11 Common Mistakes Poshmark Resellers Make (And How To Fix Them!)
When I first began reselling on Poshmark, I made just about every mistake in the book. I cringe thinking back to how much time I wasted on unnecessary (and downright counterproductive) activities.
I wanted my reselling business to succeed so badly that I was willing to take any piece of advice—no matter how ridiculous or illogical it seemed. It left me feeling defeated and discouraged because I was putting in SO MUCH effort—only to be disappointed by the outcome.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. With so much conflicting information out there, it can be hard to determine what’s actually worth spending your time on as a reseller. Luckily, through trial (and A LOT of error) I was able to figure out which tasks were pointless and which ones actually yield results.
In this blog post, I’ve rounded up 11 of the most common mistakes I see resellers making on Poshmark. Not only that—I’ve got solutions for how to fix them! Read on to spare yourself a lot of time (and heartache) and find out if you’ve fallen prey to any of the typical Poshmark pitfalls:
1. SHARING OTHER POSHER’S CLOSETS
Somewhere, somehow Poshmark sellers got it in their heads that sharing other Posher’s closets was a beneficial activity to do. Maybe it’s the whole “sharing is caring” mentality that’s responsible for this time-wasting task. Don’t get me wrong—I’m all for “community over competition” but if you think you’re doing this great, noble deed by sharing someone else’s listings—think again. Unfortunately, this only pushes their listing to the top of your followers’ newsfeeds—which is of zero help because very few buyers even scroll through their newsfeeds—let alone make a purchase this way. And I’m sorry to break it to you, but no one is coming to check out your closet because you shared their listing.
Solution: If you’re looking for ways to drive traffic to your closet that are actually effective, your time is much better spent sharing your own listings. Better yet, have this time-saving tool do it for you.
2. FOLLOWING A BUNCH OF OTHER ACCOUNTS
This is another common mistake that closely echoes the last. The truth of the matter is, following thousands of other accounts will not get you the “follow-back” return you are hoping for. Likewise, no one is paying close enough attention to their notifications to think, “WOW! @SuzySellsClothes just followed me! ME! I better check out her closet!” —said literally no one ever.
Solution: If what you’re after is more customers (and consequently, more sales), channel your efforts into building and strengthening your current relationships with existing customers. After all, repeat customers spend more and are easier to sell to than prospective customers. Answer their questions promptly, send them a generous bundle discount, and ship quickly to make their buying experience ultra-positive.
3. TRYING TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS
A large following on Poshmark does NOT translate to more sales. Buyers do not care how many followers you have. They care whether or not you have the item they are searching for. If you possess what they want, I guarantee it won’t matter if you have one follower or 1,000. No customer is browsing the app thinking, “Dang…I really want that sweater, but she doesn’t have 52,000 followers…so I think I’m gonna pass.” Sound ridiculous to you? That’s because IT IS!
Solution: More followers ≠ more sales, but having desirable, in-demand inventory does. Instead of trying to grow your follower count, focus on figuring out which brands and styles are currently trending. Then sit back and watch the sales roll in!
4. PARTICIPATING IN POSH PARTIES
Have you ever gone to a “Posh Party” with the intention of buying something? Or do you only use them to share a bunch of your listings in hopes of making a sale? If you answered “no” to the first question, that should tell you something. In fact, it should tell you A LOT. I have never once gained any sort of benefit from being active in a Posh party. Truthfully, I think it’s just a way for Poshmark to get users to stay on the app longer (to boost their engagement stats, perhaps? WHO KNOWS). Even when my items get chosen as a “Host Pick” for Posh parties, it’s still never made a difference! If that doesn’t convince you that they’re a complete waste of time, I don’t know what will.
Solution: I’m guessing Poshmark selects the time for their Posh Parties based on when users are most active. If this is the case, Posh Parties may be a good time to send out “offer to likers” (that is—if you don’t already have a bot to automatically do it for you).
5. FOCUSING ON ACHIEVING “POSH AMBASSADOR” STATUS
Uggghhh. I feel stupid when I think back to how much time I spent trying to become a verified Posh Ambassador. Do you know how long it takes to manually reach 5,000 community shares AND 5,000 self-shares? A downright asinine amount of time—that’s how much. So…what exactly are the benefits of reaching this coveted status? You get a silly little star next to your name (on your closet profile page), it unlocks access to “fun programs and opportunities”, and your account gets recommended to new Poshers. To be frank: I noticed no increase in sales when I finally became a Posh Ambassador. Zero, zip, zilch. I can’t vouch for the “fun programs and opportunities” because I have yet to see any that seem worth my time.
