Why I Don’t Resell Clothes
When I first started reselling as a side hustle, the only thing I bought and sold were clothes. One because there was an abundance of them available at the thrift stores and if I spent enough time digging, I usually found several pieces to resell. And two because they were the easiest things to ship.
The fashion world has changed so much over the years with more and more competition entering the scene. Namely Amazon.
The fact that you can buy any type of clothing online these days is a good thing and a bad thing. The two main reasons I have stopped reselling clothes are:
One: Brands Change So Quickly As Far A Resell Value
J.Crew used to be a top earner online. For the past 10 years however, it’s resell value has steadily declined.
Other brands that use to resell well were: Banana Republic, Madewell, White House Black Market, Vineyard Vines, Lilly Pulitzer.
Now I can barely give away Madewell jeans or dresses.
Two: The Gross Profit Margin Is Too Narrow
I am always looking for the 1000% gross profit margin for each item that I resell. Most clothes cost around $4.50 or more at the local thrift stores which means I would need to resell for $45 or more in order to get my ideal margin. That rarely happens these days thanks to competition in the new and used categories of fashion.
While clothes are still the easiest to store and ship, they are also becoming the hardest things to find at a great price compared to their resell value.
Someone asked me recently what brands of clothes I prefer to resell and after I answered that I have stopped reselling clothes, I did share that these brands are still performing fairly well.
LL Bean
J.Jill
Levis (depends on the style)
Most vintage pieces
Patagonia
There are several high end brands that still hold their value, I’m looking at you Burberry, but it is rare to find Burberry at the thrift store.
I do still prefer to sell high margin home goods, electronics, and sporting equipment, even though they are harder to ship.
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