Organize an online yard sale
Sell children's clothes on the web for an alternative to consignment shops
By Heather Camlot
Kids are forever growing — and leaving behind a trail of barely worn clothes. If you have friends or family with younger children, you can hand down the duds. If you don't, and want to recoup some of your money to buy more clothes, you can sell the items online.
Jennifer Lloyd, mother to Evan and Holly, in Burlington, Ont., first went online to buy unique clothes for her daughter. That experience inspired her to try selling some of Holly's outfits at auction web sites.
"I [also] decided to sell because her closet was just too full and it was a good excuse to thin it out, as well as maybe make money to buy more neat stuff."
Lloyd says selling her children's clothes on the Internet has an added advantage over taking them to a local consignment shop. "I'm reaching a global audience of people who know the value and uniqueness of the item," she says.
Selling clothes online, be it through auction sites like eBay Canada, Yahoo! Canada Auctions or through local newsgroups, has become big business. According to Daryl Aitken, head of marketing and category management at eBay Canada, the auction site's children's wear category has more than 85,000 listings available to Canadians and about 5,000 listings from Canada.
If you're looking to sell your kids' clothing, Aitken offers a few strategies to get your wears noticed.
Write a clear description
Jot down everything about the clothing including size, measurements and flaws. "I'm really descriptive and I try to tell people everything I can about the item," says Lloyd. "A lot of my customers are repeat buyers because of the quality of the items I sell and my honest descriptions."
Get your title right
"The title is really important," explains Aitken. "If it's a branded item, get the brand name in the title and put it in caps." Use the initialism NWT (new with tags) to indicate if an item is new and never been used. Also include size and colour.
Include photos
"We encourage everyone to use photos," says Aitken. "Say you're looking for a playpen for your child. You can get 500 listings. If 40 of them have pictures, those are the 40 you're going to bid on."
The best way to photograph clothing depends on the items themselves. If you don't have a dummy or clothing form, lay the clothes on a flat, neutral-coloured surface or place them on a hanger. Take clear pictures of the front and back of the items, of the labels if it is a brand name and of any flaws, like stains.
Read the Help pages
This section provides a ton of advice for newcomers on how to select a category, describe your item, communicate with your buyer and more.
Visit the chat rooms
Discussion boards provide a wealth of advice from people who have sold successfully online. Topics range from a 101 on the PayPal payment system to the best way to package sold items.
Be honest
"Because buyers can't touch the stuff and examine it up close, it is so important to be their eyes," says Lloyd. Encourage bidders to e-mail you with any questions they may have about the clothes you are selling, before they make a bid.
"This platform is based on trust, and you want to build your name on trust," adds Aitken.
Payment and packing
Different web sites have different ways of obtaining payment — make sure you take the time to investigate how you can collect your money. Shipping also plays a key role in selling clothes online. Lloyd wraps smaller clothing in tissue, puts it in a Ziploc bag and then puts the item in an envelope to keep the weight down when shipping. Larger, bulkier items usually are packed in a bubble mailer or a box.
Keep in mind that there may be charges to sell (eBay Canada starts at 35 cents for a listing and takes 1.5 to 5.25 per cent of the final bid), you may not always find a buyer or you may not get the price you had hoped for.
"But," says Lloyd, "chances are you'll make more than you would at a garage sale — and it's a lot more fun."
