Ebay alternatives for clothing - pros/cons

[Guppy]

It seems everyone here has a love-hate relationship with eBay. We love that you can find desirable, unusual vintage and repro items for a fair price, sometimes an exceptional bargain. But we all have heard or experienced a horror story, usually as a seller, since the Buyer Protection favors buyers. And of course there's the fees.

There's a few websites that I've become aware of in the past few years, and I have used them as a buyer on occasion, but never as a seller. I'm interested in hearing from forum members who have, and what their experience has been, particularly as a seller. Who offers the best terms to sellers? Lowest fees, the most fair, secure transactions?

Listing the ones I'm aware of here, and will add more as they become known:

1) Etsy
2) Grailed
3) Poshmark
4) Yahoo! Japan Auctions

 

[Boyo]

I've sold on Grailed in the past, If i recall correctly you need to upgrade your paypal account to "Vendor" in order to list something. I don't remember if I paid Grailed Fees but I think Paypal takes a nice chunk

 

[The Jackal]

I've bought quite a few things off of Poshmark and never had an issue. It can be difficult to search for specific items though with the way their filters are set up. No real difference from ebay on that. I don't know anyone that has sold anything on there though, so I don't know how a seller's experience would be.

 

[ProteinNerd]

eBay is still king for buyers imo but now i get really nervous listing anything there. I've actually considered videoing myself packing the jacket showing the condition and the buyers address etc in case someone tries to scam me...not sure if it would help though?

I've bought off grailed, no issues but just doesn't have the range of goods.

 

[Lebowski]

eBay is still king for buyers imo but now i get really nervous listing anything there. I've actually considered videoing myself packing the jacket showing the condition and the buyers address etc in case someone tries to scam me...not sure if it would help though?

I've bought off grailed, no issues but just doesn't have the range of goods.

All you need is a good responsible and honest buyer.
Videoing yourself?! I've never asked any seller do such strange things, looks excessive.
Though, several years ago @Thuggee strangely refused to sell his jacket from AU to me, can't forget that))
Have had lots of deals with lots of TFL members since then)
Always prefer TFL above eBay.
P.S. Very like how your Bootlegger looks, still like it very much!)

 

[Thuggee]

All you need is a good responsible and honest buyer.
Videoing yourself?! I've never asked any seller do such strange things, looks excessive.
Though, several years ago @Thuggee strangely refused to sell his jacket from AU to me, can't forget that))
Have had lots of deals with lots of TFL members since then)
Always prefer TFL above eBay.
P.S. Very like how your Bootlegger looks, still like it very much!)

As I explained to you at the time I wasn’t comfortable posting a jacket from Australia to Russia ( also leading up to Christmas where things go crazy with postal services worldwide ) it was never personal, as the seller it’s my decision as to where I’ll post something as I’m the one who ultimately loses out if the jacket never arrives.

I’ve sold many items over the years mostly through EBay & there are some countries I just avoid now as tracking doesn’t work, the local postage system is bad ( things get lost or stolen ) and so forth, as in all these types of transactions the buyer can easily get their money back with the risk all being put onto the seller, leaving the seller out of pocket or fighting with the postal service for a insurance payout if the item doesn’t arrive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lebowski]

As I explained to you at the time I wasn’t comfortable posting a jacket from Australia to Russia ( also leading up to Christmas where things go crazy with postal services worldwide ) it was never personal, as the seller it’s my decision as to where I’ll post something as I’m the one who ultimately loses out if the jacket never arrives.

I’ve sold many items over the years mostly through EBay & there are some countries I just avoid now as tracking doesn’t work, the local postage system is bad ( things get lost or stolen ) and so forth, as in all these types of transactions the buyer can easily get their money back with the risk all being put onto the seller, leaving the seller out of pocket or fighting with the postal service for a insurance payout if the item doesn’t arrive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey @Thuggee , no worries! I've just said that I have had deals with other TFL members (incl. several times with TFL members from Australia) since then, and every time everything was absolutely nice with shippings and everything else. Many of TFL members have become my very good friends for now. Anyway, no worries and good luck with your sales, cheers!

