BY JORDAN ANDERSON
It’s no secret that riding clothes can be expensive. Breeches, sun shirts, boots—not to mention the plethora of jackets every equestrian seems to accumulate all quickly add up. So when riding attire no longer fits or never gets worn, no one wants to just give it away. Thankfully, there are many solutions for reselling riding clothes that allow you to make some money to spend on your next new barn outfit!
I’ve bought and sold riding attire in a few different ways. As an experiment, I listed five articles of riding clothing on various resale websites—a sun shirt, vest, pair of breeches, quarter zip jacket, and a pair of tall boots. Listed below are the platforms I used to sell my items and insight regarding each plus some personal tips to help you sell your items!
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is a massive online market. People across the globe buy and sell just about everything! Equestrians are no exception, with an abundance of listings for riding breeches, sun shirts, show jackets, and more. One benefit of listing used riding apparel on Facebook Marketplace is the items are not viewed solely by equestrians. While an old down vest may have been adorable for barn wear, someone else might see it and decide they want it for their next ski vacation!
The signup process for Facebook Marketplace is very simple, especially since most everyone already has a Facebook account. Similarly, the listing process is straightforward as well. Once listed, you can share your items in the marketplace in any groups of which you might be a member. However, Facebook Marketplace does take a five percent commission from the sale price on every item. In my experiment, Facebook Marketplace is where I had the most success. I sold the vest, sun shirt, breeches, and tall boots within forty-eight hours of listing.
Tip: Find equestrian apparel sales groups on Facebook to join! There are hundreds of groups, some with thousands of members. English Tack Exchange, Quality English Tack Trader, and Dressage Tack Trader are some of my favorites.
Mercari
Mercari is a relatively new app designed to be a marketplace from home. Like Facebook Marketplace, one can sell just about anything on Mercari. Equestrians have taken to the app, with new listings for equestrian apparel appearing every day. As opposed to its competition, Mercari offers a variety of very helpful features in regards to selling on the app. However, there is a ten percent commission fee on sales.
Sellers can take and edit pictures of their items directly on the app, which makes listing items a breeze. This feature is a great way to make sure clothing looks as good in pictures as it does in person. Smart pricing is another helpful feature, designed to automatically lower the price of listed items over time to keep the item interesting to prospective buyers. Sellers can set a floor of the minimum price for the item or choose not to use the smart pricing tool at all. By utilizing smart pricing on Mercari, I sold my quarter-zip jacket within twenty-four hours!
Tip: When shipping items sold on Mercari, take advantage of the shipping labels Mercari provides as they are offered at a better price than other shipping providers!
Curtsy
Curtsy is the number one app for buying and selling women’s clothing and accessories, including equestrian clothing. While the app is very popular, there are not as many listings for equestrian-specific apparel like breeches, show coats, or riding boots. But other equestrian staples such as sweaters, vests, jackets, and belts are highly popular on the app.
Curtsy has a variety of seller-friendly features to make selling items straightforward and easy. You can track the users that view and favorite items. Potential buyers can also submit offers on listed items. In addition, sellers can promote items to potential buyers by sending private offers to users who have favorited items. Being able to negotiate a discounted price often leads to sales. Curtsy also offers a shipping program, to make shipping sold items a hassle-free process!
These features do come at a cost, as Curtsy takes a twenty percent commission off of all sold items, the highest percentage rate of any selling site yet. Although, the large audience and helpful selling features make up for the commission rate, especially on higher value items.
Tip: Offer users who have favorited your item a discount. Even a small discount encourages them to buy your item, which is a win for everyone!
Depop
Depop is a social shopping app for used clothing and accessories. The app is unique in its feature of linking to social media, so you can link your Depop shop directly to your social media. While not currently as large as other resale sites, Depop is steadily growing. Additionally, it is a user-friendly app.
One unique feature I found on Depop is the ability to sell multiple listings as a bundle. This combines shipping costs for the items, making it convenient for both buyer and seller. In addition, sellers can use a variety of hashtags to promote their items through searches, which broadens the audience. Equestrian apparel is fairly popular on Depop, especially with shops that various equestrian influencers have linked to their social media.
Tip: Link your Depop to your social media accounts. You never know if one of your followers might be looking for the exact pair of breeches you are selling!
Tack Shops
While this might seem like an old-school suggestion, commissioning riding clothes at your local tack shop can be a great way to sell them. Many privately owned tack shops take items on commission, stocking your item at the store in exchange for a percentage of the sale price. While this option might not sell your items as quickly as an online route, it is the simplest option.
Dropping your riding clothes off at a tack shop saves you the hassle of taking photos, listing items, communicating with potential buyers, and eventually shipping the item. Because of this, it is a variable option to sell riding clothes. Tack shops have differing policies regarding commissioning items, but it does not hurt to reach out to your local tack shop and ask!
Tip: If you are unsure of a fair asking price for your items, ask the owner of the tack shop. They know the market in the area and have enough experience to suggest a fair resale price!
Regardless of which route you end up taking to sell your items, here are a few general tips!
1. Take lots of high-quality photos. This should go without saying, but people want to see what they are buying. Make sure your photo has good lighting, and your item is in focus.
2. Describe your item appropriately. At the very least, your listing should include the items size, color, and condition. The brand and exact measurements of your item are great details to provide, especially if the brand is well-known and high-end. Personally, I also include a suggestion of the item’s use. For example, when selling a white sun shirt, I mentioned in the description that it would be great for showing or for schooling. It is the details of the description that can make your item stand out.
3. If your items have any flaws, make sure to disclose them in detail in the description as well as providing photos of the flaw. If the breeches you are trying to sell have a few loose stitches, it is far better to tell the buyer before the purchase than potentially have to issue a refund to an angry buyer.
4. Consider reasonable offers on your items. While you do not want to give your riding clothes away, if someone makes a fair offer it is worth consideration. Everyone likes feeling that they got a deal on an item that is new to them.
5. Ship sold items promptly. Ideally, ship sold items within the next three business days, and make sure you inform the buyer when you can ship their items. Once the items have shipped, update the buyer with the tracking number for the package to make sure nothing gets lost in the mail.
Happy selling!
Jordan Anderson is a life long equestrian, riding a variety of styles including hunters, eventers, dressage and equitation. As a recent graduate from Averett University, Jordan is transitioning into the world of being an adult amateur.
