Random Fashion Thoughts (Part 3: Style farmer strikes back) - our general discussion thread

[happyriverz]

What has your experience been like in terms of items sold? And what is your intention (e.g. make a few bucks while paring down closet)?

The thing with consignment/re-sale is that your clothes are never worth as much to other people as they were worth to you, so you'll never get what you think is a "fair" price, so it's best not to think of re-selling in terms of how much are you getting back for what you paid for. It's better to think of it in terms of opportunity costs -- if you didn't consign your clothes, what else would you be doing with them? Unless something has sentimental value or you have the closet space, consigning with someone like LuxeSwap means you get some additional closet space, a marginal bit of cash, and a chance to buy something else with whatever money you end up getting -- all things that you can't do if you just let your clothes sit there.

 

[bry2000]

I did a huge purge a while back of all my impulse buys from YOOX. Basically was buying stuff just cause it was on sale. It was a lot of jeans, knits, and t-shirts mostly and some cotton pants. After that purge I’ve been finding items here and there that I decide to sell. I’m down to my last pair of jeans that I just sold yesterday. Basically selling those items provided with the $$$ to start buying up Margiela Artisanal pieces and pre-2005 pieces. I especially hunt down pre-2005 shirts which had a super fine cotton almost linen like. So yeah it’s been a sell 5 things buy one thing kind of deal but I’m out of things that I want to sell, I’m looking at my closet presently and there’s nothing I want to sell. That was my goal

Which platform, etc. did you have the most success selling on?

 

[pleatedjeans]

Some of it for me is also the "guilt" factor - ie I should hold onto this thing because I paid money for it, because who else would be stupid enough to pay money for this thing

 

[bry2000]

The developers showed up out of nowhere and we are working on some things already. If you guys have any, very specific, incremental improvements that you'd like to see (things like bigger thumbnails, easier navigation to add the main image, getting rid of certain non-essential elements, etc...) please do tell me. It's easiest to email the suggestions to [email protected] so that I can take any good suggestions and easily forward them to the devs. However, I probably won't have time to answer each.

Please don't email me unrealistic asks, please, though, since they'll just end up in our very large pile of "if the world were more awesome AND I had a few million to throw at this" documents. And that **** is just frustrating for everyone.

Cheers,

Fok.

I will spend time coming up with some thoughtful suggestions to improve the existing platform and send an email as requested.

I think the biggest challenge is driving traffic to the Buy & Sell section. I think the lack of traffic is the biggest issue more so than tweaking the layout, functionality. Maybe improving the layout of functionality might help with increasing traffic. But I am not sure.

There has to be greater awareness of SF B&S as a legitimate marketplace. I have sold a bunch of things of B&S (not nearly enough though) and have had pleasant experiences with the buyers. I really don't want to try my hand on gra!led or ebay.

 

[RegisDB9]

Some of it for me is also the "guilt" factor - ie I should hold onto this thing because I paid money for it, because who else would be stupid enough to pay money for this thing

Feel like that all the time man

Which platform, etc. did you have the most success selling on?

I would say hands down eBay followed by grailed followed by poshmark. I hate selling and I hate the shipping aspect haha it took a lot of energy for me to sell off all my ****, that’s why now that I’m (fingers crossed) done....feels good

 

[gettoasty]

The thing with consignment/re-sale is that your clothes are never worth as much to other people as they were worth to you, so you'll never get what you think is a "fair" price, so it's best not to think of re-selling in terms of how much are you getting back for what you paid for. It's better to think of it in terms of opportunity costs -- if you didn't consign your clothes, what else would you be doing with them? Unless something has sentimental value or you have the closet space, consigning with someone like LuxeSwap means you get some additional closet space, a marginal bit of cash, and a chance to buy something else with whatever money you end up getting -- all things that you can't do if you just let your clothes sit there.

Yeah I totally get that, just trying to set my expectations. Thanks

I think I will give consignment a try and open up a box this weekend and put in things I am letting go. At most I get a few bucks and the very least I get some experience if I decide to go that route in the future (although after this experience I imagine I'll learn to spend my money more wisely...) I'm totally fine with letting things go and want to see a hole in my closet. I guess what I struggle with his some consignment store policies where they donate your clothes. How can I confirm the donation since I am guessing the consignment store will get the write off.

