Primarily, this blog is about selling Lululemon, but I want to talk about buying second-hand Lulu clothing because it will help you to empathize with your customers. When buying second-hand Lulu, you have to understand that it is second-hand. It’s not going to be perfect & most of the time the seller will/ should explain any flaws, but sometimes they miss things. This post is about those things. Ideally, you should check for these things before you sell, but they do often get missed.
Pilling & Sueding– The number of items I’ve purchased that have claimed to be in “excellent” or “great” condition that have been horribly pilled and obviously washed numerous times is in-expressible. It’s frustrating, but many sellers over-state and under deliver when it comes to describing the condition of their item. While your version of “excellent” might mean not ripped, torn or stained, my definition of “excellent” includes no pilling or ‘sueding’ of the fabric as well. However, when I buy, I make sure I look very closely at ALL the pictures provided by the seller. And when I sell, I often include up-close photos of the fabric to show condition. Not everyone does this though, so when you buy & you receive something that has more pilling than you thought it would, I recommend at the very least being understanding that sellers are human and may have missed the issue when they were inspecting their item for sale. Please contact the seller if you would like a refund, or partial refund. That’s what I do, and in general, the sellers are very understanding. They’re people like you & me.
Other Flaws- In my opinion, anything that comes to me with rips, holes, tears, or stains that were not disclosed in the listing is unacceptable. These purchases must be remedied with an immediate refund, or negative feedback is in order. Sometimes things are missed. Other times, people purposely leave things out in the hopes that you, upon receiving your item, miss the flaw. Which brings me to my next point: I highly recommend that you thoroughly inspect all items upon arrival and take photos of any flaws you may discover.
Payment- When buying second-hand clothing online, whether on eBay or through the Lululemon Facebook pages (I talk about these in one of my first posts here), please look at all the photos the seller provides for you. The luxury of buying on Facebook is that you can have an open dialogue with the seller that includes photos. If you’re satisfied with the pictures, please always pay as goods, when buying through Paypal and never as gift or EMT (unsure what EMT is, check out my post about Lululemon Slang).
Issues- Once more, if you have an issue with your purchase, please contact the seller. Most sellers on eBay and on Facebook are gracious people. If the seller is uncooperative on eBay, open a PayPal case against them. If they are uncooperative on Facebook, contact the page administrator & open a PayPal case against them (You did pay with PayPal, as goods, right?). If they have wronged you, they will be removed from the page and you will get your money back via PayPal.
Have Fun!- Buying, selling and trading Lululemon should be fun. Don’t let yourself become too immersed in it or too pre-occupied with your ISO list. And if something goes wrong, don’t waste your time worrying about it. Just file your claim & get your money back. Most people are nice, it’s the few who can ruin it for the many, so don’t let them win & stay positive. Enjoy your collection, and have fun being part of the online community!
This blog is meant, primarily, to help people sell their Lululemon collection. I want to talk about selling, specifically, on eBay. Some of these tips might be applicable to eBay in general, but I do like to keep myself on topic. So, please comment with your opinions on how I can improve this post, especially regarding its specificity and relevancy to Lululemon.
Decide When to Sell- market trends occur year-round and always merit consideration. But there are other factors to consider. I have limited closet space, so I’m constantly considering and re-considering pieces of my Lululemon wardrobe. But once I decide to sell, I prepare the item for sale and it gets zip-locked. That way, the condition of the item is unchanged.
Sell many items at once- I recommend selling multiple items at once. Because there are so many listings for Lululemon items, I like to do as much as I can to make sure my ads get noticed! I try to add at the end of my listings “If you’re looking for more Lululemon, check out my other listings!” Hopefully they do. The more views you get, the more watchers you’ll get the more sales you’ll create! If you sell in multiples, one person who was searching for something may look at another ad and buy that instead! You never know!
Give your potential customers the attention they deserve- Make sure you have the time to dedicate to your sales. If someone messages you with a question, answer it ASAP. People are fickle, someone may be very interested in your item and if you don’t respond quickly, they’ll move on to something else. This is particularly true at the very beginning and towards the end of your listing. People who are considering the BIN option may ask questions immediately after you list the item. After all, it’s a GREAT item and they don’t want to miss out! Answer them quickly and you may earn that sale! Leave them hanging, and they will certainly explore other options.
