Let’s face it, there are a ton of ideas to make extra money as a side hustle. And selling products online is one of the easiest ways to do this. This year, I made $1000 a month on Poshmark. That is the profit per month on average. So I want to share how I did it, what my exact numbers were, what it takes, and how you can do it too.
Our Sales on Poshmark So Far in 2021
When you’re a beginner at doing anything, including selling online, it could be pretty intimidating. And full disclosure: I actually started casually selling on Poshmark back in 2019. It started with decluttering my closet when I started to see a few hundred dollars a month. So I’ve become pretty familiar with the basics of selling on Poshmark.
This year, I wanted to see if I could actually sell on Poshmark as a side hustle and track how much profit (Sales price minus fees minus the cost of goods) it can bring in each month. Here are my exact numbers so far.
| Month | Total Monthly Profit |
| January | $757.73 |
| February | $737.94 |
| March | $1,158.35 |
| April | $1,905.21 |
| May | $1,719.89 |
| June | $1,108.88 |
These numbers average out to be about $1,230 a month. Sorry if you feel misled by the title! As you can see, some months are slower (January & February) but other months make up for it (April & May).
What It Takes To Make $1000 A Month On Poshmark
When it comes to selling anything, there are two ways that you can figure out in order to hit $1000 or any specific number you’d like. If you know that you need to make $1000 a month on Poshmark, you need to figure out how many items you will have to sell and for what price you need to sell them.
In order to do that, you will need to know how much you will be buying the product for and how much you’re expecting to sell it for. Don’t forget to factor in Poshmark fees and any shipping discount you may offer. So your profit looks like this.
Selling Price – Poshmark Fees – Shipping Discount – Cost of Goods = Profit
To hit the $1000 mark, you can sell fewer items at a higher sales price or sell more items but at a lower sales price. Or you can do a combination of both. So your variables are price and volume. Let’s take a look at two scenarios.
Scenario 1:
If you’re looking to sell $10 T-shirts that you bought for $1, you will have to sell 165 T-shirts.
- Profit = $10 – $2.95* – $1 = $6.05
- $1000/$6.05 = 165 shirts required to sell at $10 to make $1000 a month on Poshmark
*Poshmark fee is $2.95 for sales price below $12. Otherwise, it is 20 percent of the sales price.
Scenario 2:
Alternatively, if you’re able to sell a pair of shoes for $100, and you paid $30 for them, you will need to sell only 20 pairs of shoes.
- Profit = $100 – $20 – $30 = $50
- $1000/$50 = 20 pairs of shoes required to sell at $100 to make $1000 a month on Poshmark
But 20 pairs mean a much higher initial investment at $600! Of course, these are only examples. If you can source items with a higher sales price for a few dollars, the number of items you have to sell is way lower than our examples.
But the reality is, if we could all buy products for super cheap and sell them for super high all the time, we would all be doing it. You wouldn’t need to read this article because you’d be a millionaire already. Some items may cost you more upfront while others may be only a few dollars.
How We Make $1000 A Month On Poshmark
So let’s get to how I did it. And give you an idea of how you can do it too!
Started With What I Like
As mentioned earlier, when I first started selling on Poshmark, I started with my own clothes. That gave me an idea of how much certain brands go for. I tend to buy from the same retailers and look for certain brands second-hand. So I started with those brands that I absolutely loved. Because chances are, if you love them, there are other people who do too.
I definitely have what is called a “bread and butter brand” that I love wearing. And I specifically look for that brand at the thrift stores to sell on Poshmark. Items from this particular brand are able to bring in about $25 to $50 in profit per piece.
I have sold 58 pieces in the last 6 months, about 10 pieces per month. That accounts for 25 to 50 percent of the monthly profit. The rest is made up of other brands that I also love and follow.
Researched Demand
The most important thing to know about selling online is to know the demand. You could buy and try to sell anything that you love. But without enough demand for the product, you may not find enough customers. And the thing with Poshmark and fashion is that it tends to evolve and change. What is “in” one season may no longer be desirable in a few months or a few years.
So how can you try to mitigate this problem? By buying items and certain brands that either have a cult following, are a closet staple, or are not oversaturated. For example, Free People used to be a great brand to sell on Poshmark. However, they have become super oversaturated in the past few years. What’s worse? Free People have an “official” store on Poshmark.
That’s not to say you will never be able to sell their brand for a profit. There are certain styles that still sell well. Especially if a specific item is worn by multiple famous bloggers. But Free People is not a brand that I particularly look for.
