Rob & Melissa Stephenson from Flea Market Flipper interview Becky Park on Poshmark about reselling clothing.
Becky Park YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beckyparkco
Becky Park On Poshmark Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckyparkonposhmark/?hl=en
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Reseller Hangout Podcast – How To Resell Clothing Interview with Becky Park On Poshmark
Rob: What's up pro flippers? On today's episode, we are super excited to talk to Becky with Becky Park on Poshmark. Cannot wait to actually get into her business. She's gonna reveal some of the stuff that she's doing and we're just super, super excited to talk to her today.
Melissa: Yes, thank you so much for being here.
Becky: Thank you for having me. I am super excited.
Melissa: So let's go ahead and just dive right into how did you even, like how long have you been reselling and kind of like a little bit of a backstory of how you got started and yeah.
Becky: Yeah. So my husband and I we're both teachers. We've been teaching for a while now and you know, we have a lot of like teacher type clothes, that we had either outgrown or just like a lot of stuff that we weren't wearing anymore. And I remember like taking a bunch of stuff to Plato's Closet because that's what I used to do when, you know, there was clothes I wasn't wearing anymore.
And they were like, we can offer you like a dollar for this, and like $2 for that. And some of it was new with tags and I was just like, there's gotta be a better way. And so I ended up bringing everything home and just kind of researching online, like is there a place I can sell clothes online to get a little bit more money for them?
And that's when an ad for Poshmark came up. So I was like, you know what, like maybe I'll try listing a few things over there. My brother had actually told me about Poshmark before as a buyer because he's younger and like hipper and cooler than me. So like he knows like the things that the young people know. And so he, I remember would be like, look at this Gucci belt that is only this much money.
And I'm like, that's stupid. Like you don't even know where this stuff is coming from. But, so I had like a little bit of context as to what it was, and then when I was seeing ads for it, I was like, let's just try. I remember I listed a few things. I think two weeks later, I sold a pair of shoes that my husband had worn and at that point I was hooked.
And then, you know, being like the super ADHD person that I am, I was like, well, let's try to learn more about this. And I, again, just try to do more research online. Was finding a few blogs, but then found like videos on YouTube. And before that I had never really watched YouTube in that way either.
Like before youTube was just kind of like the place that you go to watch funny videos of like cats falling out of windows or things like that, you know? And so I was like, people just like talk on YouTube and like teach you stuff. Like, I don't know. It was opening like a number of worlds and doors to me. So I was watching videos where people were sharing tips on how they made more money on Poshmark, realizing that there were people who literally like would go to thrift stores and buy stuff and sell it online, and that was how they made a full-time living.
My mind was just like blown to smithereens, and so I first listed stuff on Poshmark December 2017, and I think I sold my first thing maybe right at the end of 2017. So I guess that's when you can say I started, I didn't really start taking it seriously till 2018. And by seriously, I mean I was like, let's try going to a thrift store and like shopping for stuff versus just looking in my own closet. But yeah, that's when it all started.
Rob: That's awesome.
Melissa: Yeah. Just birthed from yeah, getting a dollar. I get so frustrated sometimes we go to I'll just bring some of the kids' old stuff to one's upon a child and I'm like, no, it's worth so much more. I just didn't want the time to list it.
Becky: I know. Exactly. Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. But I, I get that. So yeah. That's, that's cool. But it started a whole new thing for you, which is really cool.
Becky: It did. It really did. Yeah.
Rob: Yeah. That's really cool. And, now I'm curious, so Poshmark is, is that the only platform? I mean, your name says it, but did you ever, yeah branch into any other platforms?
Becky: I did. So I was only on Poshmark for probably like a year solid. I just wanted, I mean, I don't even know if I knew for a while that there were other platforms, but as I, you know, continued down this rabbit hole of reselling, that's when I started learning about some of these other platforms. I believe my next one was Mercari.
Okay. Because it's pretty simple. It's pretty user-friendly. I mean, especially back then, it's gotten a little bit more complicated, in the past couple years, I swore for the first maybe a year and a half, two years of being on YouTube that I would never do eBay. I was like, it's too hard. I'm never gonna do it.