Pricing- When you list your item, BIN is probably the most optimal outcome. You never know whether something will sell or not, or how high it will go if you post as auction only. Never price your item at 0.99. This doesn’t work for Lululemon items. It works for other things. It works for commodity-like items where there are too many of the same thing to keep track of and everyone is looking for the lowest possible price on the same thing. But Lululemon is NOT a commodity (as in a mass-produced, unspecialized item, made to be used up), it is an asset. It retains value over time and that’s part of the reason your collection and its sale can be lucrative. If you price your item too low, you’ll just get a bunch of people who will watch your auction, and you will not get what your item is worth. Price your item fairly, and you should get what it’s worth, or at least close to that much. The most important factor in getting what your item is worth is ensuring that it is listed correctly. For help trying to find the name and colour name of your item, read this post or this post for even more (extensive) advice. I also think it’s a a good idea to price your item such that it meets eBay’s minimum requirements with regards to start bid vs. BIN price. The current rule is that the BIN price must be a minimum of 30% higher than the starting bid. The BIN should be what you want for your item, in the best possible outcome. It should be optimistic, but not ridiculous. Try to find out the value of your item and price it accordingly. People like a good deal, but there’s no need for you to give your things away! The reason I think this is a good idea is because if people think they can get a really good deal by simply *watching* your item, they will. However, if your item is $100 and the SB is $70, people are more likely to BIN if they’re actually interested in the item. Then you get what you want, a sale, and they get awesome, awesome Lulu.
Shipping- Regardless of where you are, I recommend offering shipping to Canada AND the US, as this is where the highest concentration of buyers reside. I am so honoured to be able to say that I have had readers from Singapore, Australia, the UK & New Zealand! Therefore, I find it appropriate to mention that the largest market for Lululemon is the US & Canada. And that regardless of your home port, I recommend offering your goods to the largest available market and that means these two Western nations.
eBay’s Global Shipping Program- whether you choose to use this or not is up to you, I just want to let you know that in my experience, it over-charges the buyer. And beware of being automatically or mistakenly opted-in.
Finally, my advice is to keep your eBay account as private as possible. Don’t name it after yourself or tell people your eBay handle. The reason being that eBay is purely business and once people know who you are, it becomes personal. I once witnessed a public argument on a Facebook group about a $2 shipping charge discrepancy & both the buyer and the seller posted their own thread talking about this “terrible buyer/ seller on eBay.” Then, everyone realized what was going on and it was a mess.
Please be a responsible and courteous buyer/ seller. The market rewards excellence in service, who knows, maybe one day you’ll be a Top Seller!
I recently posted about fakes, and I am passionately opposed to them. So, I want to take the time to talk about a few authentic Scubas I own and love.
“you are beautiful”With removable Fur added
These are photos of a Special Edition Scuba Hoodie in Paris Pink/ Black Swan Dip Dye. They were released in December of 2011, and retailed for $148. This one has removable fur trim, it zips on and off. It must be dry-cleaned separately, although the hoodie itself may be machine washed. I absolutely love this hoodie and I wear it very frequently. I have also taken a close-up photo of the pilling inside the hoodie to show how Scuba hoodies do pill over time. I’m also a bit of a sucker for the embroidered “you are beautiful” on the inside of the hood. It was one of the things that sold me on it, along with the fact that the fact that the fur is removable and the colors are unique. This Scuba has side panels & thumb holes, as well as a zipper garage, so you don’t hurt your chin!
Since this blog is about the resale market for Lululemon items, I will mention that these pop up on eBay often enough and usually sell but for how much is highly dependent on condition. New ones sell for upwards of $200, while used ones sell for around $100.
The next Scuba hoodies pictured are from the Cheer Gear collection that Lululemon released for the Vancouver Olympics.
I think it’s clever that Lululemon avoided paying royalties to the “Olympics” by avoiding using that word specifically. Instead of an “Olympic Cheer Gear” Scuba Hoodie, Lululemon created “Cool Sporting Event that takes place in British Columbia between 2009 & 2011 Edition” Hoodies. How clever. Well, sort of. VANOC, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, found the collection “disappointing.” That’s too bad- I find it adorable! Here’s an article about it!
The Scubas above had zipper garages but no side panels or thumbholes.
I hope you like these pieces from my collection. I hope to add more later!
UPDATE
I think it’s time to add a couple more Scubas to this post!