 

[Guppy]

I've taken some time to get around to it, but here's my findings after reading up on the major used clothing marketplaces on the web, with links to where I found the information (because it's all subject to change, of course, and I'm focusing on the seller's perspective, rather than the buyer's):

Craigslist:

Local only, lost of scam artists. It's free to list things, but apart from image hosting, it's very bare bones in terms of services offered. Think of it as a bulliten board rather than as a concierge -- they let you post an ad there, you do everything else. I've sold things through Craigslist that were too heavy/bulky to ship efficiently, things like furniture and lawn equipment. It's really a mixed bag. You have strangers coming to your house, or you meet them in a public spot, and do a cash transaction. Assuming they don't murder you, give you counterfeit bills, or come back later to rob the house, it might just work out OK. Expect idiot emails asking "is it still available" and then never following up, and people who make appointments and then stand you up, as well as people who'll agree to a price verbally, then try to talk you down in person.

Ebay

Ebay is the biggest and most successful online auction website in the world.

Ebay gets you coming and going as a seller.

Listing fees: Free, with restrictions. Ebay gives sellers up to 50 free listings per month. Additional listings may be paid for. Certain features, additional photographs, reserve pricing cost extra.

Seller fees: 10% of final value of the item and the shipping cost of the item. Plus Paypal transaction fees (3.9%). If you want to upgrade your seller account you can get volume discounts on listing fees as well as lower final value fees. Ebay offers discounts on postage, and usually calculating the shipping costs is accurate, but you want to double check this before you list your items as it can often be inaccurate, and options such as shipping insurance may not be available/easy to find.

Ebay frequently offers specials for additional free listings, and occasionally will offer discounted final value fees on items sold meeting certain criteria (item category, time window).

Downsides: Buyer Protections scams, Global Shipping issues. Seller fees, and the terms of service in general all have sellers looking at the competition for something better.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4364

Etsy

Etsy is supposed to be an online marketplace for for vintage goods and hand-crafted (vendor-made) crafts.

Etsy listings cost $0.20 for four months. Etsy only takes 5% of the final value for your listing, about half what Ebay charges. Transaction fees (for PayPal, 2.9% + $0.30, or Etsy payments, 3% + $0.25) are on top of that.

https://www.etsy.com/sell

Facebook Marketplace:

Fees: None.

Deal locally or worldwide. There is really no oversite here, so be careful who you deal with.

The Fedora Lounge Classifieds:

Everybody's favorite place to look, for sure. It's a smaller audience to be sure, but an enthusiastic and friendly one. We look out for our own and there's a lot less chance that you'll be scammed by a fellow Lounger, and if it ever happens the community and site admins will take steps to ensure that the scammer isn't able to sell again.

Grailed

Grailed is an online market place for selling high end fashion items. You can find newer/modern stuff here, typically, but occasionally you'll find vintage and reproduction items.

Grailed charges 6% + transaction fees (2.9 + $0.30 for PayPal)

https://help.grailed.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003612114-What-are-the-fees-

Poshmark

For items under $15, Poshmark takes a flat fee of $2.95; over $15, Poshmark takes 20%. But this includes transaction fees. This still is a bit higher than the others. They also provide a pre-paid shipping label for this, but it is good for a package of up to 5 lbs weight, which many leather jackets are heavier than that, especially including the packaging, which incurs additional cost.

https://poshmark.desk.com/customer/...43-what-are-the-fees-for-selling-on-poshmark-

https://poshmark.desk.com/customer/...w-do-i-get-a-label-for-an-overweight-package-

All items sold through Poshmark have a 3-day return period, no exceptions.

Yahoo! Japan Auctions

Yahoo is big in Japan. This is an interesting marketplace if you are into the Japanese clothing makers that we discuss here.

To the best of my ability to determine, you can only participate in Yahoo's Japanese auctions is to be physically located in Japan. I could be wrong, it's very difficult to understand information that is machine translated. There are numerous proxy services that you can use for buying things from Japan, but I don't know of any that allows you to sell in the Japanese market. Given the high interest and demand for authentic American vintage clothing over there, it may be the best place to sell to get the best price, particularly if you have smaller sizes. But I could not find out how to list anything there,not having a Yahoo Japan ID or street address.

