Last week, Luxe Life was featured on the Organizing With You guest blogger page with some tips for reselling your clothing, accessories and home furnishings. Here's the original post.
With many Americans both downsizing and tightening their household budgets, the resale and recycling of products like clothing and home furnishings has become a growing trend – both online and through consignment resale shops. But deciding what to keep, what to donate and what to throw away can be a daunting task. While cleaning out your space, remember these tips for item resale:
· Resale prices are driven by labels – When looking to resell used items, the best prices usually come from products with well-established designers or makers. For fashion and home goods, high-end names like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Lalique and Baker Furniture always grab buyer’s interest. If your items don’t have a luxury label, be sure that the condition is good and that you give as much information as possible to the potential buyer. For online sales, sometimes creating batches or “lots” of similar items can persuade a buyer to spend the money for shipping and increase your chance of a sale.
· Vintage doesn’t always mean classic – Just because something is old, doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily timeless. Fashion trends recycle, but matching your timing with the current style du jour can be difficult. The best selling items are usually classic basics by well-known designers.
· Does your item have a story? – The more information you have on background of a product, the better. When was the item purchased? Where? If you did not make the initial purchase, who did? Information and photos are essential with online sales, where a buyer cannot actually see or touch the product. And once you provide information, you must…
· Be able to back-up your claims – Authenticity is one of the key factors in getting the best price for your recycled items. Buyers want to be sure that the item they’re purchasing is really what you claim it to be. Receipts can be great proof of original sale and high-end labels often include authenticity certificates with their products. Also, remember that eBay and other online marketplaces have serious fines associated with counterfeit and fraudulent product sales. If you’re working with an auction house or resale company, most will only take items that have proof of authenticity. · Keep your pricing expectations reasonable – Remember that the second you walked out of a store with a purchased product, the value decreased significantly. With the rare exception of certain collectibles and vintage items, most used resale products will only sell for around 10% - 20% of retail value. Also, the people shopping for resale items are usually looking for a deal, so even items with the original store tags still attached will usually not have an equivalent resale value.
· You can always ask for help – If you’re still stuck on how to estimate a product’s value, or if you just don’t have the time to put in all the effort, there are many companies with services to help you research, authenticate and sell your items. Appraisers often charge a one-time fee per item, while consignment companies usually take a percentage of the item’s sale.