The first one is a Scuba Hoodie *Limited Edition in Coal Black Orbit Lace Print with removable fur trim on both hood and wrists. This one came out around the same time as the above Paris Pink dip dye one. In fact, I think I purchased both of them at the same time. This one retailed for $198. I can’t give an estimate on how much this one would sell for, but there were only 5,500 made. (I’m not sure if that’s a lot of a little in the Lululemon world) But I can tell you this: There was recently a used one on eBay (size 6) that sold for $250. This one also has a zipper garage, side panels and thumbholes.
Scuba Hoodie Limited Edition in Coal Black Orbit Lace Print with removable fur trim on both hood and wrists.
Up close of Orbit Lace print.Fur has been reattached to this versatile Scuba hoodie.Limited Edition Tag sewn inside the hoodie.
While I do love Scuba Hoodies, I don’t own too many of them. Here are some photos of a new one I bought recently.
The color of this one is called Blue Moon/ Hyper Stripe Blue Moon. It retailed for $108 and was released in August 2013. It has thumbholes, but no side panels. It’s hood is lined in Blue Moon Hyperstripe and it has the words “Shhhh… I’m meditating” embroidered on the outside of the hood. Again, I’m a sucker for embroidered words.
It says “Shhhh… I’m meditating”
So, I think that these are the only Scuba hoodies I own. Like I said, I don’t buy too many. For me, August was a pretty boring up-load month. So, I kind of just wanted to buy something one week and ended up with this. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but if there had been anything else I liked that upload, I probably would not have gotten this.
The reason I don’t buy (too many) Scuba Hoodies: They don’t hold their value very well. The olympic ones, sometimes still sell on eBay for close-to retail. The Special Edition ones tend to do well, because they’re special edition. But on average, you’ll lose half your investment. The reasons Scuba hoodies don’t hold their value very well are: the French Terry degrades rather rapidly, and almost inevitably. The pilling shown above is nearly (if not totally) impossible to prevent. The cost to ship a Scuba Hoodie makes them difficult to sell. No one wants to pay $90 for a $70 hoodie, but in reality, especially in Canada, Scuba hoodies are expensive to ship.
That said, there are some especially gorgeous Scuba hoodies out there that deserve to be owned and loved on their own merits, regardless of resale value, March WAFS comes to mind.
I want to take the time to talk Lululemon after-market trends. The market suffers and benefits from general and somewhat predictable fluctuations. I want to discuss with you how we can take advantage of the good times and mitigate the losses in the bad times. In the following scenarios, my suggestions refer to the common person. There are exceptions to every rule, I’ll even try to cover them, but again: My advice applies to the average collector.
Seasonal– Seasonal fluctuations are easy enough to understand, but surprisingly few people use their own common sense to their advantage. People are not searching for shorts in the winter, nor are they seeking out sweaters in the summer. There are over 15,000 listings of “Lululemon” items on eBay- every single day. If you want to stand out, you have to make sure you’re selling your item when as many people as possible are interested in buying it. I suggest listing your sweaters at the beginning of Autumn, and shorts at the beginning of Spring. I also suggest you consider the weather patterns of the biggest markets for your item. Canadians will want more cold-weather items. If you’re a US seller, you might also consider adding a Canadian shipping option. (There are some extra risks involved with shipping abroad that can be alleviated, but I will cover them in a future post.) Therefore, if I were selling a sweater, I would list it mid to late September as average temperatures tend to begin becoming cooler around this time.
Secondary Seasonal Considerations–There are other so-called seasonal conditions to evaluate. One of them is the fact that the Designers in MANY companies seem to release their best efforts in fall. The fall fashion shows are always the most anticipated and Lululemon’s strategy is not different. It seems like every fall they release the best stuff. I know people who don’t buy much in summer, so they can save up for fall! They usually release some special edition items around Christmas, although, last year was a bust. During these times, people are spending more money on Upload night, and in-store on new items, so they’re not looking at eBay or on the Facebook Pages for deals on older items. The point of this story is: avoid selling when people don’t have the money to buy. The irony is that it will likely be when you need the money the most that you decide to sell. But don’t say I didn’t warn you 😉
Unicorns- Unicorns change over time (Don’t know what a Unicorn is? Check out my Previous Post about Lululemon Slang), but often you can take advantage of when your item obtains unicorn status and cash out, unless you love it. Then, I say keep it. But if you have a “Unicorn,” and you notice that it has been doing very well on eBay, you should make a decision on whether or not you’re going to sell- And Fast! Because there is always a limited number of people who are willing to pay the big bucks for something they really want right now, and then there are people like me, who will wait for it to pop up on eBay for cheaper. However, there are some things that maintain their value fairly well and I will continue to discuss those things in future posts.