 

[patrick_b]

I've taken some time to get around to it, but here's my findings after reading up on the major used clothing marketplaces on the web, with links to where I found the information (because it's all subject to change, of course, and I'm focusing on the seller's perspective, rather than the buyer's):

Craigslist:

Local only, lost of scam artists. It's free to list things, but apart from image hosting, it's very bare bones in terms of services offered. Think of it as a bulliten board rather than as a concierge -- they let you post an ad there, you do everything else. I've sold things through Craigslist that were too heavy/bulky to ship efficiently, things like furniture and lawn equipment. It's really a mixed bag. You have strangers coming to your house, or you meet them in a public spot, and do a cash transaction. Assuming they don't murder you, give you counterfeit bills, or come back later to rob the house, it might just work out OK. Expect idiot emails asking "is it still available" and then never following up, and people who make appointments and then stand you up, as well as people who'll agree to a price verbally, then try to talk you down in person.

Ebay

Ebay is the biggest and most successful online auction website in the world.

Ebay gets you coming and going as a seller.

Listing fees: Free, with restrictions. Ebay gives sellers up to 50 free listings per month. Additional listings may be paid for. Certain features, additional photographs, reserve pricing cost extra.

Seller fees: 10% of final value of the item and the shipping cost of the item. Plus Paypal transaction fees (3.9%). If you want to upgrade your seller account you can get volume discounts on listing fees as well as lower final value fees. Ebay offers discounts on postage, and usually calculating the shipping costs is accurate, but you want to double check this before you list your items as it can often be inaccurate, and options such as shipping insurance may not be available/easy to find.

Ebay frequently offers specials for additional free listings, and occasionally will offer discounted final value fees on items sold meeting certain criteria (item category, time window).

Downsides: Buyer Protections scams, Global Shipping issues. Seller fees, and the terms of service in general all have sellers looking at the competition for something better.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4364

Etsy

Etsy is supposed to be an online marketplace for for vintage goods and hand-crafted (vendor-made) crafts.

Etsy listings cost $0.20 for four months. Etsy only takes 5% of the final value for your listing, about half what Ebay charges. Transaction fees (for PayPal, 2.9% + $0.30, or Etsy payments, 3% + $0.25) are on top of that.

https://www.etsy.com/sell

Facebook Marketplace:

Fees: None.

Deal locally or worldwide. There is really no oversite here, so be careful who you deal with.

The Fedora Lounge Classifieds:

Everybody's favorite place to look, for sure. It's a smaller audience to be sure, but an enthusiastic and friendly one. We look out for our own and there's a lot less chance that you'll be scammed by a fellow Lounger, and if it ever happens the community and site admins will take steps to ensure that the scammer isn't able to sell again.

Grailed

Grailed is an online market place for selling high end fashion items. You can find newer/modern stuff here, typically, but occasionally you'll find vintage and reproduction items.

Grailed charges 6% + transaction fees (2.9 + $0.30 for PayPal)

https://help.grailed.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003612114-What-are-the-fees-

Poshmark

For items under $15, Poshmark takes a flat fee of $2.95; over $15, Poshmark takes 20%. But this includes transaction fees. This still is a bit higher than the others. They also provide a pre-paid shipping label for this, but it is good for a package of up to 5 lbs weight, which many leather jackets are heavier than that, especially including the packaging, which incurs additional cost.

https://poshmark.desk.com/customer/...43-what-are-the-fees-for-selling-on-poshmark-

https://poshmark.desk.com/customer/...w-do-i-get-a-label-for-an-overweight-package-

All items sold through Poshmark have a 3-day return period, no exceptions.

Wonderful synopsis @Guppy. Very much appreciated.


Still hemming and hawing about your Vanson Comet.

 

[Guppy]

Wonderful synopsis @Guppy. Very much appreciated.

Thanks. I feel like this guide would be useful as a Sticky post on the top of the Classifieds forum. I wonder if the moderators could be persuaded to make that happen?

 

[oneterrifichog]

Personally, I don't think anything is selling well in the used market right now. I have sold on ebay since 2002 but items like leather jackets as well as other men's items like high end boots just are not going for the prices they should be selling for imo. Now if you are buying well that's a lot different providing there is something out there.

 

[patrick_b]

Personally, I don't think anything is selling well in the used market right now. I have sold on ebay since 2002 but items like leather jackets as well as other men's items like high end boots just are not going for the prices they should be selling for imo. Now if you are buying well that's a lot different providing there is something out there.

Couldn't agree more. I've had Viberg boots and Edward Green boots sit for months. Both eventually sold at styleforum but not in the classified section. Viberg has a dedicated buy and sell thread outside the classifieds that gets a lot of attention. I had a pair of Viberg shell boots that sold in a day but other than shell, it's a buyer's market.