Save Money by Buying Clothes on eBay

Wool, angora, cashmere--it seems like these materials make up at least 5% of every winter sweater, and they make me itch like crazy. Why is it so hard to find a nice cotton or acrylic sweater?

After about two months of trying to expand my winter wardrobe with no success, I turned to eBay. Not only does eBay have a better selection of non-itchy sweaters than any other store I've found, the clothes can be a great deal since used clothing has little resale value.

I ended up buying a total of nine sweaters at a total cost of $97.66, including shipping (in fact, the shipping was more expensive than a lot of the sweaters). That came out to an average price of $10.85 per sweater. It's hard to get a sweater at a store for that cheap even on clearance at the end of winter.

Of course, when I buy clothes on eBay, I have to take into consideration that I can't try them on before buying them and I can't return them. In my experience, whenever I buy clothes on eBay, I end up only liking about half of them (I've gone on similar eBay clothing sprees with jeans and slacks). This time, I only liked and actually wear 5 of the 9 sweaters I bought. So I really had to spend $97.66 to get 5 sweaters, meaning they cost about $20 each. Not quite as good of a deal. But still worth it to me, given how hard it is to find a 100% cotton sweater.

If you want to try buying clothes on eBay, I do have some tips for minimizing the number of bum purchases you end up with. I haven't always followed these in the past, and that's how I've ended up with some items I don't actually wear.

1. If the seller doesn't list the item's measurements, request them. If you're buying pants, for example, take the measurements of your favorite pair of pants and compare those measurements to whatever pants you're interested in buying. Just because something is the size you normally wear and even the brand you normally wear doesn't mean it will fit. In fact, even if you buy, say, a different color of an item you already own, it might not fit. One of the sweaters I bought recently had shrunk in the wash and was too small. If I had asked the seller for measurements, I would have known that the sleeves would be too short and I could have saved some money.

2. Immediately resell the items you don't like to recoup some of your money. eBay lets you list 5 items a month for free, so you have nothing to lose but a little bit of time. Do it while you watch TV.

3. Don't buy an item with subpar photos. This is probably so obvious that I don't even need to mention it, but don't get so caught up in the idea of buying something that you put your better judgment aside, buy it anyway, and hope for the best. Either ask the seller to email you better photos or skip the item.

4. Stick to familiar brands. It seems like no matter what size, some brands just don't fit some people. Maximize your chances of getting something that fits you on eBay by only buying brands that usually fit you.

*

Subscribe in a reader * Share on Facebook

Related posts:
Don't Trade it In: Resell Your Used Stuff Yourself
What You Might Find at the 99-Cent Store
How Frugal Purchasing Habits Add Up
Treasure Finding Tips From A Garage Sale Junkie
How Lifestyle Inflation Can Sneak Up On You

Post by Amy Fontinelle