How to clean your closet and sell them online without human contact

Step 1: Clean out your wardrobe

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First, you’ll have to stop procrastinating and allocate some time to (faithfully) clean out your closet. Prepare three separate boxes and label them “Keep”, “Toss” and “Sell”.

Keep those that you wear frequently. Toss those that are worn out. For selling, Mae suggests that: “If you have not worn [an item] for a year, or you’ve gone through the whole ‘but, I’ll wear it one day’ syndrome, it’s time to give it to someone else to rock it.”

While we know that it isn’t exactly easy to purge your closet (especially if you’re one of those with an inexplicable attachment to everything), Mae recommends thinking like Marie Kondo – to figure out if something sparks joy or not.

“At the end of the day, knowing that someone else might have a better use out of the item is definitely better than letting it sit in my closet,” she says.

Step 2: Take a picture

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This step is critical as it would make or break your chance of attracting possible buyers. After all, a picture paints a thousand words.

Mae says she takes her pictures either on a clean, white background, or on a mannequin. The trick is to shoot them under natural light. “This ensures that the colour of the product is as close as possible to how it looks in real life,” she shares.

Step 3: Create an account on Vestiaire Collective

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Here’s why Mae recommends selling your preloved items on VC: It has a team of experienced authenticators to make sure that all the designer goodies are the real deal.

“The team goes through every single piece to ensure that the things sold on the site are authentic before shipping it out to the buyer,” she says.

She has two key tips when it comes to creating an account on VC. One: to upload a nice profile photo and Two: to share your personality and style in your bio. “This helps your followers understand your personal style and predict what they can find on your selling page,” she explains.

Step 4: Post a picture of your item

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Before posting a picture on VC, Mae recommends brightening it, with the help of any photo editing app, to remove shadows.

“After posting your photos, try to give as much details about your items, eg fabric, condition, measurements, interesting details, and the season it's from,” she adds.

Step 5: Send them out to the warehouse

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When an item of yours is sold, VC will send a notification to prompt you to ship out your item within the next seven days. When doing so, Mae recommends you do a check through twice before shipping your item out.

“Be sure to include everything in the parcel and safely wrap it up to avoid any damage during shipping,” she says. “Attach the prepaid shipping label provided [by VC] and ensure that each item is shipped separately, instead of having several items in one box.”