It doesn’t matter where you sell your item, you’ll have to prepare it for sale. The better you are able to prepare your item, the more likely it is to sell and fetch a high price.
Make sure your item is in the best condition it can be. You’ll want to make sure that your item is in the best possible condition before you list it. You should refer to my Last Post for tips on how to repair any damages your piece has suffered over the time you’ve had it.
Take lots of pictures of your item. Take your best camera and make your item look pretty. Smooth out the wrinkles, Fold it nicely along seams when you’re taking pictures at different angles. Take a picture of the full front, full back, any details that make the item unique like thumbholes, pockets, ruffles, zippers, etc. Take pictures of cuffs and the bottom hems on pants, as these areas tend to receive the most wear. Take up-close pictures of the fabric. If your item has a size dot, take a picture of that. I love it when sellers take a picture of the size dot because it guarantees that the item is the size stated in the auction. There have been countless times when I have purchased an item sold as one size, only for it to get to me and discover via the size dot that it is a different size. Disclose any flaws, no matter how small and take pictures of them. Also disclose if the item has even been altered, including hemming.
In a Previous Post, I talk about rip-out tags. This is where they come in handy. Take a picture of the rip-out tag. This helps buyer determine the size and most importantly authenticity because there are FAKES out there. This is especially important when selling items that are New With Tags. (Got Q’s about how to assess the condition of your item? Consult this post) Personally, I’m very cautious when contemplating purchasing items that are new with tags and I like to consult this blog if I have any concerns about whether an item may be a replica. I’ve also started a post about fakes that I update on a very regular basis entitled “Time To Talk About Fakes.”It has examples of fake Scubas, Strides, Wunder Unders & I update it everytime I find something new.
Does your favourite Lulu item have an Owie? In this post I’m going to try to give you some tips & trick for repairing damaged Lululemon items. I offer you these tips for whether you’re trying to maintain a piece in your own collection, or preparing to sell a piece that you’d like to improve before you sell it in order for it fetch the highest price.
Stains
Stains are by far the most common issue I encounter in my personal collection. My Aquamarine Pace Setter skirt get stained every time I wear it. It drives me nuts! But, it has no stains on it right now.
Aquamarine Pace Setter Skirt
Before you begin, you may want to check for color-fastness. Lululemon has had some issues with fabric bleeding in the past, which is why I ALWAYS wash my bright Lulu separately regardless of the number of wears it has received.
First thing I would try is a baby wipe, it removes deodorant stains fairly well, but you can try this approach for any light stain.
Plain old dirt is pretty easy to remove. I’ve has great results with plain old hand soap in my bathroom sink. If that doesn’t work try rubbing alcohol. This works especially well for non-washable items like gym bags. Soak a cotton pad in rubbing alcohol, and apply it to the stain.
TRY HAIRSPRAY. This actually works well for ink stains.
If it’s food, you might want to try club soda.
For the tough stains, or just to make sure something comes out the first time I wash it, I use OxyClean.
Of course, if none of these suggestions work, there’s always the dry cleaners. Mine loves me.
Rips & Tears
If your item has a rip in it, and you intend to keep it, by all means, try to sew it yourself if you are so inclined. However, if you intend to sell it, I would recommend that you have it professionally repaired.
In Lululemon’s Quality Stand, they specifically refer to the fact that you should be able to expect 5 years out of their clothes. I’ve heard of all sorts of legitimate and not-so-legitimate issues being solved in-store, or online by the GEC (Not familiar with the GEC? Read this post about the The Vernacular of Lululemon Addicts). For example, I know of a few cases where Scuba Hoodies that have been worn a lot, and loved, then “damaged out” (the term & process by which Lululemon essentially writes off an item and issues a gift card, often for retail value) after customers have gone into the store saying that their item has not lasted 5 years. Other times, they will address your specific complaint and offer you a repair. For example, I recently purchased a Free To Be tank top and the built-in bra had ripped seams. It was repaired and a week later, I brought it home. I have heard of other people bringing in their older Scuba hoodies, the zippers having broken and Lululemon offering to repair their zipper. If you item has ripped along a seam, I suggest that you bring it in and ask that it be repaired. If they refuse, refer to their Quality Stand and suggest that they damage it out instead. I am sure that they will repair it for you then 🙂
If you are not inclined to sew it yourself and it has ripped along a seam, regardless of whether you intend to sell or not, I will also encourage you to have it repaired by Lululemon. Lululemon uses a specific type of stitch, which is seldom available at traditional dry cleaners. In order to uniformly sew your Lululemon clothes, your drycleaner would need a sewing machine capable of a three-thread cover-stitch, or a serger with the same capability. (Check out the 600s class of stitch here for a better idea. These types of stitches are most often used for dance and swimwear.) These machines are quite expensive and are therefore generally not available at the dry cleaners.
