I Consigned My Old Clothes Through Apps, and Here's What Happened

After a quick Google search, I decided on three fashion consignment apps: Poshmark, Mercari, and Vinted. These apps became the basis for my short-lived (but very fulfilling) consignment retail business. I spent hours on staging and shooting photos of my clothes, and my experience with product copywriting went a long way in finishing my online boutiques.

I expected that maybe I'd sell a pair of jeans and a handbag, not much. I set out with a goal of earning $80 to cover the new pair of Levis I'd recently bought. And I was surprised that after just a few days, I had bites from potential buyers, asking for more details or discounts. I was always fair; if someone asked me to lower the price by a few dollars, I would. This was worn H&M and Zara clothing that I was selling, not Prada.

After two months, I had to close up shop. I was fully moved out of my parents' house and my little NYC apartment couldn't take the two remaining boxes of clothes. I counted up my profits, which added up to just under $350. Not too shabby when my average sell price was $10.

I boxed up the rest of my clothes and donated them. It was a successful two months, but very busy. I was relieved to no longer need to rush home every day to box things up and get them to the post office by 5 p.m.

If I ever found myself in a place with more than 15 articles of clothing and accessories that I didn't want anymore, I would definitely re-open my consignment business. But I am not savvy or patient enough to consign full-time. It took a lot of time and energy to earn the profit I made, plus I had to sell quite a lot before I saw real results.

That being said ,I can't recommend consigning clothes online enough. It's easy, you can make quite a profit if you're patient enough, plus you make space in that closet for new clothes.