Piles of death? Boxes of doom? Bags of despair? We all have them…Lord knows I had it in all of the above, in every nook, cranny, closet, box, bag, and wedge-able location imagineable in my house! It got to be SO overwhelming, I thought…there’s NO way I will ever take the time to list all of this nonsense, especially the clothes…I hate listing clothes. So, I offered to my fellow Poshers a resellers mystery box. I would cram as much as I could in there up to the 5lbs, and ship it away…far, far away…
This is my experiences, what I went through, tips if I were to do if I did it again, and all over blog rambling of how I cut my inventory down…so I could go out and buy more LOL (but focusing mainly on shoes this time, seriously…).
Now, this isn’t meant to be a how-to guide. It isn’t meant to be a step-by-step process, or what works best. That would be up to you. But it was such a big process, that if you’re thinking about doing something similiar, you can at least know what to expect, especially if you did it like I did and offered it over Facebook. It was a very intimate, time consuming process. But before I get down to some things, the question is, would I do it all over again, even though it was a ball of stress, time, and nerves? Yes…absolutely, yes! I’ve made some new PFFs because of it, and that is the most rewarding thing, especially for someone as anti-social, and home-bound as me. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
So…you’re stuck with a mess of inventory. All sizes, shapes, colors, seasons, and wtf’s imagineable. Your hubby says he’ll hurt you if you go to the thrift store. You promise not to thrift again until you list A-Z…LOL yeah right…Ahahaha, no.
If you’re looking for a quick, effecient way to move a LOT of inventory, and get a decent amount of money (by all means, no where near as much as you would if you were to list it yourself), then I highly suggest a RESELLERS Mystery Box. I say Resellers in caps because for fellow Poshers, they aren’t as picky with sizes, styles, or other things that your everyday Jane is looking for to put in her own personal closet. Yeah, I had many boxes that people wanted for themselves, but MOST was to be resold. And that made things a LOT easier (in my eyes anyway), even if it doesn’t seem like it once you start reading this.
#1 – Organize, organize, organize. Go through everything you have. Every. Thing. Your own closet, if you want to downsize, and all of your inventory you don’t want to list. Decide what you’re keeping for yourself to sell, put the flawed items in its own area, and super cheap brands (like Walmart, if you have it, like I did from my own personal closets) in its own area. Don’t brush aside the Walmart-type brands, though! For those that are looking for certain sizes, but not caring about brands, they want these. As you’re organizing, also compile a general list of the brands you have, to share with everyone. People want to know what they’re getting, or could potentially get!
What I did, is I got 3 totes. One for XS-S, one for M, and one for L and up. I also had a ton of J. crew, so those that wanted specific brands, I piled the brands together for easy access. I also put all the pants aside. Pants are heavy. I mostly got rid of tops (a LOT of tops) and skirts. If you want to get rid of pants, and if they’re good brands, offer a pants-only box. But also be prepared to keep most of your pants, unless someone wants a specific size.
#2 – After you’ve worn yourself to death, pinched a nerve, and grown sick of everything in your house, you’re well on your way! Now you need to stock up on those large mailing boxes from the PO. Here is the link to the boxes. This is what I used to ship out in. I also bought 2 boxes of those twist-tie bread bags from Walmart. $3 for a box of 100. Go get them. They’re your best friend. You’ll also need a crap ton of packaging tape, scotch tape, a roll of medium sized trash bags, a pen, a sharpie, a scale, a lint roller, shout wipes or something similiar, extra black ink for your printer, printer paper or whatever way you do your labels, and a big prayer.
So, you’re organized, you have your supplies, and you’ve taken a weekend, a bottle of wine, and a Netflix binge-break. You feel back to normal! But now the real work begins.
After deciding you’re going to do this, be prepared to talk to a LOT of people. Within 2 hours of posting on the Posh group, I had over 20 messages on Facebook. And within a week, it grew. Over 30 people! I was amazed, and felt so Blessed…I was NOT expecting such a reaction!
So people reached out, they told me what they wanted in terms of brands, sizes, style, or if they didn’t care what they got. After I heard from most everyone I made a list on Notepad. I typed out their name, what they wanted, and printed it. I took these lists and got a box basically started for everyone, cutting their names off of the list and putting them on one of the trash bags. I then filled the bag and set it in the box. At first I didn’t have a scale because mine broke, so I guessed at what I thought was just under 5lbs. I was wrong. I highly recommend you stick an empty box on the scale and add item by item until it hits weight. Another trick I did is I cut off two of the box flaps to lower the weight of the box, leaving about an inch to fold over. Just be sure to add an extra piece of tape or two when you close it!
Even though I advertised it as a MYSTERY box, over half of the people were very selective of what they wanted in terms of sizes or brands. Don’t let it discourage you. It’s also up to you whether you get very personal about it, or if you want to keep it 100% mystery. ALL of my Mystery Box sales but one were 100% pleased. Everyone basically got to pick and choose what they wanted, even some of the Mystery ones because I felt better snapping a picture and sending it to them for an OK. This is how I chose to do it, though. Again – you can do things differently.
If you choose to do it like I did, be prepared to take a LOT of pictures, and to re-adjust a LOT of boxes that you already had together. I had to redo almost all of them, but it’s ok because I got rid of 80% of my inventory! I even had to make a thrift run to stock back up on Medium tops, because they seemed to be the sweet spot of what everyone wanted. I also tried to make sure that everyone got at least 2 items that I KNEW could get their money back. Each box had anywhere from 6-10 items in it, for a price point of $20-$30.
Because of the constant stream of communication (and yes, it was almost constant!), I didn’t have anyone in a specific order. This was my order of things: Communicate, fill a box, make sure it was all A-OK with them, make a listing on Posh. They purchase, I get my handy dandy bread bags and put 2-4 items in each bag, depending on size of the items, and place it in the box. I was sure to double and triple check for flaws – See a small spot? A hole? Shout wipes and communicate! Several people were ok with small flaws after disclosing, so don’t be afraid to get nitty gritty with flaws, just be 100% honest about it. Yeah, I had to switch out many items last minute, but it was better than them being unhappy by you saying “Oh, they have plenty other items in here to make up for it!”. Just be honest and transparent about everything.
After the box is packed, taped, and done, I set it aside. I would do anywhere from 2-5 a night, or every other night. I made sure to keep them in small batches so I didn’t confuse things. I also wrote their names on their boxes (along with having their items still in the trash bag with their name on it) so I didn’t get confused!
Another thing I did, was since I had SO many people contacting me, I made sure to let everyone know just how crazy things were, and that it would take me a few weeks to get to each order – EVERYONE was beyond patient and understanding. It was fantastic. I’m SO grateful to each and every person that I spoke with, even if they wound up not buying a box (yes, there were a few of those, but that’s ok!!!). Just be 100% open and honest and communicate the best you can.
I do believe that’s it – I may add other thoughts or things I think of later, but don’t be afraid to PM me on Facebook if you have any questions! I hope this helped at least one of you, and thank you so much for reading!!!