Admittedly, I'm much newer to the Youtube scene.  I started really watching back in December and now I can't imagine a day without watching some of my favorite vloggers.

Initially, I started because I wanted to snag all of the thrifting tips I could get!  I'll admit these Poshmark Vloggers have helped me in ways I couldn't believe would be possible through Youtube - from strategizing at the store, knowing what to pick up (and what to put down), and to always, always remember to stay in my own lane.

Psst!! Click their names and it'll take you to their channels ;)

The Deal Queen
Newer to Youtube, but Alexandra's videos are easy to watch and jam-packed with important information.

Lindey Glenn
I love her live feeds.  I never watch them live because I can't schedule my life, but I love listening to her answering the very same questions I have.  She's also really helpful with figuring out eBay.

Empty Hanger
Interestingly enough, my favorite tips from Jenna are actually her "Monthly Favorites Videos"   where she discusses what worked for her and what didn't, even adding in new apps and items she's obsessed with that have helped her boost sales.

Thee Queen of Thrift
Alex is kind of a loose cannon, so naturally I'm obsessed with her.  I'm 99% sure I've bugged her one time too many to go back to Youtube more consistently.  I also like that she swears when she feels like it.  She's my kind of people.

What Poshmark Vloggers do you watch?  I'd love to open up my horizons!

I've been active on Poshmark for 1 year and 3 months now and in that time frame I've been blessed/cursed with hosting two Poshmark parties.

With my first Poshmark party, I was notified in the end of July and asked whether or not I was still up for the job!  I submitted a Poshmark Party Host request in March, just a few months before, and knew the wait would take a little bit of time.  Honestly, I was surprised just how quickly my request went through!  The date for the party? October 3rd!

I flipped through listings and Instagram posts from other party hosts to see just how they were promoting their hosting duties.  Using that inspiration when Poshmark reached back out to me in September to confirm the theme, I made a listing on both Poshmark and Instagram.

Immediately, I was flooded with comments like "Congratulations [insert a ton of emojis here]!  If you're looking for a host pick, please be sure to check out my closet and my PFFs [insert a long list of user handles]."

As the party grew closer, my notifications grew and exploded the day before when Poshmark announced my "Plus Size" theme.  Direct shares, tags to items I would like (even when they weren't on theme), comments begging for a host pick, and even some interesting minor bribes.

Poshmark asks that you limit host picks from your own closet.  I find it incredibly cringeworthy when people have the guts to place their entire closet in the host pick section.  Like, c'mon, we know you'd pick them, you're selling them for crying out loud!  I picked one nice plus size red button down with gold buttons I really couldn't pass picking up at the thrift store.

In the initial PDF Poshmark sends you, they also ask that you try to include new Poshers.  With this in mind, I sat down the day of and started to pick out items on a spreadsheet to ensure I was not only spreading the love, but making sure that their closets were Poshmark compliant - another requirement for a host pick.  You can't max over 100 host picks and that night I was determined to use them all.

The night of was like a whirlwind.  I happened to sell a bundle during the mayhem, but neither were plus size items so I think it was by chance.  The whole process was time consuming and exhausting.

By the time my second Poshmark party rolled around, I considered myself a pro.  I don't think I requested to be a host, but Poshmark reached out and asked me (again, I think on this one, who knows what I did in March 2017) at the beginning of January if I would be available.  The time frame was much shorter.  Set for February 15th, I knew that this time around, I wasn't going to announce my role as host until the very last possible moment.  Why?  Because the flood of comments, tags, and direct shares weren't making me any sales.  In fact, they were distracting me from the genuine likes and bundles in my closet.

I created a Party Host listing on Poshmark to give the rabid commenters a place to talk to me instead of directly commenting on my listings - something I find to be incredibly rude and a little too thirsty for my taste.

For my Style Crush theme, I actually upped my own listings in the pot and added in 2 whole listings!  I also heavily used the direct share feature because I knew this would cut down on time I needed to go seeking items - especially when the theme is so broad.

I sold 0 items.  Woof.

TL;DR?  Poshmark parties are...interesting.  I'd like to think that back in the day, they helped to drive sales for the Poshmark Party Host, but it really just felt like a vacuum sucking my time and my phone battery dry.

So, if you really want to be a Poshmark Party Host, you have to make sure your closet is compliant.  I do know someone who sat on the list for 6+months to be denied because they had an insignificant item that was technically non-compliant.  I think they also make sure that you're not a complete asshat, commenting mean things on other people's posts.  At least, that's what I like to think.

If you've never been a Poshmark Party Host, that doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or your closet.  Continue to focus on your goals and I promise you, it will be far more rewarding than the groveling of random strangers strewn about your listings.  Trust me.

Last year, I briefly dabbled in the idea of opening a boutique.  Working full time while writing resumes freelance already made my plate full and I thought being able to order inventory from my phone on my lunch break would be a much simpler process for me overall.

It wasn't.  I crashed and burned and crashed some more.  I am not a fashionista and what I like is not necessarily what the general shopping public likes. So I learned my lesson and decided to dive into thrifting, which for this cheapskate was a high.

By September, I was still working my way through clearing out the initial inventory I ordered wholesale (fun fact: still have some of I'm trying to unload).  The one successful piece I ordered was a black lacy dress that racked up lots of likes immediately.  With one piece left, I happily accepted a lowball offer that allowed me to make back what I spent on the piece and a couple dollars too. 

I shipped it off and felt lighter - even though she purchased on Labor Day and I couldn't ship same day and she gave me a bad vibe when it wasn't immediately shipped.  I removed the cross-posted listing on eBay and went on my way until a week later when a case was opened against me: the size tag was missing, so the buyer couldn't identify where the actual tag was.  I reached out, told her it was....and heard nothing back.

