Outsmarting Poshmark's Algorithm: 7 Tactics to Boost Slow Sales Despite Changes To Search Function

Have your sales tanked since Poshmark changed its search algorithm?

Are you feeling frustrated? Discouraged? More stressed than usual—constantly worrying about how you’re going to pay the bills?

You’re not alone—resellers everywhere reported lackluster sales at the beginning of 2022 when Poshmark quietly rolled out a new “Recommended” default sort option. So what exactly does this mean? And more importantly—how can you continue to make sales so your bank account doesn’t take the hit?

In this post, I’ll break down…

What “default sort option” means
What happened with Poshmark’s algorithm
Ways you can protect your business (so you’re not completely unprepared in the future!)
How you can improve your sales. Right now. TODAY.

What is a “default sort option” anyways?

When you navigate to your main “Feed” page in the Poshmark app, there is a light grey search bar at the top of the screen. Buyers use this search feature to find specific items they’re looking for. Say a buyer types ‘Reformation Nikita dress’ into the search bar and then clicks “search”. At the top of the search results page, there is a row of filter options—one of the first being the “Sort” filter. Normally, this “Sort” filter would automatically select “Just Shared”. In other words, “Just Shared” was the default sort option. This meant search results would show listings in order of those that had been most recently shared. As a result, the more frequently you shared your listings, the higher your listing would appear in the search results. Being at the top of search results = more eyes on your listing. And more eyes on your listing = more chances to make a sale.

Poshmark’s algorithm change and how it affected sellers

After Poshmark introduced their new default sort option, “Recommended” was the auto-selected filter instead. So what does “Recommended” mean exactly? In theory, this type of search filter should improve buyer experience by helping customers find what they’re looking for more easily. So if a buyer is searching for the ‘Reformation Nikita dress’ then a “Recommended” search filter should prioritize listings that have included those specific keywords in the title/description. It should favor accounts that are regularly active on the app as well as listings that have more photos.

Unfortunately, the “Recommended” search filter was not operating this way. The algorithm was prioritizing listings with LESS keywords—meaning a lackluster title like “Reformation dress” (or worse— “cute dress”) would appear higher in the search results than keyword-rich alternatives like “Reformation Nikita sleeveless blue and white midi dress”. Poshers were also noticing that, at times, their search results weren’t even showing the correct brand. Imagine searching for Madewell jeans and only getting results for Banana Republic…yikes!

As a result, resellers everywhere were experiencing significantly slower sales than usual. It was not uncommon to hear a Posh seller report several consecutive ‘zero sales days’ in a row. Some were only making half the money they were accustomed to making in a week. That’s huge—and for Poshers who rely on reselling as their sole source of income—it can feel downright scary.

After a massive outpouring of resellers expressing their concerns to Poshmark via email and commenting on the company’s social media channels, on February 18, 2022, Tracy Sun, the SVP of Seller Experience, released a statement announcing Poshmark would temporarily be switching back to “Just Shared” as the default sort option while they continued to tweak and improve a new version.

Then on March 18, 2022 a follow-up statement was released to disclose that Poshmark had moved back to an ‘optimized’ version of the “Just Shared” default sort option. To put it simply, “Just Shared” would remain the default option but the algorithm would be taking other factors into account in addition to just sharing.

I’ll be the first to admit—when all of this went down, my sales suffered, too. I was frustrated. It’s natural to want to blame and complain—especially when your complaints are justified. It only takes a quick glance at the comments on Poshmark’s posts to see that many sellers are still highly dissatisfied with the current search algorithm.

That being said, as resellers we have to look out for #1. We cannot rely on a company “caring” about us and our needs. Just as Poshmark cares about its bottom line—and makes business decisions to maximize its profits—we must, too.

In times of stress—when everything feels like it’s out of my control—I find it helpful to reframe my mindset by asking questions that revitalize and affirm my inner locus of control:

What IS in my power?

What tools DO I have at my disposal?

What actions can I be taking right now to generate sales and set my business up for success in the future?

