If you’re interested in reselling on Poshmark, a key part of your business is going to be figuring out what items are worth picking up or ‘sourcing’ for your inventory. Some items may be free and come from your personal closet or friends or family, but when you are spending money on inventory you need to know if something is worth your while. Whether you source at thrift stores, estate sales, do retail arbitrage, or even source through discount websites, running ‘comps’ or comparable items, is critical.
What Are Comps?
When a reseller says ‘run comps’ they mean that they are looking up what similar items (or even exact ones) have sold for and what the demand is. There is a HUGE difference between retail prices and reselling prices. For example, some items that retail for over $100, think a Banana Republic blazer, might only resell for $20, while a pair of Rothy’s shoes that come in limited edition colors and prints, might resell for MORE than their retail price! You can’t just go off of an item’s original retail price in determining whether it’s a good pick up. You need to run comps.
How to Run Comps
So let me walk you through exactly how I run comps on Poshmark while I’m out sourcing. Recently when I was at the thrift store I found a vintage Diane von Furstenberg sweater. If you don’t know who Diane von Furstenberg is, let me tell you, she is a BAMF. She’s known for designing feminine wrap dresses in bold prints, which retail anywhere from $300-$600.
Here’s the sweater:
It’s a classic sweater in a pretty shade, and the tag looks vintage! I mean, any Diane von Furstenberg item is worth looking up comps in my opinion, and a vintage sweater could be a great buy!
So here’s how I ran comps in the thrift store on this sweater. I got on Poshmark and searched for “Diane von Furstenberg vintage sweater.” Here’s what comes up, and it’s not too bad:
Without a specific style number (which some brands put by the material tag) or style name it’s hard to use more keywords, but I’ll narrow it down by the size (small) and color (blue, obviously). Here’s what comes up after refining the search further:
Hmm, sort of meh — but here’s the key part. You need to look at what has SOLD instead of just what’s available. After I switch the search results to solds, look at this:
An EXTREMELY SIMILAR sweater, if not exactly the same, sold for just $10. I don’t remember how much this sweater was going for at the thrift store, but there really isn’t any price that would justify a $10 sale since Posh fees are $2.95. This is exactly why running comps is so important – you can’t be brand blind! Diane von Furstenberg on the surface seems like an easy item to say yes to, but the reality is much different.
Do I Always Have to Run Comps?
In the beginning, I would say yes that you should ALWAYS run comps. Usually after I make my rounds through the thrift store I find a place to sit and run comps on everything I threw into my cart. Usually I will go from an overflowing cart of 30ish items to 10 or fewer that I want to resell. When running comps you might realize that there are already too many of that specific item in that size and colorway already on the market, or that other sellers are offering that item in better condition. Unless your store offers returns, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
After you’ve been reselling for awhile, you’ll start to know what kind of items are good pickups regardless of brand. For example, Lululemon jackets and leggings are great pickups for me, but tank tops don’t do as well. So I’m much pickier on those. With experience you’ll spend less and less time running comps, and more time going with your gut.
I will also say that watching resellers on Youtube has helped me in learning what to pickup at the thrift store SO MUCH. I love watching Mogi Beth, Jenna from Empty Hanger, and Ashley from Hustle at Home Mom.
With all this being said about running comps, at the end of the day find what works for you. You may be extremely successful at selling Lululemon tanks even though it doesn’t work the best for me! But running comps is a critical part of reselling on Poshmark, and I hope this post helps you improve your sourcing.
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