Another approach to sourcing desirable items is to look for limited releases or designer collaborations with more accessible brands. But the one method that I use consistently to know what’s in demand is by following a brand’s Instagram page. You can find tagged photos to see what people are wearing and what they’re loving.
This is a great way to know what real people are buying. You will also often see certain stars or bloggers wearing certain things on TV or out and about in the city. That could and often makes the item a lot more desirable. And these pictures are often found tagged on a brand’s Instagram page.
So that is how I make $1000 a month on Poshmark: by following certain brands that I love but that have a high sales price with a big enough demand for it.
Check Completed Listings
Sometimes, I don’t always find brands that I like to sell for a large enough profit margin. And I personally don’t go for small profit margins that require a ton of listings. Why? Because you have to share them and that takes a lot of time. With a love for fashion, I also like to learn what other brands sell well on Poshmark.
I do this by checking the completed listings. So if I come across a new brand that I have never sold before, I always look up how much the item tends to sell for. When you do this, you will find that there are a ton of brands that cost a lot of money retail but do not sell for much money, à la Free People.
We Shop Around
A lot of times, I also buy from other sellers who don’t know the profit potential of the brand or of that particular piece. When you know a few brands really well, you’re able to source them confidently. Even if they have a higher cost upfront, you know that you will be able to sell them for a good profit that will make it worth it.
What I Skip And Buy Instead
I personally avoid fast fashion brands like Shein, Fashion Nova, and the like. Not just because they don’t have enough profit margins but because I genuinely don’t like fast fashion. I prefer brands that are sold in places like Nordstrom, Revolve, and REI.
But know that even within brands, certain categories will always be more profitable. I generally skip lower selling items like tank tops and T-shirts. Instead, I go for jackets, pants, shoes, bags, and dresses because those have a higher sales price.
How Many Followers On Poshmark To Make Money?
Let me save you a lot of time by telling you that the number of followers does not matter on Poshmark. A higher number of followers doesn’t mean increased sales. Poshmark automatically makes new users follow accounts as well as gives them followers. I don’t pay attention to the number of followers I have, ever!
Poshmark users are shopping because they’re looking to buy something and for a good price. I would never buy something from someone just because they have a huge following. So why would anyone else? What brings sales is having a product that is in demand. For other tips to increase your sales and secrets to selling on Poshmark, check here.
Can You Make A Living Selling On Poshmark?
The short answer is of course you can! You can make a living selling on Poshmark and there are people who do! In order to support yourself, you will have to figure out what your expenses are and aim to scale up your sales. Treat it like a business.
You can start small first. Don’t spend all your savings to buy a bunch of inventory at once. Test out brands, styles, and types of items. Shop at different stores, whether that’s second-hand, retail, in person, or online. Even if you start small by making $100 a month now, you can increase to $250, then to $500, and so on.
How To Make $2000 A Month or $5000 A Month On Poshmark
A great thing about selling online or on Poshmark is that you’re not limited to how much money you can make. You can scale up your Poshmark store as you feel more comfortable with the types of brands and items that you know are selling. And you don’t have to be limited to Poshmark.
You can always cross-list to other platforms with similar demographics as Depop and Mercari. I occasionally do too. To grow the $1000 a month on Poshmark to $2000, it would require more investment in inventory upfront. And to grow $5000, it would take even more. It will be the same case for you too.
Once you reach a cost of goods that you’re comfortable with paying upfront and consistently sell them at a price that makes you enough profit, the only thing left is to scale up by increasing the volume. That is what I plan to do in the next six months, even though it won’t happen in July. Why is that?
We recently took a ten days vacation in July. And unfortunately, Poshmark does not allow any sales once you put your store on vacation mode. This dramatically decreased my July sale numbers. You must be able to ship your Poshmark sale within seven days. This may not be a problem for you if you have someone else to ship your orders for you. Otherwise, keep that in mind when you’re projecting your Poshmark sales.
Last Tips To Make Money On Poshmark
I wanted to leave you with a few last tips to know to make money on Poshmark. While you’re doing your research for what items to sell, be mindful of the seasons. Look ahead to what people will be buying. For example, back to school will be in August and September. While people may not be looking for sweaters and boots in the summer heat of July, they will be in a month or two.
If you’re looking to sell clothing, make sure you have a steamer. Why? Because freshly steamed clothing looks much better and cleaner in pictures. Not many people will pay top dollar for a wrinkly, dingy item. If you have pets, have lint rollers on hand to brush up your inventory. Having these will ensure that your items look the best that they can. I wish you health and success!