If you’re like me, you probably can’t afford to wait around for Poshmark to get their $h!t together. You have bills to pay. A family that depends on you. And Lord knows the rent ain’t going to take care of itself. If you’re anxious to get those sales flowing, here are 7 proactive steps you can take today:

1. DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET

I love Poshmark. It’s the platform I currently make the most sales from. Heck—I even started a whole website just to educate others about selling on Posh! That being said, if you are solely listing on Poshmark and not diversifying to other platforms, you are effectively at the mercy of Poshmark. Poshmark makes the rules. Poshmark calls the shots. The company can change their algorithm a million frickin’ times if they want. Say the worst-case scenario happened and Poshmark went bankrupt. Or your account got hacked. What would you do? Do you have a plan?

As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

My point is this: if you weren’t already cross-listing before, now is the time to start. That way, if one platform goes rogue, you’re not SOL and scrambling to make ends meet. Having a plan b (even a plan c, d, and e!) means you won’t even break a sweat if shit hits the fan. Be the confident person who has their ducks in a row—not the unfortunate soul who put all their eggs in one basket (see what I did there?)

“But I’m scared to cross-list!” you protest. “I’ve heard so many eBay horror stories!”

Fair enough. But what is actually scarier: cross-listing or potentially losing your ability to make money?

“But I don’t have time to cross-list! I already spend SO much time listing on Poshmark.”

Yes, if you manually have to copy/paste descriptions and upload photos, that would be a huge time-suck (and arguably not worth your effort). But there is a better way, friend! I personally use List Perfectly, a cross-listing software that automatically copies my listings from Poshmark and posts them to other platforms in minutes—without the hassle. Enter code POSHTOPROFIT at checkout to receive 30% off your first month.

“But I don’t know how the shipping works! It seems so complicated and confusing!”

This excuse held me back for the loooongest time. I didn’t want to deal with the headache and hassle of learning how to buy my own labels and ship on my own. Especially since Poshmark makes shipping so easy and straightforward even a Kindergartener could do it. But think about it: you’re waaaaay more advanced than a Kindergartner. You’re a kick-ass entrepreneur! You own your own business. You’re taking risks and making moves that others only dream of. As Glennon Doyle would say, YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. There are a hundred YouTube videos and blog posts out there ready to give you a step-by-step tutorial. What are you waiting for?

Want to save money on shipping labels? I use Pirate Ship to find the cheapest shipping rates (because why pay more when you don’t have to?)

2. SEND OUT AGGRESSIVE OFFERS

Sending out aggressive offers was one of the most effective tactics I used to get my sales rolling in response to the algorithm change. My definition of an “aggressive” offer is a discount ranging between 30%-50% off the listed price (30% being the very, very low end). Not only will this trigger sales (who doesn’t love an unexpectedly deep discount?!) but it will also increase the activity in your closet. Think about it: have you ever received a really good offer on Poshmark—an offer SO good it made you want to click on the seller’s closet and browse around? This increased traffic to your closet (even if the shoppers are just “window shopping” and not purchasing) is something that the Poshmark algorithm seems to love. Why do I suspect this? Because whenever I send out aggressive offers, I start getting more likes and full-price sales. Coincidence? I think not.

Tired of spending countless hours on your phone manually sending out offers? Let Closet Tools do the work for you. For only $1/day, automatically send “Offers to Likers” on ALL your listings with the simple click of a button. Click here to get 30% off your first month.

3. UTILIZE THE “MY SHOPPERS” FEATURE TO PROMOTE A SALE

Did you know you can send out a mass message to any shopper who:

a) has created a bundle in your closet

b) has purchased from your closet before

c) currently “likes” item(s) in your closet

No? Then allow me to introduce you to the “My Shoppers” feature! I prefer to access this feature from a computer so I can bulk select. If you’re on a computer…

Go to Poshmark’s website (you need to be logged in to do this) and click on your profile photo/icon in the upper-righthand corner

A dropdown menu should appear

Towards the middle of the dropdown menu, click on “My Shoppers” which will take you to a page with a long list of Poshmark users who have interacted with your closet

In the upper-middle section, you’ll notice a dropdown menu that allows you to filter by Likers, Bundlers, and Past Buyers

Directly next to that (in the upper-righthand corner) you’ll see a dropdown menu that gives you the option to sort by Recent Shopper Activity, Most Likes, and Most Items in Bundle

Select your filters based on who you’re trying to target

Once you’ve filtered to your desired audience, if you want to send a message to the entire audience, scroll down to the very bottom of the page until you see the last user on the list

Press the “Shift” button on your keyboard THEN click the checkmark box next to the last username (it will be on the left)

You will notice by doing this that you have bulk-selected everyone on the list, which saves you a LOT of time since you don’t have to click every. single. little. checkbox.

