I started my account in December 2013, when ebay was the only selling site I’d really heard of. I just thought Poshmark was a good way to afford things that were over my budget in the stores. Now that I know what I’m doing, I much prefer it to stores where I’d probably waste my money on things I won’t use. It’s fast, user friendly, and usually has the best deals. Most of the time you can find exactly what you’d find in stores (sometimes tags still on), but at a much better price. You can find the obvious — clothes, shoes, and accessories — but you can also find smaller random items like cosmetics, party decorations, candles, home décor, and much more. I’ve bought high-end items from Michael Kors at bargain discount pricing and lower end items from H&M that I just don’t want to buy straight from the store. Your options often feel endless, so just in case that feels a little overwhelming, I wanted to share a few tips on how to make the most of the Poshmark platform:
- To begin, start with the specific item you’re searching for. You can use their shop tab to help narrow it down for you. Start your search as specific as possible with a category and brand. Then set your filters like size, color and price. I always set the type to closet (not boutique), because I’d rather get it directly from someone and they’re usually more flexible with their prices. I also sort by relevance, so it’s really showing me what I’m looking for and not just something someone’s posted more recently. Then I type a close title or key word into the search listings bar. Sometimes this brings you to exactly what you’re looking for and other times you may have to start taking filters off. It works this way because some sellers are very descriptive with what they’re selling and others want to hit more broad searches.
- Once you've found the item, you have to come up with what you think is a fair price and triple-check the details. I keep an eye on what others are selling that piece for, for reference. It’s also good to check online for what it sold for originally. I start with the lowest price posted of exactly what I’m looking for and then I do a quick check of the person’s closet. I do this for a couple different reasons. If they have one item I like, it’s probable they’ll have more. If they do most sellers will give you a discount on “bundles” and adding items doesn’t change your shipping rate. After I’ve found my item, possibly created a bundle, I look around to check for pricing of their other items, to see how realistic I feel they are on what they’ve already sold and what they’re asking. I also check to see if they have anything posted as “no offers accepted” or “no lowball offers”so I know how to move forward. Before actually making an offer or purchasing, check again that the item is in good condition. Pictures can be deceiving, so often, I comment with any questions I might have about the condition of the item and I may ask for exact measurements or even why they’re selling it. It’s a good idea to know your measurements ahead of time. To do this take something you own and like the fit of and measure EVERYTHING (the chest, shoulders, sleeves, length, waist, rise, inseam, etc).
- Now that you’ve been extremely thorough, you want to try to get the best deal you can. If they’ve been clear that they don’t accept offers, you can go ahead and purchase. My favorite sellers usually state “offers welcome”. I’ll be honest, I start my offer off very low, really closer to half of what they’re asking. This isn’t to be rude in anyway, but you really have no clue how long this item has been sitting in their closet (worn or not) and if they’re anything like me, they just want it gone. Some people are genuinely trying to get back what they paid for it, but they’ll usually tell you that. After my offer is made the seller can accept, counter, decline, or just ignore it to which the offer closes automatically in 24 hours. If they counter, I sometimes counter back a little lower. If they decline, I’ll go back and make a second more reasonable offer. Some people will comment to you directly and say “I won’t go lower than my last offer." I recently made an offer and the seller commented “Would you do $35?”and I responded with “Could I do $32 so that with the shipping fee it’s $40?” and she accepted and we were both happy. Honestly I’d say 90% of the items I’ve bought were for less than the price they posted the item for, and the other 10% were items under $10.
- The last thing I want to point out is — on Poshmark, there is no returning because something didn’t fit or quite work. But, Poshwark does have a great customer service department that can help if a seller labeled something blatantly wrong in their post. It is certainly not a normal occurrence but I’ve had this happen a few times. You simply place a complaint with Posh and take pics of the problem. They then review the pics, the original post, any discussion about the item, and come back to you with their decision. If they accept your reasoning (which they always have for me) they give you a free return shipping label and you send it back and get a refund. Lastly, remember — if you’re purchasing something for an event I’d purchase it at least 2 to 3 weeks ahead of time. Sellers have up to 10 days before they have to ship your item so keep that in mind.