Poshmark vs vestiaire collective—which platform should you sell on?

Poshmark and Vestiaire Collective (which acquired and absorbed Tradesy in 2022) are two leading online marketplaces for fashion eCommerce. While the former primarily offers women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing of all price ranges, the latter focuses on high-end women’s fashion and accessories.

Both platforms are designated for peer-to-peer (P2P) sales. This means encouraging private sellers to join the marketplace and sell relevant fashion products they might own. While pre-owned clothing items are accepted, they must be in excellent condition. However, each company has its own twists. In this article, we will discuss what sets Poshmark and Vestiaire Collective apart, and what up- and downsides they present to eCommerce sellers.

Table of Contents:

• What Can You Sell on Poshmark?
• What Can You Sell on Vestiaire Collective?
• What Fundamentals Set Them Apart?
• The Poshmark Experience
• Selling on Vestiaire Collective
• Protection
• Effort
• Which Is Right for You
• How To Take Good Pictures for Poshmark and Vestiaire Collective

What Can You Sell on Poshmark?

While you can sell a variety of items through Poshmark’s sales platform, you have to stick to the following categories:

• Clothing
• Shoes
• Accessories

You can also sell the following items with some limitations:

• Home goods
• Pet items
• Electronics
• Beauty products

Unlike other platforms, Poshmark is designed for reselling, but you have the option to sell select homemade items. It’s like a virtual, upscale outlet store where buyers can find high-quality clothing for good prices. Poshmark has a more limited category section than other eCommerce platforms, in order not to oversaturate its marketplace.

What Can’t You Sell on Poshmark?

Poshmark’s terms and conditions state that the following products cannot be sold through its website:

• Perfumes and aerosols
• Fake designer products (this includes all forms of replicas)
• Used underwear, bodysuits, swimsuits (any undergarments)
• Most electronics

Attempting to sell prohibited items on Poshmark will result in you getting banned from its platform.

What Can You Sell on Vestiaire Collective?

Before it was acquired by Vestiaire Collective, Tradesy was a peer-to-peer marketplace for selling high-quality new and used women’s fashion and accessories. With the takeover, sellers have an expanded market that includes some men’s and children’s fashion.

Vestiaire Collective approved categories:

• Women’s fashion
• Men’s fashion
• Children’s fashion
• Designer labels
• Accessories
• Shoes
• Bags/handbags

Just like with other platforms, there are restricted items that will get you banned from Vestiaire Collective. Losing your selling status might leave you with expensive inventory and no way to offload it. For this reason, it is important to always stay on top of seller rules.

Prohibited products on Vestiaire Collective:

• Electronics
• Aerosols or fragrances
• Beauty/makeup/skincare products
• Samples or free gifts

With its takeover, Vestiaire Collective turned Tradesy into a more upscale selling platform. Now it is known for its designer products from big fashion houses like Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, and Versace. The list of eligible products also expanded, giving sellers more options than they had in the past.

What Fundamentals Set Them Apart?

Poshmark is a more casual marketplace where you can sell all kinds of fashion, accessories, home goods, and makeup. What makes it really stand out is the ability to sell items you made yourself, as long as they meet its criteria. While Poshmark is mainly a place to get high-quality clothes for a good price, Vestiaire Collective is meant for purchasing designer fashion, putting it in a higher pricing bracket. Both platforms allow for brand-new or pre-owned items to be sold.

Poshmark has built a strong brand with 80 million users. It has gathered an engaged community, focusing on attracting Millenials and Gen Z’s that are highly active on social media, to its marketplace. Vestiaire Collective, meanwhile, offers access to 23 million users. While both platforms started out focusing on women’s fashion, they offer a selection of men’s clothing as well nowadays.

The Poshmark Experience

Make sure to be clear and concise when it comes to your product titles and descriptions. Express clearly the color, size, brand, and any special features. Choose relevant and accurate categories and add any tags to help customers find your product more easily.

Poshmark allows you to set discounts and coupons to attract those people who love to find deals. There are two major ways to apply discounts:

Offers to Likers: Poshmark allows customers to ‘like’ listings (similar to ‘liking’ a social media post or saving a product to a wishlist). You get to see which accounts ‘liked’ your listing and have the option to send them private discounts.

Closet Clearouts: Closet (which refers to a store’s inventory) clearouts are a limited-time event, during which Poshmark offers discounted shipping on your items.

Poshmark’s Pricing Model

Poshmark’s fee system has two tiers:

• Items less than $15: $2.95 flat fee
• Items over $15: 20% of the total

If you sell an item for $15, the $2.95 fee is approximately 19.6% of your sale. However, if your item is sold for $10, you’ll be paying closer to 30%. Any item over $15 comes with a 20% fee so it is important to price your products accordingly or encourage bundling to avoid this flat fee cutting into your profits.

