Hello everyone
An update on selling my unwanted clothes, on two platforms, which I won’t name. Well, the thing is on both I immediately encountered scammers. On both someone asked me to do odd things and if I had not been canny and suspicious, it would have led to them to accessing my email and with one, my bank account. Not impressed, one bit. I did report this and the Help Centre was helpful but not a lot. I removed myself from one immediately and am on the verge of giving up on the other, but will try Ebay as a commenter has already said there is more seller protection. I think that’s definitely needed.
Tbh, I was nervous to start with (I know everyone said it was easy to do this, but nevertheless I was nervous) and the whole episode has been stressful. As I said, not impressed. I know as you get older you are meant to get yourself out of your comfort zone and try new things, but really, I could have done without this! Will let you know how I get on with Ebay. Also that has made me think I really ought to try and sell stuff on the blog – Mr F says it’s not as easy as you think. But we will have a go, for sure, so watch this space. Also in another blog coming out shortly I will talk about changing one’s habits and trying new things. Will end this update by saying – it’s all been a learning experience and I have learnt to be exceedingly wary!
On a more positive note, I just want to tell you that hey, I’ve got my mojo back, mainly I think because my hair is better! I’m really happy to see it tousled and slightly shaggy – that’s more like me!
Isn’t it extraordinary how a bad haircut can ruin one’s mood, but hair is a strange thing. It is part of our identity and I feel I’ve got my identity back! Thanks for bearing with my lower mood last month.
Did I say it was cooler weather, well, typical of British weather, we have just had one week of lovely warm October weather. But I didn’t get out those dresses again, or any skirts, as at the moment I am team black jeans.
The black jeans were bought online from Mango in the time of Covid, they’re getting quite old and losing their colour big-time, but they fit so well. The jacket was bought new from M&S two years ago and the top is also from M&S bought quite recently at quite a reasonable price. The only thing from a charity shop is the bracelet – which is cheap and cheerful.
Anyway, the weather is due to change, and at the weekend we have some really cool weather coming along taking us near to freezing in the early morning, even in the south of England. Here I am with my beloved red hat bought from Toulouse, France in the before times, pre-Covid.
Tbh I’m loving the colder weather. Remind me to say that in the depths of our cold clammy winter!!
That’s all for now, with love, Penny, the Frugalfashionshopper
I’m sorry to hear about your experiences Penny. I’ve always found eBay good and as you said seller protection helps. They’re good at refunding as a buyer if you encounter issues too. Btw, have you thought of trying dress agencies locally? They sell your clothes for you and take a portion of what they sell for.
Loving the hair Penny! Rock on 😄
That’s so kind Melanie, and I’ll definitely rock on! 🙂
I have decided to come off the second platform and try Ebay next week. It was quite unpleasant really having to deal with the odd requests.
I do use a dress agency but she’s very fussy, fair enough as she knows what sells, but she won’t take any vintage items or any of my cruise frocks or frou-frou skirts for starter, as it’s not the Lewes style. I’m pleased to use her though, and pleased to know that someone else is enjoying my preloved clothes.
Thanks Jen 🙂
Ps love your new hair and that outfit looks 👌
Thanks again 🙂
Have you tried facebook marketplace.Good and local…no posting.
Having said that I have used ebay many many times.Successful and straightforward to use.
Hair looks good btw
Annie
The first scammer was on Facebook Marketplace with several messages saying she couldn’t come but would send the money to the door with a courier service – got really weird so I said, no thanks and got off it pretty quick. Felt all wrong and then almost the same thing happened on Vinted. So will try with Ebay but proceed with extreme caution!!!!
Thanks so much Annie about the hair 🙂
Hi Penny, your hair’s great and the leather jacket outfit is perfect. I too am very wary about selling on line and can’t be bothered with the hassle. Why don’t you give your black jeans a refresh by running them through the washer with a black dye? I’ve done it with navy blue and it really does work.
Thanks Christine re: the hair and jacket. And I will try dyeing the jeans – what a good idea 🙂
Sorry you had all this hassle Penny. I’m very wary when it comes to selling things too and wonder whether it is worth the bother. This is such a common scam on FB Market place you would think they would have tightened up on it by now. I tried selling my husband’s bike and I got so fed up with the same old twaddle I took it off and have never used it since. Hair is great btw. Go Girl.
We had a bad experience on eBay so be careful. I’ve given up selling clothes and just donate. I feel the charity needs the money to help others. We sold on Facebook market place and that was easy and local. Looking good and love the hair
The first scammer was on Facebook market place – not a nice experience and it really stressed me out. I got off it pretty quick.
I will try Ebay next week and will be very careful.
Thanks Maureen 🙂
Love your hair like that. I’m too lazy to sell stuff and going to PO in France is like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. Although I imagine like many things in modern life, meant to improve efficiency, there are just as many obstacles where you live too. I hope you can find a better solution.
Facebook market place- one and only experience- seller wanted me to send £50 to cover dhp ‘taxes’ and would include it in their cheque to me! I don’t think so!!
