A Mini Guide to Secondhand Shopping Online with Poshmark
Or, how to raid your virtual imaginary best friend's closet
As a millennial woman, I was raised on tv shows that represented ideal friendships: entering each other’s homes without knocking, mixing cocktails together to drown our sorrows, movie nights, and most importantly… raiding one another’s closets.
While these tv shows have at times given me unrealistic expectations of girl group dynamics, they also taught me that our friends can be our chosen family; their wardrobes our personal boutiques.
Last year, we moved literally right across the street from my best friend. Cue many barbecues, movie nights, Sunday afternoon visits for a quick cocktail, and most importantly, closet sharing. And it has occurred to me since our move that trying on clothes with best friends while shopping their wardrobes is the OG thrift haul. Hence my love for the energy given off by one of my favourite online secondhand platforms.
Okay, whoops, sorry, I digress... I’m not actually here to talk to you about the joy of women’s friendships. I have a lot to say on this topic but that’s for another time.
What I do want to talk to you about today is the online secondhand shopping platform that gives girls-night-clothing-swap / Sunday-brunch-drinks-and-shopping vibes.
If you’ve been around a while, you’ve heard me talk about it, or maybe you uncovered it all on your own: Poshmark!
Soo…What is Poshmark?
Poshmark is an online secondhand fashion buying and selling platform available in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and India. It’s similar to other secondhand sites you might be familiar with like Depop, Vinted, eBay, or Etsy, but in my opinion it’s the best option for finding a wide range of contemporary and vintage clothing and accessories.
You can shop via the app or on the desktop version of the website. The general premise is that sellers list and sell preloved clothing to their shops (known in the app as ‘closets’) and buyers seek out what they like and purchase with a simple checkout system.
Since the idea for my dinner party analogy sparked, I can’t help but think of Poshmark as a friendly space where our online imaginary or future besties share their favourite pieces with one another in a modern day online shopping version of swapping outfits with the friends whose taste you trust the most. You can shop listings with static images of the items you’re browsing or watch live shows where sellers go on camera live to share their collections.
Why would I want to shop secondhand online?
I personally am an avid thrifter and enjoy the thrill of the in-person hunt, but I can’t always find what I need exactly when I need it. So, Poshmark is still my go-to whenever I need something specific that I haven’t been able to find at the thrift or find in my size, or when I’m after something that is probably too new to make it into the thrift stores just yet.
When brand new Birkenstock Bostons were flying off the shelves for hundreds of dollars last year, I found this perfectly worn in pair in my size on Poshmark for fifty bucks!
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Just like all secondhand shopping, Poshmark is also a sustainable alternative to filling your cart at LuluLemon, Aritzia, or [insert your favourite fashion brand here] and is just as easy to check out and shop online.
And, the million dollar question: how does it work and is it a total hassle?
My short answer is no, it’s easy and as simple as shopping on any other website! To save you any hassle whatsoever, I’ve created a few quick steps and a downloadable one-pager you can save to your phone. Read on for the breakdown…
(By the way, I know it’s possible that you already know all of this, but lately in my real life when I mention it, I’m realizing not everybody is aware of its existence. So it feels like my duty to share it with you!)
So here’s your quick mini-guide to Poshmark, and a reminder to get on there if you’ve heard folks chatting about it and haven’t bothered to sign up yet.
Getting started on Poshmark:
Download and sign up for the app and enter your information (blah, blah, I know you already know how to do this). If you use my own closet name bysarahrenee as the signup code, we each receive a $15 credit when you make a purchase.
Change your email and notification settings. If you’re just using Poshmark as a shopper, you really only need to know when a seller has made an offer or created a bundle (offered you a discount) because it’s time sensitive. Adjust your notifications and email settings accordingly or it can be overwhelming at first.
Train your algorithm with searches and follows. Poshmark will prompt you to follow brands you like and will begin to populate your home feed accordingly. You can also search for specific items, click through to see sellers’ full closets and give them a follow too if they feels like your vibe. This helps the app know what you are looking for and what you like to see.
I personally love to follow individual sellers because I like to see their curated aesthetic, and it reminds me that I’m shopping for an individual person just like myself who has chosen to shop sustainably and share their love of fashion. A few Canadian sellers I love:
Refine your search strategy. You can search for specific items ie. Baggu nylon belt bag; general styles like Barbiecore, Cottagecore, dark academia; or simply searchable terms like vintage houndstooth blazer.
A feature I love on Poshmark is that you can set the filter to permanently prioritize items in your size. For a midsize (12-14 US), size 11 shoe girly, I appreciate this function from the bottom of my heart.
Shop your little heart out. Search and browse and take a pop into a few live shows while you’re on there.
Something to know about Poshmark is that unlike on social media, a tap of the heart icon, aka a like serves a tangible purpose: it’s a signal to the seller that you’re interested in shopping. Once you like an item, you’ll probably receive a special offer within 24 hours.
To avoid being bombarded with offers, only ‘like’ things you may want to buy or at the very least come back to and consider.
You can wait for an offer and purchase at a discount, or if the item you’ve come across is worth splurging for at full price (always still heavily discounted from retail pricing in my experience!) you can purchase, check out, and have your item delivered to your home within a few days!
Simple, right?!
Click the image below and zoom in, screen shot, or save to your phone for a simple reminder about how to get started.
If you you find there’s something you’re still wondering about, don’t be shy. Leave me a comment and I’ll fill you in!
And, don’t forget, if you sign up and use my username as the code bysarahrenee you’ll get $15 off your first purchase.
x Sarah
Do you have a master list of Poshmark/Etsy/eBay/Depop resellers you like?
Oh wow, this is a super helpful guide - thanks!