My Experience with Poshmark

Buying previously owned items and selling my items of mine that I no longer want is not new to me. Once I discovered that there is an upscale way to up-cycle, it was something from my dreams. Sure, donating items is great and nice, but sometimes you’d like a little something back. At least I do. I’m also not a huge fan of thrift shops, as I’m not a digger. If I were, I would’ve become an archaeologist. A curated collection of items that have already been vetted by someone else is exactly my style, and over the years I’ve found my special places. I’ll share a bit about them and then tell you about my experience with Poshmark - my newest delight in the buying world.

The painting and sofa from Renaissance Interiors, Cat Also Up-Cycled

Where I Shop Locally for Pre-Loved Items

There is a local women’s boutique where I live called Swap that I enjoy frequenting for lightly worn or never worn clothing, shoes, handbags, scarves, hats, and jewelry. It’s a true boutique, and it’s one of the few I make the effort to go to when I am in the shopping mood. Their system of marking down items is simple - it’s color coded. You walk in, they have a board indicating the percentage off of each colored tag and you can do the math with your handy phone calculator to see the final price. You don’t have to feel uncomfortable asking how much each item is, which is frequently my issue at other stores. Another local store that I adore is called Renaissance Interiors. Their specialty is furniture and nicknacks. Their system is similar to Swap, but slightly different. The tag indicates the day the item arrived, and each month it’s there it goes down some further percent. For those of us who hate haggling, it’s the perfect system.

My First Lot to Sell

My Experience with Poshmark Commences

This leads me to my experience with Poshmark, which is a fairly recent opinion because I just started using it. It’s an online “boutique” where individuals have an account to sell their items. The online “boutique” is relatively extensive, and the more I’m on it, the more I see its value. All you do is photograph and price the items you want to sell. Some are new (NWT - new with tags), some are worn. It seems that people are generally honest with the condition. There are some who post a bunch of photos, some who post only a few. I’ve found some gems on there that I couldn’t find on my regular sites, and I get pleasure of knowing that I’m not buying “new” and adding to the clothing industry issues of overproduction. With that being said, here are my top reasons I like this brand.

White Jeans Selling After Labor Day - Gasp!

1. There is No Season

Have you ever tried to find a pair of white jeans in the middle of winter? Impossible. What if you’re vacationing on the southern hemisphere in December, though? It’s the middle of summer! White jeans are what you want to wear, and by golly you’re going to get those. Insert my Hudson bell bottom jeans that I recently sold. Honestly, I have no idea what this person needed them for, but I was happy she bought them. Had I gone into my local boutique to sell them, they would’ve turned me away. It’s simply not the season. My experience with Poshmark and the season-free purchase was a good one. I unloaded a pair of jeans, and someone got them. And all off-season! The enjoyment I’m experiencing with this aspect of buying and selling might be more than it should, but who’s judging me? Not you. You want in on this, don’t you?

The Baking Dish I Bought for Zucchini Bread

2. You Can Haggle Behind the Screen

Haggling, to me, is the worst. If the ticket says a price, I’ll pay it if I think it’s worth the money. But…behind the screen haggling? I’ll do that any day of the week. Recently, I threw a number out there for a Le Creuset baking dish. I had recently missed out on another one that was a really good price, so in my self-pity I scoured the site for another similar one. Eureka! I found one and made (what I thought was) a low offer, and it was accepted. What helps is looking at the date it was posted, and that typically will indicate how interested a person is to get rid of it. You can make it your own personal sticker system like I mentioned about Swap and Renaissance Interiors. In this situation, my experience with Poshmark was very positive and exciting. Who can get a Le Creuset baking dish that has been lightly used for $25? I can! And I did it on the Posh.

NWT Rag & Bone Infinity Sandal

3. Good Deals to Be Found

There was a pair of heeled sandals I had been eyeing up on my beloved RueLaLa. They were way pricier than I wanted to pay, so I took my search to Poshmark. Lo and behold, someone had the exact shoes, new with tags, in my size. My experience with Poshmark and this seller was extremely positive. After a couple of back and forth price negotiations, I had myself a new pair of Rag & Bone sandals. For $58 (they are originally $395). Yes, you have to pay for tax and shipping, but where don’t you have to? Another bonus was that my credit card offered a $10 credit if I purchased from Poshmark anything over $50. The shoes ended up costing me a song, and I adore them. They look good on my feet, if I do say so myself. Patience and searching is the key to this game, and I have those two things when it comes to my shopping. Overbuying is not my bag, but acquiring beautiful things that I really want is.

The Zucchini Bread I Plan to Make in My Own Bread Pan

4. You Can Find Anything on Poshmark

Going back to the Le Creuset baking dish, I had no idea that I could purchase that brand from Poshmark. This could be a dangerous discovery, but one I am willing to take on. Le Creuset is a very expensive French cooking brand that I have enjoyed collecting the past year or so. I recently borrowed my neighbor’s baking dish to bake my delicious zucchini bread, and I was sold. Other fascinating things you can find on there are vintage holiday decor, dog costumes, cameras. The list goes on and it can end up being a rabbit hole. I particularly find my experience with Poshmark to be more specific. If I see something that isn’t in my size or I could no longer find on a particular site, I turn to Poshmark for similar or same things. Online shopping is easy and I love the idea of buying from someone else’s junk pile without having to dig. As they say, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and that is Poshmark in a nutshell.

My First Sell on Poshmark

5. The System is Easy to Learn

Learning the “system” took me a little bit. When I entered my original round of items, I priced everything to sell. As I should know by now, people love a deal. They love to haggle. So while my prices were good, they weren’t good enough for my fellow Poshmark friends. What I also discovered is that if someone “hearts” your item, the expectation is for you to then send them their own personal deal on that item, whether it’s a percentage off or lower shipping. Yes, it gets a little tiresome, but you’re getting rid of your crap that you no longer want and putting that money towards someone else’s crap that you can’t live without. My experience with Poshmark and the learning curve were quick, and I’m enjoying the online haggle so much. I can’t wait to add more items - this time at a higher price so I can “give someone a real deal” when they heart me. Whatever, I’ll play your game!

Get to Poshin'!

Poshmark has a lot to like about it. While I found out I’m a little late to the Poshmark party, I’m still glad I showed up. My experience with Postmark has been nothing but positive, and I’m actually about to head out and ship another item I sold. The ease of selling from here makes it all worth it. They even send you a shipping label when your items sells. Print it, take it to the post office, slap your item in a bag and attach the label. Voila! You are officially a Poshmarker. I hope this inspired you to start your own account if you haven’t already. Stop sitting on your junk. Someone out there wants it. It might even be me.

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