After you create your seller account, Poshmark allows you to list as many items as you want for free. You won’t be charged until your products sell. The following services are also included in the deal:

• Shipping labels – Poshmark prepares these for you
• Credit card processing – it covers all credit card fees
• Customer service
• Buyer protection insurance

Selling on Vestiaire Collective

Once someone has purchased your item, you will receive a prepaid label to send the product to Vestiaire Collective so they can authenticate the item. Since Vestiaire Collective is known for its high-quality and designer listings, it has to verify that customers receive precisely what they ordered.

Additionally, when taking pictures, make sure that the first featured photo is on a white background. The Vestiaire Collective community has developed a preferred style to present products so it is best for you to fit in.

Vestiaire Collective’s Selling Fees

Vestiaire Collective Pricing Tiers:

• Less than $80.00: $12 flat fee with a payment processing fee of $3.00
• $80.00-13,000.00: 15% selling fee with a payment processing fee of 3%
• Above $13,000.00: $2,000 flat fee with a payment processing fee of 3%

Vestiaire Collective does not allow you to list items below $18.00. As you can see, this pricing system strongly encourages selling expensive designer items. The larger orders above $13,000 get, the smaller the company’s cut of your profits becomes.

With your fees you get the following benefits:

• Prepaid shipping labels
• Pricing and selling tools to help you choose the best price
• Customer and seller services

Protection

Poshmark offers good protection for sellers, taking care of shipping and coverage in case a package is lost. If buyers have an issue with an order the company pushes both sides to respond quickly and provide all necessary evidence so that it can make a fair decision. Buyers have 3 days to request a return, after which sellers get paid and returns aren’t possible anymore.

Vestiaire Collective has a 14-day return period if a buyer is unhappy with their purchase. However, the company will check to make sure that the item is in the same condition it was when it was sent out and then helps sellers in the relisting and reselling process.

Effort

Poshmark is great at promoting sales on its platform. However, it also requires regular input from sellers. The company hosts digital events like Posh Fest and Posh Parties, where users can network and learn about each other’s products. Sharing your ‘closet’ inventory regularly will increase its visibility dramatically as well. Some of these processes can be automated through third-party services. Sellers can even become Posh Ambassadors, which gives them a larger reach for their products. Of course, you’ll need to meet certain requirements, such as being highly active in the community and maintaining a great review score. The audience you reach on Poshmark is directly related to how active you are on the platform.

Vestiaire Collective offers fewer opportunities to boost your sales. One way to improve your store’s ranking is to ship products quickly. Sales can also be boosted by lowering an item’s price periodically. This will result in a notification for anyone following it and increase your visibility. In general, your Vestiaire Collective store requires a less hands-on approach than might be favorable on Poshmark.

Which Is Right for You

When trying to decide which platform to establish yourself as a fashion eCommerce seller on, it ultimately comes down to the audience you are trying to reach. Poshmark caters to a younger, more thrifty subset of shoppers.

In contrast, Vestiaire Collective gives sellers access to a group of customers that is more likely to seek out expensive designer labels and products. Both platforms have a similar fee structure, however, you are in charge of credit card processing costs on Vestiaire Collective which could cut into your profits.

Poshmark might be a better choice for you if you want to go with a more hands-on approach, being more active in its community and partaking in digital events. If you are selling higher-priced items, Vestiaire Collective’s clientele will be more relevant.

How To Take Good Pictures for Poshmark and Vestiaire Collective:

Use a neutral background: Solid neutral-colored backgrounds keep distractions to a minimum so you can clearly see the product’s color, the flow of the material, and its design.

Use a tripod or steady surface: No matter how steady you think your hand is, there is always a chance of shaky or blurred images. Using a tripod or placing your camera on a steady surface reduces arm shake and ensures clearer photos.

Take multiple shots: You should never go with your first click without trying different angles, lighting, and color backgrounds. Remember, a neutral background is often recommended, but it should highlight the garment’s features. A taupe blouse, for example, shouldn’t be placed in front of a beige background since it might blend right in.

Show one product at a time: You might want to increase your sales by putting two products in the same image. For example, having your model wear a cute top with vintage shoes and distressed shorts. This is a great way to show your customers what outfits they can put together, but don’t use it as your thumbnail shot. Make sure your main picture features the product on its own to avoid customer confusion.

Use natural lighting: Natural light is softer and more flattering than artificial light. Using fluorescent or other artificial lighting can create harsh shadows and distort the image.

Reduce shadows with foam boards: In addition to using natural light, using white foam boards or poster boards helps control the light and soften the shadows.

Hang garments on hangers or mannequins: Clothes always look their best on a hanger. Hanging the garments or displaying them on mannequins or models helps customers imagine what it will look like when they wear them.

Use a background removal tool: If you don’t have the equipment or setting to make product photos as beautiful as you might like, background removal tools can significantly improve the quality of a picture.