Yup, as soon as I’d uploaded on Marketplace there was someone asking me odd things about her not being able to come to the door so would send a courier – got odder and odder. I now know you just don’t engage with these people. But it really put me off using it so I’m not!
I will try Ebay and if that doesn’t work out I’ll give up and everything will go to the charity shop or the local dress agency, which I do use but the owner is very fussy as to what she takes from me.
Thanks Flora 🙂
Hi Penny, Your hair looks so nice now,I love a tousled look and really hate “set” looking hair it adds years to us! And love the black outfit plus a bit of leopard, just right for our changeable autumn. Re selling clothes on the Internet,my sister does this but gets so little money in return for all the hassle. I don’t feel it’s worth it, I just donate my unwanted things to charity. No loss as they probably came from there anyway! Best wishes Judy from Brighton
nextdoor.co.uk can also be a good alternative to FB marketplace, we’ve sold lots of bits on there.
Will look at that, but very wary now, so will try Ebay next week. Thanks Jennifer 🙂
I agree, ‘set’ hair is an absolute no-no!!! I will try one more time to get into the re-selling lark, as I’m quite keen to do it. But what a learning experience!!!! I do still take things to charity shops though and a dress agency.
Thanks so much Judy 🙂
Your hair looks fantastic, Penny! The leather biker jacket, black jeans and leopard top complete your ‘rock chick look’ look. It is true what you say about hair; I’m going through a hair crisis because of my fringe (!). I have had a fringe since I was a child, and if it’s too long or too short, it’s a major issue for me. I accept that this a totally minor problem if I think about what is going on in the world…
My eldest son works in cybersecurity and says the scammers are getting more difficult to detect. I think you’re right to be be wary.
Glad you’ve got your mojo back.
Like the hair and the outfits on you Penny. If your jeans are losing their colour and are 100% cotton you could try dyeing them black again. I buy on e-bay all the time and rarely have a problem. I’ve just received a new fine wool cardigan for £15 plus postage. They are still on sale at £75 so a real bargain. I’ve also sold in the past with only one person who didn’t pay but I reported him. I think the situation with scammers is getting worse in all areas of life so you do have to be careful. If it’s too good to be true then it isn’t! The Govt just isn’t taking fraud nearly seriously enough ; it’s the fastest growing of all crimes and can damage people’s mental health as well as their finances.
Thanks so much Lynda and I will try the black dye in the washing machine. As for selling platforms I was so new to it all I continued to engage, not quite believing what was going on. It wasn’t pleasant but I haven’t tried Ebay which I will do after resurrecting my PayPal account which I haven’t used for years. I now know to disengage immediately but take a screenshot before you do and report.
Thanks again Lynda and btw, I do hope you had a good cruise, you certainly deserved that holiday – how was Fred Olson in comparison to Saga?
Fred. Olsen’s ships are older and more traditional than Saga’s new ones but the format is similar. Evening meal is in 2 sittings with fixed tables which Saga don’t do any more & ‘posh’ afternoon tea and the speciality restaurants cost extra, but I think the prices reflect this. We like the friendly, relaxed atmosphere but thought perhaps there were fewer staff this time ; it certainly took longer to get served with drinks for example. People seem to be dressing up much less and the ‘smart casual’ dress code is interpreted as just ‘casual,’ except by me of course! I suppose it’s just the way things are now. I really thought we’d never cruise again but now hope to go again soon.
Interesting, Lynda, as we have used Fred Olson before and like their small older ships although I would say Braemar rolled a bit on high seas, what with its flat bottom! We also found the people friendly but didn’t like the fixed tables as sometimes their political opinions were in direct opposite to us (you can imagine) and that’s not a problem, but every night!!?? On our last Saga cruise it was good to meet so many different people, we loved that. Also I take a deep breath when I think of how pricey Saga is but it has so much going for it when it’s paid, especially being picked up from your door.
RE: dressing up, I was very disappointed that there was only 1 formal night on a 7-day cruise. Next year when we go on a 13-day cruise we will have 3 formal nights – lovely!!! And I still dress up on the other nights, but have a much better idea of how I will do it next year. Like you I don’t do ‘casual’!!!
Do hope you go on another cruise soon!
Your hair’s looking fab. Definitely you. I’m having mine cut next week. I like it longer but start to worry that it’s too Camilla. Not that that’s bad, it’s just not me.
Good luck with ebay, I always use it and have never had any problems. If sites don’t demand 2 factor verification we shouldn’t use them. I use Google to construct complicated passwords and change them quite often.
Thanks Gail, it got cut too short, to be fair, I did ask for the cut! The layers are actually fine and I will keep them.
Will try Ebay next week as have many articles I want to sell. You are not the only one to say that it has good seller protection – it is very much needed. And I now know to disengage immediately.
