As a reseller, how do you know what’s on trend? How do you know what to sell?
Having inventory that is in high-demand is crucial for a successful reselling business, but it’s not always easy to know what that is!
Here’s some tips on how I research trends & BOLO brands.
If you are a fashion reseller, you’ve chosen an industry that operates on a 52 week trend cycle. What does this mean? Every week, new trends and brands emerge and other trends and brands “die”. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
Sustainable fashion, for example, is predicated on the idea that fashion should not be so disposable and we should buy and wear pieces that will last much longer. Still, what was sustainably fashionable two years ago is often not so much today.
In order for your inventory to remain desirable, in high demand, and relevant, it is absolutely critical that you familiarize yourself with trends. How? Do your research. And while many other resellers can give you tips and tricks (I have a BOLO brand list here), I recommend that you develop the skills that allow you to what brands to pick up and what brands to pass on.
So, let’s explore some of the ways that I love to research brands!
Looking Through Comps
Filtering by “Sold Items” on Poshmark reveals a gold mine of information that is free, accessible, and easy to navigate. It allows you to look directly at what is selling and for how much.
How I use this tool is by picking a category such as “Dresses”. Then I filter by “Sold” and select the price filters “$50-$100”, “$100-$250” and “$250-$500”. Because so many people Share their sold listings (which I recommend not doing), you will also want to sort by “Just In” instead of “Just Shared”.
This will show you the dresses selling for over $50 in the quickest amount of time. Scroll through the first few hundred listings and if you see a brand appear more than twice, write it down. These are the brands that are most sought after for over $50.
Of course not all dresses under each brand perform equally, so also take note of what styles are selling well. Do this for each category about once a month and you will start gaining a solid understanding of what is selling.
Window Shop Online
Online shopping is of my favorite past times. I’ll browse an online retail website, fill up my shopping cart and click exit. I’ve pretend-shopped ever since I had access to an internet browser, but I never ever thought it would be useful until now.
A great way to stay up to date with trends is by scrolling through the pages of trend-setting online retailers. A few online retailers that are very trend-focused include Revolve, Shopbop, Forward, Farfetch & Net-A-Porter. However, if you don’t gravitate towards that style, go to your favorite retailer online & pretend to shop.
Maybe it’s Eileen Fisher or Anthropologie or Everlane. Scroll around, fill up a pretend shopping cart, and pay close attention to the trends that stand out.
Follow Those Who Know
Another way to stay up-to-date on what is in high demand and trending is by following the people who lead discussions around fashion and trends.
Reading magazines like Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, and Elle will allow you to stay privy to fashion trends. Similarly, fashion bloggers are fabulous resources for staying up-to-date with what is trending. There are hundreds of them but some great ones include: Girl With Curves, Wendy’s Lookbook, We Wore What, Talking with Tami, and The Chriselle Factor.
Check While Thrifting
Doing your research before hitting the thrift stores is incredibly important. It not only deepens your knowledge of trends and brands, but it also primes your brain to be on the lookout for those things.
However, there will always be moments in the thrift store when you come across a brand and it looks expensive, but you’re not sure. Always check comps. Pull out your phone, search the brand, filter by category and color. See if you can find that specific item. Or check to see how similar items are performing.
Check to see what prices they are both listed for and selling for. Check to see how saturated that particular item is (also check to see if some sizes are more saturated than others). And check to see how much traffic each listing is receiving (look on the likes and comments of a few similar items).
In Conclusion
No one gets by resting on their laurels in the fashion industry.
More and more people are entering the reselling industry, so competition is at an all time high. How to differentiate yourself?
Only source products that are in high demand. How?
Research, education, and doing the extra work behind the scenes. If you don’t have access to these brands in your area, there are ways to creatively source that we will cover in the future. But no matter what, stay up-to-date and know thy trends.