The buyer was a huge fat liar.  While not in the traditional spot on the upper back of the dress, the tag was located within the seam of the dress and was actually quite large.  So my buyer wasn't clueless, she was sneaky.  The dress didn't fit and she found her opportunity to return.

I was frustrated and I told Poshmark exactly where the buyer could find the tag - but they accepted the return anyway.  I felt cheated.

Waiting for my dress to be returned, I anticipated the tag being removed completely from the dress to prove her point.  How else could she get away with her claim without damaging the dress? A few days later, the dress returned and I tore through the tiny box she smooshed it in.

And there, within the seams of the dress, was the size tag plain as day.  She didn't remove it at all.  I immediately filed an issue with Poshmark and took pictures of the dress.  I was genuinely concerned she would pull this crap again.  To send and return this dress, it cost Poshmark $12 which would most certainly affect their business model.  Basically, they shrugged their shoulders and said we'll keep an eye out for her.

I blocked her, immediately.  Mostly because I didn't want to accidentally share items to her or sell to her again if she liked something else in my closet.  She cheated me once, I wouldn't give her the opportunity to again.

I relisted on Poshmark and eBay and within HOURS of my relisted on eBay, a repeat buyer purchased at full price.  In fact, they were incredibly happy and couldn't believe how beautiful it was in person.

Of course, all of this was before the new returns process rolled out (which I have yet - fingers crossed- to experience).  I've had a few return cases opened and closed since then, but I've learned that anger won't serve me any real justice.  People will lie and cheat, but overall, the experience has largely been positive.  Letting one buyer destroy my entire experience with reselling would let her win - so whatever, she lost out on a great item and I made more money than I would have if she simply accepted.

At the end of the day, I'm grateful she didn't destroy the dress.  There's much worse.  I learned to hone my customer service skills and to stick up for myself when I knew I was right.

In July 2017, I started really thrifting and looking for items I thought would sell well on Poshmark - and it took off!  It was exciting to find items that many of my Instagrammer friends were constantly sending the "BOLO" alarm up for.  There really is nothing quite like the rush of finding that item in a thrift store.

I probably sold a few items a week previously, but on that third week of July I was on fire!  A pair of Lulu's pants I purchased on clearance finally sold (they didn't fit and it made me uber sad) along with my first Zara find, a purple paisley sheer top on the same day.


I shipped immediately, happy to see them both go.  The Zara top was going to a buyer who purchased for me previously and I was honestly incredibly excited to have a repeat buyer.  Maybe, I could turn it into a long term thing!

Four days later, however, my repeat buyer reached out to me --
I literally pulled the worst move ever and swapped the labels.  Immediately, I reached out to Poshmark and the original buyer of the Lulu's pants to let her know what was going on....only to discover the next day that the item was undeliverable because she was moving and didn't update her address. (PS -- my original username was shopcousin, I switched it in October!)

My repeat buyer and I worked with Poshmark and she sent the pants back to me with a full refund and loads of apologies from me - but she wanted that shirt.  I promised her I would keep her in the loop and let her know as soon as the item was returned to me, assuming since the package was undeliverable it would bounce back to the return address.

A week went by without an update from USPS.  I called and left e-mails (they got back to me two weeks later!) for the USPS.  I reached out to Poshmark once again and the buyer, who swore it wasn't there...for it to magically turn up in her mailbox hours later, after Poshmark issued a refund to her and my earnings to me.



I e-mailed Poshmark immediately, not thinking it was quite fair that my earnings were released to me when this was completely my error.  As they had already resolved the issue, it was a closed case to them.  There was no way I was getting that Zara top back with Poshmark's help.  At the end of the day, I ended up making more money on the top because the pants sold for more.  I could have left it at that, but my repeat buyer really wanted this top.

I messaged the original buyer of the Lulu's pants, telling her that when she was ready to repurchase the pants I would happily list them for her (again, because she was in the middle of moving she wanted to repurchase when settled and SPOILER: she didn't) and also offered the idea that she could sell the top right away to the other buyer and make some money.  I just wanted to make my repeat buyer happy.

She didn't quite grasp that she couldn't send the top back to me anymore.  I'm not sure what she did with it but she never relisted it which I was kind of hoping she would.  What frustrated me, was that half of the problem was her own because she put down the wrong address.  She wasn't a super active seller, just selling items from her closet, so I don't think she understood that updating her address long after the item went to the post office wasn't going to fix it.  I think the item bounced around in her local PO until they located a change of address file and then delivered.  Sure, this mix-up was 100% my fault, but we would have had an issue with delivery either way.

My repeat buyer was really bummed.  She also really didn't want the original Lulu's pants buyer to get those pants because, in her mind, she was the reason we couldn't simply swap the items.


My repeat buyer actually did purchase from me again, a sweater in the fall, so my label fumble didn't turn her off from my closet.

What I Learned

• Own up to your mistakes.  From the very first moment, I was apologetic and willing to fix it by any means possible.  I messed up - this wasn't on the buyers or the Post Office.  When I first realized what happened, I absolutely felt a sinking feeling in my gut of regret and complete disappointment.  I quickly realized that, unfortunately, this is part of the game.  I will make mistakes and all I can do is learn from them and do my best to fix them.  Beating myself up wasn't going to fix the issue.
• Moving forward, when an item sells, I print out the label and write on the sides what items go in that package immediately.  Until the very last moment when I cut the label and paste it onto the box, there's no way to mix up what's going in it - it allows me to double and triple check.

I was also proud of myself for taking the hits and responding to my buyers promptly and with a calmness.  Growing frustrated at them would have negatively affected my attitude and further worsened their experience.

At the end of the day, those Lulu's pants sold again to another buyer who was willing to pay a little bit more.  And, they were delivered to the right address the first time!