You know? I just had such a strong feeling towards it. But I eventually got on eBay and it was fine. I was scared for nothing. I mean, it is very intimidating at first, especially if you start with Poshmark, which is why my tip for newer resellers now is start with eBay. Just start with the beast and then everything will seem so much easier in comparison.
But I did eventually dive into eBay as well. So now I'm on like Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, Kidizen. I've done, I did stuff with Tradesy a little bit, but then they changed and I, I'm done with that. I like, you know, messed around a little bit with like, threadUP and the RealReal. I have like my own Shopify store, so I've kind of tried all of it and, you know, tried to give everything a fair shot.
Depop, I'm on Depop, so, yeah.
Melissa: Cool. And do you have a favorite? Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, which like, or stuff that sold better on different ones?
Becky: Yeah, so I, I would say like Poshmark. It's just always been very consistent for me, and I think that's because over the years I've learned how to utilize a lot of the features and like the selling tools that they offer sellers.
I've just learned how to utilize it in ways that works for me and can help me have pretty consistent sales. I love eBay for the sense of like, you know, it's just a much bigger platform. There's just so many people worldwide who are aware of eBay and trust eBay and are on eBay. So I think it makes sense to be on eBay and get your items in front of as many eyes as possible.
And there are weeks when like eBay does better than Poshmark. So I like having the two. Mercari is kind of whatever.
It's like you know, it'll like throw me a sale here and there. Kidizen, I'm about to let her go because it's kind of rough. Although I did just have a sale there this morning. And then, Depop, I've been kind of pleasantly surprised by, it's probably like my newest ish platform. But it's a really great place for vintage and just kind of weird out there. Things like on Depop brand truly doesn't really matter. It really is just kind of style based, which sometimes I like to thrift based, you know, primarily on style. And that doesn't pay off on any platform, I feel like, except for Depop for the most part.
So they all kind of have little things that they offer. But some are definitely worse than. So, yeah.
Melissa: But do you, When you do a listing, do you then just cross-post it to everywhere or do you say, well this one will do better on this one, probably this one will do better? Or do you just cross-post everything and see what happens?
Becky: Yeah, so I'm a list perfectly girl. So I put everything on list perfectly first and then I'll cross-list it to everywhere that it applies with the exception of Depop. So Depop, even though you can list men's, women's children, like anything, I do try to curate that platform as much as possible to what I think the Depop clientele wants to see. Otherwise, I feel nervous that like people will see just a lot of random stuff that they're like, this isn't what I'm here for, and they'll just leave. I don't feel like that's how reselling platforms like eBay and Poshmark work necessarily. I don't think people are searching by the closet or searching by the store.
I think they're looking for something in particular. They don't care what else you have in there, how unrelated those things are to what it is that they're looking for. But I do feel like the Depop experience is a little bit more like niche in that way. So I try to cater to that audience. But everything else, yes, I will put on any platform that it applies.
I also curate my own like Shopify website because same thing, like I really want that to be more a reflection of like my personal aesthetic and what I find cool and fun and you know, things like that. Yeah. I don't wanna put a CJ Banks, you know, right sweater. I don't know.
Melissa: Yeah. So how have you liked doing Shopify with your own stuff? Like has that been pretty like worth it take to set up? It's a little more to set up and get going.
Becky: There are lots of things that I really hate about it. Mainly the things that you just asked about, like setting it up is a nightmare. Yeah. It is so hard. It's not, in my opinion, very user friendly or intuitive.
I actually bought like a little course that like holds your hand through how to get things set up. And even still, it was hard. I found like a pretty decent YouTube tutorial. There are still aspects of it though that I'm like, I'm doing this wrong, but I don't care. Like, I, like I have sunk so much time and energy into it. So, actually started it maybe like a year and a half ago and like started it but didn't have a clear vision for what I wanted to do. So after like maybe a few months stopped taking it seriously, but in the year 2023, I was like, let's, let's really give it an honest effort and see what happens. So I've been like pleasantly surprised thus far.
