Best practices when selling your gently-used wig or purchasing one from another ‘Sister’.
Selling:
Transparency: I can’t say enough about being totally transparent and trustworthy. Our community is enormous yet VERY connected. Word gets out fast if someone behaves disreputably!!! Be sure to have good communication with your customer and be completely honest, clear and forthcoming. On the buyers’ side, be very careful and do your research on the seller and the brand!
Photos: It’s essential to have good, clear photos without filters. It’s important to find good lighting, taking photos both indoors and outdoors. Do not rush the photos! Try a video walking around to show the piece in motion, even if it’s just on a mannequin head. (I understand some women don’t want to show their faces due to privacy concerns). Walk from indoors to outdoors to show your piece’s full color. Capturing the true color is one of the biggest challenges for anyone selling a wig or topper! Take photos of the piece on and off, as well as the inside of the cap. Customers want to see the scalp area, front hairline and lace, so take clear photos. To get good lighting, it’s good to stand facing the window, but not in harsh blasting sunlight, as this will wash out the color. Experiment with your home’s lighting at different times of the day. If a shopper is going to spend $400 to $3000 on a resale hair piece, they want to know what they are getting.
Listing information: Try to list as many details as possible. If you bought the wig/topper from a
retail seller, download all the photos and information that was originally listed with the piece.
People also like to see the invoice to verify when you bought the piece and for how much. You
should black out your credit card number and address. You can take screenshots of the
information if you can’t download or copy it for some reason. The more detailed you are, the
fewer questions you will get. Think about what you would want to know as a buyer, and
provide that information.
Alterations: Go slow! It’s best to wear your wig around the house for a few days to a week
before jumping in to too many alterations. Cutting the lace typically drops the resale value by
hundreds of dollars! If you are planning to cut or color your wig, it’s better to use a trusted
professional than to try to do it yourself. It’s important to know, even if the stylist does a
fabulous job, this will most likely NOT add value to your wig, but rather detract from is
“perceived” value. Also note, it’s very important to only use products approved for wigs and try
to never get perfume on your wig! If you are a smoker, you will need to let any prospective
buyers know this, even if you wash the piece!!
Payment: Personally, I see PayPal as a necessary evil. It can offer protection for both buyer and
seller, but it comes with additional fees. Yes, sellers can get scammed too. Venmo now offers
an option for protection. The Seller has a 3 to 4% fee taken out of their payment as a
transaction fee. Also, the seller’s money can be placed on hold until the wig actually arrives to
the buyer as part of the protection. There is a place in PayPal where you can add tracking
information. When the wig/topper gets delivered, the money is USUALLY released within 24
hours. Often the buyer will need to go into the app and manually release the money and acknowledge they have indeed received the package. If you do not know the other person in
the transaction from their reputation in our community or you don’t feel VERY comfortable
working with them, it’s best to use PayPal Goods & Services (G&S) and pay for the extra
protection. If you are the Seller, you can ask in your listing that the buyer pays the fee, or add
that percentage into your listing. For example, if you are selling a $1,200 piece, multiple 1,200 x
3% = $36.00. The fee will end up being more like $38 due to another transaction fee they
include. You can choose to pay the fee yourself, share it with the buyer or have them pay it,
depending on how you want to work it out. It offers the buyer protection, too, so they should
be willing to work with you.
RED FLAGS!!
DO NOT send anything you are selling until you have the payment. The money might be on hold
with PayPal, which often happens until the package is delivered, but you know they have paid
before you ship your resale item.