 

[Baron]

Yeah I totally get that, just trying to set my expectations. Thanks

I think I will give consignment a try and open up a box this weekend and put in things I am letting go. At most I get a few bucks and the very least I get some experience if I decide to go that route in the future (although after this experience I imagine I'll learn to spend my money more wisely...) I'm totally fine with letting things go and want to see a hole in my closet. I guess what I struggle with his some consignment store policies where they donate your clothes. How can I confirm the donation since I am guessing the consignment store will get the write off.

I consigned with Spoo a couple years ago. I wasn't that concerned with the donation policy because I knew that everything I sent him would sell (and it did). In retrospect, the part I didn't like is his actual sale strategy, which involves listing everything in his store at $9.99 and selling it at no reserve. While it can result in the occasional bidding war, a few of my things just sold way too low. One thing was a Dries suit that was admittedly a bit plain, but it sold for like $50, which was stupid.

On the other hand, I later consigned with Museo - a shop in LA that also had an ebay store (also run by a former forum member sissy spacerock) They listed things at high BIN prices and would drop the prices over time if necessary. Everything they sold for me was at a very solid price, but they went out of business while my consignment was active and they owe me several hundred dollars I'll never collect. Now I'm kinda gunshy about consignment and would prefer to sell things myself or give them away to friends and family.

 

[gettoasty]

Yes the low reserve also gets me but I believe in what that seeks to accomplish, so, not too concerned.

I'll have to sort out some items this weekend to see what I can possibly give away to family before "throwing it away".

In the end I might just be happier due to the fact that a load has been lifted. I like the idea of simply upgrading the same clothes over and over again and otherwise not changing much.

 

[whorishconsumer]

Please don't email me unrealistic asks, please, though, since they'll just end up in our very large pile of "if the world were more awesome AND I had a few million to throw at this" documents. And that **** is just frustrating for everyone.

I like this approach to backlog management.

 

[g transistor]

B&S is dead let it go

Is there a simple way to upload files directly with a post like the previous forum layout? It’s lame having to upload everything to imgur or whatever or am I just missing some functionality

 

[ChetB]

I prefer working with sellers who rely on Buy It Now listings instead of auctions. It takes longer for your stuff to sell but you generally get more.

Send a bunch of stuff off and then get a nice chunk of change each month for the next several months, without having to do any work.

 

[gettoasty]

I prefer working with sellers who rely on Buy It Now listings instead of auctions. It takes longer for your stuff to sell but you generally get more.

Send a bunch of stuff off and then get a nice chunk of change each month for the next several months, without having to do any work.

Do you mind PMing your store info?

 

[baltimoron]

B&S is dead let it go

Is there a simple way to upload files directly with a post like the previous forum layout? It’s lame having to upload everything to imgur or whatever or am I just missing some functionality

 

[LA Guy]

B&S is dead let it go

Is there a simple way to upload files directly with a post like the previous forum layout? It’s lame having to upload everything to imgur or whatever or am I just missing some functionality

You are missing some functionality. You can attach images directly using the button, right beside "post reply", called "attach file or images". Or you can hotlink from a webpage just using copy and paste.

 

[LA Guy]

I consigned with Spoo a couple years ago. I wasn't that concerned with the donation policy because I knew that everything I sent him would sell (and it did). In retrospect, the part I didn't like is his actual sale strategy, which involves listing everything in his store at $9.99 and selling it at no reserve. While it can result in the occasional bidding war, a few of my things just sold way too low. One thing was a Dries suit that was admittedly a bit plain, but it sold for like $50, which was stupid.

On the other hand, I later consigned with Museo - a shop in LA that also had an ebay store (also run by a former forum member sissy spacerock) They listed things at high BIN prices and would drop the prices over time if necessary. Everything they sold for me was at a very solid price, but they went out of business while my consignment was active and they owe me several hundred dollars I'll never collect. Now I'm kinda gunshy about consignment and would prefer to sell things myself or give them away to friends and family.

Spoo's method works best for items with a large audience. Unfortunately, Dries van Noten simply does not. And Dries van Noten suits, even less.

The more traditional method works much more slowly, and I've seen a lot of online consignment shops go out of business just because of lack of cash flow.

I mostly just give my stuff to friends and family. Or stick it in storage.