Poshmark had a really good thing going. Prior to May 30, 2019, they were focused on having a platform that exclusively catered to women's, men's and kid's clothing. Now with the addition of the "Home" category, I'm not sure if I feel the same way. Don't get me wrong, those that we're already making money on Poshmark is not at risk, I just don't have a good feeling for those of us that are already struggling with sales. 

This change can be broken down into 2 different conversations. The first being what kind of effects this will have on Poshmark as a company and the second being what effects this will have on sellers. Since I know my readers are all sellers, I will only be addressing the later in this post.

Please note that my opinion is based on the information that is available to the public as of this writing.

Let's start this off with a fun fact. As of May 30th, 9:56 p.m. Pacific, there are currently 5,080 items listed under the "Home" category with 138 items sold.

If you're a seller that's doing well, by all means dip your toes in another market. The problem is, how do we define "doing well"? Sure, a lot of us will argue that doing well is subjective and relative but there's got to be a line drawn. I'm a numbers person so I always check people's numbers and compare it to how big their boast game is. And let me tell you, a lot of us are all bark and no bite. Do I sound like a snob by saying this? Sure. Is it the truth? Yes. You can take my word for it or not, I just know I did my homework.

So where am I going with this? The majority of us are not selling as much as we're claiming we are through our posts on social media. With that said, why are we trying to add more stuff on our plate that will take away our focus when we're not even doing well at what we're currently doing? Please don't think I'm saying this as I'm on my high horse, I've worked my ass off to know the ins and outs of Poshmark. I even went as far as to create this blog to teach as many people as I can about reselling clothes on Poshmark so believe me when I say I'm still the same humble me. 

I hope my point is clear; make sure you get good at one thing before jumping onto something else. I didn't say become an expert, I'm saying just be at a level where you're not worried about sales because it's so damn consistent!

Look at it this way, before you become a Jack of all trades, strive to be a Queen/King at something first.

Time, money, storage space, energy are just a few of the resources you have as a reseller. The most basic thing in Economics is understanding that all resources are finite. Knowing this, you should make all of your resources work in your favor by using them efficiently. Think of it this way, if you're not using those resources effectively now with your current process, what makes you think it will change when you have to focus on another category? Let me give you an example that has to do with storage. Most of us operate our reselling business out of our homes and are up to our necks with clothing all around the house or garage. Now imagine allocating more room to hold all these other knick-knacks. Take that same principle and look at how it will affect your other resources.

Again, if you're "doing well" with the current Poshmark categories, pay this no mind. 

From the prices I see in the Home category on Poshmark, I know without a doubt my money is better spent on buying clothes. The margins are just simply higher. I know some of you will disagree but I'm looking at how much I get my clothes for when it comes to this topic. I'll cut this short since this is a truly subjective point because people get things for different prices so it doesn't leave me much room to argue with.

The obvious takeaway here is for you to watch your margins by allocating your money appropriately.

Of course, I had to mention weight and shipping! Scroll through the available items on Poshmark's Home category and tell me how many items will exceed the 5lb. limit. Remember, after, 5lbs. you must purchase additional postage at your expense. One of the biggest reasons as to why I love selling clothes is due to clothes being so lightweight. I only had to buy additional postage about 4 times and it was all due to 10+ piece bundles. Needless to say, additional postage will chip away at your profits because it gets really expensive...fast! See the schedule below:

If you're selling something heavy, you're better off shipping using the USPS Flat Rate service because the limit is 70lbs. The problem is, Poshmark doesn't provide this option, at least not currently.

If you've read my past posts, you'll know by now reference my favorite author, Michael Porter, a few times already. With that said, ingrain this in your mind when it comes to your strategy for reselling anything:

I could've made this entire post off of this quote alone, it's really that important. Read it, read it again, remember it, apply it! This quote is the driving force behind how I've developed PrettiBone to what is today in such a short amount of time. 

The sad thing about strategy is that most people don't even know what the definition of strategy is when they're throwing around the word. What they call strategy is usually just a tactic which is different from strategy. By truly understanding strategy, I promise you will be better at whatever business endeavors you're after. 

Here's a shameless plug for my book recommendations by Michael Porter. Thank me later.

I don't agree with the new Home category at all on Poshmark. The above points I made are not everything that's on my mind so I decided to end this post with an unstructured rant about it...

If you're doing really well on Poshmark with clothes, do and sell what the hell you want, apparently, your technique and process work. For the majority of us, really ask yourself what kind of burden you're putting on yourself and think of the consequences. If you're not doing well with the main category on a platform, why would you think you will do any better by adding another category? I'm gonna bet my money that it's not the market, it's most likely how they're doing things that don't net them sales. This is not me bashing them, this is me suggesting that they work on their process first before they spread themselves thin. I don't think the grass is greener on the other side. The Home market is filled with too many variables that you must account for and this will drain your time and money. 

Sellers that aren't doing well with sales and jumping into the Home category reminds me of how those same people put so much emphasis on being an "Ambassador" or "Affiliate" which by the way was a total head fake. Worry about your damn process and sales first before you embark on something new. Trust me, if you think you're going to make more money by diversifying your catalog, you got this game all wrong. Some of us would even go as far as to drop certain clothing categories from their inventory to be more efficient while others are trying to get frisky with an ENTIRELY new sector?!

Why did Poshmark introduce the Home market besides for the obvious money? I think it's because they're trying too much to be a one-stop shop which in turn will make the platform look like a garage sale. There are already a few MAJOR players in the "everything under one roof" market and why Poshmark is trying to get into this dog fight is beyond me. 

Don't believe for one second I'm opposed to change or I feel threatened in any way with the new Home market. I totally believe that you can make more money by casting a wider net, but ask yourself are you remotely ready to even take on that responsibility. Humans have this natural problem where we go for the next shiny object and totally forget about focusing, again the "Affiliate" program is a great example. Really, $10 is enough for you to stop what you're doing? Again, quit looking at the next damn shiny object and FOCUS. 

Again, for those that think I'm taking this too seriously, I'd gladly accept your compliment.

Make sure to leave your comments below, I know you guys have a lot to say about this.