Thrift Shopping Online
*I am not a seller for or representative of Poshmark. All writing and opinions are my own.
Hello, hello everyone! I don't know about you but Covid-19 has really put a stop to the thrifting that I love to do at Goodwill. Spending an hour or two looking through the racks and finding something wonderful for a few dollars has always been a fun outing in my opinion. But, even though the stores are now open, I just don't feel that I want to go in right now. So, I was kind of excited when I found Poshmark online and decided to scoop up a few items and give it a try. My very first buy from Poshmark is the lovely Alfred Dunner red top you see above.
For those readers who may not be familiar with Poshmark, it is an online buying and selling platform for clothing, jewelry, shoes and selected makeup and beauty products. I have heard Poshmark spoken about on other blogs I read for quite awhile but had never looked into what it offered until about three weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of gently used and new-with-tags clothing that is offered by different sellers. You must set up an account to browse (email, a user name you select and a password you invent) and then you can create your "feed" on which you can select brand name clothing you like. You can also search for any brand using a huge list of brands already listed in A-Z order. If you see an article of clothing you are interested in you can either buy it at the sellers price or you can "make an offer" for the item and wait to see if the seller counter-offers or accepts your price. If they accept your price it is automatically sold to you. I have found it fun to make offers to see what happens. The red top was listed for $16 and I offered $8 which the seller accepted. I use paypal for purchases on Poshmark but I believe you can also use other forms of payment as well. I'm still learning the platform. There is a standard $7.11 shipping fee which, in my opinion, can take away from getting a bargain. So, I take that into consideration when making a purchase. If you buy from one seller only, you can "bundle" items and get a discount on the bundle. I have also learned that if I "like" an item the seller will usually come back with an offer of a lower price and/or a lower price for shipping (usually $4.95).
This striped top with bell sleeves by "A New Approach" is another item that I bundled with a pair of sandals. I actually messed up a bit on my first order because I didn't understand how to do "bundling" from one seller. The red top, striped top and sandals were all from the same seller and I ended up buying the red top first and getting free shipping (which you get for your first order) and then I saw the striped top and sandals and made offers on them but then realized that I would be charged for shipping. Oh well, it took me awhile to learn the platform and how everything works. The Crocs sandals (not shown in this post) were marked by the seller at $19 and the striped top was marked by the seller at $13. I offered lower prices on both and the seller offered me a bundle price of $11 for both items together! I had to pay the shipping costs and tax which brought the total up to $19 but I still think that's a pretty good bargain!
So, here is my list of pros and cons for using Poshmark.
Pros:
- There are many, many sellers offering a plethora of clothing items and brand names
- You can search for items by brand names or "follow" a particular seller that you like to "shop their closet."
- If you are so inclined, you can sell on Poshmark as well as shop for items. I am not interested in selling items at this time.
- It is possible to make lower offers for items. The offers may or may not be accepted by the seller.
- The buyer is able to "decline" offers that are made by the seller.
- For those who like the social aspect of things, Poshmark can be an avenue for social commenting on items and "parties" offered to shop clothing online. I have not taken advantage of the social aspect of Poshmark.
Cons:
- It takes awhile to learn the platform. It's not difficult but I recommend exploring for awhile before diving right into making purchases. I missed out on free shipping for all my items because I wasn't quite sure what I was doing.
- The shipping fee is at a set price of $7.11 whether you buy one item or multiple items from one seller. And, if you buy from multiple sellers you pay the shipping fee for each seller. Plus you pay tax for each purchase. So, in my opinion, the shipping fees can take away from the bargain aspect of buying an item.
I have enjoyed browsing Poshmark and seeing what they offer and I am enjoying my new purchases. I also have a couple pairs of pants on order right now so I will have some more Poshmark items to show you in future posts. I have found that Poshmark is not as good a bargain as Goodwill, due to some of the seller's prices and the shipping costs, but I like what I have bought so far and it is possible to find some really quality, name brand pieces on Poshmark so I recommend giving it a try!
Have you bought from Poshmark before? Are you a bargain shopper like me? Hope you will leave a comment and let me know!
Until Next Time,
Debbie
11 comments:
That red top is beautiful! And I like the black and white striped top too. I seem to always be drawn to black and white together. Your detailed information is such a help before trying Poshmark. I think I'm going to go there to browse.