Holes
Holes are difficult to fix, but it can be done. Twice, I have had a hole in a pair of pants. Both times I was able to repair it. The way that I do this, without it being offensively obvious, is by using as much of the thread, and as little of the fabric as possible while sewing the hole shut. It also helps tremendously if the hole is close to a seam. I’ve fixed one such hole and another time the hole was in the knee. I’m mostly referring to very small holes, but you can apply this technique to larger holes as well, it’s just much less likely to work. ALWAYS use a color of thread that matches the color of your garment. If you don’t, what I’m suggesting will not work. I have repaired my own items so well, using this method that I defy you to find where the holes used to be.
Pilling
Pilling is annoying. It is easily one of the most under-reported flaws in the Lululemon after-market and one of the most indicative on condition and the amount of use the item has received. I have returned a few items that were reportedly in “excellent” condition, only to have them arrive with an excessive (embarrassing) amount of pilling. It’s tough to capture pilling in pictures, but I do try to be as honest as possible. So, when I list my item, I always include a few close-ups of the fabric, whether it is damaged/ pilled or not. This increases buyer confidence, increasing my chances of a sale and a positive transaction. That said, there are ways to reduce pilling on fabrics, after the fact. You can purchase a Fabric Defuzzer.* (Canadians, you can purchase one here .) This is a Fabric Depiller. It is your friend. It does an amazing job at removing pilling and I’ve seen so many before and after photos from friends, that I know it doesn’t only work when I do it. Taking the time to remove pilling from your item will definitely increase its resale value. caution Don’t push too hard and make sure the fabric is flat, or risk putting a hole in your item!
I had a chance to de-pill and got decent photos of it, so I wanted to share them with you. Using a fabric depiller, I de-pilled a Cool Racerback I purchased recently, from a Facebook group member.
Before 1 After 1 Before 2 After 2
These “Before & After” photos are of both of the armpits of this Cool Racerback tank I purchased recently. It had overall pilling, but was especially pilled in both armpits. Thankfully, I had my trusty depiller, and was able to remove most of the pilling.
I would try investing in a lint roller too, they’re cheap and effective at removing dog hair as well as little fibres that are often attracted to Lululemon clothing.
Fading
Fading is a difficult issue to deal with. I hate that some of the Lululemon items has problems with color-fastness. I have had my own Paris Pink experience with bleeding. After the dye washes out, it looks faded and old 🙁 I have since started with Prevention, rather than trying to fix faded garments afterwards, but that doesn’t mean YOU can’t! I know plenty of people who have re-dyed their old Lululemon jackets, shirts, pants, you name it. There are plenty of dyes to work with, but I’ve heard/ seen success stories with Rit All-Purpose Liquid Dye, Black“>Rit Dye*. Don’t forget to let people know that an article has been hand-dyed by you if you ever decide to sell it!
Wax
Believe it or not this has happened. People spill wax on their items. Maybe you have. That’s why you’re going to take a paper bag and place it on top of the wax on the article of clothing and use an iron on it so that the wax sticks to the paper bag. This should work.
Missing Drawstring
You can call GEC and ask for a new drawstring. (Although, I’ve heard mixed results. Some people say that the GEC offers you a white or black one and other people say that the GEC refuses to help them, saying that it’s a use issue and not a quality issue.) I’ve also seen people take an old drawstring from something they no longer wear and thread it through their newer item.
Missing or Broken Aglets
Aglets are the small metal pieces on the ends of the drawstring. Lululemon’s usually say”Lululemon Athletica” on them. I have encountered items with missing aglets in the past and take the aglets from a drawstring I wear on the inside of my Still shorts using craft/ jewelry pliers and reattached them where they were needed on a garment where the only option is to wear the drawstring on the outside, like a hoodie. Some of Lululemon’s bottoms have holes on the inside of the waistband so you can choose to wear the drawstring on the inside or the outside of the garment simply by threading the drawstring one way or the other.
