Have you ever cleared out your wardrobe to find a huge pile of clothes that you know you'll never wear again? Sure, you could take them to a market stall or try to sell them to a friend, but you'd be amazed at how quickly second-hand clothes can sell on a clothes-selling app.
When upcycling doesn't tick the right boxes and you just want to free up some space, you need to learn how to use a clothes-selling app. We've researched and selected a list of the top trending apps where you can sell your clothes and shop around for some that you might like to buy. We reviewed apps like Depop, Vinted, and eBay so that you can do it all online just by using your phone!
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Now, we can take a look at the essentials of selling clothes on an app. These are the main factors that you should keep an eye out for when you're looking to download your new app.
Different apps are good for selling different clothes so how can you tell which app is best for you? Consider who you'll sell to and what it is that you're going to be selling. Whether that's designer skirts, ripped jeans, vintage blouses, or winter coats, you can find an app hat works for you.
Whenever you clean out your wardrobe, you almost always find long-lost items of clothing that leave you baffled as to where they came from and why you ever owned them. Jumpers, vests, random blazers from your old office job – the list is endless. Without a doubt, your solution is to download an app for clothes where you can sell the generic items of everyday clothing that need rehoming.
Another benefit that you'll find with apps that have a general niche is that you can sell lots of other things too. Some general apps focus on streetwear and day-to-day clothes, while others have a clothing section as well as other categories like cars, homeware and electricals.
If you don't have a particular audience you'd like to sell to, it's always handy to download an app like this, just in case you want to sell anything else around your house.
Designer products and luxury items of clothing are some of the most difficult types of clothing to sell online. When a customer can't feel the quality of the material or get caught up in the frenzy you experience in flashy designer shops, it's quite tricky to make a sale.
However, if you have unwanted luxury clothes that you feel still have value, you can sell them on an app where people actively search for top-quality brands like Chanel, Gucci, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton.
Since you're selling costly clothes to a particular niche, there's usually an additional step in the buying process where you have to send your products to an authentication centre to prove their value. While it might prolong the time it takes to sell, you can be sure that you won't be subjected to any refunds or buyer complaints.
Vintage clothes are all the rage right now, surprisingly more so amongst the younger generation of fashion lovers. That's right, the box of old clothes in your attic filled with clothes from the 70s is now far more valuable than you expected.
Long floral skirts, stripy cropped t-shirts and retro windshield jackets are exactly what you can sell on apps like Vinted and Depop. Remember though, vintage clothes are also old clothes, so they usually go for more affordable prices on clothes-selling apps.
That being said, feel free to sell vintage-style clothes at a higher price if they are more modern because you'll still be accommodating to the styles in demand. For a selection of unique clothes at a varied price range, an app to sell vintage clothes is what you need.
Since these apps are all free to download and set up, they might want a small commission from each of your sales. This can either be a percentage or a fixed price, or if you're lucky, it might even be free!
While this fee can be disappointing at first, it's no different to paying for a market stall or for paying for them to be recycled, so in that perspective, sparing a few pence while making some money doesn't seem too bad. You could even add a little to the cost of the item to make up for it.
We've made sure to make a note of which apps take fees and how much they charge so that you can narrow down your options and make a balanced decision.
Depop is the most well-known app used to sell clothes, but especially streetwear, vintage clothes and other trending and unique pieces. It has a very similar system to Instagram, where you upload a square image or a series of images and write the information in the caption below.
This is a revolutionary take on how clothes are usually sold, allowing you to freely express yourself in a creative way whilst not only selling a piece of clothing but adding some personality to your listings too. It's a great tool if you want to grow a niche audience and make lots of sales, and you can even swap products with people who are willing.
Vinted is targeted somewhat at a middle-aged demographic, although it doesn't really matter who you're selling to, more so what you are selling. Things like long floral skirts and vintage blouses are what sell in a flash with this popular app.
Vinted also offer Post Office parcel tracking, and the ability to transfer your profits to your bank account after delivery. They can showcase your second-hand clothes to their millions of users, giving you a great chance to sell your unwanted clothes and get some money in return. Most importantly, this app doesn't take any commission so you get to keep every penny you earn.
Rebelle is fairly steep in terms of pricing, with up to 33% commission taken from each sale depending on the product. However, this app is probably the easiest to use as your products are sent directly to Rebelle who will assess your item and handle the sale themselves.
In addition, they offer a concierge service for just £15, so it's all very minimal effort. If you own luxury designer wear that you don't use anymore, this is the best clothes-selling app for you.
Preloved is another popular selling app in the UK and has a similar function to eBay, only it's free to list! It's a place where you can sell almost anything you want to get rid of alongside your old clothes. Of course, this means that it might take a while for your clothes to get noticed.
That said, if you have any clothes from popular designers that are limited edition or in popular demand, you're likely to get a lot of attention. If clothes are just one item on a long list of things that you might want to sell in the future, downloading Preloved is a great way to continue networking with potential customers.
Picture Balenciaga, Chanel, Fendi and all of the other big-name brands you can't exactly sell at a market – that's where this app comes in useful. Plus, there's no pressure on you as a seller because your items are shipped to the authentication team to examine before sending them to the customer.
This luxury niche is fairly condensed and you might have to be lenient with your prices in order to stay competitive. To make sure that you get good sales, don't forget to consider how worn your item is, how many of them are on the market, and what its honest value is.
Varsity jackets, jeans and party shirts from on-trend labels are what you'll see getting snapped up quickly on Grailed. If that sounds like your wardrobe, this is definitely the app that you need to help you get rid of your old clothes from your uni (or current!) years.
While Grailed can give you the chance to sell your selection of high-quality men's clothes, it isn't exactly gender-inclusive and has a very particular niche. This means that your visibility isn't as high as it would be on a fully-inclusive app like Depop. It's also only available on the iOS app store.
When using eBay, you have the freedom to upload any item of clothing from any fashion style you like, whether for auction or for shoppers to pay for instantly. You also have the option to sell a random selection of clothes in a bag for people to buy at a fixed price.
The thing about eBay is that it's a widely overpopulated product source. It's visited by millions every single day and you can find just about anything on there. While it's great for selling clothes, and anything else you want rid of, there's a lot of competition and there's a lower chance of customers finding you before everyone else.
With social media being our main tool of communication with large audiences, it makes perfect sense that we use apps to sell clothes. Attending flea markets, going to charity shops and setting up market stalls to try and sell your clothes can seem like such outdated concepts in comparison!
Aside from giving you the opportunity to earn money from clothes that you don't want anymore, using an app has a number of benefits, such as minimal physical contact between you and the customer. You can arrange to meet locally or ship the items to them so the process can be as safe as you decide to make it.
Another benefit of using a clothing app is that you can grow an audience who will return to buy more of your items, so it'll essentially be your own mini thrift shop that you can use to earn money from old clothes, shoes and accessories.
Like any social media app, anyone can use an app for selling clothes. That said, you need a certain skill set to guarantee successful and consistent sales. Here are a few tips that will help you get to grips with your new side hustle.
Time to refresh your wardrobe now you've had a clear out? Here are some of our latest fashion articles to help you find some pieces you'll really love. And if you're over them by next season, you can always give them a second life and sell them on!
Hopefully, you've found an app that caught your attention. Depop is always going to be the most popular clothes selling app, but perhaps you want to try one of the up-and-coming alternatives that we've included in our list. Whichever you choose to download, we hope that your clothes-selling journey is super successful!
Author: Annie Speight
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