RESELLING: WHO IS BUYING MY MERCHANDISE?

I continue to be fascinated by reselling my unworn or slightly worn fashions and accessories on platforms such as The Real Real, Poshmark and Mercari.

Having a full time job prevents me from devoting time to the process during the week. My fascination, which is maybe better characterized as an obsession during the weekends is mostly due to the fact that I still haven't figured out why some of my items sell and other don't. What I think would be in demand is not and what I think is a dud -- ends up selling.

With Poshmark, at times items that have been on the site for almost year some how end up selling. In other instances when a listed item gets a number of likes, moving to close the sale, I lower the price and there aren't any buyers. My pricing strategy, I believe is on the low end and furthermore the majority of my offerings include either free postage or discounted postage, a good deal for the buyer.

While Poshmark permits the seller to adjust prices and postage costs the buyer is to pay, The RealReal is in full control over the pricing and all other selling processes such as promotions. When I finally decided to part with these Jimmy Choo pumps they had been taking up space in my closet for 8 about years. Purchased in Hong Kong I wore them once. (The dress I wore these shoes with is still in my possession. It too was worn just once. Too many overbuying confessions in this post!) I opted for The RealReal to take care of the resale. With these shoes being almost a decade along, but yet a luxury brand I was unsure how to price them. These shoes, along with about a dozen more items were packed up and picked up by The RealReal and and shortly thereafter were placed on its website.

Once my items were posted, I'll admit I went to The RealReal website a few times a day to see how my items were selling. A few things surprised me.

First, using these shoes as an example, where did the initial $325 selling price come from? I think I purchased them for almost double that price.

Second, why would someone buy these shoes? Yes, they are a pretty and a bit unique style, but not a current style. Maybe the reputation of the Jimmy Choo brand, the very nice condition and the ever popular color black? Something else?

Third, all my items posted on The RealReal's website sold within a few weeks. That was great, especially since I had my doubts about others being interested in some items.

So this brings me to my questions I try to answer when listing an item, particularly on Poshmark. Who is buying these things? Obviously many are and there are different types of buyers. Retailers and brands in a range of price offerings have entered the used market and more plan to enter.

Numerous articles and different groups have published studies about the resale market. It is fast growing market, driven by concerns about sustainability, the economy and I think also it is an easy way for a buyer to express individuality. But what drives someone to buy a particular item of mine is top of mind when I work on my reselling over the weekends. Knowing these answers might help me have more success. Do you buy used items? If so, why?

Pumped Up - Again

Tracking down pointy toe high heel (aka stiletto heels) black suede pumps has been a difficult endeavor in recent months. Living in New York City I thought it would be easy to slip into a store, pick out, try on (size 7 or 7.5) and leave with a pair of these pumps. It has been a few years since I've worn such shoes, attributable to the pandemic.* A change in my lifestyle during the pandemic hit me from head to toe. But with the pandemic less intrusive, loving that I'm taller in stiletto heels and going out more I decided to freshen up my shoe selection. Not so fast though! (*pandemic is not officially over? Right?).

My difficulty in finding black suede stiletto heels might be due to:

• These aren't being manufactured as much as they were during the pre-pandemic. Of course I don't know. Just a guess. The pandemic brought about, or reinforced the trend of wearing comfortable things: sneakers, slippers and all kinds of flats.

• Manufacturers might be focusing on trendier high heel styles such as platform ankle strap pumps. Check out the Versace and Valentino styles. The heel height is over 5 inches, along with a 2 plus inch platform. These are pretty shoes but too trendy for me.

• These pointy toe high heel suede shoes might not be popular with buyers anymore and manufacturers have responded accordingly, with fewer being available.

I'm not a quitter when it comes to hunting for shoes to try on in a store! Even if I'm buying an exact replacement of a pair of shoes I already own, I like to try on the potential new pair. Therefore, shoe shopping on the internet doesn't work for me.

The Saks Fifth Avenue website site had an adequate selection of pointy toe high heel black suede pumps when I looked last week. However, next to most of these shoes, it stated "Pick Up Not Available At New York" I thought it was worth a try to see if the Saks website was wrong, and maybe a nice assortment would be available in the Saks Fifth Avenue New York store.

When I reached the 8th floor shoe salon I slowly circled the floor hoping to locate black suede high heel pumps. There were just a few on display and I snatched them. Within a few minutes I was assisted by a helpful associate. Shortly thereafter he brought out a few shoe boxes. I found the perfect pair: The Manolo Blahnik BB 90 Suede pumps in black suede.

Some Of My Favorite Things

Home fragrances, especially scented candles have become an important part of my daily life. I've been a perfume wearer since high school and for about a decade my signature scent has been "Beautiful" by Estee Lauder. (Maybe I keep using Beautiful because I receive numerous compliments when wearing it.) Though set in my ways with wearing a certain fragrance, I'm eager to experiment with a range of home fragrances. Simply put candles help me relax and make me feel good. There is lots of reporting regarding the benefits of home fragrance. I've skipped those articles and posts and have been finding that out first hand.

Experimenting with different brands and fragrances is something I look forward to doing. I don't do much research prior to purchasing. To a marketer's delight, most of my purchases are based on just the name of the fragrance, reading what is on the packaging and evaluating the design of the candle.

I've been a lover of the NEST New York brand of candles for quite some time. And I'm partial to their 3 wick candles. A favorite fragrance is Moroccan Amber, which to me is an overpowering scent. Yet there is something delightful about the strong scent that comforts me. Love it! Since I want to experiment with other NEST New York fragrances I've moved on to this scent in the reed diffuser form. There are several Moroccan Amber reed diffusers in my bedroom. A friend of mine told me this scent is not calming and urged me to replace it with a scent such as lavender. I think the recommendation is "nonscence." Use what you like!

Getting back to my practice of not doing research about candle scents prior to purchasing, I have attended a few of NEST New York's live evening shopping nights via the internet hosted by Laura Slatkin, the founder of the company She describes the scents and the types of products such as candles, reed diffusers, misting diffusers and lotions. I've found the sessions a little too much focused on selling. However, I'm unsure a fragrance shopping event could be free from selling and I've concluded these are fabulous events.

At the last NEST New York live shopping event Ms. Slatkin focused on several scents. Subsequent to the event I purchased an autumn plum 3 wick candle. As a side note, I purchase the majority of this brand's products at Bloomingdale's. My initial feeling about this candle was it had a "fake- manufactured"smell and blew out the flame. But when I returned time and again to burning the candle my feelings about it changed. The burning candle gave me a warm feeling and this is now one of my favorites.

In the late summer I became a big fan of the Wild Mint and Eucalyptus scent. (Pictured in the green box). For a few weeks in a row I had to have a 3 week candle of this scent burning in my living room. It might have helped manage my stress! The next NEST New York candle on my agenda is Charcoal Woods (pictured on the grey box). Once that one is finished, I'm going to again try other home fragrance brands. Then-- right after Thanksgiving I'll be lighting anther favorite-- NEST New York's 3 wick Holiday scented candle. This candle really does bring good vibes during the holiday season.

Do you have a favorite home fragrance? What is it? I'd love to hear your recommendations.