As Secondhand September encourages shoppers to embrace preloved fashion, experts say selling unwanted clothes online can be a lucrative side hustle—but only if sellers avoid common pitfalls. From selecting the right platform to ensuring items are clean and well-presented, small tweaks can mean the difference between a sale and a listing that languishes unsold.
Research Is Key Before Listing
Rachel Watkyn, OBE, founder of Tiny Box Company, stresses that many sellers fail to do proper research before listing items. "Always do your research," Watkyn says. "Clothes will gain different values according to the market. So something on eBay, for example, may get a lot less money than something on Vinted. It's knowing your audience and if you have got a premium brand item - make sure it's on a premium brand channel as opposed to a more basic channel."
Watkyn also warns against expecting to sell cheap imports. "I think people underestimate the market in that they'll buy something cheap - as in a cheap import - and then be able to expect to sell it. It doesn't work like that because everybody knows what a 50p top is. It's about knowing the right platform for the item that you're selling."
Presentation Matters for Online Sales
Finding the right platform is only part of the process, though. How an item looks online can be just as important as what it is. Harriet Vocking, founder of For. Tomorrow, says presentation plays a huge role in attracting buyers. "It's definitely presentation. If you think about the growth of Vinted and Depop - you type in grey t-shirt and it comes up with loads. Yours has to stand out, so it has to look good."
Vocking advises sellers to think about the overall experience for buyers, rather than simply uploading a quick photo of an unwanted item. Watkyn agrees, adding that clean, well-presented clothing is far more likely to sell. "It matters hugely. You're not going to buy something that looks unwearable," she says. "It's got to be visually appealing. We are visual animals and without the visual appeal, it's never going to sell."
Smells and Ratings Can Make or Break Sales
Watkyn also warns that it's not just about what buyers can see. "If you're going to sell something on one of the platforms, just make sure it doesn't smell. I know you can't see that in the picture, but it will really affect your ratings if somebody opens it and it stinks of cigarette or synthetic smells."
While reselling can help reduce waste and extend the life of clothing, experts say it is not a complete solution to the wider problem of overconsumption. Watkyn says buying second-hand alone won't fix the scale of clothing production. "Therefore, buying second-hand clothing isn't enough. Even if we all started frantically doing it, the speed at which we are churning out new clothing is just staggering," she says. "That's more than one new item a week per person in the Western world. Buying second-hand items here and there, it's a drop in the ocean and it's nothing like what we need."
Sustainable Alternatives and the 30 Wears Test
Instead, experts suggest taking a more thoughtful approach to shopping altogether. Vocking recommends using the '30 wears test' - asking yourself whether you're likely to wear an item at least 30 times before buying it. "Ask is it something that's going to hold its value on Vinted for example and if you can pass it on to somebody else?"
Other ways to shop more sustainably include renting outfits for special occasions, borrowing from friends, swapping clothes or finding new ways to style items you already own. Watkyn says: "There's more and more rental companies coming up and ones where you can hire stuff for the night or for an event. If you're going to an event for one evening and you want the dress for the night - it's crazy going out buying a new dress when you can rent or borrow from your friends. It's also more fun to swap with friends because you're not ending up with the mainstream stuff that everybody else is wearing. Then you can repurpose too. The same outfit can look completely different with accessories or dressing it up in a different way."
For anyone thinking about decluttering, the message is simple - with a bit of effort and the right approach, those unworn items could quickly turn into extra cash - while also helping reduce waste.
