In my previous posts I explained my experiences with reselling / consigning on different resale platforms, including on websites and in stores. My initial goal was to declutter my stuff. While I continue to devote only the weekends and a few hours in the evening during the week, I'm intrigued with the reselling process and striving to learn more about the reselling market place so I could become successful at it. This would still be a part time endeavor; but the aim is to "be good at it."
A few of the things I do to learn more about reselling includes reading articles about fashion and retailing. Much has been written about Circular Fashion and I appreciate the importance of it. In fact my initial goal of decluttering has branched out and hoping to do my part for Circular Fashion. This will be a long journey for me as I'm yet to buy anything "used" or sold through a resale platform. I'm warming up to it, though.
Another activity I like to do is see if there are identical items on resale platforms to those that I have sold. While I first look for (nearly) identical items when initially pricing, I also look for identical items after the item has sold as well. When I consigned to The Real Real, I was unable to set the prices for my items. So when the items sold on The Real Real I looked at other resale platforms to see if any of the identical items were sold there and the prices paid.
I recently decided to look for one of the items I consigned to The Real Real. It was Helmut Lang sleeveless dress. Original price $245, with the tags attached. The Real Real described my dress in "Pristine" condition, which it was! When the dress was initially posted on The Real Real the price was $60. After at least one discount the dress sold for $30. My commission was $9. Yes $9! The dress was a few years old and definitely not a "hot item." Maybe I could have done better if I sold through another platform. But it no longer took up space in my closet, someone bought it and moved into Circular Fashion. This is a win! The image below is the posting on The Real Real:
The other day while looking at an internet resale platform I searched for the identical Helmut Lang dress mentioned above. The next image shows what I found. An identical Helmut Lang dress! Priced at $65, much more than the $30 mine sold for on The Real Real.
This seller on the resale platform included this hang tag image, proving the dress was purchased from The Real Real. While I don't know if this is the dress,I consigned to The Real Real (and probably it is not) it got me thinking that if it were and I decided I really wanted to wear it, I could buy it. This would be a great literal example of Circular Fashion!
I'm still working on figuring out what items sell best on which resale platform. Stay tuned!
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