Click on the “Actions” dropdown menu and select “Send Comment To Bundles”

A pop-up box should appear
Type out the message you want to send to your shoppers informing them about the sale you’re running. This message will be sent to their private bundle (where you can further communicate back and forth)

Once you’ve finished typing out your message (and double-checked for typos!) click the blue “submit” button in the lower right-hand corner

4. DON’T WAIT! START SENDING OUT BUNDLE OFFERS

While sending out that mass message (using the “My Shoppers” feature) will start generating sales and traffic to your closet, there are still ways you can continue to be proactive. Keep in mind: it’s easy to ignore a message (even a well-written, enticing one) but much harder to refuse a too-good-to-be-true offer that’s staring you straight in the face. Don’t wait for shoppers to send you an offer—take it a step further by sending THEM an offer first.

Why? Some shoppers are shy and might be worried about offending you with a low offer. Others may not fully realize the deals you’re willing to make. It’s likely your potential customers are busy at work or dealing with their kids. There are a million reasons they may not have the bandwidth to bundle items—not to mention the decision fatigue they have to go through when deciding how much to offer you. Simplify the process for them by doing the brunt of the legwork for them.

Who should you send offers to?

Any existing bundles. If a shopper has bundled items in your closet—clearly they are interested! Seal the deal by sending an offer they can’t refuse.
Shoppers who have “liked” multiple items in your closet. Did you know some shoppers on Poshmark don’t even realize they can bundle items together? Not everyone is tech-savvy. Do the heavy lifting for them. Simply add the items they’ve “liked” to their bundle, then send over a tantalizing offer. Not only can you give steeper discounts on bundles (while getting more inventory out the door) but you might also be introducing them to a feature they never knew existed!

5. ACCEPT THE DAMN OFFER

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but…. sometimes you just need to accept the damn offer.

I get it—low offers are disappointing—sometimes even flat-out disheartening. We all want to flip our items for a good, healthy profit. But it’s easy to fall victim to the practice of making decisions for your business based on EMOTIONS rather than LOGIC and PRACTICALITY. There’s a good chance you have stale inventory in your closet that isn’t as desirable as you thought it was. It happens to the best of us! So when someone sends you a $15 offer, instead of holding out for $25, just accept the offer. As much as it sucks to only make a $2 profit or barely break even, your money is better spent re-investing in more desirable, in-demand inventory.

Likewise, let’s say you bought a pair of [popular, on-trend] leggings for $7. After evaluating comps, you hoped to sell them for $50 (which would come out to $40 after Posh fees, resulting in a profit of $33). But let’s say you list them and that very same day you receive an offer for $35. After Poshmark’s fees, you would still make a profit of $21. While it may not be the sale price you had originally hoped for, a $21 profit for a same-day flip ain’t bad. Sure, you could wait a couple of weeks (or months) in the hopes that you eventually sell it for your “goal” price of $50. But is the extra $12 you’d make worth the time you’ll have to spend sending out offers? Not to mention—the valuable space these leggings take up in your storage? You’re better off re-investing that $21 into three more pairs of [coveted, sougt-after] $7 leggings. Not only will this help you grow your profits faster—a healthy business relies on constant and consistent cash flow.

And guess what? When you accept the offer, you make a sale. And when you make a sale, it notifies EVERY shopper who liked that listing that it has sold. It’s the equivalent of saying, “Well, you missed out this time—so you might want to check out the other items in my closet before they get snatched up, too!” Repeat after me: sales trigger more sales. Not only because it creates a sense of urgency for shoppers who already “like” your listings, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Poshmark’s algorithm looooves when you make a sale (and consequently, rewards you by putting your listings in front of more shoppers).

So…you make a customer happy, the Poshmark algorithm happy, and most importantly—your bank account happy! Who doesn’t love that? It’s a win-win all around.