Peeling Logo: Has the logo on your pants begun to peel? Or on your favorite shirt? It happens. You can ask Lululemon to mail you a new Logo, or you can try re-ironing the current one you have to fix it. But it’s just a simple iron-on logo, so if it’s peeling, email Lulu’s customer service & ask them to mail you a new one 🙂
Broken Zipper: Personally, I think emailing the GEC is the best course of action to take for a broken zipper. If it’s a newer item, they might offer a replacement or to fix it, and if it’s a much older item, they might still offer to repair it, but they also might say that it’s a wear issue and not a ‘quality’ issue, so they could choose not to help you. A dry cleaner might be able to help you, or a seamstress. I had two zippers break on my Stride jackets because I was not careful when zipping them up, so my seamstress had to remove, then replace the zippers. It was a $20 repair, both times, but my Lulu is worth it.
Pulling/ Pulls
Depending on the fabric & the severity of the pull, you may just be able to turn the garment inside out & pull the string back through. Try that. If that doesn’t work, try emailing the GEC. They might give you a new one, they might not. Honestly, the material that the Swiftlies are made out of & of course anything knit, is bound to get a pull in it at one point. I seriously consider a swiftly purchase every time I make one because of the pulling issue. I know it’s 100% my fault if my Swiftlies get a pull because my nail got caught on them or if my cat decides to be extra “playful” that day, so I don’t bother trying to get a refund, but if you think it’s a quality issue, you might want to try the GEC.
I hope this article has helped you care for or improve the condition of your item. Happy selling!
Determining the value of your item will help you set a selling price and my Last Post discussed some basic strategies for finding a selling price. In this post and future posts I intend to get a little more specific about patterns, styles and colours who both maintain and increase in value over time, seemingly regardless of the current market conditions. As I write this, I am convinced that it is a bear market, in terms of after sales. I have been selling things quickly at a discount from market price and I have noticed that items that have been priced at market value have not been selling. The main reason I believe that it is a bear market is that it’s Fall and Lululemon (as well as many other fashion designers) has been releasing many covetous items and serious collectors are stocking up on the new items instead of scouring eBay for deals on older items. This keeps prices low as people don’t have an infinite amount of disposable income to spend on their collection regardless of what pops up on eBay.
Some things retain their value better than others and of course, and I intend to cover as much of this as possible. Keep in mind however, that times change and markets are fluid, not stagnant. There are crazes and trends in this market as there are in all markets.
Let’s get started!
Fabrics: Some fabrics retain their value or go up in value better than others.
Herringbone: Herringbone looks like this:
Example of Lululemon Herringbone Fabric
These came in limited colors, with a few released over the years. They usually get released in Fall/ Winter and are super comfy & warm. They’re very soft. These sell for retail or slightly above anytime I see them at auction.
Pique: Pique looks like this:
Example of Pique Fabric
Pique is also a traditional Fall/ Winter release. It’s exceptionally warm and soft. These also sell well after market. They’re gorgeous and very soft. In my opinion they also maintain their condition better than herringbone, which I find pills more easily.
Both of these traditional cold weather releases retail for between $72 & $82, depending on whether they are full length pants or crops. I often see these selling for around $90 on the Facebook pages. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out my earlier post) On eBay, as of this writing “Lululemon Pique Wunder Unders” sell for between $70 and $120. Lululemon has also made other items in Pique, which also sell well, but I’d like to continue on a more narrow, specific path, for now. Herringbone Wunder Unders are priced the same in retail settings, but perform slightly better on eBay selling for between $60 and $180. I have also seen these sell on the Facebook pages for around $90. Please note, however, that many of the Herringbone Wunder Unders I saw fetching the highest prices were also “New with tags.” Although, in my experience, “excellent used condition” would fetch nearly as much as NWT with the proper advertisement.
Charcoal Wunder Unders
Charcoal fabric has come back again this year, and it’s deliciously soft & silky. I love mine, but they pill incredibly fast. I would only buy these new. I bought a pair on eBay once, and it was pilly beyond belief. Embarrassingly so. I returned them. These hold retail value well, but I’ve never seen them fetch much more than that, and these don’t sell as well as other Wunder Unders used. So, my advice is get them if you like them, but don’t expect them to increase in value.
