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. If you've ever considered eBay vs. Poshmark, you can choose both! There’s no better way to increase views than by cross-listing to the largest reselling marketplace, eBay.
Check out how crosslisting with Vendoo Increased Lindsay's sales by 200%
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 crosslist your inventory from Poshmark to eBay if you’ve never sold on eBay before.
1. eBay vs. Poshmark Audience
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.
eBay vs. Poshmark Community Preferences:
- Demographics: Poshmark caters primarily to younger demographics, predominantly Gen Z and millennial women. Statistics show the majority of its users fall between 18 and 24 years old; compared to eBay's broader spectrum, users between the ages of 35 and 64 have been the most active.
- Interests: Poshmark thrives on a social shopping experience, fostering active engagement through virtual parties, sharing, and commenting. Fashion reigns supreme here, with clothing, shoes, and accessories dominating the platform. eBay offers a wider
range, including electronics, collectibles, home goods, and even vehicles. - Purchase motivations: Poshmark buyers often seek trendy, affordable fashion finds, while eBay attracts bargain hunters and collectors on the lookout for rare or unique items.
Tapping into both of these audiences creates limitless selling potential!
Vendoo is the go-to for resellers everywhere, offering 11 marketplaces!
2. How Long Does it Take to List on eBay? Longer - 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.
Listing Practices:
- Listing format: Poshmark features a more casual, social approach. Listings resemble personal closets, where you curate your items with detailed descriptions, hashtags, and engaging titles. Photos play a key role, with users encouraged to showcase their items through creative styling and storytelling. eBay offers a more traditional auction-style format, often used for collectibles and electronics. However, "Buy it Now" options allow for immediate purchases.
- Engagement: Poshmark thrives on interaction. Sharing your listings across social media and participating in virtual parties increases visibility and encourages offers and counteroffers. eBay relies heavily on search optimization and paid advertising to reach potential buyers.
Check out eBay SEO: How to Apply Winning SEO to eBay Listing Titles
3. eBay vs. Poshmark Listing Fees
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, and final value fees on shipping, and you may have promotional fees and store fees. 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!
"Shipping on eBay was the #1 thing that kept me from crosslisting there for so long. I was overwhelmed with the number of options. The great thing about using eBay with Vendoo is that I can use eBay business policies to create custom shipping profiles and delete all the options I will never use. These changes reflect in Vendoo automatically, making shipping just as easy as the other platforms for me.” - Deanna Balestra, Pro Reseller
5. Crosslisting 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.
List, manage, and grow - all in one place.
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 vs. Poshmark
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.
Vendoo signature features include:
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Inventory management
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The ability to import your existing inventory
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Seamlessly crosspost to multiple marketplaces
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Refresh state listings with the bulk delist and relist feature
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Customize the “stale listing” warning system for yourself
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Photo-editing, including background removal by PhotoRoom
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Sale detection and automatic delist from marketplaces
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Improve your business with sales analytics
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Live customer support
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Tiered and flexible subscription prices with a forever-free tier
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A thriving and supportive social media community
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An iOS and Android Mobile App
Using Vendoo to cross-list your inventory to up to 11 marketplaces will help give your business security and scalability. You can sign up for a free trial and see just how easy it is.
How To Cross List From eBay To Poshmark
With Vendoo, you can crosslist from eBay to Poshmark OR from Poshmark to eBay with just a few clicks.
First, you’ll need to sign up for Vendoo if you haven’t done so already. Vendoo has a free trial, so you can make sure you love it before you commit (You will). Sign up for Vendoo here.
Then, once you have connected your marketplaces to Vendoo, you can crosslist from eBay to Poshmark (or vice versa) in three easy steps:
1. Import Your Items
First, you will import your items from eBay or Poshmark.
You can import in bulk and it takes just a few seconds per listing!
2. Crosslist in Just a Few Clicks
Once your items are imported, you can crosslist to 11 marketplaces in under 5 minutes.
All of the required fields will be complete. You might add a few eBay item specifics to optimize your listing, then click list.
That’s it! It really is as easy as it sounds! 👌🏽
Crosslist from eBay to Poshmark (and nine other marketplaces) quickly and easily with Vendoo.
Want to see it in action? 👀 Check this out:
Ready to get crosslisting? Try Vendoo for free!
Fun fact: Users that list in 3 or more marketplaces have a sell-through rate that is 180% higher.
You might also be interested in the article 10 Great Marketplaces Every Reseller Should Consider.