Again, I think it helps to really curate what it is that I'm selling on there. And I'm trying to be more strategic too about like how I'm marketing it and you know, things like that. But probably the hardest thing about Shopify, aside from setting it up. You know, for eBay and Poshmark and all these other platforms, part of the reason why you're paying the amount that you're paying in platform fees and whatnot is because they're doing the advertising for you and they're bringing people to this trusted platform for you.
You have to drive all of your own traffic if you have your own Shopify store. And that's what's been really challenging. I mean, you can also be found just like in search results on Google and whatnot, but, it is difficult. And so that has been challenging. So I've, you know, had to try to figure out ways to be strategic about how to get people over there.
So it's not lucrative by any means, but, it is kind of cool having my own little space where I can do what I want with it and, yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: We've got, that's cool. We've gone back and forth with a couple times like, oh, we should just open up our own. But then it's like, oh, the traffic, they give you traffic pretty much. Mm-hmm. Like, it's so, like we go back and forth too. Yeah. Cause we sell a little bit bigger items, so. Could essentially throw Facebook ads to some of them. We've like played around, but it hasn't been worth it. So. Yeah. Not yet. So, but then it's like, oh, you pay those fees. That's why we're paying those fees. Exactly.
Rob: So I'm curious, how, how much are you doing right now? Because you do have a full-time job, correct? Mm-hmm. And you're doing this on the side. How many listings are you doing a day or a week, or, you know, what are you really doing right now as a part-time?
Becky: Yeah, so I am a high school choir teacher.
So I have like a regular school teacher schedule. You know, I have summers off. I have like random breaks like winter break and spring break. But also because of the fact that I'm a high school choir teacher, I feel like I put in a lot more hours than your typical teacher because I have a lot of performances and extra rehearsals and things of that nature. So I feel like I, I am definitely a part-time reseller. I try to do an average of like at least five listings a day, and that's five listings crossed, posted to, you know, as many platforms as possible. So it's, it really is like whatever spare time I have, I try to put towards, you know, reselling and my YouTube channel and things like that.
And at least be consistent with that amount of five listings a day.
Melissa: Okay. Yeah. And then also doing the, the YouTube on top of it is like the whole, whole added thing.
Becky: It is, it's a, it's another part-time job that I've added to the mix. Yeah.
Melissa: Right. That's fun though. Are, have you. Jumped. So are you doing mostly it's all clothes, right? Or is it, have you ventured out into other things as well?
Becky: It is primarily clothes, shoes, and accessories. Okay. Probably like clothing and shoes for the most part. I have done and tried hard goods. I actually did like maybe half a year of selling on Amazon too. Just didn't like it. Like I, I do have a lot of space and we're actually getting ready to move, in a couple months to a house with even more space.
But I just hate having to store hard goods like clothing. It's so easy. You just fold it up, you put it in a bag and it just kind of sits nicely in the bins, hard goods. I'm just like, oh my gosh. Like I, I don't wanna even figure out a system for this. And I, again, just don't really enjoy hard goods. Mm-hmm.
I feel like I don't know very much about them. I don't know what does well, so if it's stuff that's just like in my own house, I'll go ahead and list that stuff, right? Like mm-hmm. I just sold something on Kidizen this morning and it was like a little nativity, like a fisher price. Little people nativity set that, you know, we just obviously don't use anymore. My kids are a little bit older. And I was like, I could donate this. I could whatever. Let me just try listing it for a little bit and see what happens. And it's sold within, you know, 12 hours of being listed. It's just, I don't wanna like list those things.
Yeah. But yeah, I dabbled in hard goods, but it is primarily clothing and shoes.
Melissa: Cool. Have you jumped on the live selling of clo, like the live shows for clothing?
Becky: Yeah, I've done whatnot. Okay. And it's okay. I think whatnot really can be lucrative for people who are able to source a lot, very cheaply.
Mm-hmm. And that's not my situation. I don't live near a bins. I think the closest bins to me is like a two hour drive. So I don't live near the bins. I don't have time to go to the bins. And, you know, I'm finding the majority of my stuff at places like thrift stores and consignment stores. So the price point at which I'm purchasing my items doesn't really make sense as far as live sales are concerned. I have done it though, and I do enjoy it to some degree. Like, I feel like I am a pretty social person and I do enjoy like that aspect of like, hey, we're hanging out. But the ROI on my time I feel like is not as good as if I just sit down and list stuff.
