The Elements of a Great Poshmark Listing: Everything to Include, Plus Example Listings

Creating your first listing on Poshmark can be daunting.

When faced with a blank description box, it's easy to overthink it. What the heck do you say about this thing you want to sell?

If you put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer, however, it can get a lot clearer. Here are some categories of information to provide, followed by examples and even a template you can use for listing. Let's go!

What Information to Include in a Poshmark Listing:

The brand and style name/title description from the original retailer

This isn't always going to be available, but if it is, use it!

A few ways to find your style name:

-Check your order history (lol): if this is your personal item, a quick search of your inbox should reveal all.

-Check the tag: Madewell, J.Crew, Soft Surroundings, Athleta, Theory, and so many more great brands will give you a style number you can plug into Google. Most denim brands will have a descriptor right in the waist band (ie. Highest Rise Crop from Levi's, or The Curvy Mom Jean from American agle).

-Google Image search: this is getting scarily accurate! If you've already taken photos of your listing, drop one into Google and see what comes up. Even if you can't find your exact item, you'll probably get some ideas as to how to describe it from the similar items that come up.

Use Brand-Specific Details

If your gray shirt is described as "heathered black" by the brand, it's a good idea to describe it both ways (ie.  "Lululemon Dash To Class Long Sleeve in Heathered Black (Dark Gray)") in the title and description. You may even by check both "black" and "gray" in Poshmark's fields. This way, folks searching it either way can find your item.

Gender/Size/Fit Details

Obvious, but put the item size right in the title as well as the description. If there are multiple ways to describe the size, include those--for example, Boden provides both UK and US sizes, so you'll want to note "US 6/UK 10," lest you get asked this several times, or buyers just skip your listing altogether because they can't immediately tell.

Fit Notes: Be sure to include fit notes like "curvy" (AE and Madewell), Tall/Petite/Slim Fit, or special sizing and its standard equivalent (Chico's, Torrid, James Perse, Universal Standard). If an item is unusually small or large for it's tag size and it doesn't seem intentially oversize or bodycon, note that.

If I have a size M sweater that has a chest size closer to a size S, I'll describe it as S/M in the title and in my description note: "Tag size medium, though fits closer to a small. Please see measurements below to ensure a good fit."

More on how to gauge whether an item is true to size in a moment!

Measurements

Putting yourself in a buyer's shoes, it can be a little spooky to just buy a used item that may have stretched, shrunk, or is from an unfamiliar brand that's just vaguely described as "L."

Whenever possible, include measurements. There are two common ways to do this:

1. Take photos of a measuring tape against the item laid flat at key points:

Tops/Sweaters:

• Chest (armpit to armpit)
• Length (top of the shoulder seam to hem)
• Sleeve (shoulder seam to sleeve cuff)

Dresses:

All of the above plus:

• Waist
• Hips (where the item would cut across the fullest part of the seat)

Pants/Shorts:

• Waist
• Inseam (center of the crotch seam below the fly to the inside edge of the hem)
• Rise (waistband to crotch seam)
• Leg opening (width of bottom hem)

OR:

Take flat lay measurements

To do that, grab a measuring tape and write down the following measurements down in your countery's unit (inches or centimeters (or both!)), then list them out in your description with a note on how they were taken.

Example:

Measurements taken laying flat (approximate):
Chest (armpit to armpit): 18"
Length (shoulder seam to side hem): 22"
Sleeve (estimated shoulder seam to sleeve cuff): 25"

Estimating how an item will fit based on measurements

If I suspect an item may be a bit small for its size, whether it's vintage, has unique or foreign sizing, or may have shrunk/stretched, I first check chest size.

When laying flat, I look for the following range for tops/sweaters for women:

• Small: 16-18"
• Medium: 18.25"-19.25"
• Large: 19.5"-20.5"
• XL: 20.75"-21.75"

This is a rough estimate, but will give you a sense of whether something's way off.

Exceptions:

Athletic tops: these can be designed to be very stretchy/close fitting

Oversized tops/chunky sweaters/coats and jackets: they'll likely be bigger.

If you have a sweater that you suspect has shrunk, check sleeve length, and take a closer look at texture and stretch. Shrunken items will often have short sleeves, little give, and funky texture.

An Honest, Thorough Description of Condition and Any Issues with the Item

Grab your item and put it under good light. Check seams, stain hotspots (like underarms or the laps of dresses), and generally appraise texture, color vibrancy, an overall "newness."

Your ability to trasmit an items essential condition ~vibes~ will improve with experience, but I generally choose an overall descriptive term, note why I chose that term if it's any less than excellent/very good used condition, and disclose specific issues/flaws.

For example, for an item that looks really fresh in both color and texture, but has some darkness under the arms, I'll say: "preowned very good overall condition, with a minor flaw: darkness/discoloration under the arms. Please see photos for details."

If an item looks like it's been through the wash a few times, I'll say something like "Good used condition with some overall wear (a little wash wear/texture as shown); no major flaws."

If an item's brand new with the tags still on, I'll put "NWT" in the title, and describe it as "brand new with the tags on, no flaws" (unless of course there ARE flaws--be sure to check!

Keyword Dump!

Okay this might just be me, but after crafting a thoughtful first line or two capturing the brand, style name, size, color, condition/flaws, and dropping my measurements in, I'll do what I gracefully call a keyword dump.

