How to Sell Designer Shoes Online

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: July 11, 2022 References

Designer shoes, especially those in good condition, can fetch an impressive resale price. This is an excellent way to make a little money back on shoes you no longer wear, or to finance your next round of shoe purchases. What's more, selling your shoes online is convenient, environmentally friendly, and relatively simple.^{[1]
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Research source} All you need is a suitable marketplace or consignment shop, and a little bit of know-how to protect yourself from dishonesty online.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using an Online Marketplace

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Research a list of prospective marketplaces. The major online marketplaces, like eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist, are probably already familiar to you, but there are also sites that specialize in selling shoes and clothing.^{[2]
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Research source} One of these specialized sites might be even better than one of the major marketplaces.^{[3]
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- To find the best site for your shoes, you'll have to do some research. To make your investigations easier on yourself, write down a list of prospective marketplaces.
2
Evaluate the terms and conditions of each site. Some sites may require membership fees, others may take a percentage of your profits, while still others might only require you to create a free user account. Each site will be different, so you'll have to read each site's terms and conditions to determine fees, if any.
- When you find out this information, note it down on your list of marketplaces next to its corresponding entry. This way, at a glance, you can tell which site requires what.^{[4]
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Look at user reviews. Take these with a grain of salt. Some companies hire individuals to write positive reviews about a service to make it sound better than it is. However, if you find a lot of negative reviews about a certain marketplace, this is a good indication that site isn't a good choice.^{[5]
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- Another good resource for evaluating the ethics of a company is the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Companies with a low BBB ranking should probably be avoided.
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Choose a suitable online marketplace. Now that you've figured out any associated fees for sites on your list, it's time to pick one from the bunch. Keep your list even after you've chosen a site to sell your shoes to.
- If you have a bad experience with the marketplace you have selected, you can try again with the next best one on your list.
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Price your shoes. Pricing can be difficult, especially if your shoes have sentimental value. Search for shoes of similar make and condition on other marketplaces, like eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist, to get a general idea of how much your shoes are selling for.^{[6]
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- The price you set for your shoes doesn't have to be spot on. If you find that you've priced an item too high, in most cases, you can lower the price.
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Include a compelling description of the shoes. Highlight the key features that set your shoes apart from the rest. As these are used shoes, you might want to add information about their comfort, or point out the characteristics that attracted you in the first place.
- If you have difficulty thinking of a good description, you could look up the original product description of the shoe online for inspiration.
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Photograph the shoes. You don't need a professional camera to take pictures of your shoes. In many cases, your cell phone camera should work just fine. Your photograph should capture as much of the shoes as possible. Take photos from many angles, and choose the best ones to upload.
- If the condition of the bottom of your shoe is good, take a photo of this as well. Some buyers evaluate wear and tear by the condition of the shoe's sole.^{[7]
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- If you don't have a cable attachment to port your pictures from your phone to your computer, consider emailing the photos to yourself instead.^{[8]
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Sell your designer shoes. Again, depending on the site you've chosen, the method of sale can vary. Some sites operate on a bidding scheme, where buyers will bid at or above your asking price. Others may only sell products at their specific asking price.
- Sometimes it can take a while after posting your shoes to the marketplace before they are sold. Be patient.
- After a considerable time has passed, if your shoes still have not sold, you may want to lower the price.^{[9]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Selling Shoes at Online Consignment Shops

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Familiarize yourself with consignment shops, if necessary. These shops buy secondhand and lightly used items to resell them for a reduced price. There are good and bad points to this:
- The upside is that you can quickly and easily sell most of your shoes at a single online consignment shop.
- The downside is that these shops often offer less for your shoes than you might have made elsewhere.^{[10]
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Hunt for suitable shops online. Do an Internet keyword search for "Online consignment shops," and list the ones that seem likely prospects for your shoe sales. After you have a list, check user reviews to get a read on other users' experiences.^{[11]
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- You don't have to come up with a list that's too long. Out of five shops, at least one is likely to be suitable for your shoes.
- User reviews should be approached with a little bit of skepticism. Oftentimes, companies will pay users for favorable reviews.
- If user reviews are unavailable or seem suspicious, like if all the reviews are positive, you might want to check and see how the Better Business Bureau ranks that particular consignment shop.^{[12]
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  Federal Trade Commission
  Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson
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Compare the terms and conditions for each shop. Some consignment shops may pay you directly for your shoes and then sell them. Others may sell the shoes on your behalf and keep a percentage of the selling price. Determine which is best for you according to your situation.^{[13]
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- Shops that pay you directly and then sell the shoes are often the quickest way for you to make money, though they may not offer as much as you might get on a marketplace.
- Percentage based consignment shops encourage sellers to work hard for you. The more they sell your shoes for, the greater their cut of the sale will be. This can take longer, but can be more profitable.^{[14]
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Have your shoes appraised by several shops, if possible. Some sites may have policies that make it impossible to get your shoes appraised without some kind of commitment. However, in many cases, you can check consignment shops against each other by having several shops appraise the same items.
- This is a good way of identifying disreputable consignment shops. Those offering substantially below the average selling price are likely trying to rip you off.
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Sell your shoes to a consignment shop. After you've done your homework and determined the best shop for you, it's time to sell. Contact the consignment shop you have chosen, follow their directions, and sell your shoes.
- Frequently, online consignment shops accept items after a digital evaluation of the item (e.g., after you've emailed them pictures). After that, they'll buy/sell the shoes according to their terms and conditions, earning you money.^{[15]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Protecting Yourself from Online Fraud

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Avoid giving out personal information. Many times, hackers or fraudsters will attempt to get at your private information through your marketplace or consignment shop account. They may contact you by phone or email, claiming an outstanding balance or demanding money. Very frequently, these are scams.
- Be wary of even official emails. Computer savvy fraudsters often create what appear to be official websites to trick you out of your personal info.^{[16]
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- When in doubt, contact the marketplace or consignment shop about the matter directly, at their official customer service phone number or email address.^{[17]
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  Federal Trade Commission
  Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson
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Create a unique password. It's highly likely that you have a few passwords to remember, and you may even mix these up sometimes. This may have led you to reuse the same password on several sites. You should avoid doing this, because it severely decreases the safety of your online information.^{[18]
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- You might use association to come up with a unique password that's easy to remember.
- Since you're selling shoes, you might create the unique password, "InTheRichWomansWorld86," based off the last two digits of your birth year (in this example, 1986) and words from the ABBA song, "Money, Money, Money."
3
Save related emails and other communications. Even with reputable businesses, sometimes mistakes are made. It is also possible, especially in online marketplaces, for buyers/users to attempt to scam you. Saving records of your communications will help you prove your honesty and integrity, should you be scammed.^{[19]
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- If you plan to regularly sell your shoes online, you may want to make a special folder in which you keep all documents pertaining to your shoe sales.