So I, I get the appeal, I get why people do it. I just think I've learned that it's not really for me. So, yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. I think it's, I I think they're interesting, but I don't know if I'd, I mean, and there could be fun like you get, you know mm-hmm. You get going, get the energy and it's a lot of fun. But like knowing the ROI when you only have so many hours in a week.
Yes. Like you have to know what can be worthwhile for your time. For sure. Absolutely. So, what kind of system you mentioned like you have bins of clothes. So what kind of system do you use for your inventory and do you have somebody helping you list also or use it?
Becky: No, I have had periods where like, maybe I'll have a helper here or there, but, I don't right now.
And so for my inventory system, I, I try to keep it fairly simple. So essentially I have two things. I have bins and I have Ziploc bags. And the Ziploc bags have skew numbers on them, and I just reuse the Ziploc bags over and over again. So if I have like an Adidas shirt in bag number one, and then that shirt sells, then whenever I, you know, photograph something else, that'll just go on bag number one and that I'll get the skew number one. So I like to reuse stuff as often as possible. That's just what's worked best for me. And like I said, because I just don't have that much time, I'm trying to keep it as streamlined as possible.
Melissa: Yeah. And I, one other question I had for, since you do clothes and do you offer returns? Because I feel like with clothing and shoes and stuff, that's a little bit harder to not take returns. So do you offer returns on all your items?
Becky: So, the nice thing about platforms like Poshmark and Mercari is they make it pretty difficult for buyers to try to get a return on an item.
Rob: Interesting.
Becky: Like, for example, yeah, like, it's supposed to be, and I've heard that maybe this is not the case as much anymore, but it's supposed to be that you're not allowed to open a case based off of fit. So I mean, you can, you can be like, this doesn't fit me, but Poshmark and Mercari are supposed to say, sorry, we don't offer returns based on fit. Like you should have, you know, asked for measurements or, you know, measurements should have been provided to you beforehand. So there's a little bit of protection for the seller. Yeah. Of like, you know, there's no buyer, there's no, I didn't like this, like. Right.
Poshmark is like, okay, but that's, that's not a good reason for you to return this item. Okay. On places like Poshmark and Mercari, I think really the only, reason that people would get their returns approved. is if, you know, you didn't disclose, list it properly, you yeah. Yeah. You didn't disclose a flaw or something like that.
Okay. You know, you sent the wrong item.
Rob: Not as described. Yeah.
Becky: Yeah, exactly. But even on eBay, for me personally, I, I do allow for returns and you will get returns for things like, it didn't fit right, or I just didn't like it, or whatever. And I, I don't really care because that's part of doing business and I am, you know, filled with confidence that that item will sell again.
And it always does, unless there really legitimately is something that I missed. In which case, sometimes, especially on eBay, I'll be like, just keep it like, I don't even want , you know, I don't need that thing back if it has the giant tear that you're telling me about or whatever. Right? So yes, there are some issues, but not so much that I'm like, I'm done.
Like I quit. You know, this is too much. I just kind of, I just know like that's part of doing business just like it would be for any regular retail store. You know, they know they're gonna get returns. They know that 99% of the time the returns are legitimate. 1% of the time people find really, you know, exhausting ways to suck.
But it's like, you know, if you let that deter you from working with 99% of the population this probably isn't the best line of work for you to be in, but yeah.
Rob: It's a great outlook. That is a great outlook for sure. So realizing that, so I love that.
Melissa: Because, and that's one thing we talk about too, is like every business has its flaws or has its ups and downs.
Yeah. But you know, so if you go into it expecting that there's gonna be a small percentage that either you don't love or that just kind of is whatever, it's business, then mm-hmm, I think that helps a lot. So, yeah.
Rob: And that's interesting what you say about Poshmark and Mercari yeah, I do too. I cause eBay.
We've been on eBay for 25 years. Mm-hmm. And we've seen them. ebb and flow towards, you know, backing the sellers and then backing the buyers. Mm-hmm. And then backing the sellers. I mean, it's been a juggle back and forth for years. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And right now we feel like they very much are leaned towards the sellers and the buyers.
