Reselling unwanted clothes, jewelry and other accessories sounds like a great idea in theory for making extra money. You don’t have space in your closet anymore and one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

However, if you are anything like me, then you know this can feel like an overwhelming job in itself. There are a million places and sites that do this now, but you have to photograph and market it, set a price, converse with the buyer, package it, print a label and ship it. To me the work doesn’t always feel equivalent to the reward.

I have tried a few different online sites for selling clothes including Depop, Poshmark and Mercari. They were fairly easy and simple to set up, but I found myself dreading taking the photographs that made the item look appealing. Then I would find, most of my items would only sell for about $5-10 (maybe more or less depending on the brand). By the time these sites take their cut, it didn’t feel like I was walking away with much of a profit to justify all the work that went into it. I personally am already bad about making returns at UPS, let alone using them for a home business.

For some of my friends, they have amazing success with these sites and don’t find this work too much at all. I know for me, without a larger pay out, the effort is just not worth it to me. I am finding some success with bigger ticket items, like old designer sunglasses I don’t wear like Raybans. In these instances, the effort is worth it.

I think to really make a successful closet resale business you have to be organized. You need both dedicated time and space. For example, if there is a room available in your house dedicated to keeping these for sale items (readily available) with a printer and shipping equipment, you will probably have more success. In a small and crowded apartment, you will feel suffocated in your space and likely this won’t be sustainable. I am hoping to just hold onto items I know will resell for a good price and if I don’t really attract an immediate buyer on any platform, I will donate it.

I have to be honest, I have a GREAT closet with amazing high quality and hardly warn pieces. This is probably partially a reason I have accumulated some debt. Like a lot of nurses seeking out dopamine from burnout, I have rewarded myself over the years with shopping. I would love to find a business that will take these great items off your hands and market them for you while not completely robbing you of making a profit. If you know of any, I would love to hear it. If you live in the DMV area and want to go shopping in my closet let me know as well!

I have heard people find more success on the Facebook marketplace because it can remove the element of shipping. I am going to be looking into this further and reporting back over the next few weeks.

Best of luck to everyone on their debt free journey!