This is interesting and I appreciate you giving such an honest opinion Debbie. I have never used this site nor do I plan to (still prefer the try-on aspect for myself, I can't stand returns!!), but I did wonder what is about. I am a bargain shopper also, will wait on sales and I do enjoy browsing in consignment shops. We have a lot of good ones where I live and they are once again open, so that's the route I've been going. About Poshmark, what happens if something you ordered doesn't fit when you get it, or if you just don't like it. Do they do returns? Is that also at a cost to the person returning? I am sincerely hoping that this current environment doesn't cause too many brick and mortar stores to close. I am not a big fan of online because, like I mentioned above, I really need to try on to make sure I'm getting a perfect fit. Yours is the first review I've seen on shopping with Poshmark, so I'm glad you did this!
This is interesting and I appreciate you giving such an honest opinion Debbie. I have never used this site nor do I plan to (still prefer the try-on aspect for myself, I can't stand returns!!), but I did wonder what is about. I am a bargain shopper also, will wait on sales and I do enjoy browsing in consignment shops. We have a lot of good ones where I live and they are once again open, so that's the route I've been going. About Poshmark, what happens if something you ordered doesn't fit when you get it, or if you just don't like it. Do they do returns? Is that also at a cost to the person returning? I am sincerely hoping that this current environment doesn't cause too many brick and mortar stores to close. I am not a big fan of online because, like I mentioned above, I really need to try on to make sure I'm getting a perfect fit. Yours is the first review I've seen on shopping with Poshmark, so I'm glad you did this!
Thanks, Sharon. Hope you enjoy browsing!
Hi Karen: Poshmark doesn't really do returns. You can "reposh" something (in other words try to sell it yourself) if something doesn't fit. There are a few sellers who sell new or "boutique" items that state they will accept a return if they have another size available but there is a $7 restocking fee and it really doesn't make it worthwhile in my opinion. I'm still learning but I think the return fees would be out of pocket also. I wouldn't bother with it. I've tried to pick brands that I already know how their sizing works or I try to read up on them before I order. But, even so, trying them on beforehand would be better. Stein Mart is going out of business and I am very sad about that!
I enjoyed your review of Poshmark, Debbie. I signed up for Poshmark a couple of months ago. I haven't bought any clothes from this site, but have found some nice Pier 1 (which has also gone out of business) candle and reed diffusuers at a great price. Also I have found some Philosophy products I enjoy, at a great price. I try to buy a few things from the same seller by checking their personal "closet" so the combined shipping costs at $7.11 are reasonable and even a good deal, as you pointed out. If you sign up for the site, they have fairly frequent sales where the shipping costs drop to $4.99 if you buy an item you've previously marked that you "like". The seller also drops the price of the item for a short set amount of time. Poshmark emails you when these sales happen--they are seemingly unpredictable. I've taken advantage of that a couple times. I've had only good experiences on Poshmark, but again, I wouldn't want to take the chance on clothing unless I'm very familiar with how the brand fits.
Well, welcome to Poshmark. You're right, there are pros and cons. I've bought a few things and sold a few things. You're right, the shipping charge is pretty high and you're not guaranteed the item is sized correctly. I've received a couple of things that said the right size in the tag - but definitely were not. I don't see this as a selling avenue, will probably browse around more - but it's at least an interesting place to visit. I agree, I LOVE browsing around in a thrift store where I can touch and feel. Maybe one day we'll be able to do that again.
Grace & Peace,Iris
www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Hi Kara: I'll have to check out Poshmark for Anthropologie and Pier 1 items and see what they offer. I have mainly looked at clothing at this point but I know there is more! Thanks so much for reading my post. Hope you will stop by often!
Hi Iris: Didn't know you were a fellow posher! Yes, I know what you mean about sizing. I probably could have gone down a size, especially on the striped top, but I don't mind a top being roomier. I find it comfortable especially around the tummy area so I'm sticking with what I got.
Debbie, I've also recently joined Mercari. Have you heard of that? Some of the same sellers sell on both Poshmark and Mercari I've discovered. I've liked what I've gotten on Mercari, too--more of the Pier 1 things. The sellers on both sites I've dealt with have been so nice and friendly!
Kara
Funnily enough, I've seen several mentions of frugal/preloved/second hand/ whatever you call it type sites recently, both on vlogs and blogs.
Maybe the internet is trying to tell me something!
xx
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