Solution: If you’re still dead set on claiming the title of official “Posh Ambassador”, at least do yourself a favor and get a bot to do all the tedious sharing for you.
6. BUYING BRANDS BASED ON WHAT OTHER POSHERS ARE SELLING
If you don’t worship Vogue, stalk fashion week like it’s your job, and you’ve never worked in the fashion industry—it’s safe to say you have some work to do in the brand research department. To jumpstart your education, you may be tempted to screenshot other resellers’ thrift hauls and start memorizing the brands they’re picking up.
But what works for one reseller doesn’t always work for another. You don’t know their business model. Do they specialize in Plus-size clothing? Are they focused on cheap, quick flips? Does their Poshmark closet cater primarily to middle-aged women? Just like copying someone else’s answers on a test hurts you in the long run, so does copying what other resellers are buying (and news flash: sometimes they’re wrong!).
Furthermore, the fashion world currently has 52 micro-seasons, which means styles are changing rapidly and what was “on trend” yesterday is “old news” tomorrow. What does this mean for you as a reseller? It emphasizes the importance of staying on top of the latest trends and not relying on other resellers’ “hauls” as your sole source of brand knowledge.
Solution: Put in the work. Do your own research. Ask yourself: if every reseller’s Instagram account got permanently deactivated tomorrow, would I still feel confident in my ability to source desirable, in-demand brands?
7. NOT DOING ENOUGH RESEARCH
Do you think it’s a smart idea to strut into a plant nursery and try to get hired without doing ANY research on plants? No? Then why do resellers rely on their intuition when it comes to the secondhand clothing industry?
Assuming reselling is “easy money” and requires no expertise is one of the biggest pitfalls you can make. And no—just because you’ve heard of “Free People” and “Gucci” does not make you an expert.
I’m guilty of it, too. I remember thinking, “I’m stylish! People always compliment my outfits!” and feeling emboldened to buy anything at Goodwill that I considered “cute”. Boy, did I get a swift wake-up call. While that strategy may work if you’re selling, say, home goods—the fashion reselling industry is an entirely different beast. People buying clothes care A LOT about brand names and current trends. So while I may be able to sell a chic off-the-shoulder top (even if it IS a generic no-brand garment) I’ll likely only profit a few bucks—which is definitely NOT worth my time. If you’re looking to create a profitable business that can sustain itself, don’t slack off in the research department.
Solution: Start figuring out what’s selling right now on Poshmark. Check comps. Follow popular fashion bloggers and take note of recurring trends you’re seeing. Browse clothing sites like NET-A-PORTER, Shopbop, Revolve, ModeSens, and other top fashion retailers. Have multiple research methods so if one disappears, you’re not SOL.
8. ACCUMULATING “DEATH PILES”
A popular term in the reselling community is “death piles”. It refers to the gargantuan mound of secondhand clothing that’s been sitting in the corner of your office—unlisted—for an absurdly embarrassing amount of time. Resellers can easily find themselves in this cycle where they’re thrifting more often than they’re listing. It makes sense because hey—thrifting is the FUN part! But prioritizing sourcing over your death pile will not only keep you from reaching your goals—it’s a dangerously bad habit to get into. As they say, “If it’s not listed, it can’t sell!”
Solution: If you currently have a death pile (or two…or three…) address it TODAY. Make a pact with yourself that you won’t go thrifting again until every last item is listed. To avoid death piles in the future, be pickier when you’re sourcing. Ask yourself, “Do I love this piece? Am I excited to list it?” If the answer is “no” then leave it at Goodwill. Who cares if you could sell the gown for $100 if it’s going to sit neglected in your office for always and eternity?
9. SPENDING HOURS MANUALLY SHARING LISTINGS
As of right now, sharing your listings still plays a huge part in getting your items in front of potential buyers. Why? Because Poshmark’s default sorting option is “Just Shared”. That means when a user clicks on a brand, the listings at the top (that are shown first) will be in the order of who “shared” theirs most recently. So unless and until that changes, you need to be sharing every listing in your closet on a daily basis. Since most recommend sharing your entire closet 3-5 times per day, if you have an average of 300 active listings—you do the math. That’s HOURS of your life you’re spending tediously clicking a silly “share” button.
