Welcome everyone to today’s Poshmark Q&A session! I’ve been looking forward to doing this for a while now. I hope that I can provide you guys with some valuable insight on Poshmark and my personal journey so far. Let me give you guys a little insight on me and my experience with Poshmark so far.
Okay, so I initially joined Poshmark 5 years ago when I was a sophomore in college. Never in a million years did I think that I would be selling hundreds of items on the app and making money selling gently-used objects. My Poshmark journey didn’t become a full-time commitment until this past year. And I’m not going to lie to you guys but this journey has been far from easy. However, I wouldn’t change anything about it and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me with this amazing app. Now that you know a little about me, let’s get to the Q&A session:
Q#1: How do you make time to list, sell, and ship your items?
This is a really good question as I still struggle with this one to this day. You guys also need to keep in mind that in addition to selling on Poshmark, I work a full-time job so time is very limited for me. However, I have become the queen of multitasking as I essentially work both jobs simultaneously. This is not ideal but it allows me to get everything done in a timely manner. With that being said, I do dedicate specific days and times during the week for specific tasks. These tasks are divided evenly between Poshmark, my blog, and Instagram. Out of all of these, Poshmark requires the most of my time.
Every week, I run an analysis looking at my previous week’s sales, inventory levels, and so on. The reason that I do this is so that I know how much inventory I need to buy (or not buy) the following week. Also, it let’s me figure out how much time I need to devote to each task in that given week. Once I buy all of the inventory, I need to log it into my inventory database, clean it, and list it on the app. The more inventory that I buy, the more time that I need to set aside to list these items. Listing inventory can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 15 hours; it all depends on the day.
Once I list everything, I focus heavily on sharing my items and answering any questions from potential buyers. Listing my entire closet takes about an hour and then answering questions usually takes no more than 10 minutes. Then, when I make a sale, I next have to package my items to get them to the post office. Normally, it takes me about 5 minutes to package an item and I try really hard to have everything shipped within 2 days.
If you are new to this, my biggest advice is to create a schedule and stick to it but also, be flexible when you need to. As someone who works both a full-time job in addition to running a business, just know that is doable. It will take a lot of sacrifice, dedication, and hard-work but worth it in the end.
Q#2: How do you style your listings/ cover photos?
Okay, so my listings have evolved with me and my business. At first, I wasn’t too concerned with making sure that my listings were crisp and clean. Initially, I was more concerned about getting the item up so that it would sell. After a LOT of trial and error, I realized that I was doing myself a disservice by not focusing on my photography when it came to listings. It was then that I realized that I needed to invest in a backdrop that I could use for all of my photos. Also, I needed to make sure that I had consistent props and cover photos.
For more on styling photos, visit THIS article and for more on cover photos, click HERE.
Q#3: How do you handle negative reviews?
This is a really important topic to address because we’ve all had at least one bad review. I know that all you want to do is scream at your computer or phone screen due to your frustration. But you know what, it’s not worth getting upset over. Just like any other business, people return items daily and people are unhappy with their purchase for whatever reason. It’s part of the game. You can either learn from it and/or ignore it, but whatever you do, please don’t publicly react to it (specifically on Instagram). I can’t tell you how many people I follow on Instagram that vent and/or express anger toward their customers on the app. Not only is it extremely unprofessional but it can really hurt your reputation as a reseller and nobody wants that. Handle your disappoints with grace and all will be good!
For more on this topic, click HERE.
Q#4: How important is your number of followers?
In my honest opinion, I don’t think that there is a right or wrong number of followers to have. I can tell you that all of my followers have come to me organically which is a great testament to both me and my business. Having a certain number of followers can be really helpful when making sales and trying to share listings. Also, I feel as though it gives people confidence that they are buying from a respectable and trustworthy seller. Although having a lot of followers is great, it does not determine how successful you are or aren’t. There are plenty of Poshmark resellers killing it with only a few thousand followers s0 don’t become fixated on the numbers.
Sharing more on how I reached 100k followers HERE.
Q#5: What is one thing that you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out on Poshmark?
I really wish that someone would have told me how hard it would be just starting out and how much time and energy I would need to devote to it to make it thrive. When I first started out, I had no clue what I was doing and I wish that someone would have been there to guide me through it. However, you also need to remember that I joined when it was a brand new concept with only a few thousand followers. Seeing how much growth the company has had in the past couple of years, I cannot wait to see what the future of it holds.
Q#6: I haven’t made any sales yet. What am I doing wrong?
First of all, congrats on setting up a closet and getting the ball rolling. Making a sale takes time but there are certain steps that you can take to maximize your selling potential:
1. List your items with crisp, clear photos
2. Give detailed descriptions
3. Share your listings along with other Posher’s
4. Stay focused and don’t get discouraged easily
Follow these steps and you will be making your first sale soon enough!
Q#7: How do you package your items?
Funny enough, I am actually updating my packaging situation as we speak. Don’t get me wrong, I love my current packaging but I feel that part of growing as a business is updating your packaging along with the growth. As a result, I decided to repackage my items. I cannot wait to share with you guys the final result next week.
Until then, check out my current packaging situation HERE.
Q#8: How do you keep track of your inventory and sales?
Along with my packaging, tracking inventory and sales has evolved with me and my business. When I first started, I used paper tracking sheets that I created on Word which is awesome when you don’t have a lot of inventory to manage. Now that I have hundreds/thousands of items to keep track of, I needed something that would be better suited to that. And as a result, I created an Excel sheet that tracks everything for me. Definitely do what works best for you and your businesses.
If you are interested in getting my free Poshmark inventory and sales sheets, click HERE.
Q#9: I have no idea how to store my inventory. Help?
Storing inventory is no easy feat and sometimes it can feel overwhelming when you have a lot of inventory to manage. However, there are ways to do that will make your life easier. Personally, I prefer to hang my dresses and tops on hangers and store the rest in plastic bins. For me, I have found it to be the most efficient way to manage and track everything. I know that a lot of my fellow Poshers prefer to store everything in bins. Regardless of what you decide to do, come up with a system that works for you!
Want to know how I store my inventory? Click HERE.
Q#10: Do you have any big Poshmark events coming up?
Well, as a matter of fact I do! In May I will be hosting my first ever Posh Party so be sure to check it out! There will be more info on this in the next few weeks.
I hope that you guys found this post helpful and if you have any additional questions for me, please feel free to reach out!
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