Nowadays, you can find anything for any price just about anywhere on the Internet.
With online fashion markets like Poshmark, Tradesy, Keep, DePop and the ever-standard eBay taking the lead over the in-store shopping experience, shopping has become a game of where you’ll find the best deal online.
The fashion industry has been transforming into a digital industry for a while now, with reporters and trends preaching that “print is dead” and everything that matters is online. While this has been holding true for publications for some time, it is now branching into the modern-day fashion market.
With so many options to choose from, figuring out how to best use these online marketplaces can be a struggle, to say the least. Below is a guide that will help you navigate this new corner of the fashion industry:
In this article you’ll learn…
Figure out what you’re looking for
Are you looking to buy something or are you looking to sell? This might be a simple question, but it will help you narrow down what site to use.
Sellers
When looking to sell, you want to make sure your pieces are being sold at the right price point. Make sure the audience you’re selling to is the right audience as well – if you’re selling vintage YSL, you don’t want to market to an audience who doesn’t understand the value there. Look at the different sellers on each site, see what their inventory is and what they’re pricing at. Good places to start selling are as follows:
Buyers
The main draw to buying online is that you’ll either get a better price point or you’ll get something you can’t find in the real life store. What category are you in? If you’re looking for something no one else has, you’re going to find yourself in different marketplaces than if you’re looking for the best price point. When going for lower prices, check out these sites:
TheRealReal (you can find a range of prices here – it depends.)
If you’re looking for things that might be more of a fashion commodity, start here:
Keep yourself involved in the Fashion Industry
Sure, it’s easy enough to sign up for a Poshmark account and log in every few months. However, if you want to really utilize these apps and websites, you’ll need to keep yourself up to date with what’s happening on each site. If you’re an avid eBay fan, don’t expect to snag those great Miu Miu clogs by standing idly by. You’ll need to get out there, set notifications for yourself and watch how other users are behaving. Same goes for sellers, too. Keep your inventory up-to-date and make sure you are punctual with your shipping. You want to keep users coming back to your online shop, and what better way to do that than with great customer service?
Define your search
The key to any online success is having a good search. There can be a lot out there, especially in the world of online fashion, so you want to go in knowing what you’re looking for, what you’re willing to pay, if you’re willing to buy used or stick to new, etc. Same goes for sellers – know what price point you’d like to be at, where you’re willing to ship to, etc. The more specific you’re able to get when searching for an item, the better your results will be. This translates into a better experience for users and more revenue for sellers – which is the end-goal for all online fashion markets.
Online fashion markets are a great way to quickly find what you need and have a successful experience selling what you no longer wear. Not to mention that Americans only recycle or donate 15 percent of their used clothing compared to the 10.5 million tons of clothing that gets discarded – you’ll be helping that recycled clothing stat climb up!
Put in your research, keep yourself active in the community, know exactly what you’re looking for and the experience will be much more seamless at the end of the day. The fashion industry is moving towards an online experience – there’s no time like the present to jump in and get yourself acquainted.
Do you work for a brand with a glorious closet? Check out GPS Styles, an online virtual showroom.
By Launchmetrics Content Team
The Launchmetrics content team is always on the lookout for new trends in the fashion and technology sector. We are geeks with style and lovers of good stories!
