If you are looking into selling your fashion items in a timely manner and on a platform that empowers women, you might have heard of Tradesy. However, you don’t want to delve into this peer-to-peer marketplace without credible information.
Also, you might wonder if this side hustle is for you, so you’ve started looking up Tradesy reviews. Before you list and sell your items on Tradesy, you’ll want to know a few things first. You’ll want to know how this luxury fashion resale marketplace works, its pros and cons, and if better options are available.
This Tradesy review will answer everything you need to know about the online marketplace, so you can decide if the Tradesy side hustle is for you.
How Does Tradesy Work?
Tradesy has an app and a website that allow you to sell secondhand women’s high-end fashion and luxury items at reasonable prices. That includes designer goods like clothes, bags, shoes, accessories, and anything wedding-related as long as they are authentic items. So expect to find some Louis Vuitton or a Louboutin-red dust bag on this site.
To sell an item, all the seller has to do is list it. Then, once it is sold, you will need to ship it to the buyer. Remember that customers may reach out with questions, and you have to give them a quick response.
To ship the item, you’ll have three options:
- Shipping kit
- Prepaid FedEx shipping label
- Ship it yourself
Ensure you send the buyer a tracking number and a valid return shipping label. For more details on each of these fast shipping methods, click here.
Once you have received your earnings, you can convert them to site credit and use them to make purchases on Tradesy on your next shopping spree or transfer them to your PayPal, debit card, or bank account.
You can sign up either through their app or through the Tradesy website.
The Pros of Selling on Tradesy
Now you know how Tradesy works. It’s essential also to know the pros of selling on Tradesy.
The Tradesy App
The Tradesy app has a clean, user-friendly design, making it one of the high points of the Tradesy experience. Intending Tradesy sellers must click “sell” at the bottom to begin the sales process.
Once you do, the Tradesy app will walk you through the listing process. Additionally, you will be asked to choose your item’s category, making it easier for potential buyers to find your listing.
The Listing Features
With Tradesy, the listing process is easy. You can list as much information as you need to, and Tradesy allows you to take plenty of photos.
Unlike other sites, they also offer you a suggested price for your item if you can’t figure out how to price it yourself. You can also opt-in for “smart pricing,” where Tradesy will adjust your price based on buyer demand, which will help you sell your items quicker and give buyers great deals.
They’ll even photoshop the background of your primary photo so that it’s a plain white background displayed to others.
Another neat feature is that if you purchase an item on Tradesy and don’t like it, you can resell it by clicking the “relist” option. It makes reselling unwanted items extremely convenient, and you can negotiate prices before the final sale.
Shipping Options
As stated previously, you have three shipping options for fast delivery. This gives you more versatility in completing the sale and how you want to price based on your costs.
One of those options is the prepaid label. This option requires you to pay $10.50, but it allows you to ship in any box you’d like as long as it is under 10 pounds, so your items will always be well packaged. If you plan to ship more oversized items, this might be more cost-effective than sending it yourself and paying $50 or $60 for the same item.
Before you go with the prepaid label, check if you can ship the item cheaper. If you can’t, go with the prepaid label or shipping kit.
If you decide to go with the prepaid label, get a receipt when you leave it at the post office. If your item gets lost or is not delivered, as long as you have that receipt, Tradesy will insure you.
Tradesy Sales
Another feature you can utilize is Tradesy sales. Tradesy will decide when to put your item on sale if you opt for this. When they do this, it will be marked down according to the percentage you dictate. You can increase your sales by opting into this because it will enable millions to see your items, and as long as they think they are getting a great deal, they will be eager to buy.
The Cons of Selling on Tradesy
Before making the jump to making Tradesy your side hustle, you’ll strongly want to consider the cons of this website for women’s fashion. There are quite a few, and many Tradesy reviews by sellers do not favor Tradesy. However, be mindful of fake reviews.
High Commission Fees
One of the most common negative reviews of Tradesy, and a common complaint from those who use the website and app, is that the commission fees are too high. For example, if you sell an item for $50 or less, Tradesy keeps $7.50.