This is a quick way to capture any search traffic that may be on the vague side. While some customers are certainly searching "Men's Lululemon Metal Vent Tee in Heathered Dark Red," plenty of others are looking for "lululemon vneck."

So I'll look at my item and jot down notes about what I see.

Here are some general categories of what to capture for keywords:

-Neckline: crew/jewel/round neck, v-neck, boat/bateau neck, scoop neck, halter, sweetheart... you get the idea

-Sleeve/shoulder: short, elbow, 3/4, long, or thumbhole sleeve; raglan shoulders (like a baseball shirt) or dropped shoulders (slouchy/oversized fit items).

-Fit, if noteable: oversized, cropped, chunky, slouchy, relaxed fit, drapey, body-con, fitted etc.

-Use/purpose, if noteable: outdoor/active top; beach cover up; formal button down shirt.

-Special features: sweat wicking, anti-wrinkle, anti-microbial/anti-stink, stretchy, lightweight, breathable, etc.

-Noteable materials: I ALWAYS point out if an item contains a good amount of a great material, like:

• linen
• organic cotton
• silk
• leather
• cashmere
• wool
• mohair
• alcapa

But be advised: there's a different between "Wool-blend" and "100% lambswool." Avoid referring to an item as a "Wool Sweater" unless it's completely or very close to completely made of that fiber.

-Style tags: if your ideal buyer was looking for your item, how would they describe it for a search bar? There's a big different between a slim-fitting merino wool crew neck sweater and a vintage, chunky, oversized lambswool one with a Cobsy pattern, though both could be described crew neck wool sweaters.

Be sure to use a few words to capture an item's essence: is it boho, slouchy, and textured? Or chunky, room, cozy, super soft? Keep up on your aesthetic trends too: lagenlook and Barbie Pink have proved powerful search terms.

So with all that considered, let's put together a sample listing.

Here's the item--how would you list it?

First, let's google the style number on the tag: woot, it's called the Waffle Zip Thermal Hoodie. Nice! For our title, let's include the brand, size, color, and some key style details (it's cropped and boxy).

So our title would look something like this:

TNA Waffle Zip Thermal Cropped Boxy Hoodie M Light Gray

Looking good! Since we have a stock photo we can grab, we don't need to specify that it's for women (we'll also plug this info in when we list on Poshmark).

Now let's move onto description. I like to copy/paste the title again, just spelling it out a little more comprehensively, and add condition notes:

TNA Waffle Zip Thermal Cropped Boxy Hoodie in size Medium, color Light Gray. Good used condition with light wash wear as shown (see photos); no other flaws.

Sweet. Now let's plug in our details:

Details:

And lastly, measurements. I use cute lil' emojis because it flags this info for users and doesn't require extra effort since I copy/paste it in from a template.

📏Measurements (approx., flat lay):📏
Chest: 22"
Length: 18.5"
Sleeve length: 15"

Lastly, a component we haven't talked about yet: store policies! It's a great idea to pre-emptively answer FAQs from potential buyers, like how often you ship, whether you have pets or smoke, and whether you offer bundle deals.

My notes look like this, but feel free to do your own thing:

💲✂️ Bundle with another item from this closet to automatically save 25% on your order! 💲✂️

🚚 Items ship in 1-2 business days 🚚

Thanks and happy shopping!

One piece of advice with store policies: skip negative notes or warnings. You may get tons of low ball offers and be annoyed by it, but it's still an icky customer experience to be interested in an item and see NO LOW BALL OFFERS plastered on the listing.

Think about the kind of info you'd like to be given while walking into a store in person. Maybe the salesperson would let you know there's a sale going on on summer clothing, or give you a head's up with their apologies that their machines are down and it's cash only. They'd never tell you "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT STEALING, WE HAVE CAMERAS." That's kind of the vibe notes like "no modeling" or "no trades" give off.

Focus on attracting great customers, not scaring away bad ones!

Conclusion

Let's take one final look at this sample listing we've put together, in one piece:

"TNA Waffle Zip Thermal Cropped Boxy Hoodie in size Medium, color Light Gray. Good used condition with light wash wear as shown (see photos); no other flaws.

Details:

• hoodie
• full zip
• long sleeves
• branded silver-tone hardware
• ribbed trim
• cropped shape
• relaxed fit
• kangaroo hand pockets
• waffle texture
• lighweight
• Style # waf3-10244-40

📏Measurements (approx., flat lay):📏
Chest: 22"
Length: 18.5"
Sleeve length: 15"

💲✂️ Bundle with another item from this closet to automatically save 25% on your order! 💲✂️

🚚 Items ship in 1-2 business days 🚚

Thanks and happy shopping!"

We made it! Now add your photos (more info on those in another post!) and you're good to go.

A last word on stylistic choices: some sellers like to really sell an item with their description, noting things like "so cute, really warm, great for a beach day," etc. I've done this in the past, and still do it for an item buyers might not have a good frame of reference for, like a no-name vintage item. But generally, I find people on Poshmark already know what they're looking for, and I don't spend the extra time punching up the details. But of course, the choice is yours, different strokes for different closets, etc.

Any other nagging questions about listing, or details we didn't cover? Drop a question below, or send us an email at [email protected].

XOXO,

Cathy@ClosetWitch