My photographer was out of the office today, it was cold and raining so I didn’t want to camera remote outside, and the house is messy so I didn’t want to camera remote inside.  Plus, I just wore black today, so it’s not like it was this extremely creative outfit you’re missing.  I was colorful and/or made an effort most of the week.  I just wasn’t feeling it this morning.  So instead, just a little rant about selling clothing online…

 For a while, I was selling things in a couple of Facebook groups.  It avoids the listing fees associated with Poshmark or eBay, so you should (theoretically) make more money.  But that’s not how it actually worked.  How it actually worked was that people expected shipping to be included in the price, and they expected the price to be what you would pay at Goodwill when it’s half off blue tag day.  Plus, for individuals using the post office to ship, how much you pay depends on the distance between origination and destination.  In other words, it’s cheaper to ship a package to Texas than to Maine.  Priority Mail flat rate boxes are great….but the cost was, again, more than what people were willing to pay.

Look, kids, I get it.  You are buying something from some rando on the internets.  HOWEVER.  Almost everyone used PayPal or another payment service that offered options for refunds or disputing charges.  You could get flat banned from all the groups if you were a flake.  And you had the opportunity to ask all the questions you wanted before committing, even if the answers to those questions were in the fucking description of the item and you haven’t learned to goddamn read.  (Note: the worst offenders on these questions were the ones who, when they sold something, would basically describe it as “Shirt 3x” with a bad photo.)

 Plus, there was a lot of “who has dibs” and “how long do you have to wait before you can move to the next person” drama, and frankly, I was over it.  I didn’t sell anything else for a while.  I was tired of screwing with it.  But then, my closet was out of control, I hated everything, and I just wanted some of it gone, so I could buy new stuff.

Enter Poshmark.

Poshmark is like eBay, but it’s just for clothing and accessories.  There are listing fees based on the price of the item, and the buyer pays shipping.  There’s an option to make an offer to someone (on both sides), and there’s room for counter-offering.  But people are STILL trying to get something for nothing.  Like yesterday.  I have a graphic tee listed for $13.  Its retail list price was $34.90 at Torrid, but of course, never pay full price at Torrid.  I probably paid like $25.  It’s been worn several times, so it’s not brand new, but it’s still in very good condition.  I was willing to wiggle a little on the price, as well, so I left a little room.

Well, this person asks (via comment) if I will accept $10.  I told her okay, just make an offer using the “Make an Offer” button.  She was like “great, just lower the price and then I’ll get cheaper shipping and I’ll buy it right now!”  Um, nope.  That “cheaper shipping” comes from the seller, not “automatically” from Poshmark.  So I told her, either you get the discount or I’ll give you less of a discount and cut the shipping, but I can’t do both.  So of course she declines the offer.

Poshmark shipping is a flat-fee priority mail rate.  Does it suck that sometimes it costs as much for shipping as the item?  Yes.  However, you’re still getting a bargain, and if you’re shopping on there, you know it costs money for shipping.  You have the option to bundle items from a seller, and usually they’ll give you a discount – plus, you only pay one shipping fee for the stuff.  Sometimes, if you lower your price, Poshmark will offer discounted shipping on their dime.  Not always, though.

Then there’s the asshole who tried to bundle like, 9 things.  Great! But the total cost was almost $175.  I have a 15% automatic discount set, so when she bundled, it offered her $158.  She offers me $100.  I countered at $150, which was the lowest I was willing to go.  She got all butthurt and was like “it cost $158”.  I explained that no, that was ALREADY a discount, and that between the seller fees and the extra shipping (which again, comes off the seller), I wasn’t taking less than $150.  Most of these items were new or had been worn maybe twice.  She flounced off and declined my counteroffer.

The other issue with selling on ebay or Poshmark is that, while some people are just trying to get rid of their own shit, other people are making a living finding things at thrift stores or wherever and reselling them.  If it works for you and keeps you from having to deal with some bullshit asshole boss, great.r But don’t try to make your reseller profit by offering me $5 for something I have listed at $25, especially when you KNOW the seller fee is $2.95 for anything under $15.  Also, the resellers can’t really answer questions about fit.  With clothing, you can at least get measurements, but shoes are harder….and when the person selling has absolutely no clue about the shoe brand (i.e., Dr. Martens) and how the sizing runs, they’re listed as the wrong size, and then you have to wait for them to answer questions that could be solved by actually knowing what you’re selling and/or taking pictures of the sizing information that is PRINTED IN THE SHOE.

(I ran into a similar issue on eBay.  It didn’t really affect me, because I was just browsing, but someone had listed a Universal Standard dress and didn’t know the make or how their sizing worked.  To her credit, she had posted measurements, but I sent her an email linking their size chart and telling her the name of the dress.  She thanked me and said she should have done a little more homework before listing it.)

Finally, I am so irritated by people who can’t fucking spell and/or don’t know what clothing terms mean.  FOR EXAMPLE:

• Striped, not STRIPPED
• Sequins, not SEQUENCE
• Surplice, not SURPLUS
• Satin, not SATAN

Also, people who don’t know what certain terms mean.  Like “off-shoulder” vs. “over the shoulder,” or “Bardot neckline” vs. “V-neck.”  Know your fabrics.  Know the difference between mermaid and A-line, or between a cardigan and a pullover.  (This also applies to certain manufacturers.)

Look.  If you want to sell things, it helps if you list them in the correct category and spell your keywords correctly.  I’m not going to search for a STRIPPED SHIRT WITH A SURPLUS NECKLINE.  I also want to know that what I’m buying will fit.  If you’re not familiar with plus-size clothing brands and sizing, find out before you start just listing everything with random XXL or XXXL or L or whatever as the size.  Also, straight-sized resellers:  be aware that plus-size women have become experts at shopping online, because we have HAD to.

We’ve upped our standards, so up yours.