Money Making Monday: Mama Sells It On Ebay ~ Selling Your Children’s Outgrown Clothes

Last week I started my Money Making Monday: Mama Sells It On EBay Series. If you missed last week's post click here. In that post I just covered the basics of selling on eBay and offered some of my beginner tips. There was also a lot of great discussion so if you did not read it check it out.

This week I want to start talking about selling your children's outgrown clothes on eBay. I was thinking of many different topics I could cover this week and I opted for this one because I am in the midst of getting ready to list about three huge bins of my girls clothing. There is a lot that goes into successfully selling kids clothes on eBay and these blog posts will only scratch the surface.  I talk a lot more about this topic and all the others I cover in this series in my e-book. I am hoping to have it available by March 1st.

Moving on...

I think all of us know how quickly our kids outgrow their clothes. It seems that sometimes my girls only wear an outfit a few times before it doesn't fit anymore. And we also know how expensive it is to purchase new clothing. Well I have found eBay to be the perfect solution for this. So let me get right to it.

Is Used/Pre-Owned Children's Clothing Marketable on Ebay?

Yes and very much so. Moms love dressing their kids in adorable outfits. However, most of us cannot afford to pay full retail for the clothing nor do we have time to constantly hunt down sales. Enter eBay. Parents turn to eBay to find great deals on name brand clothes for their children. It really is a win win situation. The mom selling the clothes gets to make a little extra cash off clothes her kids no longer use and the other mom gets a deal. I am all about win win. I think eBay has opened the door for moms to dress their kids in clothes they may not of necessarily been able to afford otherwise.

I have been selling the diva's clothes on ebay for about 5 years. It is awesome because every season I almost completely fund a new wardrobe with the money I make on the clothes they wore the year before.

Do All Brands Sell?

No. That's the catch. If you purchase most of your kids clothes at Target or Walmart those will not sell on ebay. Or if they do it will be for very little. People look to eBay to get the name brand quality clothing at a great price.

The brands that sell the best on eBay are: Gymboree, Gap/Baby Gap, Janie and Jack, Hanna Anderson, The Children's Place, etc. In my opinion Gymboree and Gap by far have the best resell value. I have many times bought a pre-owned outfit for my girls off ebay they wear it for an entire season then I resell it the next season and either make my money back or sometimes I even make money. It is awesome. My hubby says that our kids get paid to wear clothes. But it does take strategy.

You may be thinking  that you cannot afford to buy those brands. Well you are wrong. By shopping the sales at the stores, on eBay, at thrifts stores, and even garage sales I always purchase the name brand clothes for less then the clothes at Walmart, Target, etc. And the clothes I buy have resell value where the others do not. So it pays to buy the name brands if you are looking to resell.

The Best Way to Sell Pre-Owned Clothing on Ebay

I have had the most success with listing the clothes in outfits and/or lots. I usually do not list items individual unless it is a "hot" item. Meaning it was a popular item that sold out quickly. If you are a gymboree nut like me you know what I mean.

But no matter how you decide to list here are some basic tips you should follow:

• Wash all clothes before listing. Make sure clothes are clean and free of stains. If you cannot get stains out then either clearly list it and try to take picture of the stain or just throw it out. Do not try to sell stained clothes. Your customers will be angry and more than likely you will get a negative feedback.
• Iron or steam clothes for the picture. Pretty much the nicer the clothes look the more likely they will sell and for a higher amount.
• If you smoke make sure you disclose that. People have allergies and are very sensitive to smoke. I know if I got a bunch of kids clothes that wreaked of smoke I would be very mad.
• Take measurements and list them. I know this is annoying but clothes shrink, stretch, lose shape, etc after being washed/dried. So you want to make sure to give accurate measurements of the item. I used to reccomend not to dry the clothing but this is the real world and who has time to constantly hang dry everything. If you can then great your clothes will stay in much better shape.
• Accurately describe items. Be honest. If there is a stain say it. If it has washwear say it. Don't mislead on the quality of the item. Describe the best you can and use good pictures.
• Do not list any item that you would not buy yourself. If it is in bad shape just throw it out.

There is so much more that goes into selling clothes on eBay. This is just a snapshot to help you get started. I hope it is helpful.

If you sell kids clothes on ebay and have more tips to add please feel free to do so. I love hearing what you all have to say.

Tagged as: Ebay Tips, sell kids clothes on ebay