6. RE-LIST AT A LOWER PRICE

Are there listings in your closet that aren’t getting much traffic? Items that only have a few “likes”? Or maybe you’ve got a listing with 80 “likes” but no matter how many offers you send—no one’s biting. When shoppers see a long trailing history of offers you’ve sent them, not only does it make the item appear less desirable—but you also look pretty desperate (and let’s face it—maybe you are).

There are endless reasons why your item may not be selling. Maybe you listed a heavy winter coat in the blazing heat of summer. By the time autumn rolled around, that coat got pushed to the bottom of the search results. Your poor coat didn’t stand a chance of being seen by shoppers who filter by “Just In”.

Or maybe you got a little over-zealous and set your starting price too high. Whatever the case, you probably have a handful of items that could stand to be re-listed. You don’t have to go hog-wild and re-list your entire closet. Simply re-listing 5-10 items per day can work wonders. When evaluating items in your closet to re-list, the ones you’ll want to prioritize first are:

Items you’ve had listed for a long time
Items getting little to no “likes”
Items you overpriced
Items that are currently in season (i.e. if it’s summer, re-list those swimsuits!)

There are a couple of ways you can re-list an item:

Manually. Take screenshots of the photos from your original listing and upload them into a new draft. Copy/paste titles and descriptions to save time (do not type them out by hand!). Pros of re-listing manually? It’s free. The only thing it costs you is your time. Cons? It’s a slow and tedious process.
Using automation software. If you've read some of my other blog posts, you know I use Closet Tools to automatically share my listings and List Perfectly to quickly and easily cross-list to other platforms (like eBay and Mercari). Both of these tools have a re-list function built into their software, giving you the ability to re-list in mere seconds. If you’re ready to stop wasting time on arbitrary tasks like re-listing, I highly recommend looking into both of these services. Both Closet Tools and List Perfectly were kind enough to give me a discount code to share with my readers:
Click here to get 30% off your first Closet Tools payment
Enter code POSHTOPROFIT at checkout to receive 30% off your first month of List Perfectly

7. CONSIDER FACTORS AT PLAY BESIDES THE ALGORITHM

While it’s tempting to point to the Poshmark algorithm as the sole culprit for our plummeting sales, the reality is there are likely additional factors at play that you may not have considered. It’s important to ask ourselves:

Are the brands I’m picking up desirable and currently in demand?

The fashion industry can move a mile a minute—trends are “in” one day and “out” the next. If you’re only relying on what’s worked for you in the past, you might be choosing brands that have recently lost their value in the market and are no longer actively sought-after. To fix this, set aside time to do more in-depth research before you go sourcing again.

Am I listing consistently every day? If so, how many items am I listing daily (on average)?

Be honest with yourself. Set a daily listing goal. If you’re having trouble staying consistent, try switching up your environment by listing at your local coffee shop or seeking out an accountability partner to check in with regularly. If you struggle with ADHD, you may want to consider body doubling—having someone in the same room to work alongside—even if you’re not working on the same task.

Am I sending out offers regularly? When was the last time I sent out deep discounts on my entire closet?

Offers generate the majority of sales on Poshmark—period. To generate sales consistently, you need to be sending out offers consistently. The more enticing your offer is, the more likely it will result in a sale. It’s not rocket science. Unless your entire closet is filled with only *highly coveted* items that are in low supply (in which case buyers would be showing up at your doorstep begging you to take their money) then I suggest you start sending out offers ASAP.

What’s happening in the world at large right now?

Sadly, the changes to the Poshmark algorithm coincided closely with the invasion of Ukraine. War creates instability and triggers fear (not to mention exorbitant gas prices) causing widespread panic—which makes people clutch onto their money tighter. In times of worldwide uncertainty, it’s important that we ask ourselves: WHAT are people still spending their money on? And more importantly: WHO is still spending their money freely during a global crisis? Since the average person is (likely) only purchasing absolute necessities, we need to target wealthier individuals who aren’t detrimentally affected by rising prices. So how do you cater to rich people, exactly? By incorporating more high-end pieces into your Poshmark closet.

So, how has Poshmark’s algorithm change been affecting your sales? What tactics have you used to combat it? If you try any of the methods I suggested, leave a comment and let me know if you found them to be effective!

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