Over the course of my 20 year career in the fashion industry, I accumulated a lot of clothes. A LOT. It was obscene. I could not keep up with what I had and constantly rotated my closet. The more I became burdened by my crowded closet and inability to decide what to wear, the more I wanted to purge.

Most of my pieces were in good shape and just didn't fit me that well or in my opinion (at the time), they were too much in the trend of the moment, that I couldn't wear them anymore. I would see other people selling similar items for at least 40-50% of what they paid and I thought I should get on that train.

I began to see all my unworn, unloved clothes as items that someone else could love and wear now. It seemed wasteful having them sit there, not being productive, meanwhile quickly dating themselves from being a current style any longer. I realized I could fund my next quality clothing purchases of styles I actually needed to round out my wardrobe with the proceeds of my purge.

One of the most common questions I get is "How do I resell the stuff I no longer want?". And the next questions that usually follow are "What is the most efficient way?" and "How do I make the most money?". The answers depend on the amount of time you have, your comfort level with social media, meeting strangers, and the general internet. I've outlined below, 6 viable options that are relatively simple ways to resell your clothing. Try a few and find what’s right for you!

**Covid-19 disclaimer** Some of the options below will apply more to 'after Covid-19' life, however anything online could be done with porch pick up or shipping options. Make sure you collect payment via e-transfer ahead of the pick up and are able to leave the item in a secure place and can be sheltered from weather.

1. Facebook

Facebook is my personal favourite option. Although I’m not a fan of Facebook for personal use, I do love the marketplace and selling groups on there. I have joined several Facebook groups for my city that allow Marketplace posts.

Before you post, make sure you have a decent photo or two of what you're selling. Better yet, a photo of a model wearing your item (you can pull this from the online store you bought it from or google search for it). If there are any flaws, let people know. Full disclosure is always best. Be sure to highlight what you love about the piece in your description as well.

Make sure you price your item well...if it’s priced fairly you should secure a solid deal in a day or two. Facebook Marketplace now lets you post on up to 20 different groups, so join as many relevant ones and post to all of them. Be wary to follow guidelines for each because if you post to any too many times with items that don't follow guidelines, you could get kicked out of the group. Pro tip: Your item will always garner more money if you post it alone versus as a lot deal (eg. trying to sell 10 items at once).

2. Instagram

I started a pseudo Instagram boutique, where I showcase my clothing to a small, local audience. I should mention that in my Facebook Marketplace posts, I started to add a little note at the bottom that said: "More items available at Instagram account @myaccount" and I would see a spike in followers after my posts were published. After doing so, some of my sales would turn into multiple items, clearing out my closet even faster. The photo below is from my little Instagram shop.

The customers I met would turn into repeat customers and it became easier and easier to sell off my clothes quickly. I am not interested in being responsible for shipping or delivering items, nor do I have the time so I have limited my boutique to pick up only. I have seen other Instagram boutiques that offer shipping or delivery, so that would depend on you.

If you choose to sell on Instagram, I highly recommend you make your page cohesive in some what, so it looks as much like a branded online store as possible. Product listing guidelines like price and description in the Facebook section would apply to Instagram selling as well.

3. Craigslist, Kijiji, etc.

Ah yes, the old school way of reselling - it still works! I tend to favour the Facebook and Instagram options to your neighbourhood's preferred listing pages (the most common where I live happen to be Craigslist and Kijiji). Reason being, on Facebook and Instagram, the potential buyers are somewhat vetted and traceable, making me feel more secure. I find the buyers from social media tend to be more reliable buyers versus those from Craigslist.

Some of you might not be on social media at all, in which case, your best option might be a listing site. The key to save yourself time on the listing site is to state your boundaries on top of making a great listing. So if your price is firm, say that in your listing so you don't waste time haggling. If you are flexible to offer a pick up option and willing to drop it off within certain areas, then state that too. Ask yourself what questions you might have for the seller if you were a potential buyer and make sure you answer all those questions in your listing.

4. Clothing Sale

When I used to have mass amounts of clothing to sell at once, I would host 2-3 hour clothing sales at my house, in my spare bedroom about once every 3 months. I found this really effective in getting a lot of clothing out (to new homes!) in a short amount of time.

To market these clothing sales, I would email first all of my friends who might be interested. Some of them would tell or bring friends too. I posted in my Facebook groups, advertising the sale and asked people to RSVP and then I would send them my address. That way I knew how many people to expect. I never posted these sales on a public listing site like Craigslist or Kijiji because I wanted them to remain as private as possible. Stay safe, people!

When customers would leave the clothing sales, I would let them know I had an email list and if they would like to be invited to the next one I could let them know via email. Eventually I had a fairly significant list and when I stopped doing these sales and moved to an Instagram boutique, a lot of them started following the store.

For one of my sales, I partnered with a friend who had similar style and was the same size as me, so we had more to offer our customers. It was great! We both did quite well and it was nice to have someone to talk to while we set up and merchandised our sale.

5. Consignment

For some people, consignment is a great option to purge your no-longer-needed clothing. First, check the consignment store's site or give them a call to find out what types of items they need. Most times they are only looking for seasonal items and sometimes they are looking for only certain categories, ie. skirts or dresses. This will save you time and energy lugging everything in and waiting for them to sort through it all, when you could figure out ahead of time what they actually need or don't need.

Check how much the consignment store pays and what their policies are. Most will pay you anywhere from 40-60% of what they sell it for, but some have stipulations on the payout rate after they mark it down. Find out how long they wait before they mark it down and what their policies are for when they pull the items off the floor. Some consignment stores will not notify you when your items are stale and they will donate them, so if you want them back if they don't sell, you will want to be aware of their policies.

Find out when and how they pay out. Is it via check? Is it with store credit? Make sure it works for you before you drop all your previously loved gems off.

Personally, consignment stores no longer worked for me. In the age of the internet, I enjoyed reaping 100% of the profits from my old clothing so it would help fund my next purchases. I found the time I spent dropping off, waiting, checking in on my consignment items just wasn't worth the little amount I would gain.

6. Poshmark

Although, I have not used Poshmark myself, I have heard it's fairly easy to use, you just have to be willing to ship your items. They provide shipping labels, you would just need to have a box or bag to ship it in and be willing to drop it off to be shipped. Poshmark has an app so you can take photos from your phone and create a listing very quickly. That listing is shareable on your social media as well as within the Poshmark community. They do take a fee, but it is less than a consignment store would take. Here is the excerpt on their fees, pulled straight from Poshmark.com : "For all sales under $15, Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95. You keep the rest. For sales of $15 or more, you keep 80% of your sale and Poshmark's commission is 20%".

I would LOVE to hear what works for you! Is there another way you've tried to sell your pre-loved clothing? Comment below with your thoughts and be sure to subscribe for more tips and tricks in coming weeks.