If you’re anything like me, you probably have a number of gently-used clothing, shoes, and accessories in need of a good home. And if you’ve tried to sell them online before, pretty much the only option was Ebay. But was it really worth the hassle? You’re hit with a listing fee, a Gallery fee, a Reserve Price fee, a final price fee if your item does sell, a Buy It Now fee…and if your item doesn’t sell, you don’t get your money back. (Sure you can relist it for free, but if it still doesn’t sell?? You’re outta luck, my friend.:-( And if your item does finally sell, usually what it ends up selling for isn’t really worth all that listing hassle and fee upon fee upon fee. There’s a reason many people call it FEEBAY!
I have tried many times to sell clothing from my closet (that I’ve hardly worn, mind you!) on Ebay with frustrating results. Sometimes I ended up paying Ebay more money than I actually make from the sale!!
That’s why I was so excited to hear about Smashion, a no-fees online online fashion marketplace and community that connects buyers and sellers with a passion for budget fashion.
Yes – NO FEES! At all. Sell for free, buy for free. A virtual free-for-all, if you will.;-) Launched in October of 2009, Smashion enables users to buy or sell lightly-worn or NWT (new with tag) apparel and accessories in the Marketplace, and also acts as a social networking platform for users to express their unique style and converse with each other on fashion topics.
Got something to sell? Whether it is a piece of jewelry you’ve designed, a pair of new shoes that have been sitting idly in your closet, or that dress you wore only a couple of times (but still looks great), you can sell it on Smashion. They charge no listing or transaction fees, nor do they have any hidden fees.
But Smashion isn’t just limited to buying and selling. It’s also a social networking and sharing platform, where you can:
* Get inspired and inspire others in the Gallery, where you can upload pictures of your own unique looks or the styles you’ve captured on the street.
* Talk with other users in the Forums on anything that’s fashion-related, from the latest trends and your favorite designers to a fashion crisis you’re facing. Start by introducing yourself and learn why the Smashion Forums are unique.
* Read up on recent fashion news or opinions on the Smashion blog.
* Find your friends on Smashion or invite your friends to join in on the fun.
Smashion was originally founded in response to the growing trend of wearing second-hand clothing and the lack of a community-based, fashion-focused online marketplace. They showcase everyone, from closet recyclers and wardrobe refreshers to vintage treasure hunters and budget-conscious fashionistas, providing a service for the community that is fee-free. Since launching they also have included independent designers who are tired of high fees on other sites, and business owners who are looking to sell excess inventory in their Marketplace, so there is always something for everyone.
And if you like finding buried treasure, how about Diane von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Wang, Sam Edelman, Anthropologie, Escada, and Michael Kors? Just click around and go hunting…
Click on through using my invite link below, and see what it’s all about…
Edit 12/7: By the way, they also are currently having a Holiday User Referral program going on where you could win $100 cash for inviting your friends to join. Check out this page for more details!
xoxox
Carly
FTC Disclosure: Smashion is now a sponsor of Chic Steals with a paid advertisement in my left sidebar. However, I was not paid for or compensated for this post in any way. To read my full disclosure policy, see here.
Do you think you'll stop selling on Etsy too? I think this site is great, but I have a feeling that it won't be free forever.
@JoiI'm not sure, really. Right now I see Smashion as a great alternative to Ebay, but not quite yet for Etsy. And it may not be free forever, but at least it is now – so I'm definitely going to take advantage of it!!
xoxox
Carly
I've sold on ebay before, sure like the idea of FREE! The problem has always been other places don't have the traffic (customers) so it's hard to make $
Thanks for letting us know. I will definitely have to check this out!
Thank you so much for posting this link! I've joined using your handle as the referrer. I've been trying to get rid of perfectly decent and new in box shoes on eBay for the longest time, just to avoid throwing them out or relegating them to Goodwill, but seriously, starting the listing at $.99 to get people's attention means that I often end up paying eBay to take my shoes. And if bids actually go up? Forget it! Ebay is taking nearly all of it in fees!
Anyway, I am so glad that this new site is up and running, and hope that it gets the critical mass of users to leave eBay for good – and possibly even help people keep more things out of the landfills and get people to consider selling their things second hand instead of dumping them.
Just a headsup for anyone just now finding this article. You do know that Smashion shut down in 2012 right? I knew the owner and she had to close because she wasn’t able to compete with feebay or etsy when it came to traffic and number of buyers, yet tons of ladies were signing up for accounts so she had reached the max bandwidth space limit for the site builder she was using and was told she’d have to pay $179.95 per month to allow more sellers to join. Since she wasn’t charging selling fees she couldn’t afford to keep paying higher monthly fees to keep the site running, because her fees were increasing every 6 months or so due to the higher volumes of sellers. She could’ve started charging for selling to make those monthly payments and keep the site open but she said she hated to charge since she promised the site would be free for all, so she felt it better to just shut down than to have to drop a fees bomb on us all. She figured since traffic was still nowhere near ebay and etsy that she’d never get enough sellers willing to pay the fees and end up shutting down anyway when her high monthly bills came due and she’d be paying those costs out of pocket for no income in return. Running a free site is really hard on the person running it, or at least their wallet.