UNDERGROUND SHOPPING aka THE ART OF SOCIAL SHOPPING
A little History
In 1995 from the living room of San Jose, the history of retail as we know it was to forever change. Pierre Omidyar probably didn't forsee how huge is little idea of an online marketplace would become and how it would change the way we shop. Thankfully it is people like Pierre who brought the world or retail to small town America and gave us a new and interactive form of retail.
That same year, out of a garage in Bellevue Washington, Amazon first went online. It originally was called cadabra.com and out of fear that it sounded too much like "cadaver", founder Jeff Bezos decided to change it. Choosing Amazon, with the thought process that the "A" was preferential due to the probability it would occur at the top of any list that happened to be alphabetized. What once started out as an online bookstore, soon began diversifying and now even has a grocery delivery service in some parts of it's service area. Amazon truly is trying to take over the retail world.
Then came the explosion of "social shopping". While still somewhat a baby in the world of retail and kinda like a little insider's secret, it's a huge trend in the retail world. There are so many apps and so many sites in which one can sell their items, it can be a tad overwhelming and very time consuming to navigate the murky waters of social shopping. You have sites such as Threadflip and Poshmark where users can automatically connect with their Facebook friend's "closets". Poshmark is definitely a more social based feeling app and even has a tendency to feel "cliquish".
I, myself, am new to this whole social shopping world. But, like with everything I do in life, I jump in 150% and tend to over obsess and over indulge. I suppose that is the "addict" in me. Once an addict, always an addict, I've just traded in my "other addiction" for a new one. The deals one can receive are remarkable. The very first purchase I made was a Juicy Couture houndstooth purse. Being an Alabama "Roll Tide" girl, houndstooth is our "unofficial" print, first made notorious by the famous, Paul "Bear" Bryant. But, that's a whole other post....
It wasn't but perhaps about a month ago, that my eyes were opened to the fact that Instagram was a freaking mall. One has the ability to really do well on Instagram. Although, there is no rhyme or reason that I can see to one's success. Some people seem to sell everything that they post, while other's struggle to make a sale a week. I tend to be one of the latter. Although, I am very good at buying. I can manage that task, unfortunately, too well. As part of my beauty blog, I am going to start scouring the "closets" and profiles on all of the apps and highlight a few shops that I find interesting and having great deals.
So with all the different methods available to potential sellers, there are a lot of factors to consider when choosing where to sell your goods. First, what are you trying to sell? If you are creating your own unique items, then Etsy perhaps would be a good place to start. However, the other options such as Poshmark as well as creating your own store on Storenvy are also great ideas. It can be quite time consuming to post multiple items on multiple sites, as well as confusing.
A FEW DIFFERENCES
One of the things that can be quite confusing if you were to list on multiple sites is different price points. I am always terrified that friends or customers are going to notice that I have items listed at different prices on different sites. The reason is quite simple. Threadflip, sellers either must pay for their own shipping or figure in the $7 hidden shipping fee when listing their item. I, personally choose to pay for my own shipping, because that $7 could be in my pocket or my buyer's pocket versus Threadflip's pocket. I usually only have to pay $1.93 on most of my items, unless of course a buyer is purchasing multiple items.
Ok, so Threadflip items are usually priced higher (for myself) than say if I list on Poshmark, but not by much. Poshmark, the buyers must tack on an additional $5 for shipping. So, I usually, will try to price my items with this factor in mind. Not all sellers think about the buyer's bottom line, but I do. I'm a poor chica, so I am very empathetic to the needs and costs of my buyers.
Ultimately, there are of course, different reasons you might would price items at different prices on one site versus another.
This post was meant to be a spotlight on Instagram and the Underworld Mall, but instead it has turned into a how-to guide. That's ok. I spend a lot of time helping inform other sellers on tips for selling. I was amazed after being on Threadflip of learning that most of the sellers were opting in for that $7 label. I will go more into THAT on another post.
To Wrap UP... The world of social shopping can be a great and fun and inexpensive alternative to retail shopping. One of the things that I love about social shopping, is knowing that I am helping an individual out. A lot of times you can negotiate the price on items, and if you are purchasing multiple items, you can usually get a good "bundle" price. Although, I think I have been giving too good of bundled items, because when purchasing people don't ever seem to be quite as generous as I am.
You can find insane deals. Just tonight I sold my Coach purse, which was practically brand new for just $60. The price was quite low as I was pretty desperate for money and so some fortunate person is going to benefit from my need. It was a purse that I had been attempting to sell, but at a higher price. I don't just sell, I am also a buyer of social retail. I have purchased quite a few items (way too many).
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| From Kmcdowell56 on Poshmark: $23 |
The above picture is a bundle I purchased from Kmcdowell56 a very sweet seller on Poshmark. It was my second purchase with her, and man did she hook me up. Two of the tops were bonuses. I believe I ended up receiving 7 items for just $23!! Not too shabby!
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ALL Saints Cardigan (a $190 sweater) Threadflip $35 (a gift from my cousin)
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The above was a fashion crisis I was having. I was rushing trying to get people to sign up on Threadflip so that I could receive the $10 referral credits and purchase this fabulous sweater that I had been eyeing for sometime! Much to my surprise and delight I received this fabulous sweater a few days later. At $35, it was a steal. I had seen the same sweater, just a few weeks before on Ebay and it went for I believe almost $90!
These are just a couple of the fabulous finds I've lucked out on. I will definitely be posting more quite soon.
COMING UP on SASSY GAL BEAUTY:
Reviews:
The Balm: How about Them Apples'
Urban Decay: The Glinda Palette (I know I'm a little late, but I'm stoked I have this fab palette)
BH Cosmetics: Lilac Blush Palette
Fashion:
More Social Shopping Tips
More Fabulous Finds
Closet Spotlight
So, please be sure to bookmark this page and follow my blog! There are some fabulous things coming just around the corner and you definitely don't want to miss out.
If you haven't yet started trying to turn your closet into cash and are interested in some selling tips, please feel free to ask! I will likely be posting more tips on social selling. What would you like to see on this blog??
Below are some links to Threadflip & Poshmark!! Download the apps and use my referral codes and get $5 to spend in the app!! (NOTE: If you use the Threadflip link to join, PLEASE comment so I can make sure that it's working correctly- I haven't been receiving credits for my referrals.)
