On this episode, I share how to run a sale on Poshmark with shipping discounts and a power tip for making the most out of Poshmark parties. More at www.bemovingforward.com.
Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Part 1: An unexpected gift
When I started helping my Dad with his online business two years ago, I never expected it to be more than finding a solution to a problem. That’s exactly how I looked at it. He needed a way to be more current and competitive and so, we spent two years looking at and trying different platforms. When we finally found Poshmark last spring, and he started gaining traction, I was thrilled but never saw it beyond moving his business forward. Never did I imagine that it would be more than business, plain and simple. That all changed last week.
A week ago, a woman placed a bid on a prom dress that my Dad had listed for sale. The bid wasn’t very high and at first, we didn’t consider it a “serious” offer. The bid would barely break even for what the dress cost. Initially, we counter-offered and soon after, the person posted a question on the dress in the comments section. As I covered last week, one of my pet peeves is when someone asks about pricing offers on an item. However, this comment was different. She asked if there was any flexibility in the price, explaining that she sponsors young teens, helping those that can’t afford to go to their proms. She explained that she helps young women with hair and makeup, and buys them dresses so they too can enjoy this high school milestone. I talked it over with my Dad and we were both touched by her story and mission. My Dad regularly donates in his local area, supporting similar causes. However, this was the first time we came across this on Poshmark. We decided to make an exception and asked the woman to re-submit her bid, which we then accepted. We shipped out the dress and when she received it late last week, she thanked us, letting us know that the dress is stunning and that she would post photos on her Posh account and tag us. This wasn’t a sale that would make us much money but it felt really good to do this. Never did I imagine we would get to do something like this. I know next to nothing about clothes and I always saw my Dad’s business as simply providing a commodity that people need. But here was someone supporting a young person so she could enjoy a happy event that all teenagers should get a chance to experience. Best of all, this person was far away, well beyond our state borders. Taking my Dad’s business online has been a joy and provide a pathway to achieve scale and maximize efficiencies. But as I discovered last week, it’s also been a fantastic way to make a difference in someone’s life, even if in a small way. The idea that one prom dress could make someone’s evening special is something that never occurred to me. I now have a better understanding of why my Dad loves what he does. If you’re a Poshmark seller, I’d love to hear about the connections you’ve made. If you’re just starting out on Posh, it is a great way to make some extra income but my hope is that you also get to experience bringing some joy and happiness into someone’s life.
Part 2: Poshmark sales and Poshmark parties
Today we’re going to talk about two important aspects of Poshmark that are crucial to generating momentum and sales: 1) 24-hour sales and 2) Poshmark parties.
Sales on Poshmark
As you build up your Poshmark store, you may find that long-term listings are taking up valuable real estate, both virtually and in your real-world closet. Running a sale can help facilitate turning your clothes into cash. For a retail business, Poshmark’s sale feature is a great way to move inventory, leveraging holidays or other special occasions.
To run a sale:
Click *Price Drop*
You can choose whether the sale is open to the public or limit it to people who have liked the item.
Best practice tip: if you choose to limit to likers, you can add a shipping discount (either partial or full). This will deduct the cost of shipping from your net proceeds and can really help move the needle if someone is on the fence.
Once you drop the price, Poshmark will notify all likers and give them 24-hours to purchase the item at the lower price.
Fun story: As my Dad’s store started getting traction last fall, we decided to try a Black Friday sale the week of Thanksgiving. We lowered prices on all items the day before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving morning, I took my Dad to see the movie, Creed 2. By the time the lights went on and the end credits rolled, I checked my phone and saw we had 6 or 7 purchases and offers. We ended up going to the shop to pack and prepare those items to ship out the next day. It was a great way to build an appetite for Thanksgiving dinner!
That’s what I called a Thanksgiving meal!
You can also offer private one-on-one sales to those individuals that bundle your items, to encourage them to make that purchase. For more on bundles, check out last week’s episode.
Poshmark Parties
This was my biggest lost opportunity when I started on Poshmark back in May 2018. In the beginning, I got daily notices about these “parties” and I had no idea what they were. I ignored them, picturing virtual chat rooms with pixelated cake and punch. It wasn’t until late fall that I started engaging in Posh parties and today, they’re a regular part of our daily routine.
Poshmark parties are designated hours that occur every day. During these 2-hour blocks, buyers and sellers congregate to share items, shop and sell. Think of it as a gigantic online flea market. There are two kinds of parties: 1) theme-specific and 2) general parties.
Theme parties are limited to specific types or brands (eg dresses, shoes, makeup or a name brand). During theme parties, you can share any item in your closet that fits the theme. These occur during the day and into the early evening (check the notifications for scheduling).
In contrast, general parties are open events where you can share any item in your closet and are typically every day at 10 pm EST / 7 pm PST.
To share an item to a party:
Simply hit the share button 🔄under an item and you will see two options: 1) share to the party or 2) your followers. Click on the party to share it to the event.
Best practice: Here’s my posh party power tip. When a party starts, go to your store and click the share button. Drill down, sharing everything that fits the theme or every item you have for sale if it’s a general party.
Note: avoid sharing items you’ve already sold. Next, go to your news feed and refresh: you’ll see notifications of people who have liked, followed and shared your items. Go thru each one, follow those people and share some of their items to show your thanks. If it’s a new Posher and they have only a few items in their closet, do them a solid and spend a few extra seconds sharing everything in their closet. You’ll develop great Posh friendships, gain new followers and the more you do this, the more likely you are to get those offers and sales raining in.
Homework
As you build up your store and your listings, start attending Poshmark parties. If you’re running a Poshmark store as a side hustle, earmark a few minutes during your lunch break or after work to attend a Poshmark party. It doesn’t take long to engage. If you only have 5-10 items, you can share them out quickly and spend a few minutes engaging with fellow Poshers who interact with your items. If you have a large store such as my Dad with hundreds of items, be strategic. I usually focus my time on the general parties at 10 pm, where I spend a good 40-45 minutes sharing, then reciprocating.
Download my 5-step checklist for getting started on Poshmark
The Poshmark Guide -and- The Poshmark Seller Journal
Part 3: What I’m reading / read:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (*). Many of you may be familiar or have heard of the movie adaptation which came out a few years ago, starring Tom Hanks and Halle Barry. I saw the novel at the library and decided to give it a whirl. The premise was promising: a series of short stories taking place in different eras and locations, all connected. Unfortunately, this book didn’t gel for me. I found it bloated, boring, and some of the stories were downright incomprehensible. Sorry, if you’re a fan of this novel. It got a lot of critical praise and made the NYT best-seller list but I just couldn’t wait until I got to the end as I slogged thru it. To his credit, Mitchell has a true talent for switching writing style and narrative voice. However, I felt that this would have worked better as separate novels.
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