Selling Worn Tights and Hosiery

Tights buyers are among the most specific on the marketplace, and that is good news. Specific buyers tell you exactly what they want, they pay properly for it, and they come back. But you have to speak their language, and that starts with denier.

Denier, colour and style

Denier is the thickness of the fabric. Fifteen denier is sheer, forty is opaque, eighty is thick and warm. Buyers ask for it by number, so put it in your title and your description every time. Colour matters as much. Black, nude, navy and patterned all have their own audiences. Hold ups, stockings and full tights are three different products, not one. If you are working out where to focus, this is a good example of finding a niche that pays.

Wear time and what happens to the fabric

Hosiery holds scent well but shows wear fast. A full day in tights under trousers is a very different product from a full day in tights and heels at work. Say which. Ladders and runs are not damage in this category, they are often part of what the buyer wants, but you must disclose them. Never sell a laddered pair as pristine and never bin a laddered pair before asking whether someone wants it.

Photographing hosiery

Tights disappear against dark backgrounds and vanish in poor light. Shoot them worn, in daylight, against a plain light wall. Include a close shot showing the texture and the sheen, one showing the toe or foot, and one showing them in the shoe if that is part of the listing. Flat lays of tights look like a bin bag. Wear them.

Pricing and bundles

Sheer tights are cheap to replace so your base price can be modest, twenty to thirty pounds for a day wear. Thicker or branded hosiery costs you more to source so price accordingly. The real money in hosiery is in customs. A buyer who wants a specific denier, a specific colour, worn to a specific activity, is buying your time and should pay for it.

Storage and posting

Fold them loosely, do not scrunch. Resealable bag, air pressed out, tissue, padded envelope. Tights are light so postage is cheap, and they survive the post far better than shoes or anything rigid. Keep a couple of spare pairs from the same multipack so you can fulfil a repeat request identically.

Go through your drawer tonight and separate your hosiery by denier and colour. That list is your first week of hosiery listings.