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Shannon, AKA Boho Dreams, just graduated college last May (with an economics degree) and is thuh-riving as a full-time Poshmark seller. She's kind of an OG Posher and has been selling on the platform since 2012, reinvesting her profits back into her business to ramp up to where she's at now (over 1600 active listings on Poshmark - I can't even!)
I'm honestly so impressed with how she's been able to scale her business, all while maintaining a consistent brand and closet aesthetic. I was able to chat with Shannon and get all the specifics and logistics, and can't wait to share them all with you!
SOURCING
Okay, so first, I wanted all the deets about Shannon's sourcing strategy. Like how often should I be sourcing if I want over 1k active listings? And should I be looking through every single item at the thrift store? Sometimes I'm over it at the thrift store and cannot stand sifting through one more ugly Cabi shirt, you know?
Right now, she's sourcing at least twice per week - she's currently trying to cut down her listings, but on average, she'll source around four times a week (or whenever she needs to get out of her house).
And there's always the sourcing conundrum of whether you should be sourcing for style or brand. Shannon does both. She picks things up that she would wear personally (even if it's a lower-end retail brand), but she'll also pick things up just because of the brand (she loves selling Free People).
It's definitely important to know your customers' style, though. "Just 'cause [something] sells well for someone else, doesn’t mean it’s going to sell well for me." Shannon said she learned this lesson pretty quickly, having picked up more mature brands like Diane Von Furstenberg, which just kind of sat in her closet with no action.
I love that Shannon will only spend time in a thrift store looking through what she wants to look. She just kind of looks at whatever catches her eye. She doesn't really look through every single item on a rack, and instead will focus on particular colorways. She mentioned that she'll gravitate towards the whites and yellows, as she knows Free People focuses on these colorways.
Even if you don't have a fav brand to resell like Free People, sourcing based on colors is still a hot tip if you're trying to build a particular closet aesthetic. You can also avoiding certain colors that don't fit into your brand, or that you're just not a fan of (I don't even waste my time on orange sweaters, ya know?).
LISTING
OK, so onto listing... how many items does a girl have to list in a day to get over 1k active listings?! 15 a day is the magic number for Shannon (which is also the max amount of listing drafts you can save on Poshmark). She'll batch out her photos when the lighting is good, load up 15 drafts on her phone, then list them strategically around 6pm or 7pm when there is more action on the platform.
Shannon has a whole listing routine down--I love a good routine. Knowing what works best on your computer vs. your phone is key, as well as having some useful listing templates (check my template on the bottom of THIS post).
One genius hack Shannon shared with me is choosing to not include the style name in her listings. Free People can be really oversaturated on Poshmark, and if a buyer sees the style name on a listing, they can easily look up the item on Poshmark to see if there are any cheaper available listings to purchase. Her whole strategy is to list high and offer amazing discounts, so that would really deter her sales.
To avoid that, Shannon will list the item using keywords, rather than the actual style name. For example, instead of listing "Free People Love Potion Top", she would list it as something like "Free People Black Lace Open-Back Floral Top".
MODELING
Shannon has found another way to boost her sales: modeling her listings. She's really the queen of modeling and has developed a very recognizable brand because of it. She'll almost always wear Levi's shorts to emphasize her effortless boho style. She found that once she started consistently modeling all of her listings, her sales really skyrocketed (she models what she can: shoes-not so much, not if something’s too small, + pants are a struggle).
I asked her to name the pro's and con's to modeling her clothes, expecting her to say that it may take longer than just photographing them on hangers, but she didn't! She says modeling actually saves her time, especially because she doesn't have to answer as many fit or measurement questions.
Shoppers with a similar body-size can feel a lot more confident with how something will fit them, and they're more likely to bundle items, she says (the only con was the occasional creep (EW!) - which is one of the reasons she cuts out her face in the photos).
STANDING OUT
Okay, so what's the one thing any Poshmark seller can do right now to stand out on the app? Shannon says it's all about reaching out to shoppers. She'll reach out to shoppers who have liked one of her items (see video below for a how-to) and will include something enticing like "I'm shipping out today!" or "These are my bundle discounts!"
She says shoppers are way more likely to actually go through your closet and see if there's any other items they like, and ultimately make that purchase 🙌
Connect with Shannon!
♡ Instagram
♡ Poshmark
♡ YouTube