For instance, if you sell your designer clothing for more than $50, they will take 19.8% of that sale. Then, as if that wasn’t already a large percentage, they also take an additional 2.9% from you if you decide to transfer that money to your bank account or credit card company instead of converting it to Tradesy credit to spend in their store!
This is a significant deterrent to sellers. As a result, many choose to sell their items on other platforms to keep more of their money. Therefore, if you decide to sell on Tradesy, consider these fees when listing your item.
However, if you end up having to list the item at a significantly higher price to cover your costs, it’s going to be a lot harder to find a buyer who will buy your secondhand bag when they can get something new with tags for only slightly more.
Long Payout Time
Another major negative experience is how long it takes to receive your payment. Once you have shipped your merchandise and the buyer has received it, they have four days to return it. From there, if they return it, it can take up to 21 days for Tradesy to inspect it and decide if the return is valid or not. That means it can take from 4 to 21 days for you to receive your earnings.
Even when you receive your earnings, those are earnings (store credit) that you can use to buy items at Tradesy. However, if you want to transfer them to your bank account, PayPal, or debit card, that will take another 7-10 business days. Note that they also charge you a fee for transferring your funds.
For many, the time it takes to get their money is a big enough reason not to sell on Tradesy.
Blocked User Accounts
Some Tradesy reviews have been about users complaining that their accounts are being shut down without reason or warning. If your funds were still in your account while this happened, you’d lose money. If Tradesy had excellent customer service to help you, it wouldn’t be an issue, but there isn’t, which brings me to my next point.
Customer Service Is Lacking
Again, the inability of Tradesy to provide excellent customer service is a big disadvantage. Tradesy customer service is subpar. Many have complained that the customer service responds slowly and sometimes won’t respond. Usually, that’s the case concerning closed accounts, and if you want any answer, you may end up stuck on the phone for hours to resolve your complaint.
Even more unsettling is that there isn’t any “Contact” section on their website. There is only a help center to answer frequently asked questions. If you want access to contact Tradesy and need their contact information, you have to Google it because they don’t willingly provide it to you on their website.
Tradesy Alternatives
While you could still use Tradesy to sell your clothes or handbags, I wouldn’t recommend it, considering you may have better options.
One of those options is Poshmark. On Poshmark, you’ll get to keep more of your money in your pocket and receive your earnings sooner. That’s because Poshmark only allows buyers three days to accept the item, and after that, Poshmark automatically releases your funds to you.
You could also use eBay, which charges around half of what Tradesy charges in commission fees.
If you don’t want to deal with any commission fees and are willing to sell locally, you can also try to sell your item(s) on LetGo or OfferUp.
Is Tradesy Legit?
Tradesy is legit and not a scam company, but it doesn’t mean it’s worth it. I can only advocate for Tradesy being worth it if you aren’t having luck selling your item(s) on other platforms. Additionally, Tradesy claims to have a zero-tolerance policy for counterfeit items.
The platform offers an authenticity guarantee and claims to use advanced technology to check for fakes. This might be enough to incline buyers to want to shop on Tradesy over other platforms. However, many buyers have complained about receiving knock-offs. So clearly, Tradesy is not holding up its end of the bargain, which is why Tradesy offers returns, but getting a full refund is not part of the package.
As more buyers realize that Tradesy cannot guarantee authenticity, they may start shopping elsewhere for their designer fashion items. But, of course, many of them already have. So before you list on Tradesy, try one of the other options available to you.
Again, if you cannot sell your item, you can give Tradesy a shot.
Wrapping Up: Selling on Tradesy
Now you know what you need to know to make an informed decision about using Tradesy as a side hustle. You can use other websites and apps to sell your designer items while keeping more money in your pocket.
However, since Tradesy focuses on high-end fashion, it’s good to know that it exists just in case you have trouble selling your items elsewhere. To make the most out of your side hustle, it’s essential to consider the costs involved. Now, it’s time for you to make some money!