Thanks again 🙂
Had my hair restyled – still getting used to going from long, smooth and sleek to short and tousled – I think I like it! Been having a massive clearance of clothes and shoes too. EBay take a hefty % out of selling and postage combined, I have been using Vinted – had a couple of weird messages but instantly deleted them. I find it easier to use than EBay – Facebook Market Place is easy and keeps it local. Good luck.
I think because my only contact with Fb and Vinted has been with scammers I feel uneasy using either again. I will try Ebay and see how that goes.
Your hair sounds fab, but I know it takes time to get used to!!! Thanks Margo 🙂
Your hair looks great. FYI, Scammers are a fact of life on platforms.
I sell on EBay, Poshmark, Mercari, DePop. If they ask to go off
platform. ie email or phone,or send more photos, it’s scammer, just ignore
or report to platform & always Block. Don’t let yourself be drawn into
their bad behavior. Reselling is an honorable profession & can be
lucrative. Plus keeping clothes out of landfills.
Am a big fan, thanks for your blogs.
Jean
SilverGrlFriend
Yes, I was such a newbie I did engage for a bit and yes, they were asking for photos to be sent to their email – I mean NO!!!! Will go off that platform very soon as I did report but didn’t take a screen shot so the Help Centre couldn’t help much. You learn! But the first time it happened it was Facebook Market Place and that got very odd, now I know I will just block immediately having taken a screen shot first. Again, you learn!!!
Altogether it’s been quite an experience. I intend to use Ebay next week as it has apparently quite good seller protection. Very necessary, I’d say!!! I’d really like to get into re-selling though, and people like you reassure me that it can be done. Thank you so much for your comment – it helped 🙂
I think setting strict parameters on selling sites is necessary. They all have s
Customers who want something for nothing. With Facebook. Market place they can appear at your door with no change, or less money. On eBay they want to return because they’ve invented a fault in the fabric or item.
With vinted you can restrict how you post ie via a pick up locker and how they pay. So better luck with your next try.
Love your hairstyle and that outfit is very me, I saw the leopard print too yesterday likely I will be buying it soon.
Yes, won’t try Facebook MarketPlace or Vinted again, but will try Ebay shortly. Mind you I think I am better prepared for the scammers as I realise now they are part and parcel of the experience.
Thanks re: the hair and it’s a nice top isn’t it 🙂
Hi Penny! Your hair is great! Love the tousled look! I’m getting ready to leave for a Fall Color vacation in the New England area of the U.S.
Good luck on your sale!
Charlene H
Have a lovely, lovely time in New England, Charlene and thanks so much for your kind words about my hair 🙂
Penny, your hair looks fabulous this new way…definitely edgy and definitely you! I think of pre-Covid as the before times, too. I wonder how many lives have been irreparably changed by it. I am thinking, specifically, of younger people who didn’t get that carefree time in their lives. Well, many lives were interrupted, weren’t they?
I have been thinking about how it would work selling on your blog. I have several things on Poshmark that haven’t moved in weeks. I used to sell on eBay quite a bit. It seemed like people were more straight forward then. But, as that’s been years ago, maybe things have changed. Good luck on this!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Thank you so much re: the hair. Finally, it’s right, it was cut too short, but fair enough I did ask the hairdresser to do it! Oh yes, and the Covid situation has impacted young people – everybody really – so much. I just bless the scientists who gave us the shots – three cheers for them.
I will try selling again shortly – this time Ebay. I think I am better prepared now for the scammers. I was so astonished by them that it really put me off. Reading all the comments has helped a lot, as I now realise they will always be there. I know now to disengage sharpish!!!!!
Thanks Marsha 🙂
What a bummer to have those experiences Penny. But I’m sure you will find a way that works for you. Your hair is perfect now! Pity to wear the hat!
I won’t use those platforms as they made me feel so uneasy, but I will try Ebay. Thanks re: the hair 🙂
Loving the hair and think it makes you look so much younger. I just got rid of a few things in my closet but just took them down the road to the bin at a local church. I just came back from a lecture and film on the Dutch master painters. It is making me want to travel again but I think I have to be content with armchair, or in this case folding chair travel Darbyl
Thanks so much re: the hair, Darby. Good for you to go through your closet and get rid of some items. I still take to charity shops and the dress agency, but will try selling again (!) but this time through Ebay.
The lectures sound good, I have just joined U3A (University of the Third Age) in Lewes and hope to make new friends and hear some cultural lectures. There’s a Film Club so we will join that.
I know what you mean about travel. Could only cope with a cruise to these places now! Thanks as ever Darby 🙂
I dye my black jeans every six months, keeps them fresh!
PS like your hair now.
Thanks Toni – I will get some dye 🙂
Penny! You’ve got your mojo back and look great in the black jeans and that classic leather jacket. You’re also looking so much more comfortable with your hair, which is now very stylish and completes the look. Brilliant!
I can’t comment on the selling platforms – I can’t bear the thought of all that hassle with being scammed and identity fraud.
I, husband and our daughter donate all our unwanted clothes to my favourite charity and using my husband’s gift aid status, they’ve also raised extra income.
Penny you look incredible in this outfit and your hair is really looking good,