Not in the way most advice says. Across 3,050 sales from FLIPSAIL sellers, November and December brought 995 sales against 1,095 in September and October. The real peak was November 28 to December 3, about 30% above early November. Sales then fell by more than half from December 18 to 27 and recovered on December 28.
Most Q4 advice for resellers treats the whole season as one long peak. The sales we can see don't look like that. They look like one strong week, a slow slide to Christmas, a near stop, and a return a few days later. The numbers below are a small sample, and the section on what they can't tell you is worth reading before you plan around them.
These are real sales from sellers who connected their stores to FLIPSAIL, including history imported when they connected. Test accounts and reversed sales are out. Every figure counts sales rather than dollars, because Poshmark's sale records carry the list price and would distort any average.
Q4 was not the biggest stretch of the year
| Window | Sales | Sellers with a sale | Sales per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 to Oct 31, 2025 | 1,095 | 25 | 18.0 |
| Nov 1 to Dec 31, 2025 | 995 | 24 | 16.3 |
| Jan 1 to Feb 28, 2026 | 960 | 29 | 16.3 |
Depop explains most of the drop. Among the 23 sellers with sales in all three windows, Depop went from 479 sales to 235 and stayed at 230, and that came from only five or six sellers, so it may say more about their shops than about Depop. The other big marketplaces went the opposite way or held.
| Marketplace (same 23 sellers) | Sep to Oct | Nov to Dec | Jan to Feb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poshmark (16 sellers) | 358 | 425 | 420 |
| eBay (11 to 12 sellers) | 185 | 198 | 158 |
| Depop (5 to 6 sellers) | 479 | 235 | 230 |
| Mercari (5 sellers) | 37 | 32 | 32 |
Etsy and Grailed are left out because each is one seller here.
Poshmark is the clearest line: 19% more sales in November and December than in the two months before, across the same 16 sellers. It also held that level through January and February, which goes against the common advice that January is dead. These are sellers who still had sales in winter, so read that as a sign and not a rule.
The peak was a week long, and Black Friday was only its first day
| Period | Sales | Sales per day | Against Nov 1 to 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1 to 20 | 385 | 19.3 | Baseline |
| Nov 21 to 26 | 102 | 17.0 | Down 12% |
| Nov 27 to Dec 4 | 182 | 22.8 | Up 18% |
| Dec 5 to 17 | 172 | 13.2 | Down 31% |
| Dec 18 to 27 | 84 | 8.4 | Down 56% |
| Dec 28 to Jan 15 | 285 | 15.0 | Down 22% |
Inside that peak the days were: Thanksgiving 15 sales, Black Friday 26, Saturday 17, Sunday 28, Cyber Monday 25, then Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 27. From Black Friday to the Wednesday after Cyber Monday, sellers averaged 25 sales a day, about 30% above early November. The Tuesday and Wednesday after Cyber Monday matched the named days, so a sale that ends on Monday night stops two days early.
The week before Thanksgiving was slightly below normal. That fits buyers holding off for deals, though six days is too few to be sure.
Gift buying ends well before Christmas
Sales slid from December 5, and by December 17 sellers were at 8 a day. USPS's Ground Advantage cutoff for Christmas falls in the same week each year, December 17 in 2026, and our holiday shipping deadlines post works out the last safe sale day by marketplace. Christmas Day had 4 sales and December 26 had 5.
The bottom is short. December 27 had 8 sales, and December 28 had 19 across 10 sellers, close to a normal November day. On Poshmark the period from December 28 to January 15 ran at 8.1 sales a day, above the 7.5 a day from November 1 to 26.
What this changes about how to plan the holidays
- Run any sale through the Wednesday after Cyber Monday. In 2026 that is December 2.
- Have stock and shipping supplies ready before Thanksgiving, because the strongest stretch starts that Friday and runs six days.
- Treat December 18 to 27 as time off. Use it for vacation mode, sourcing or photographing new stock instead of cutting prices into a week with few buyers.
- Plan to be back and listing by December 28. New stock and price drops land as buyers return.
What this data cannot tell you
This is about 25 sellers, mostly selling secondhand clothing in the US, in one holiday season. It is not a market estimate. A single large shop can move a line, which is why the Depop drop above should be read with care. Depop had one sale from December 18 to 27 across these sellers, and that is more likely a few sellers closing for the holidays than Depop's buyers disappearing.
- Seller selection: these are people who chose a crosslisting tool, and their stock is not typical of every reseller. Toys, electronics and collectibles may peak very differently.
- Vinted is missing. FLIPSAIL had no Vinted sellers in this window, so the post says nothing about Vinted's holiday pattern.
- Dates are UTC, so a sale late in the evening in the US can land on the next day. Mercari's dates are the order's completion, which comes days after the sale.
- Counts only. We can't say here whether people sold at lower prices during Cyber Week.
We will add the 2026 season to this page in January, with Vinted included.
FLIPSAIL, our product, is where these numbers come from. It checks your stores for sales from our servers, every 5 to 10 minutes on most marketplaces on paid plans, and takes the other copies down when an item sells, which matters most in the six busy days after Black Friday. There's a 14-day free trial (no card); after it, delisting stays free on your first two marketplaces for up to 100 listings with a card on file, never charged. Start free
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Q4 the best time of year for resellers?
Not across the sellers we can see. November and December 2025 brought 995 sales against 1,095 in September and October, though that gap comes mostly from Depop. Poshmark sellers did 19% better in November and December than in the two months before.
Is Black Friday the biggest sales day for resellers?
It was one of several similar days. Black Friday 2025 had 26 sales across these sellers, while the Sunday after had 28 and the following Tuesday also had 28. The strong stretch ran from Black Friday to the Wednesday after Cyber Monday.
When do resale sales slow down before Christmas?
They slid from about December 5 and dropped sharply around December 17, the same week as the USPS Ground Advantage cutoff. December 18 to 27 ran 56% below early November.
Do resale sales pick up after Christmas?
Yes, quickly. Sales went from 5 on December 26 and 8 on December 27 to 19 on December 28. From December 28 to January 15, Poshmark sellers sold more per day than they had from November 1 to 26.
Is January a slow month for reselling?
Not for the sellers in this data. January and February 2026 ran at 16.3 sales a day, the same as November and December, and Poshmark held its holiday level. Clothing that is out of season can still be slow, so check your own categories.