What are some better ways you could be spending that time? I can think of a few: sourcing more inventory, getting new listings posted, heck—even chilling on your back porch sipping a latte while you watch the grass grow.
Solution: If you’re ready to stop wasting precious moments of your life manually sharing listings, you need Closet Tools. For only $1 per day, Closet Tools will auto-share your listings for you (in addition to automatically performing other tasks—like sending out offers to likers) to help generate more sales to grow your income.
Hesitant about getting a bot? Check out this blog post where I talk about why I (finally!) chose to get a bot, my firsthand experience using one, and why hiring a VA isn’t always the more “ethical” option.
10. ONLY INVESTING IN INVENTORY
Since reselling has such a low barrier to entry, a lot of Poshmark sellers are first-time business owners who don’t realize they’re running a legit business (one that’s not “exempt” from things like taxes might I add!). Nor do they make the connection that they are entrepreneurs. Because reselling attracts a lot of “deal hunters” and “penny pinchers” (AKA people who love thrifting and being CHEAP) they naturally tend to be more risk-averse and don’t fancy spending a lot of money. This mentality can backfire bigtime because in the reselling world, you gotta spend money to make money.
Successful entrepreneurs understand that time IS money. So when you cut corners by not investing in tools that improve your business’ efficiency—convincing yourself that you’re “saving” money by only spending on inventory—you hold yourself back and stunt your growth potential exponentially.
Solution: Get out of your comfort zone and start investing in yourself and your business. Don’t know where to start? Maybe it’s time to finally pull the trigger and sign up for an online course to enhance your reselling knowledge (I’m launching one soon! Sign up here to get on the waitlist). Or check out some of the tools I’ve invested in that have radically transformed my reselling business:
Jiffy steamer - Steam more, refill less with this professional clothing steamer.
Closet Tools - Save time by automatically sharing your listings and sending offers. Click here to get 30% off your first month.
List Perfectly - Cross-list to platforms (like eBay) in minutes without the hassle. Enter code POSHTOPROFIT at checkout to receive 30% off your first month of ListPerfectly.
ROLLO Thermal Label Printer - Print shipping labels without having to pay for expensive ink ever again.
11. RELYING SOLELY ON POSHMARK
Have you ever heard those horror stories where a popular influencer’s Instagram account gets hacked and they completely lose the ability to get in contact with their followers? Well, the same thing can happen with Poshmark. After all, technology is not foolproof. It can glitch, it can get hacked, your account can get disabled—the list goes on. Poshmark is no exception. For all we know, the company could go bankrupt and tank someday! Back in MySpace’s heyday, who would’ve ever predicted the social networking site would one day be obsolete?
For that reason, it is absolutely imperative that you diversify. That way, if a disaster were to ever strike, you’re safeguarded because you’re not solely relying on Poshmark. As they say: it’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. So what are some ways you can protect yourself?
Crosslisting to additional platforms like eBay and Mercari is a great place to start. I don’t recommend manually transferring each listing, as that can get far too tedious and quickly lead to burnout. Luckily, services like List Perfectly exist to help streamline that process so you can get active on other platforms in no time. Any Posher who’s been locked out of their account would agree: crossposting can be the difference between not breaking a sweat (because you still have the ability to make sales) vs. watching your entire world come crashing down. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Enter code POSHTOPROFIT at checkout to receive 30% off your first month of ListPerfectly
Another great form of protection is having an email list. Not only does it allow you to communicate directly with your customers through their inbox, you OWN your email list. You don’t own Poshmark, so they’re free to change their policies at any time—even if it hurts you and your business.
How does a reseller go about enticing their Poshmark customers to join their email list? Insert an incentive (e.g. a special discount in return for joining your email list) in your Thank-You note that you stick inside every Posh package. Don’t forget to include the link to your email list so they know where to sign up!
Don’t already have an email marketing service? MailChimp is a great choice for beginners because your first 2,000 contacts are completely free.
Want to skip years of trial and error and become a Poshmark pro in under ONE HOUR? If you’re ready to learn how to make an extra $100-$1,000 per month selling your clothes on Poshmark the quick and easy way—CLICK HERE.
Get $10 when you sign up for Poshmark using my invite code: POSHTOPROFIT
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