Are you looking to make some extra cash or want to clear out your wardrobe? Follow my tips and you too could make $1000 just by selling your second hand clothes at Kirribilli Markets!
It’s becoming more apparent that I really don’t need THAT many clothes in my life, so I decided to start selling second hand clothes at Kirribilli Markets in Sydney.
The first time I ran a stall at Kirribilli Markets with two of my favourite blogger friends, Abbey from Meeru Style and Dee from Mama Stylista. We turned up not realising we were super late and after a mad panic we all sold around $400-$500 of our unwanted clothes each.
Second time round, I did the same markets on my own because I had loads of stuff to sell.
Interestingly, I doubled my money and made $1000 by learning from my previous mistakes and simply by making small changes. This is what I did and how you can easily make $1000+ by selling your second hand clothes in Sydney at Kirribilli Markets.
1. Prepare by doing a big clear out at least 2 weeks before Kirribilli Markets
Firstly, think about seasonal items.
If I try to sell any summer clothing at the beginning of winter, chances are it wont sell. My way of getting around this is to put on a stall in Spring or Autumn, that way you have a better chance of selling all of your clothes.
As per usual, you need to book your market a good few weeks in advance before it all books up.
Two weeks before the market, I went through everything I had and put it all into those $2 shop massive laundry bags ready to sell.
Because I did this 2 weeks before, it gave me enough time to contemplate over some of my things in the ‘not so sure’ pile and also time to do another look through of anything else I wanted to sell.
2. Post videos and images of what you’re going to sell on social media
If you’ve got a following on social media then I’d recommend posting a video or photos of anything you’re going to sell to encourage your followers to come to the market.
I wrote that I was going to be at the markets on Instagram the day before and then did an Instagram Stories video whilst at the stall on the day.
3. What to bring with you on market day
You’ll need to consider more than just what you’re going to sell to make it a successful day.
Start with money – you’ll need a float.
I recommend having about $100 in notes and some coins to be on the safe side.
Also bring some camping chairs to sit on (we have these camping chair and they are super comfy). It’s going to be a long day so you might as well be comfortable.
You can order a table when you book the stall which I definitely recommend. It’s good to be able to put jewellery, shoes, bags, accessories and evens jeans on something.
When I did the market first time round, because we were all quite late (we turned up at 8am, thinking the market started at 9am and not realising punters were already filling up the market), all of the hire rails had gone.
Luckily Steve rushed over to Bunnings to pick some up for us.
Second time round, I bought my own rails and coat hangers ($10 each and 12 coat hangers for $3 from Bunnings). Whilst we were setting up, the amount of people that wanted to buy my coat hangers was unreal. It’s definitely something I’ll consider buying to sell next time!
Don’t forget to bring some bags with you as you’ll be asked for a bag off the customers loads!
An umbrella and sunscreen are a must. If you ever do a stall at Kirribilli Markets, you’ll definitely need sunscreen as it gets really hot there no matter what time of year it is.
4. How to present your stall at Kirribilli Markets
ARRIVE EARLY
Make sure you turn up early. If the market starts at 8:30am, you’ll certainly have customers as early as 7am. It will take you longer than you expect to set up.
WATCH OUT FOR THIEVES
It’s a bit stressful trying to unpack and you have a flock of people going through your bags before you’ve even put everything out. This is also prime time for thieves. You can tell when something has been stolen as the item is usually missing from the coat hanger. If you have loads of people around you when you’re unpacking your stuff, make sure you have someone to keep an eye on what’s going on.
MAKE YOUR OWN SIGNS
One of the biggest differences doing the market second time round was I made signs stating the price of how much everything was on the rails and put some of the brand logos on them. I then laminated the signs and tied them up on the rails. As soon as I put the signs up, I got loads of customers. People need to know how much everything is so you need to make it easy for them.
DON’T OVERPRICE YOUR CLOTHES
Last time I was really tight with prices but I decided to sell everything for around $10 this time round. I had a quick look around and one stall was selling a lot of higher end Australian designers like Ellery but they were charging $100+ per item. It’s a market, no one is going to pay that much, no matter what brand it is. They ended up packing up and going home after a few hours.
TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
It’s good to stand out and create an atmosphere at your stall by playing some music. I also like to chat with the customers by telling them where I bought the item, what I used to wear it with etc to give them a good visualisation – this works wonders.
PRESENT YOUR CLOTHES WELL
Another trick that works well is by presenting your clothes in colour tones on the rails. This is way more pleasing on the eye and easier for customers to look through your items.
WAIT UNTIL THE VERY END
Lastly, always stay until the very end, even when others have already packed up. There’s always a bit of a rush and it’s good to get rid of a few more items.
Which market to choose: Kirribilli Markets or Bondi Markets?
There’s 2 markets in Kirribilli, the general market and the fashion market. They rotate every 2 weeks. First time I did the fashion market and this time I did the general market. I would definitely advise doing the general market as there’s not as much competition and has a way more relaxed vibe.
Also, another thing to note is, I did Bondi Markets once too and it was beyond awful. I literally made about $100!
