Layoff Livelihood: Poshmark
- Corporate Kate
- Aug 27
- 10 min read
Layoff Livelihood is a series about ways to bring in income while you are searching for your next role. Check out more in the series for tips on gig work, selling used items, being a secret shopper and more!
If we can find one positive in a layoff (and you must so you don’t start losing your mind) it is that it can be a sobering wake up call to what we actually need to survive. Managing finances during a layoff means tightening your belt more than most would like to. But what about all of that spending you have done previously? You may definitely be feeling some buyer's remorse about any frivolous spending you had been enjoying before!
I want you to get up and go to your closet right now (don’t forget to take me with you!) and turn on all the lights and step back. Pick out what would be about roughly 20% of the total items in your closet that you absolutely cannot live without and set them aside. Look at what is left. Do you actually wear what is remaining? Do some of the items still have the tags on? Are some of the outfits for a you that you hope to be one day?
That 20% figure wasn’t random. Per The Cut, research shows that you only wear 20% of the clothing items that you own. That is a lot of the money down the drain over a lifetime!
Still not convinced you might have too many clothes? Researcher's at Berlin Institute of Hot and Cold found that a sufficient wardrobe consists of 74 garments and 20 outfits total. Counter that with the fact that the average person has 148 pieces of clothing in their home, there is room for most people to let something go.
Here is where Poshmark comes in. Poshmark is an amazing application for getting rid of unwanted clothes. I have been a member since 2016 and have made over $15k in that time.
As someone who loves new clothes and recreating looks that I see on Pinterest it can get expensive if you are just constantly adding new items to your closet all the time. Poshmark has been a game changer for me in both finding items that are significantly below retail and also keeping my closet to a reasonable amount of clothes. I keep to a one in and one out rule. Buying something new is ok, but that means it's time for something to be relinquished from my closet.
While I do use other apps for listing clothes, Poshmark has been by far the most successful I have had offloading clothing items. The buyers are specifically shopping in your "closet" and looking for clothing which allows for a targeted demographic of people who match your clothing size to shop through your items. Poshmark is also set it and forget. No auctions and no re-listing required. I have also found the return policy to be great as a seller as returns are not accepted just because an item doesn't fit which cuts down on the number of items that are being returned.
Since you are most likely reading this after going through a recent layoff and looking into bringing In side income, we will focus on the selling aspect of Poshmark here as opposed to the buying. I have outlined the steps I have done to successfully sell using the app so that you can bring in some extra cash too!
Steps to having a successful closet on Poshmark:
Step 1: Know the algorithm
Step 2: Become a Poshmark Ambassador
Step 5: Take clear and clear photos
Step 8: Be ready to accept offers
Step 9: Ship fast and package nicely
Step 1: Know the algorithm
This step will be the biggest determinator of your success with this app. More so than sites like eBay or Mercari, your Poshmark account will thrive on engagement. Creating new listings, sharing your closet, commenting on other listings will all push your items up in the algorithm to buyers. You will not have success without the algorithm pushing you to buyers due to the lackluster search and number of items available on the site.
Tip: If you don't have any new items to list on your closet but you need engagement, look at some of your old listings that have not sold and remove the item and re-list it. This will push your back up in the results without actually having to find new items to list.
Step 2: Become a Poshmark Ambassador
This is another required step to really be successful on this app. Not only will Poshmark treat your listings favorably in the search algorithm and with return cases, but it also builds trusts with potential buyers that you are a trusted seller to purchase from. There are quite a few steps that must be completed to achieve this status but most of them will be relatively simple to complete.
a. Complete 5000 Community Shares
Sharing means going into another seller's listing and "sharing" the clothing item to your feed. This is going to be the most laborious tasks to complete. Try picking a seller's closet that is full of items that you like and going through and sharing all of them. I find this much quicker to complete on mobile than with using the website.
b. Complete 5000 Self-Shares
While this step is repetitive like the above, it is also much easier to achieve. Poshmark allows users to "Share their Closet" which takes all the items that you have selected in your closet and automatically shares them all one after the other. This is much easier than the individual approach you will have to do with community shares. Try to do this whenever you go to look at something on your phone (if you are like me, this is going to lead to getting this task finished very quickly)
c. Share 50 different New Poshers
This is another pretty simple step if you know what to do. By searching in the "New People" part of the app, you will find people who have recently joined Poshmark. Share an item in 50 different "New People" closets to complete this task.
d. Have 50 Available Listings
This one may be a litter harder if you don't have many items to part with, but if necessary Poshmark does allow for things such as home goods, pet items, and electronics. You probably won't have tons of success with offloading these items but the goal is to get to 50 so do what you need to do!
e. Sell 15 Listings
If everything goes according to plan, this one will take care of itself.
f. Have an Average Seller Rating of 4.5 Stars
Consider these best practices for maintaining a high rating on Poshmark:
1. Answer any questions a potential buyer might have
2. Ship quickly - try to have items shipped out by the next day and if you can't message the buyer to let them know when they can expect for the item to be shipped.
