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"They're hiding in your closet: the beaded '80s dress you wore once to a New Years bash, last season's sandals that you're now neglecting, and a blouse that no longer fits. Instead of letting the garments collect dust, why don't you sell your castaways online? That way, your garments can find new, loving owners. But how do you communicate fit to potential buyers when the sizing of vintage items changes by decade, or describe the condition of your more well-worn secondhand pieces? There's also the predicament of which platform to use: on Etsy, you can tap into a community of artisans; on eBay, you can boost profits by having sellers outbid each other; and on a new site called Wiseling, you can promote your clothing to shoppers who are specifically looking for vintage items. We asked the experts\u2014professional online vintage retailers\u2014for their top tips on selling vintage and secondhand clothing over the web.\n\nStudy before you sell.\n\n \"There are many people selling vintage online, but there are only a few who are educated about garment dating and fabric composition,\" says Lauren Naimola, owner of the Etsy shop Dear Golden. \"Learn as much as possible about vintage garments first.\"\n\n \"Do your research,\" adds Kristina Franco, owner of the Etsy shop Allen Company. \"Knowing vintage labels, silhouettes, styles, fabrics, and designers is half of the fun.\"\n\nDecide on a platform.\n\n \"We love the auction format of eBay\u2014letting customers set their own prices and starting bidding wars,\" say Corina Bilandzija and Genevieve Dodge, owners of the eBay shop Mint Mall.\n\n \"Etsy appeals to me because it's smaller and has a built-in customer base,\" says Franco. \"On Etsy, it isn't solely about the product, but the entire shop experience.\"\n\n \"Wiseling is different from other sites in that we're catered to fashion,\" says Chelsey Bingham, the creator of a new vintage marketplace, Wiseling.com. \"In addition to creating a place for people to be able to search for exactly what they are looking for through very specific filters, we're also trying to capture the discovery process that happens when you are shopping in like a thrift store or a flea market.\"\n\nChoose clothes that are on-trend or from particular decade.\n\n \"Find a niche: sell items that correspond to each other,\" says Franco. \"Some sellers focus on specific decades, styles, colors or type of item.\"\n\n \"Choose items that are trending right now,\" adds Bingham. \"That's what people want.\"\n\nPhotograph items clearly.\n\n \"High-quality pictures are very important,\" say Laura Mae and Amanda Jean, owners of the Etsy shop MaeJean Vintage. \"Utilize natural light and capture the images with a quality camera.\"\n\nTake specific measurements of clothing.\n\n \"It isn't easy to convey all the lovely aspects of a garment on a computer screen,\" says Naimola. \"Many people want to feel the garment and try it on, so you have to be exhaustive in the way you render the garment visually as well as describe it. Measurements are provided for every garment. A dress is measured at the shoulders, bust, waist, hip and length. Every girl should know her measurements, especially if she wants to shop online.\"\n\n \"We are encouraging our sellers to not only attribute the size it says on the tag, but also attribute to other sizes,\" adds Bingham. \"The tag may say a size 8, but it fits like a 2.\"\n\nProvide accurate details about the condition of your items.\n\n \"Build a good reputation,\" says Franco. \"Accurately portray your items and be upfront and honest about the details. This is the only way to gain the trust of buyers who are already faced with the challenge of buying something they cannot try on or inspect. A good reputation goes a long way!\"\n\nKeep an international audience in mind.\n\n \"Selling online allows you to reach a very wide and international audience,\" says Naimola. \"A lot of my business comes from awesome vintage-loving gals in Australia and the UK.\"\n\n \"If you're selling clothes to a consignment shop, you're limited by locality and seasonality,\" adds Bingham. \"You might be selling a coat in the spring, when no one is really looking for coats. But someone in Argentina might want that coat because it's becoming fall there.\"\n\nPrioritize customer service.\n\n \"Customer service is so important,\" say Mae and Jean. \"We have a very flexible return policy so that if customers are not 100 percent content, they are welcome to ship items back to us.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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