Many Resellers start by selling clothing from their own closets on a simple marketplace like Poshmark, and then quickly become addicted to the business of reselling.
Poshmark is a great marketplace to start with because it is user-friendly, and has the simplest shipping.
However once you’ve mastered the basics, you might consider expanding and selling on different marketplaces to maximize exposure and sales. There’s no better way to increase views than by cross-listing to the largest reselling marketplace, eBay.
Did you know that eBay has a larger audience than every other reselling marketplace, combined?
Here are 6 things you should know before starting to cross-list your inventory from Poshmark to eBay if you’ve never sold on eBay before.
1. eBay Has Nearly Limitless Potential
When it comes to buyer pools, eBay rules with over 135 million active users. For comparison, Poshmark currently has around 80 million. If you’re wondering if taking the time to cross-list to eBay is worth it, it is!
You’ll nearly triple your chances of making a sale once you start cross-listing your inventory from Poshmark to eBay. There is a bit of a learning curve, but getting established on eBay will help your business tremendously in the long run.
2. Listing Takes Longer On eBay - For A Reason
While the many mandatory and recommended fields to fill out on eBay may look overwhelming, there is a method to their madness. Over the years eBay has built a reputation for being a website where you can find virtually anything you’re looking for. They sort their massive amount of listing using filters, which is where all these various fields come into play.
You’ll find that the more completely you fill out these fields, the more views and sales you’ll receive. All of the fields contain information that sellers normally put in their descriptions anyway. In fact, you can learn a lot about what buyers search for by working in these fields.
All that being said, it does take longer to draft an eBay listing so make sure to anticipate that added time and use a software tool like Vendoo to help you streamline the process.
3. There Are Some eBay Listing Fees You Won’t See On Poshmark
Selling fees work differently on eBay and Poshmark. Poshmark doesn’t charge you upfront for creating listings and therefore charges a larger final value fee when an item sells. Right now Poshmark fees are 20% (or a flat fee of $2.95 for all items sold under $15).
On eBay, after you exceed your free listings, you do have to pay insertion fees for each listing created.But it’s not that simple. On eBay, you have insertion fees, final value fees, final value fees on shipping, and you may have promotional fees and store fees, too. It can add up if you aren’t fully informed and careful with how you manage your eBay listings. The fees also change based on the category of the item, clothing might be around 12% but other categories could be higher or lower.
eBay fees can be complex. For more information, check out the article Everything You Need to Know about eBay Selling Fees.
4. eBay Gives Sellers More Control Over Shipping Prices
Poshmark is well known for its simple shipping. Poshmark has only one shipping method: Poshmark labels are all Priority Mail. In fact, Poshmark doesn’t even require that you know any weight or dimensions, because all orders 0-5lbs ship the same way. It really doesn’t get any easier than Poshmark shipping!
On the other hand, eBay gives you a ton of shipping options as you are on your own to find the best rates and methods of shipping for your items. Many newer resellers are intimidated by eBay self-shipping options but once you figure out what works best for you and your business, it can really save you money in the long run. You are also able to ship internationally easily with eBay’s global shipping option.
You can create eBay shipping policies that encompass all of your shipping preferences, and select your policies on each listing. It is not as hard as it sounds! Trust me!
5. Cross-Listing to eBay Requires Better Inventory Management
Once you start selling the same inventory on multiple platforms it becomes even more important to have an air-tight inventory management system. Reseller software tools such as Vendoo can help you manage your inventory photos, data, where the items are listed, location or SKU information, and track analytics.
When an item sells on one platform, you can mark it as sold in Vendoo and have it automatically delist from all other platforms you have that same item listed on.
If you lose track of your inventory then you run the risk of selling the same item more than once and having to cancel sales. That’s not only bad business but eBay will penalize you for having to cancel sales.
6. You Might Get More Returns On eBay
Poshmark is pretty upfront that returns for fit or buyer’s remorse are not allowed. You are usually only forced to grant a return if a case is opened and the buyer can prove that item was not as described.
The return policies on eBay are surprisingly flexible. You can choose your own return policy but certain policies are seen as more favorable by eBay and might affect your reach on their platform.
If you sell clothing you might be tempted to set a “no return” policy so that people cannot return for fit or wear your item for an occasion and then return it. However, many eBay shoppers are less likely to buy from you if you don’t offer returns at all. Even with a 30-day return policy, you are most likely only to get a few returns and in exchange, you will increase the probability that your items will sell.
I highly recommend allowing returns, because if a buyer really wants a return, they’re going to open up an “INAD” (item not as described) and probably be granted one by eBay. Then, you’ll be forced to take the return and your account will be penalized due to the case. It is easier to just accept returns. It is part of business.
Should You Crosslist Your Inventory From Poshmark To eBay?
Yes. You should not put all of your eggs in one basket. In February of 2022, Poshmark made a seemingly small change to its default search function that had an immediate negative impact on many sellers. Months later, and after major pushback from the Poshmark community, the original policies were reinstated.
This experiment was a wake-up call to many single-platform sellers. Crosslisting is a great way to mitigate your risk and to ensure that your sales keep rolling in even if one platform stops performing as expected.
Using Vendoo to cross-list your inventory to up to 10 marketplaces will help give your business security and scalability. You can sign up for a free trial and see just how easy it is.
You might also be interested in the article 10 Great Marketplaces Every Reseller Should Consider.
