How to Run an Insta-Sale…

For about a year or so now, I’ve had great success selling my lightly worn {and sometimes brand new!} clothes on Instagram. You can check out my shop @thecuratedcloset to see some of my past items. I’ve found that selling over Instagram is a fun way to connect with friends online while giving my neglected clothes new owners and putting a little money in my PayPal account at the same time.

I’ve always been good at recycling my wardrobe by selling my old pieces before I buy new ones. {Here’s a post on how to sell your clothes for cash.} In the past I’ve sold my clothes at Plato’s, Buffalo Exchange, and an upscale consignment shop here called My Sister’s Closet, but I’ve found I make more money selling directly online. I was usually getting $3 average per piece at Plato’s Closet, so if I can make even $4-6 on IG after paying for shipping and handling I’m coming out ahead.

Please note: I only sell nice, quality clothing online. I’ve seen people sell try to sell rumpled clothes or pieces with broken zippers and missing buttons before, which I don’t think is appropriate in most instances. If I post an item for sale, you can trust that it’s in good condition, with no stains, holes, or other obvious wear and tear.

That being said, here are a few of my tips if you are thinking about running a sale of your own:

Post quality images. I’ve gotten better about posting images of my clothing over the past year. If you look back through old photos, you will see that I used to lay items on my bed or try to hang them in random places around the house {and once in my backyard!} where I had enough natural light. Since then I’ve realized I can move a decorative hook from the guest room into my bedroom where I have a well-lit white wall to use as backdrop for my pieces. Experiment a bit and find a place around your house that has great natural light and a neutral background for your clothing.

Consider shipping costs. I don’t weigh anything. I just estimate shipping, always trying to come out with at least $5 profit per item. Shoes are expensive to ship ($10+) and I’ve actually lost money on them before. If something is small/light/compact enough, I always recommend putting it in an envelope if you can. In the past I’ve used yellow mailer envelopes, but I recently bought a bunch of plastic mailing envelopes off Amazon, which is saving me a ton of money. I can often ship lightweight items like tees and scarves for only $2 or $3 that way. Any time you have to use a box, shipping will go up to the $5-8 range, if not more. {Also, small bubble mailers work great for jewelry!}

Price thoughtfully. As far as pricing, you can either include shipping in your price or charge additional shipping after the selling price {ex: This shirt is $8 SHIPPED or this shirt is $6 + $5 shipping}. I think most people like it when shipping is included as a flat price, but I’ve seen sellers have success doing it both ways. Either way, I think it’s nice to offer discounts to people who buy multiple items or who can pick up locally.

Work hard. Honestly, IG sales are a lot of work for a couple of days. Since I don’t run a handmade biz or anything, I’m definitely not a pro with the whole shipping process. I’m sure there are easier and cheaper ways to do it, but I just sit down for a few hours one night, pack up and address everything, and haul it to the post office the next day.

Make it personal. Even though it’s a bit of work, I really like running Insta-sales because it’s a fun way to connect with blog readers. I include a personal note and a business card in every package. Clearly, this takes extra time but I think it’s worth it. I’ve had buyers email me to say thank you after receiving their package or post a picture of their new item on IG. It just feels really personal to mail something with a handwritten note to someone’s house, and it doesn’t hurt to get your name out there either.

Expand your following. You need a decent online following to run one of these sales successfully. Right now 100+ people follow my @thecuratedcloset account and I feel like its enough to have a decent sale, but I’d like to see my audience grow in the future. Ideally, I would shoot for 100 followers before hosting a sale, but I would make sure you have a least 50 followers to make it worth your time. You might try selling a few items over your regular Instagram account at first, since you probably already have a decent audience. If you have success, you could then open a separate Instagram shop account and ask interested friends to follow your new account and help spread the word.

Here is full-disclosure on one of the sales I had last fall. It’s the only sale I’ve kept accurate numbers for, and I’m happy to share them with you. I made about $250 gross in this sale. I spent about $75 total in shipping. So with my net of $175 divided by the number of items I sold (which I think was around 33), it looks like I made about $5.30 per item. This is far more than I was making per item hauling my clothes across town to Plato’s Closet.

And on that note… if you are interested in buying lightly worn and new fashions and accessories, please check out @thecuratedcloset and spread the word to your friends. I’m going to be hosting another sale soon. I have a few lingering summer pieces I will sell for rock bottom prices and I’m going to be rolling out some fall styles as well! See you on Instagram!

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