Since I discovered Poshmark in July, I have had my phone attached to my face. For those who don't know about Poshmark, it's an app for the iPhone and iPad where you create a “closet” filled with items from your actual closet that you want to sell. You upload pictures, write a description, set a price, bargain and see who buys.
I am basically running a consignment store from my iPhone.
I’m in the schmatta business, people! And I am working this app, my friends. I ask my kids to take the pictures of me dressed in the clothes I'm listing. (Oh, I was just casually swinging my hair as the shutter clicked.) I invest in the descriptions — and my god, they are witty. I work the "Posh Parties," which are nightly events hosted by two to five Poshmark users with themes like "Preppy Glam" and "Date Night." The hosts select items from different closets to showcase in "Host Picks" for any user to see. At last night's "Street Style Party," four of my items were Host Picked, driving traffic to my closet. I woke up to more than 200 news alerts. This Friday, I'll be hosting for the first time. The theme is "Pretty, Flirty and Girly." Tag me with your appropriate items, Poshmark ladies!
So far, I have made almost $2,000, some of which I'm saving for a new computer. I've bought items that I would never be able to afford in the real world. And I've met other women on Poshmark who are funny, friendly and supportive. This app is amazing.
I am the only one in my family who thinks so. My kids roll their eyes when I ask for photography help. My husband would prefer that my phone not be attached to my face. I am in no way setting a good example of healthy device management. As my son so wisely said, “Mom, you’re on Poshmark like I’m on Clash of Clans.” While writing this post I checked it thrice.
I would like to do as my husband asks, but I've now become a Poshmark "Suggested User" with almost 6,000 followers. That many people don’t follow me anywhere. I have, like, 41 Twitter followers. Forty. One. Poshmark gives me social media attention I don’t get anywhere else. I get "likes" several times a day. In my youth, I wasn't a girl who got a lot of likes. So, you know. You don’t have to be a big thinker to get that one.
And there's also the bargain factor. Finding something beautiful that is, unjustly, way out of your financial reach, and buying it for 75 percent off is very gratifying. I learned this from my nana Pearl, who used to take me to Loehmann’s regularly. She taught me how to find a bargain (and how to not be embarrased in a communal dressing room). “You have to look through everything. The gems are hidden.”
Nana Pearl taught me the delight of a good deal — and I excel at seeking and finding a good deal. Ask my friends about my bargain stories. Fish tales, dear readers.
I no longer have Loehmann’s – or sadly, my lovely nana. Poshmark is my iPhone Loehmann’s. It is where I find $800 shoes for $150. It’s where I hondle. And it’s where I find the gems.