Our Step-by-step Guide to Hosting a Purchasing Party

There are a lot of names for a purchasing party: trunk shows, buying parties, at-home pop-up shops, shopping parties. Whatever you want to call it, a purchasing party is a great opportunity for a savvy reseller to show off your inventory, get friends involved, and sell some great items without having to worry about shipping and dealing with strangers online!

Follow our checklist for your next shopping party at home, and you’re sure to have a great time -- and send your friends home with some great clothing!

PLANNING:

• Decide on your objective. With a clothing purchasing party, it’s important to have a clear, achievable goal in mind. Some examples are:
• I want to sell at least 15 items of clothing
• I want to raise awareness for my online reselling business
• I want to generate images and content for my social media profile
• Source inventory. The most important part of the shopping party! If your stash is starting to grow thin, it’s time to source. We recommend our best seller, the Ultimate Boutique Box. You can get anywhere from 25-500 high-quality, in-season pieces (mostly NWT) that your friends and shoppers are sure to love! BONUS TIP: Make sure you have inventory in a range of sizes! 
• Choose a location. Maybe your living room is the perfect spot to set up some clothing racks, and you have a bathroom right next to it for try-ons. Or perhaps a shady patio is your preference! Either way, it’s a good idea to plan where you’ll be hosting your guests, to make sure you have enough space for people to sit and shop. 

INVITING:

• Create your guest list. Brainstorm and write down as many friends, family, and acquaintances that you can think of. Not sure about someone? Include them anyways! The next step is narrowing it down. How many people can you realistically host without it becoming chaos? A good goal is 5-15 people -- enough to feel like a party, but not so many that it feels cramped
• Choose a date. The right day and time is whenever most people will be able to attend. We recommend Saturdays in the late morning or early afternoon. This means most of your attendees won’t have work, and anyone with kids usually has a partner or parent that can babysit for a couple hours!
• Invite your guests. Contact each guest in the way you usually communicate. Maybe you usually text your college roommate, but you and your coworker usually chat in person when you each lunch in the breakroom. Keep it natural and brief! Here’s a sample purchasing party invitation:
• “Hi [insert name]! I’m hosting a shopping party at my place on [date] at [time]. I’m SO excited about all the awesome clothing I have right now. It’s going to be a ton of fun with snacks, mimosas, and shopping without having to go to the mall! I’d love if you could make it -- please let me know! :)”
• Send a reminder. Everyone is busy these days, and might need a reminder if you planned and invited in advance! Shoot them a message 5-7 days before the event with all the details, and don’t forget to mention the free food, drink, and giveaways -- and say how much you look forward to catching up!

NIGHT BEFORE:

• Prep your clothing. No one wants to look through racks of wrinkled or stained clothing. Make sure the inventory you sourced is clean and fresh-smelling. You want your guests itching to try things on, not wondering if they can get that spot out! If you don’t want the items to take over your living space for a whole weekend, just make sure the clothing is pressed and ready-to-go for tomorrow. 
• Clean. Part of hosting a shopping party is creating a welcoming environment. Make sure you have cleaned and vacuumed your home so that people can feel comfortable eating, drinking, and shopping! Don’t neglect the bathroom, especially since your guests will most likely be trying on potential purchases. 
• Pick a special item for each guest. Never underestimate the power of personalization! Set aside one item for each guest that you think they’ll LOVE. Even if they don’t end up buying it, everyone needs that first inspiration to imagine themselves in some of your items. Plus they’ll see you genuinely want to help them find great purchases, not just sell your products!

PARTY DAY:

• Prepare your space. It’s time! If you haven’t already, pull out all your inventory and arrange it in an appealing, easy-to-access way in your party area. Make sure there is enough seating for your guests, and places to put down food and drinks. 
• Set out drinks and snacks. The best are drinks and snacks that aren’t messy and won’t stain clothing or fingers. No one wants to try on a dress when they have cheeto dust all over their hands! 
• Play some tunes. Research shows that music can be a useful sales tool! Pick a soundtrack for your party that matches your guests and your brand. Trying to sell more upscale items? Try classical music. Going for more of a fun, high-energy vibe? You can’t go wrong with upbeat pop! Just don’t turn it up so loud that you can’t chat. 

WRAPPING UP:

• Crunch the numbers. How many items did you sell? After food and other expenses, what is your overall profit from the shopping event? You might be surprised how much you’ve saved by not having to pay for shipping or negotiate with low-ballers online!