eBay is an extremely popular place to sell clothing. With over 180 million active users worldwide, there’s a good chance an item you want to sell will be purchased. Measuring clothing is one of the most important steps when reselling apparel. Two of the largest apparel resellers experimented with not providing measurements (ThredUP and The Real Real) and the response from customers was very poor. So you’ll definitely want to measure. The following explains how to measure clothes for eBay.
(Check out our Ultimate Guide To Reselling for pro tips on how to be great at reselling)
Equipment You Need to Start Measuring
Measuring clothing is more of an art than it is a science. Trust us, we’ve met with hundreds of fashion experts and they all say the same thing, “Get three people in a room and have them measure the same garment. You’ll have three different sets of measurements at the end.” So don’t be afraid to dive in and start measuring to the best of your ability.
To understand how to measure clothes for eBay, you’ll want to make sure you have a garment measuring tape. You can get by without one, but you’ll spend more time and effort on measuring and no one wants to do that. Below are a few options for garment tape measures from the web and local stores. Most can be purchased for under $5. Amazon, Joann Fabric ,Walmart
An Alternate Way – Measure With Your Phone
If measuring by hand seems time consuming, it is. Which is why we like to start by mentioning there is a way to measure clothing by taking a picture with your phone. If you already use your mobile device to photograph garments for listings, you might as well use it for measuring as well. All it takes is one additional photo.
Capture is a web app that will allow you to measure an entire garment in under 5 seconds. It will also create an image you can upload to your listing that shows where the garment was measured and what the measurements are, which is huge plus for customers.
How To Measure Jeans For eBay
There are measurements you’ll certainly want to provide on your listing, others are optional and you can decide whether to provide them or not.
Waist (you should)
Button the waist on your jeans and zip up the zipper. Line up the front and the back waist as shown in the photo, lay your jeans flat on a table and measure straight across. Double this measurement and enter it into your listing.
Inseam (you should)
For this measurement, you’ll want to find the area on your jeans where the seams come together in the crotch area. It’s easiest if you place your jeans flat on a table and fold one of the legs out of the way. Measure from the crotch seam down the leg to the bottom of the leg opening. You’ll want to be sure to follow the contour of the leg with your tape.
Hip (you should)
You might think this measurement should be avoided, but it’s a great one to include if you want a better chance of your buyer not returning their purchase. Each of us has our own unique body shape and fit preference, so include a hip measurement for your buyer’s sake.
Place the jeans flat and locate the widest part of the hip area. Once you’ve found it, measure straight across and double this measurement.
Front Rise (you should)
This is often a forgotten measurement, but is important because it determines where the waist of the pant will sit on ones body. To measure the front rise on any pant, locate the ever-important crotch seam and measure up to the top of the waist band.
Thigh (optional)
The thigh measurement is one you can omit for most trousers. The time to add it is if you’re listing a skinny jean for sale. Again, you don’t want an athletically built individual purchasing your skinny jeans and not being able to pull them up over their thighs.
To measure the thigh, place your jeans flat and find the widest part of the thigh area. This will usually be 2″-5″ down from the crotch seam. Measure this location straight across the leg at the same angle as the leg opening. Double the measurement.
Leg Opening (optional)
The leg opening, or cuff, is one you can also omit under most circumstances. Scenarios where you may want to include it again relate to jeans or trousers in the extremes. This would include boot cut or skinny pants.
To measure the leg opening, simply take the bottom of the pant leg, press it flat and measure across. Double the measurement.
How To Measure Tops for eBay
Finding a well fitting shirt secondhand is easier than bottoms, primarily because fit isn’t as important. For example, if a tee is a little too long it’s usually ok. The same cannot be said for the waist of your trousers. This doesn’t mean you should skip the measuring. Consumers find it helpful to know measurements like the overall length, waist, and sleeve length.
Overall Length (you should)
Lay your shirt flat on a table and find the highest point of the shirt near the neck, as in the image on the right. The term for this point is called the high-point-shoulder and can be marked at the seam on the neck line. Measure the overall length of the shirt straight down from this point to the bottom opening of the shirt.
Bust/Chest (you should)
Locate the seam under each arm and measure across the shirt connecting these two points. It will be the same position if your shirt has or doesn’t have sleeves. Double this measurement and add it to your listing.
Sleeve (you should)
There are a couple different ways the fashion industry measures a sleeve and the difference is in the measurement starting location. Some brands start their measurement from the center of the back, others start from the seam where the sleeve meets the body of the shirt. We find people get the most value in measuring the second way.
To perform this measurement, locate the seam where the sleeve connects to the body of the shirt and measure down the length of the sleeve to the sleeve opening.
What if you’re shirt doesn’t have a seam as in with raglans? Then we recommend performing this measurement starting at the center-back-neck and measuring to the end of the sleeve opening. Again, following the contour of the garment when measuring.
Waist (optional)
The waist on most tops is described as the narrowest area between the underarm seam and the bottom of the shirt. Though some brands will simply find the mid-point between these two points. The waist measurement will be important if you’re listing a form fitting top, not so much if you’re selling sweatshirts.
Find the location on our garment and measure straight across. Double the measurement.
Shoulder Width (optional)
This is one measurement you’ll want to measure on the back of your garment. Located the two shoulder seams and measure the distance between them. Do not double this measurement.
How To Measure Dresses for eBay
Dresses are a very popular item in clothing resale. When learning how to measure clothes for eBay, this is definitely one you’ll want to include in your stable. We’ve also heard this straight from global resellers, dresses are extremely popular.
Dresses are one of the more difficult garments to measure simply because some can be overlay long and can contain a lot of ornate details around areas you wish to measure.
When learning how to measure clothes for eBay, consider a dress a large shirt. Most of the measurements are the same with regard to fit and are measured in the same way.