How I Made Hundreds Consigning Clothes
For the past eight years, twice a year, I go through my closet and my daughtersโ closets, and find clothing that we havenโt worn in awhile. The goal is consigning clothes to declutter and make extra cash to spend on gifts or to pay bills. In the regular times, I would consign our clothes in one of two ways:
First, Iโll try a local consignment shop.
Next, if that doesnโt pay offโas in cash in my pocketโIโll โconsignโ our clothes by selling them online. Iโve mostly used eBay to sell items from Stitch Fix that I might have kept but never wore. However, Iโve recently expanded to selling on Poshmark, too.
Hereโs why I like Poshmark:
- You can make money on clothes youโre not wearing anymore (and get new clothes that you WILL wear).
- It only takes 60 seconds to list an item.
- You can save up to 70% off top brands such asย Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch, Anthropologie, Michael Kors, Gucci, J. Crew, Coach, and Tiffany & Co.
- Available for women and men, but also trendy kids who outgrow their clothes quickly!

How much can you make consigning clothes?
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Lately, Iโve stopped trying local, in-person stores for consignment. Instead, Iโve switched to online consignment shops that pay the most. For me that ended up being with Poshmark.
In fact, I started getting serious about how Iโm using Poshmark in the past six months. In that time, Iโve sold 24 items and made $336.
Poshmark deposits my profits directly into my bank account. Even better buyers pay for shipping (unlike on eBay), which allows me to keep even more of my profit.
Now onto my general advice for how to consign clothes.
Here are clothing brands that will buy back their clothes.

How can I make money consigning clothes
If you are seeing signs you are broke, making extra money through consigning clothing may make a lot of sense.
Many people that Iโve talked to have no idea how to get started with consigning clothesโhow to do it and where to do it. Thatโs why Iโve decided to pull together all the advice about consigning clothing in one post.
Make sure your clothing is seasonal
The consignment store I use actually publishes a calendar on its website that provides a month-by-month explanation of what kinds of clothing it is looking for at that time of the year.
So, for example, April is when this store is stocking up on summer clothing, and September for winter clothing.
Keep a sense of your clothingโs fashion sense
To make money on things like denim, they have to have a fashionable look to them. Also, consignment shops can usually tell from your clothingโs tags how new (or old) the item is.
Youโll do best consigning something that is less than three years old, if not โyounger.โ
Brands are what command the big bucks
Many thrift and consignment shops have guidelines that spell out exactly what brands sell well in their stores. Not surprisingly, the ones with the biggest name recognition are top of the must-have list at consignment shops. These include:
- MICHAEL Michael Kors
- Banana Republic
- BCBGMAXAZRIA
- Brooks Brothers
- Leviโs
- Nike
- Coach
- American Eagle
- TOMS
- True Religion
- lululemon
- Forever 21
- athletica
- Motherhood Maternity
Over on Poshmark there are daily โpartiesโ where certain brands are promoted. These include some of the hottest brands.
- Michael Kors
- Ugg Boots
- J.Crew
- Ralph Lauren
- Topshop
So when you decide to consign your clothing on Poshmark, keep these brands in mind as you go through your closet. In fact, I started a spreadsheet to keep track of the specific brands that Poshmark tends to promote during these parties.
Clothes must be clean and fresh smelling
Clothes that you consign canโt have any stains or spots on them, and should have been laundered after their last wear. Also, since no one wants to buy a stinky piece of used clothing, at least spray the clothes with Febrezeโmy favorite tool for freshening up somethingโbefore bringing them into the store.
The crowd has spoken. I will no longer use Febreze on the clothing I consign. I appreciate all of the feedback.
Here is my review of laundry scent boosters.
On Poshmark, Iโve bought and received clothing with a dryer sheet tucked in. This ensured that my clothing arrived smelling fresh, which is great since my mail carrier smokes like a chimney. Iโve taken a page from this dryer sheet playbook and started to enclose them with the clothing I consign and sell.
On the flipside donโt overdo it with making your clothing smell fresh. Recently, I purchased a pair of new leggings. When they arrived and I opened the envelope, a โcloudโ of Axe body spray escaped. I had to wash those leggings twice to get rid of the smell.
Hereโs my post on getting the sweat smell out of workout clothes.
Prep your clothes to make them look their best
Take the time to prep your clothes for sale by ironing shirts to a crisp finish, replacing any missing buttons, zipping up zippers so that jackets and pants fold nicely, and trimming off any loose threads or piling on sweaters so they look neat and tidy.
On Poshmark Iโve invested in two kinds of props to help with my selling. One is a dress form so I can โdrapeโ and photograph the clothing Iโm selling.
The other prop is a wooden background so my pictures look professional. You can get both at a craft store like Joann or Michaelsโonline, tooโor even Amazon or Walmart. Iโve even seen them on Etsy.
Follow the storeโs rules
In addition to following my local consignment shopโs seasonal calendar, I also follow their other rulesโsuch as that you have to bring in 10 salable items in order to โmake a consignment.โ Also, I make sure that Iโm bringing in clothing that makes sense for that storeโi.e. work clothes, fashion-forward casual clothing and professional-looking attire.
All the other stuff? I donate because I know the owner wonโt take it to sell. I donโt bring anything in on hangerโverboten!โand I respect the posted drop-off and pick-up times.
Understand that youโll make money but you wonโt get rich
The key to successfully consigning clothes is understanding that youโre never going to make back 100% of what you spent on the clothing, shoes or accessories youโre selling. However, you will get something for them, most likely. Some consignment stores offer a 50/50 split. Others are 60/40. Just make sure you understand the payout terms ahead of time so you donโt leave disappointed.
Send a thank you when you sell something
Poshmark expects you to be a polite buyer and seller. In fact, Poshmark encourages sellers like me to send a thank you note with the item weโve sold.
I always write something like, โThanks for shopping my Posh closet.โ Then Iโll ask the recipient to give me five stars in their review.
What else can I sell to make money
Hereโs another reason that Iโve shifted towards Poshmark. The company has expanded what you can sell on the platform.
These days you can sell housewares, makeup and even dog accessories. For example, someone sent me dog sweaters for my dogs.
The sweaters were small in size. My dogs are 30 and 40 pounds so they were too small. But I couldnโt return the sweaters. So I listed them on Poshmark and made about $20 for each.
Finally, Poshmark also has a section for selling childrenโs clothing and accessories, and menโs clothing, too.
Donate clothes through Give Back Box
If you cannot sell or consign your clothes through any of the avenues Iโve described here, there is always the Give Back Box. It used to be affiliated with Amazon, in that you could get free shipping labels from Amazon. Then, you would reuse your Amazon boxes to send donations directly to Goodwill.
Unfortunately, that partnership with Amazon seems to have ended. However, the Give Back Box lives on. Here is a link to this very good cause.