Grading is where you decide what each piece really is: how worn it is, what is wrong with it and what size it truly is. This is your call on each piece, not the grade on your supplier's invoice (more on that below). Do it properly and buyers know exactly what they are getting, which is your best defence against not as described claims. Skip it and a stain you missed can come back as a refund request, a claim or a warning from the platform.
Set up to inspect properly
You cannot grade what you cannot see. Pick one spot and use it every time.
- Daylight. Work by a window during the day. Warm bulbs hide yellowing, faint stains and fading.
- Two extra angles of light. Shine your phone torch across the fabric at a low angle, and pilling, snags and old repairs throw small shadows. Hold the piece up to the window, and pinholes, moth damage and thin patches show as bright spots.
- A pale, clean surface and your kit. A plain light sheet or table, a tape measure, your phone for notes, and a few pegs to mark each flaw so you can find it again at photo time.
Reseller Pass
This lesson is part of the Reseller Pass
Part 1 is open to everyone. The other 8 parts of this lesson unlock with the Reseller Pass, along with the full school, every playbook and all 8 tools at full power.
In this lesson
- 9 parts: part 1 above, 8 more with the Pass
- 25 checked facts, each with its source and the date we checked it
- Tools: Measurement card builder
The Reseller Pass includes
- The full Reseller School: 17 lessons in 5 levels
- All 6 platform playbooks
- All 8 tools at full power
- The Starter Pack printables
£19.99 One payment, 12 months of full access, UK only
Or £9.99 added to an order with stock from our shop. Discount codes don't apply to the Pass.
Get the Reseller PassAlready have a Pass? Log in
12 months, then renew if you want to. No automatic renewal.
No Pass needed for lesson 1, the glossary, and the fee comparer and box planner basics.