Running out of Storage Space for Clothing

[helenm777]

I have over 550 items of clothing that I have on sale which has practically taken up the whole back of my home.  I do like to hang garments and have racks of clothing everywhere.

Just wanted to know from more experienced sellers of clothing how they store their items.  It would not be practical for me due to cost and location for me to have a storage unit at this stage.

Could anyone advise me if packing in plastic bags ready for the sale is an option.. or will the clothes end up smelling?  

HELP !!!!

[2011.narelle]

I got the same problem on a smaller scale.I think the plastic will give them a funny smell too.

Maybe run a few auction items to get rid of some quicker & that may also act as a bit of advertising for your buy it now items.

I try to keep hanging the stuff I'm going to list in the near future.The Summer stuff i store in plastic tubs up top of my huge wardrobe .When i bring them out i have to wash them all again so they smell fresh & don't  have buyers whinging.

Oh i nearly forgot those hanging plastic multi-hanger things.1 hanger that can has 5 or so hanger hooks on it can save a bit of space.

[sonya0576]

Helen, I am in a similar situation.... or was. I went out to a few garage sales etc and picked up a few old, yet sturdy tallboys. I then removed the large draws and put in curtain rods. These hold so many items and actually looks alot better than temporary wardrobes etc. If i have a chance tomorrow I will take a picture of one of them and post it. In mine I have left the 2 half drawers to hold smaller items, and the very bottom drawer fo the same purpose. I hope this makes sense lol.

[caitlinn2011]

Thanks so much for you replies. Yes I do not want to go through having to wash all items again. Auction listings sounds great but as I have a store will have to wait till Ebay gives Auction listings for Free which I haven't been offered for a while. I have thought of auctions before but find the $1.50 insert fee a killer and eat away at the small profit made on some of my items. Thanks never thought of the 5 multi hangers. Will have to invest in some. The tallboys are also an option and would love to see photos . Thanks again for your help..glad to know I am not the only one in this situation

[caitlinn2011]

Sorry was logged in to my daughters account when posted this listing

[cq_tech]

There's absolutely nothing preventing you from creating a second ID with which you can list as many as 40 items per month with no insertion fees. Even on your current ID, store aside, you should be getting 40 free listings monthly if you want to put your garments up for auction rather than BIN listings.

Also, even if you don't specifically receive any invitations yourself, if you keep your eyes open, somebody will invariably post the link to eBay's monthly promotions which can be anything from 150 free listings upwards, which should keep your selling costs to a very manageable level. As far as storage is concerned, racks are far superior to enclosing them in plastic, provided that you're living in a smoke-free environment.

[sonya0576]

This is one of my tallboys, it cost me $10 from a garage sale, then another $10 in hardware ie curtain rod and brackets.

[egglesdtp]

I have a gazillion plastic tubs (with lids) that I store nearly all my clothing in. The only things I store on hangers are long skirts, and I have one rack for these. The rest are sorted into type first (tops, knitwear, shirts, pants, skirts etc) then for shirts and pants (because I have so many of them), by colour, so - for example - all pink shirts are in one labelled tub, all black pants are in another, and so on. I have them stacked three high in a spare room, labelled on the side as well as the lid.

Where I have fewer items of a particular sort, they are grouped in the same tub e.g. scarves, lingerie, pyjamas are together in one tub. Trackpants, gym pants and shorts are stored together in another. I have two large tubs of knitwear which are grouped into two colour ranges. I have around 700 items of women's clothing all stored in one room. I have another room for items for the home stored in tubs, and behind me in my 'office' I have 9 tubs (stacked 3  x 3) of craft and stationery items.

At times, I rearrange the contents of tubs when there are too few to have their own tubs, and make new groups. I always relabel the tubs immediately, and try to keep them in much the same place they always were. Nothing is packed in plastic until ready to post, and I've never noticed musty smells even if they have been stored for ages.

[egglesdtp]

(I have around 700 items of women's clothing, but not all are listed on ebay)

[thecatspjs · Accepted solution]

I have a different approach.

I ran out of space ages ago, and when I recently downsized my home rented a storage unit close to home for larger and boxed items on others IDs.

For clothes I have cupboards & shelves ordered in numerical order with stock number stuck onto package, and removed prior to posting.

I prepare garments for photos - cleaning, steaming, ironing etc etc, I list & once a week or fortnight package goods. All my stock is allocated numerical numbers to make locating it a 10 second task.  My system is to prepackage clothes, by carefully folding with white acid free tissue paper and/or bubble wrap to protect buttons / sequins etc in place, and popped into clear plastic bags with self adhesive strips - I order these in bulk in different sizes (I prefer these bags, I think they look more professional than sandwich bags, but thats just personal preference, the other serves the purpose).

Occasionally I freshen up older stock if it has been packaged for several months, but I very rarely have to,  as the key in keeping clothes stored this way, is to ensure that the garment is clean and odour free when packaged. 

From time to time I may not prepackage silk items with beading or linen items to avoid excessive crushing, and only package them when sold.

Over the years, I have only ever received positive comments for my packaging.

The storage room this takes is soooooo much less than storing clothes on hangers, it also makes it a breeze to find stock.