Backing the buyers, sorry. Yeah. Sorry. The buyers. Yeah. Yeah. And I feel like it's more because of people have stuff now on Amazon. Amazon makes it so easy to buy something so easy, turn it, and other platforms are feeling the pressure to do that. And I feel like that's where eBay's probably tried to follow suit and do it.
Yeah. But it's very interesting what you say about those two platforms that they actually make it harder to return. That's, that's really cool. I'm glad that that's the case for sure.
Becky: Yeah, they, they do and that's what's in their policy. But, you know, I am a part of a few like Poshmark Facebook groups, I'm what you call a lurker.
Like, I don't think I've ever commented on those things, but like I just kind of like see what's happening and one consistent comment that's been coming up a lot more is that, well, Poshmark is starting to accept returns based on things like fit things that they say they're not gonna accept returns for. I can only speak from personal experience. Right? And like it's, I mean, I don't have very many situations where cases are open, but I feel like any time that I have, even in the last year or two that has been related to, it's always been approved, or sorry, it's always been denied in the sense that, you know, they have to keep the item, I get my earnings released to me.
So from my own personal experience, and I think I do a good job too, of like taking pictures of measurements and I disclose flaws and things of that nature. So I have found that Poshmark tends to side with me. I can't really remember a time that I've been upset cuz I've been like, oh, Poshmark, you know, they went against their policy.
And on Mercari, I've had some situations where Mercari will say, you know what? Like in order to honor both sides, like we're gonna let the, we're gonna refund the buyer, but we're also gonna release the earnings to the seller. So, I don't know, like I've just had pretty pleasant experiences with both. Of course, if you look, you're gonna find people that are like, nope, Poshmark sucks and this is why, and this is what they did to me.
You'll find those people. It just personally hasn't happened to me yet. So.
Rob: Absolutely. Yeah. We get that back and forth. Even people, have bad experiences with eBay and we've, I mean, have good experiences. We don't have a ton of, return requests and we don't have that. Mm-hmm. But it definitely goes down to what you said as well, doing the proper pictures, the proper measurements.
Yes. So your buyer has the expectations, the right expectations when they're receiving the item. And that does alleviate a lot of the headache. Yeah. The headache, the stress, and of returns when you're, you're disclosing everything you possibly can about it. So, but yeah, that's really cool.
Melissa: Yeah. So are, what are your, what, what is kind of your average monthly income as part-time as a part-time reseller?
Becky: Yeah. So from reselling, I would say like anything between two to three grand a month in net profit is pretty, like average. Like the few times that I have gone north of $3,000 I'm like, oh my gosh. Like, you know, it's awesome. But that's also because like, I mean, I take it seriously, I feel like.
This is not what puts food on the table for my family. Right. You know, like it is very much like if I have to take a step back because work got really busy or because things are happening in the family. I do. And even though I have, you know, two and a half months in the summer, to like really get after it, one, it's summer and we all know like sales just kind of suck in the summer.
And two, like that's when I just go and travel as much as I can with my family because that's when we get to do it. So I don't know. It's. Yes, I take it seriously, but also I'm out here like trying to enjoy my life, so I'm like cool, and content with $2,000 to $3,000 in net profit a month.
Rob: That's awesome.
Melissa: In net profit. That's really good. Yeah, that is good. That's awesome. We love the flexibility of this business. I think that is probably one of the most awesome things about this being like a side hustle or even full-time, like the flexibility.
If you need more money, you can work harder. Like you can hustle, hustle. If you wanna take a break, then you take a break, which is pretty cool.
Rob: That strikes another question. So do you ever see this as going to where you would want to go full-time ads at, at reselling, or do you kind of like the side hustle and the, the flexibility it lets you do in that extra income?
Becky: Yeah, I mean, there, I shared this on my YouTube channel too, but there was actually like, so last year, maybe around like March or something I had announced to my students that I was taking a year off. And that was for me to just try doing this full-time and, you know, like fully going on myself when it comes to reselling and my YouTube channel and even just other things that I was interested and I was like ready to do it. But then there's something that happens at the end of every school year, especially with like high schoolers that it's kind of like, you know, women who give birth and they say like, a year later you forget like how awful it was to be pregnant and how awful like giving birth actually was.