3. Package the item nicely. You do not need to go out and buy shipping materials, but make sure that the item is well protected with the shipping materials you use
g. Ship Items in 3 Days or Less
The minimum for Poshmark Ambassador is 3 days, but I would be trying to ship out by the next day to maintain a high rating.
Note: Poshmark uses USPS for shipping and if you drop off an item it might not be scanned into the system until the next day. Don't cut the drop off close otherwise you may go over the 3 day allotment.
h. Give 1 Love Note
This one is annoying since we are just wanting to sell items, but in order to complete this step you will need to place a purchase and then leave a “Love Note” (A "Love Note" means leaving a comment on a review in which you give the seller 5 stars). Do a search for something very cheap to buy in order to complete this step. This may be a good time to try and find a gift for someone on Poshmark so that it’s something you would be buying anyway!
Feeling Motivated? Reach Posh Ambassador II Status - I myself have not achieved this step as it requires 20,000 community shares to complete and I really do not feel like sharing that many times. I still have tons of success, so I do not feel this is a necessary step.
Step 3: Share your closet at least once a day
This is another critical step to get your items seen by potential customers. Poshmark has an interesting search function that instead of sorting by “Newest In” sorts by “Recently Shared”. If you share your closet it puts your item to the top of someone’s search and makes it more likely your item will be purchased over others based on the app's default sorting. As stated above, make it a habit to share your closet multiples times a day if you can.
Step 4: Include measurements in your listings
Due to the inability to return due to an item not fitting, people are very conscious of only purchasing items that they believe will fit them. I know that I rarely purchase an item that is not brand new if there aren't measurements included in the listing. Buyers are looking for these to be included and if you don’t add it at the time of listing you will most likely be inundated with people asking for you to add them
Bonus Tip: Include measurements by taking pictures of the clothing item next to measuring tape as opposed to writing the measurements in the written section. I have had return cases accepted because people claimed their measurements were different than what I had written in the description. Having the pictures shows exactly how you measured and there isn’t as much for the buyer to combat against in a dispute case.
Step 5: Take clear and clear photos
People don’t want to buy something that they can’t see. Take pictures that are in good lighting and with the item in it’s best condition (no wrinkles and no stains). Don’t have lots of distractions in the background of the photo, make sure the item is the only focus on the picture.
Many people do use stock photos on Poshmark but it is technically not permitted. If you add these be sure to include your actual pictures of the item in question so that people can see that the item is in your possession and in the condition specified.
Step 6: Include all relevant information in the listing
Which of the below items are you most likely to buy?
Black Shift Dress
NWT Zara Black Vegan Leather Shift Dress Size Medium
The second one right? Not only are there more keywords to come back for specific searches a customer might be making, but it allows someone to see at a glance exactly what the item is.
Make sure that your title’s include as much information about the item as possible, and then include any extra information in the description of the item. I also like to state if my closet has similar item’s such as the one they are looking at because it drives people to browse the rest of my items if they liked this one.
Step 7: Do not hide defects or be dishonest in the description
Do onto others what you would want done onto you. Don’t hide any tears, stains, or rips with the item. Also do not call items new that have been worn before (this one really grinds my gears). You are opening yourself up to bad reviews and returns that are more of a headache than just being honest would have been. I have had items sell where I have put in the description so many warnings about the different defects on an item and still had people purchase it. For the right price people will buy in any condition!
Step 8: Be ready to accept offers
A big part of my Poshmark strategy is accepting offers. People love getting a deal, so will be more likely to make a purchase if they feel like they are getting a significant discount on the item. I usually list items with the assumption that I will accept a 20-30% discount on the item in question so I price the items accordingly. (Remember that Poshmark takes a flat 20% cut of your item’s sell price so be mindful of that as well when determining what to list for).
Once someone likes your item, you have the option to send them a personal offer on the item by giving a discount or offering lower shipping. I pretty much send an offer discount immediately after someone looks at an item. I want to strike while the iron is hot and the person is in a shopping mode. If a customer likes more than one item in my closet, you have the option to “Bundle” the items together and give a greater discount (you can also set an automatic Bundle discount in your settings if someone creates their own).
I usually offer a discount on shipping. Shipping on Poshmark is expensive for a single clothing item most times, so the discount helps buyers feel better about what they are spending.
Step 9: Ship fast and package nicely
This does not mean you have to purchase new shipping bags and boxes with cute tissue paper and make cards for each purchase. But do make sure the wrapping you use is in good condition and protects the item well. If I sell a high price item I do usually include a note (just made from computer paper) to say how much I appreciate them shopping my closet. Items that look like they have not been handled with care put off buyer’s when they receive the item and you may earn a bad review.
Step 10: Potentially use "Promote Your Closet"
This is service you must pay for monthly that has mixed reviews on whether it brings in business to your closet but if they offer you a free trial go ahead and sign up and let your listings be boosted for a while for free. Just remember to remove the trial before you start having to pay for the service.
Poshmark is an amazing app for offloading clothing and when going through a job transition with no income it can be a huge boost to not only organizing your life but brining in some side income. Happy selling!
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