Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions

[Thrift Vader]

I Sell Swag.

 

[AlexJ1100]

For me, that's outerwear, then sport coats, then shoes, then ties and shirts.

This has likely been covered before so, if so, I apologize for the redundancy.

Who here either 1. Doesn't sell/flip shirts or 2. Has a distinct line as far as what they'll flip when it comes to shirts?
I never have a ton of luck with shirts, unless they're something very unique (like some Lilly Pulitzer and Robert Graham) or next to brand new. Just curious what other peoples personal rules/standards were.

 

[drlivingston]

This has likely been covered before so, if so, I apologize for the redundancy.

Who here either 1. Doesn't sell/flip shirts or 2. Has a distinct line as far as what they'll flip when it comes to shirts?
I never have a ton of luck with shirts, unless they're something very unique (like some Lilly Pulitzer and Robert Graham) or next to brand new. Just curious what other peoples personal rules/standards were.

Shirts suck. They have to be ironed. They require too many measurements. They often have pit and neckline stains. They don't offer much profit margin. Oh, and did I mention that shirts suck?

 

[dazedstate]

+1 I made the mistake that most of us make when we first get into thrifting and picked up tons of low to mid tier shirts (BB, Talbott, Canali, Zegna etc) and greatly regretted it. It took me forever to sell it all and the margins were crap. I still pick up high end and the occasional interesting mid tier but nothing like I used to.

 

[dazedstate]



Shirts suck. They have to be ironed. They require too many measurements. They often have pit and neckline stains. They don't offer much profit margin. Oh, and did I mention that shirts suck?

I don't bother ironing, they're usually already in passable condition at my thrifts. You're right about wear and tear though. Check them closely, including all buttons.

 

[Koala-T]

Suits-->Outerwear (seasonally)-->Shoes-->Sport Coats-->Everything else.

Of course there are exceptions. If I have an average suit and a pair of excellent condition Park Ave's, the PAs are going up first, because those things are an easy bill most of the time. Kiton/Brioni SC would go up before average suits or Outerwear. There's more to consider than just the type of clothing, but, generally speaking this is my order.

 

[Fueco]

This has likely been covered before so, if so, I apologize for the redundancy.

Who here either 1. Doesn't sell/flip shirts or 2. Has a distinct line as far as what they'll flip when it comes to shirts?
I never have a ton of luck with shirts, unless they're something very unique (like some Lilly Pulitzer and Robert Graham) or next to brand new. Just curious what other peoples personal rules/standards were.

I do not sell shirts that I would consider anything less than 90% of mint condition, unless they are something special.

I do not iron or wash. I find shirts no less of a chore to list than anything else, though the margins do suck on the lower tier ones. I generally don't bother unless it's a cool looking shirt, or something I know will see if I find the right buyer.

 

[TinderStick]

This has likely been covered before so, if so, I apologize for the redundancy.

Who here either 1. Doesn't sell/flip shirts or 2. Has a distinct line as far as what they'll flip when it comes to shirts?
I never have a ton of luck with shirts, unless they're something very unique (like some Lilly Pulitzer and Robert Graham) or next to brand new. Just curious what other peoples personal rules/standards were.

I tend to only buy Turnbull & Asser in excellent condition as I know I can make £40/$60 easy each time.

 

[FLW]

Thrifting can be a bit slow in my area so sometimes shirts are a must just to keep product flowing. The one nice thing about mid-tier shirts is that I don't feel the need to give many photos or measurements. I just do a very brief write-up, three quick pictures, and list them for low prices. Again, I only do this when I am out of tastier things to list, but they do sell.

 

[My Main Man]

I actually have much better luck with J Crew/Hugo Boss/etc type shirts than I do with "nice" shirts. I wish I would have taken a full screen grab last year. I had a bunch of shirts up over the course of a few weeks. Brioni shirts in great condition (albeit French cuff) all went for $10-11. J Crew plaid shirts all went for at least $5-10 more per shirt.

 

[MJMcRibb]

I don't think there should be a hard and fast rule, condition issues excluded, with the exceptions of the obvious (i.e. always buy Kiton, never buy Stafford). There are just too many factors that go into whether or not something will do well: brand, size, pattern, age, etc. I still end up always buying more than I know I should, usually just because they're cheap. You can count on most shirts from VV, Southern Tide, Gitman Vintage and, even still, RG to do reasonably well.

 

[Fueco]

I don't think there should be a hard and fast rule, condition issues excluded, with the exceptions of the obvious (i.e. always buy Kiton, never buy Stafford). There are just too many factors that go into whether or not something will do well: brand, size, pattern, age, etc. I still end up always buying more than I know I should, usually just because they're cheap. You can count on most shirts from VV, Southern Tide, Gitman Vintage and, even still, RG to do reasonably well.

I would add Pendleton, Orvis, Filson, Viyella, Steven Alan, and a few others I'm brain-farting about right now.

I sell a lot of J.Crew shirts in nice patterns, but the margins probably aren't worth most of you guys' time. I have to make do because I frankly don't find many sport coats worth a flip.

 

[JFST]

Regarding shirts: high luxury brands in good condition and then good brands with nice prints and patterns, for example, polka dots are a must for me, then nice ginghams. Solids only in high brands or NWT. Flipping shirts in moderation is a good practice in my book.

 

[txwoodworker]

Thrifting can be a bit slow in my area so sometimes shirts are a must just to keep product flowing. The one nice thing about mid-tier shirts is that I don't feel the need to give many photos or measurements. I just do a very brief write-up, three quick pictures, and list them for low prices. Again, I only do this when I am out of tastier things to list, but they do sell.

Shirts are such easy pickings, I admit I buy too many. I can list them super fast though, just sold 100+ of them last week, but I worked on listing almost every evening after work to get that many listed in a week.
Like main man said above I was disappointed with how my Brionis sold this week. Then sold a J. Crew Wallace & Barnes yesterday.

 

[jamesmkeart]



+1 I made the mistake that most of us make when we first get into thrifting and picked up tons of low to mid tier shirts (BB, Talbott, Canali, Zegna etc) and greatly regretted it. It took me forever to sell it all and the margins were crap. I still pick up high end and the occasional interesting mid tier but nothing like I used to.

I've had more success selling random mid tier shirts with crazy patterns than a decent zegna or similar. I basically only look for stand out shirts in racks. Saves a lot of time and stuff like rg is easy to spot.