Determining the selling price of your item can be difficult. There are many factors to consider. When I sell, I always want to make sure I’m getting the best price possible, but time is sometimes a factor and I want to sell quickly. For now, let’s assume time is not a factor and that you have a few things sitting in your closet that you want to sell over the next few weeks. There are a few different approaches you can take, depending on your item. The very first thing I do, if I know nothing about an item is use the ADVANCED SEARCH application on eBay. If you know the name and colour of your item or how to find out what it is, which I discussed at length in my Last Post, then you can find out how much your item is worth, in most cases.
Using the all-knowing eBay Advanced Search Tool you can write key words like “Lululemon No Limits tank Pig Pink” and select “sold listings.” Then you can see what that item has sold for recently. This can be a starting point. When I list my items I don’t choose the highest selling price for an item, I try to average it out. You must also consider the condition of your item versus the condition of the items you’re seeing. If yours is NWT, maybe it is worth the highest selling price. You have to use your discretion when listing your item. You don’t want to under sell it but OVER Pricing your items, will not earn you any good will. Trust me it goes a long way.
I sincerely hope that the above helped you find at least one completed listing of your item. Sometimes that doesn’t work because there have been none of the exact same item as you have that have sold in the last 3 months. In this case you can input your search into Google and see if you can find any references to older eBay listings. You can also just use one of your search terms in the eBay advanced search tool like searching only “Lululemon NoLimits Tank” instead of getting color specific. This should get some results, then maybe you can find an average selling price that way. You can also search completed listings (not just Sold ones) to see what your item has been listed for in the past.
If you still can’t find a decent price you might want to try joining The Lululemon Report group on Facebook, most of the time the ladies there have helpful hints. Here is a Link, so you can Join the group! The Lululemon Report
Let’s say you have a shirt. It’s a few years old, but it’s still in good enough condition and you want to sell it because, well, you can. In a Previous Post I talked about Googling to see if you can spot your item in an image search. This strategy woks fairly well for newer items or popular items of items that are so unique that the terms work to find them. But let’s say you have something older and more basic with a few defining features, like a built-in bra and a ruffle on the side, but nothing that Lululemon hasn’t made ten versions of during the 15 years its been in business. You find lots of tank tops and lots of colours similar to yours, but not quite right and as you go through the images further into the results, you start seeing pants and Lululemon Logos and things that really have nothing to do with your search. This can definitely be frustrating. When I first started archiving my collection using PINTEREST, (Your new Best Friend), I spent hours searching for specific types of Groove Pants that I had acquired over the years. More on Specific Styles and their value later. Now when I buy something new I “Pin” the picture and note the Style and Colour as well. Some people note how much they paid, or the retail value. I think if I did that I would probably wonder why I spent my future Condo money on pretty clothes, but I digress.
So, Google isn’t helping you this time. This is when I resort to one of the major Lululemon blogs. If you even know sort of when you bought your item, you should be able to find it, or a version of it on Carolyn’s Lululemon Blog or on Cristina’s Blog. Sometimes Joyce’s Blog has Lululemon on it. For Men’s items I recommend searching Eric’s Blog. To be honest, I am fairly unfamiliar with the resale value of Men’s Lululemon clothing items, but that much of my advice can be applied to it, just none of my expertise. (eg: search tips can be used the same way, but later when I talk about the value of certain colors and styles, know that it applies to the women’s apparel side of Lululemon only.)
All of the above blogs are excellent sources of information, and some of them are entertaining too 🙂
When I search the blogs I check from the earliest time I think I could have purchased the item and I go through the archives and look at every page. Let’s say a few pages in I see the color “heathered ultraviolet” and that looks like the same colour as my tank top. (Keep in mind that I could be wrong but it’s kind of a “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” approach.) So, I search: “Heathered ultraviolet” Lululemon, click “images” and scroll through. There it is! I see my tank top in an old eBay listing and there’s the name too! Perfect. Now I know the Style name and the Colour name of my item. Once I do that, I can go and figure out what it’s worth. More on that later 🙂
UPDATE:
I just want to add a link to a fantastic resource. There’s a Facebook group that is devoted to specifically identifying various Lululemon items and if you can’t find something, you can always post a pic here and the ladies of the Lulu nation will help you figure it out.
.* (Canadians, 
“>Rit Dye*. Don’t forget to let people know that an article has been hand-dyed by you if you ever decide to sell it!