And then you're like, oh yeah, I want another baby. I wanna get pregnant. Like, it's exactly like that. Like I was like, why did I wanna give this up? And I, so I like rescinded my request to take a year, you know, of absence and I think there's a part of me that does romanticize the idea of going all in and working for myself and not having the pressures of like a typical mine is like a seven to four o'clock job.
You know, like, but also I feel like there's something in my DNA that requires me to like be around other people and to go to sleep at night feeling like I made a difference in like a child's life. You know what I mean? And so, for that reason I feel like at least for now, for the foreseeable future, I think I'm gonna stay in education and do anything else just kind of on the side.
And it's almost like necessary that there's a side hustle cuz teachers get paid deadly squat. Also, like it's fun and I would, you know, do it even if I got paid a lot, I feel like. But no, I, teaching is hard, but I feel like it's what I'm supposed to be doing right now.
Melissa: So it's, it's, it's fulfilling. It's, yeah.
Becky: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it is. And not to say that like you can't be fulfilled as a reseller, but I, I do think, like having spent so many years. Like getting so much from my students, like to all of a sudden not have that. I think that would be really hard.
Melissa: Yeah, absolutely. So what is something, you would tell somebody who's just starting their recent, like they wanna get started, they wanna, you know, start on some of these platforms.
What is a piece of advice that you'd wanna give to them as they're getting started?
Becky: So I always tell people, you know, I think the majority of people who want to resell or who are resellers, I think they get the most excited about like going out and sourcing and thrifting. But my biggest piece of advice would be to just start with what you have in your own home first. Don't go out and spend any money on anything because you don't even know if you're gonna like it yet. You know? But like, just start with what you have in your home. Raid your closet, look under your sinks and your bathrooms. Like there's so much money hiding everywhere. And like learn about what you have already and just learn how to use these platforms.
I also recommend just starting on one platform, and like I said earlier, even though it's the hardest one, personally, I recommend starting on eBay because if you can master eBay, everything else will be such a piece of cake. But yeah, those are the two biggest things is just start with what you have at home.
Figure out how to list it on eBay, figure out how all the shipping and stuff works, and just like master it. And then like once you've actually got some capital in your bank account based off of like what you've been doing, you know, for a few months or whatever. Then you can reinvest that at places like the thrift store or whatever, garage sales, estate sales, but with like more information and knowledge than what you would've had just kind of going in blind.
Because I think a lot of people that I talk to, they're like, oh, I have so many bad buys sitting around at home from when I first started and it's like, yeah, you were just too excited to jump in. That's exactly what I did. I still have, I think, like one thing listed from my very first thrift trip, and I like leave it in my closet and in my like eBay store as a reminder of like, remember.
Yeah. You know. But.
Melissa: And when that sells, it might. That'd be really funny.
Becky: Oh my God. Yeah. We're gonna throw a party like it's gonna be, but nobody wants it. And I, I totally understand why. So.
Rob: I love it. Such great advice. Start with what you have and then start with one platform. That's such, such key advice.
Melissa: So it gives you a little bit of pool of money to start with too.
Becky: It does. So it does. Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah, it is really cool.
Rob: So, great advice. So yeah, Becky, we definitely wanna be respectful of your time. Thank you so much for jumping on here. If everybody who watches this wants to connect with you or what, how can they reach out to you and, get in contact with you or see more of your content?
Becky: So on Instagram, I'm Becky Park on Poshmark. On YouTube I just changed it. I used to be Becky Park on Poshmark there as well, but I just changed it to Becky Park. So if you search Becky Park, you should be able to find me there. I think those are my main social media platforms, so if you go to any of those places, you should be able to find me.
Melissa: Awesome. We'll put the links in the show notes also so you guys can go check those out and definitely go follow her through some more reselling advice. And yeah, this has been a lot of fun.
Rob: Absolutely. Thank you so much for spending some time with us today greatly.
Becky: Thank you guys.
Rob: You rock. How wonderful day.