The Lowdown on My Instagram Closet Sale

I have no idea what possessed me to do this, but last weekend I successfully hosted my first (and last!) Instagram closet clean-out sale. I woke up Friday with zero intentions of cleaning out my closet, but by noon on Saturday I was blowing up Instagram by listing over 40 of my best gently-used garments for sale.

It. Was. Wild.

It was also really surprising, really fun, but a heck of a lot of work. Whew, buddy!

It made me laugh that my friends were so interested in picking my brain this week about how it all went down, so I figured a few more of you may also be interested in knowing the deets as well!

In case you just want to skim this post, I’ll get the big details out of the way first.

Let’s talk money money monaaaayyy.

Gross total from sale: $193

Sale expenses

Thank you notes, tissue paper, boxes, envelopes: $17.21 (I have four thank you notes and 12 large mailing envelopes left over to add to my stationary/gifting stash.)

Shipping: $95.45

Paypal fees: $11.41

Total net from sale (i.e. the amount of money that I actually get to keep): $68.93

Amount of collective time this entire fiasco took: seven hours.

In a nutshell, this stay-at-home mama just pocketed herself a whopping $10/hour and paid for half a week’s worth of groceries. Eh, every little bit counts, right?

In all seriousness, I actually really enjoyed this process. It put a pep in my step all weekend as I felt excited about this little undertaking and sudden project. I was tickled pink about the chance to mail a little bit of happiness to friends and “internet friends” (hehe), I was excited about clearing out my closet, and I was intrigued by the potential to make a little bit of extra cash.

How to host your own Instagram sale How I hosted my Instagram sale

Because I had no idea how to host this sale “correctly” and completely flew by the seat of my pants (in true Erica fashion – duh), I don’t think it’s right to give you a step-by-step instruction manual for how to hold your future Instagram sale. What I will do is share with you what I did, and then you can feel totally free to mix and match what I did to make your own sale work for you. 🙂

1. Deciding what to sell was hard. I could write an entire blog post on how I decided what I needed to get rid of, so that’s a story for another day. Ultimately I decided to sell items that I was proud to sell. I didn’t want a single person to open their package from me and feel like they wasted their money based on the quality or condition. I didn’t sell any items that I was hesitant about.
2. I listed every single item for sale $5-$10 including shipping. A few reasons for practically giving away these items for so cheap: A.) “Used” clothes (if even worn only once) should sell for “used” prices, in my opinion. B.) These were final-sale items, so the buyers were “buying blind” without the chance to try the items on. C.) I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if the buyers felt like they threw a bunch of money away on items they didn’t end up liking for whatever reason. I don’t think anyone is gong to kick and scream if the $5 dress they bought didn’t fit right, so ultimately this is why I priced everything so inexpensively.
3. I took pictures and listed everything over the course of about two hours.
4. That evening, once most items were sold, I made a spreadsheet of information and sent out requests for money via the Paypal addresses that the buyers left.
5. By Sunday afternoon, nearly everyone had paid their invoice, so once Hadley and Sadie went down for their afternoon naps, I drank some caffeine and got to work!
6. I steamed almost every item and triple-checked to make sure there were no damages to the items.
7. I wrote out thank you notes, folded each item in fresh tissue paper, stuffed envelopes and boxes right and left, did all the addressing, and several hours later called it a day!
8. On Monday I stuffed a couple last-minute packages and headed to the post office! I felt like a bit of a nuisance walking in there with 19ish packages to send, but I only ended up “hogging” one of the USPS workers for about 10-15 minutes.

Final Thoughts

I’d liken this type of project to a garage sale. In both situations, it would probably be easier to just take what you don’t want to a thrift store and call it a day, but the potential to make a tiny bit of money is intriguing too. In both situations it’s smart to price items “to sell” (meaning priced inexpensively) so that you have very little left over. In both situations, the work ends up being more than expected but semi-enjoyable at the same time. It’s fun interacting with other people and watching them enjoy your items.

I’ve had three or four people already write me with feedback at they were happy with their packages, which makes me smile big time! I’m glad I took a big step out of my comfort zone and gave this a whirl, but I think it was a one-shot deal of me. 🙂

Tiny Vines Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Alli L., the winner of the “You’re my person” tee! Thanks to all who entered and supported this giveaway. Don’t forget that Tiny Vines is offering 15% off their entire online shop until midnight tonight using the code WHIMSICAL.

Have a beautiful weekend! xoxo