they’ll generally take 3 days to be ready, after which you can move them to your bank account.
Once you’ve been on Etsy for 90 days, your funds will only take one business day to become available.
After you send the funds to your bank account, depending on your bank, they may take up to 3–5 business days to arrive.
Unfortunately, selling clothes online isn’t usually a good way to make money fast. As you’ve probably gathered by this point, the process involves a lot of steps. You have to photograph the item, write a listing, wait for someone to buy it, and finally ship it.
There are also sometimes return windows you have to wait out, and delays while payments are processing.
There are faster ways to make money from selling your clothes than using selling apps. For example, you can go to a pawn shop or a normal brick-and-mortar consignment store and receive money on the spot.
However, stores like this aren’t known for generous payouts. If you’re willing to wait, you’ll probably be able to make more money by selling online.
Before you start a clothes-selling side hustle, research the various platforms you can use and what they offer. Also, carefully review the fees they charge to make sure you aren’t overpaying for what you’re getting.
Research how much you can reasonably charge for shipping and handling (if the platform doesn’t handle that for you). This should be clearly communicated to potential buyers in each of your listings.
Check what type of seller protection policies the platform you’re using offers (for instance, what’s their policy if a customer falsely claims the item was damaged?) These will protect you from the many types of scams that can plague online marketplaces.
You should also get proof of postage and delivery where possible, and be on the lookout for warning signs such as:
Hopefully it goes without saying, but make sure that everything on your end is above board, too. Be vigilant about checking to make sure the goods you sell are legitimate and not counterfeit knockoffs.
It’s illegal to pass off counterfeit goods as genuine, and if you try to do this (even unintentionally), you might get banned from the platform you’re using and could face legal consequences.
To sell your clothes as fast as possible, be sure to:
If you do that, you’ll be able to offload some of your unwanted clothing and make money with this side hustle in no time.
August 8, 2024
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