Minimalism and My New Obsession with Poshmark

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Hustling to try to sell this Rebecca Minkoff crossbody!  So far no takers.  :(


I've blogged about minimalism before but I have to admit, it's been hard to keep that mentality going through this pregnancy.  When you're expecting a new little one, that nesting instinct kicks in and you start to accumulate the various baby gear that makes life a little bit easier.  Pack 'n Play?  Check.  New double stroller?  Check.  Rock 'n Play?  Check.  2nd Rock 'n Play so I don't have to carry it up and down the stairs all day?  Check.

Perhaps as a counter to this, I went through another round of wardrobe culling at around the same time we did our garage sale.  When I mentioned this to a friend, she told me that she sells most of her old clothes and accessories on Poshmark, an online marketplace that lets you sell your used clothing and accessories through a closet like mine.    

To be honest, it sounded like a lot of work and I was feeling lazy so I just gave everything to Goodwill like always.  But about 2 months ago, I finally decided to give it a go.  I figured the worst case scenario was that I would sell nothing and end up making another trip to Goodwill that I was already going to take anyway.  

I started by posting 3 pairs of shoes and a few purses.  To my surprise and delight, they all sold relatively quickly and pretty close to my asking prices.  It felt so good to get paid to get rid of something, and even better to know that the person buying it really wanted it.  As I've gotten deeper into minimalism, I've felt a lot of guilt about my former crazy consumption.  Selling things on Poshmark has alleviated some of that guilt.  

I'm not sure how much longer I'll be active on Poshmark (at a certain point I won't have anything left to sell!) but here's a quick summary of the pros vs. cons in case you're on the fence:

Pros
  • Show me the money (instead of the Goodwill tax deduction)!
  • The app is really easy to use.
  • It's fun to stage things for sale and prep them for the buyer with tissue paper and a thank-you note.
  • It's really easy to mail the goods (Poshmark emails you a Priority Mail label).
Cons
  • Poshmark takes a 20% cut of what you sell. This is way more than ebay (10%).
  • Some annoying people make crazy lowball offers.  Like less than 50% of your listing price!
  • The notifications are seriously excessive. Sorry but I don't need a reminder to "slay all day."  I be slayin' all day...'in.
  • Apparently there are some weird dude-pervs out there who impersonate buyers and ask you to model clothes for them but I've managed to avoid them so far.  Are weird dude-pervs not into pregnant ladies?!
  • It can take up to 3 days from the buyer's receipt of the item for you to get paid.

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