Used costumes, props and decorations sold on Mercari, eBay and Depop in a six-week October peak, then stored dry until next year.
Built forYou collect used costumes and decorations at yard sales, thrift stores and post-Halloween clearance, sell 20 orders a week in September rising to 120 in late October across Mercari, eBay and Depop, and keep the stock in a garage the rest of the year.
Kit total
$486 to $924
Running cost
$81 to $158 a month
Consumables at 70 orders a week
- Orders a week
- 20–120
- Space
- Garage or storage unit
- Budget
- $480
Why this setup
You collect used costumes and decorations at yard sales, thrift stores and post-Halloween clearance, sell 20 orders a week in September rising to 120 in late October across Mercari, eBay and Depop, and keep the stock in a garage the rest of the year.
For six weeks around Halloween, you run your garage as a shipping room. Orders climb from late September and peak around the third week of October. They stop on November 1, so you need a setup that scales up fast and packs away flat.
Costumes are light and bulky. Most go in a poly mailer with the air pressed out, decor with glass or fragile parts goes in a box. Keep each costume's hat, gloves and mask together in a tub so the set goes out complete.
The kit
Every item, why it’s here and what it typically costs in the US.
MUNBYN thermal label printer
It takes the standard 4 × 6 inch labels that eBay, Poshmark, Mercari and Whatnot all generate, and generic labels work, so the running cost stays low.
Typical price$60 to $100
See on Amazon
66 lb digital shipping scale
Covers the packages most home sellers ship, up to 66 lb. Choose it when the 110 lb scale is out of stock.
Typical price$20 to $35
See on Amazon5-tier steel shelving, 72 in×3
Floor space runs out first, so build up instead. Number the shelves and give each item an address you can pick from.
Typical price$120 to $270
See on AmazonClear stackable 32 qt bins, 4 pack×4
Mark each bin with a shelf code and record the code against the listing. When an item sells, the code in the listing tells you which bin to open.
Typical price$120 to $220
See on Amazon6 ft folding table
Packing on the bed or the kitchen table means setting up and clearing off every session. A table that stays up lets you leave your supplies where you need them.
Typical price$45 to $80
See on AmazonTape gun dispenser
Once you ship more than a handful of boxes a week, a tape gun saves minutes on every session and stops tape ends sticking to themselves.
Typical price$10 to $20
See on Amazon
Buy this kit
Copy the full list to take shopping, or print it.
Shipping per order
What most orders like these ship by, at today’s published rates. Rates checked October 7, 2026.
USPS Ground Advantage, under 1 lbUsual$6.93 to $8.95
TrackedUp to 1 lbClothing, cards in a mailer and other small items under 1 lb. Tracked, with $100 insurance included.
- USPS Ground Advantage, 1 to 2 lb
$7.61 to $13.42
TrackedUp to 2 lbShoes, jeans and boxed items up to 2 lb, tracked with $100 insurance.
UPS Ground, up to 5 lb$12.00 to $25.00
TrackedUp to 5 lbTracked UPS Ground for boxed items up to 5 lb, for when it costs less than USPS.
About $2,102 to $2,715 a month in shipping at 70 orders a week On most marketplaces the buyer pays shipping; this is the cost when you pay it.
How to lay it out
Where everything goes, so each order moves one way through the room.
- 1
Three shelving units in a U
Put adult costumes on one unit, kids' on another, and decor and props on the third. Each bay carries a code that matches the SKU on all three platforms.
- 2
One tub per costume set
Put the best sets in clear tubs so you can see every accessory and keep them together. Cheaper costumes go in labeled bags on the shelf.
- 3
Photo wall by the garage door
A plain backdrop pinned to the wall with the ring light in front, so you shoot outfits in daylight with the door open.
- 4
Packing table in the middle
Keep poly mailers in a box under the table, the scale on top and the printer at the end nearest the outbound crates.
The guide
Each step in the order you'll need it.
The calendar
August: sort and wash last year's stock, buy new lots and shoot photos. Early September: list everything on all three platforms. October: pack daily. First week of November: clearance bundles, then box up the rest.
Write the dates on the garage wall. A costume listed on October 25 sells for far less than the same costume listed in early October.
Listing one stock across three platforms
Shoot each costume once, laid flat with every piece around it, then once on a hanger. Upload the same photos to Mercari, eBay and Depop with the bay code in each SKU field.
When a costume sells on one platform, delete it from the other two before you pack. In peak week, do this from your phone the moment the sale notification lands.
Kit for this step
Washing and checking used costumes
Wash fabric costumes on a cool cycle and hang them to dry, as many have glued trims that peel in a dryer. Check every seam, zipper and Velcro strip.
List any missing piece in the title. If a witch costume comes without the hat, say so in the title, because buyers return incomplete sets.
Packing for the October peak
Fold each costume around a sheet of cardboard so it keeps a flat shape, then bag it with the air pressed out. Hats with wired brims go in a box with paper fill so they arrive round.
Print the day's labels in one batch at 6 pm, pack in label order and set the crates by the door for the morning USPS pickup.
Clearing and storing after November 1
Bundle leftover kids' costumes by size and sell them as dress-up lots. Parents and teachers buy dress-up clothes through the winter.
Store the rest off the floor in sealed tubs with a moisture absorber. Garages get damp, which leaves mildew on stored costumes.
Kit for this step
Common mistakes
Each one costs you money or reviews, and each has a fix.
- Listing stock in mid October and missing the weeks when buyers plan party outfits.
- Sending a costume without its matching hat or gloves because they were stored apart.
- Reselling a recalled kids' costume, or one with loose bells a toddler could swallow.
- Storing latex masks folded in a hot garage, where they stick together and split by next September.
- Forgetting to end a Depop listing after the item sold on Mercari, then canceling an order in peak week.
When to upgrade
If decor sales pass about 60 a week, stock double-wall boxes for ceramic pumpkins and light-up pieces. A thermal label printer helps when the late October peak tops 100 labels a week.
- 60+ Double-wall boxes
- 100+ Zebra ZD421d
Questions
Straight answers to what sellers ask about this.
Can I resell used kids' costumes?
Yes, but check the CPSC recall list for the brand and keep the sewn-in label, which buyers look for. Skip any with a recall, and remove loose bells or beads that a child could pull off.
Do kids' costumes need to meet a flammability standard?
Clothing sold in the US falls under federal flammability rules, and costumes for young children are a known risk. Check the CPSC guidance before you list, and look for a flame-resistant label. Keep costumes away from open flames in your photos.
When do Halloween sales start on Mercari and eBay?
Check last year's sold listings to see when searches and sales picked up for you. List your stock by mid September so it has time to collect likes and watchers.
Can I sell fake blood, face paint and makeup?
Most platforms restrict used cosmetics for hygiene reasons. Sell only sealed, unused products in date, with the ingredient list visible in the photos.
How do I store latex masks between seasons?
Clean them, dust the inside lightly with talc and store them in a cool, dark tub, stuffed with paper so they hold their shape. Heat and sunlight make latex break down and stick to itself.
Which carrier is cheapest for bulky costumes?
On Mercari, you pick the label option inside the app at the weight you set. On eBay and Depop, a costume in a mailer usually ships cheapest by USPS Ground Advantage, but large soft packages can price by size, so compare in your label tool.
More setups
Updated October 6, 2026
