How to Take Measurements for Clothing Listings Once, Use Everywhere

Measure your item flat: measure pit-to-pit, length, and the sleeve in inches. Write the measurements once in the text block and the row, and then paste the block and row in all your listings. The most important rule is being consistent. Flat and unstretched measurements give the same reading to all buyers on all marketplaces.

Before you start: what to have on the table

Measuring clothing for resale takes about 5 minutes per item. Setting things up in a way that works best for you is the majority of the work. If you sell in two or more marketplaces, the biggest mistake is measuring at your photo station for one marketplace, writing down the measurements for that listing, and then either guessing or remeasuring for the next listing for the same item of clothing. Buyers notice when your Poshmark listing says 21” and your eBay listing says 22”.

You will need a flat hard surface at least as wide as a men's large shirt, roughly 30 by 40 inches. A folding table is better than a bed because a mattress lets fabric sink and stretch. Take the tape measure and check that it has not stretched by laying it against a metal ruler. A metal tape is awkward for curved seams and not as precise as a soft tape for jeans and jackets.

Have your phone ready with the camera opened because a photo of the tape on the garment is usually all the proof you need if a buyer is questioning a number later on. Record measurements in a way that will be easiest for you to access and copy for each new item, for example, a notes app, a paper log, or a spreadsheet with one row for each item. A spreadsheet is the best option once you pass 30 listings because you can sort and search for what you need.

Establish a standard set of measurements per type of garment and stick to it. Label it so you never have to estimate. For shirts and tops: pit-to-pit, length, sleeve and shoulder (for structured shirts). For pants: Waist flat, inseam and rise, leg opening. For dresses: pit-to-pit, waist flat, length. Use inches for US buyers; if you ship internationally and can benefit from listing measurements in both systems, include the centimeters in brackets, but don’t bother listing measurements in systems other than what buyers are most used to (for us, that’s inches). Give each item a SKU or short code (like FL-014) for easy reference later. This way, measurements, pictures and listings can be correlated without requiring an additional, time consuming, step to open and review each listing.

Steps: measure once, record once

The procedure below takes a single garment from the pile and creates a completed measurement record, one step at a time. Be consistent with the steps and the numbers will correspond from one item to the next, which is more important than getting the measurements exactly right.

1. Button or zip the garment fully closed, the way it would be worn.
2. Place it face up on a flat surface with the front panel smooth, and the back panel flat against the surface.
3. Smooth out wrinkles with your palms from the center outward, without pulling the fabric.
4. Place the end of the tape at the bottom of the armpit seam, about one inch from the where the sleeve meets the body.
5. Run the tape straight across to the bottom of the other armpit seam and read the pit-to-pit number.
6. Place the tape at the highest point of the shoulder where the collar seam meets the shoulder seam.
7. Run the tape straight down to the bottom hem and read the length.
8. Place the tape at the shoulder seam on one sleeve.
9. Run it along the top of the sleeve to the end of the cuff and read the sleeve length.
10. Measure shoulder seam to shoulder seam across the back if the garment has defined shoulders.
11. Take one phone photo of the tape across the pit-to-pit line with the numbers visible.
12. Round each number to the nearest half inch.
13. Type the numbers into your spreadsheet row under the item's SKU.
14. Copy the numbers into your reusable text block template.
15. Save the text block in the spreadsheet or notes app next to the row.

There are two inconsistencies with measurements that cause issues with buyers. First, pit-to-pit is half the chest circumference. The other half may or may not be included by the buyer, so say the size in the text block to eliminate any confusion. Second, the sleeve length may be measured from the shoulder seam or the center back of the collar, and the two measurements differ by a few inches. For consistency, say the measurement is from the shoulder seam, and never change. For a garment with raglan sleeves with no shoulder seam, measure from the collar and indicate that as well.

Worked example: a size M flannel shirt

A men’s size M button-front flannel shirt is a good test item. The fabric in flannel stretches slightly, and the tags in different brands can vary. Here is one example with figures.

The shirt is laid face-up, smoothed on a folding table. The tape is placed from one armpit seam to the other, one inch from the sleeve join, and measures 21 and 5/8 inches, rounding to 21.5. From the shoulder-collar seam to the hem, the front measures 29 and 1/4 inches, rounding to 29. From the shoulder seam to the shoulder across the back measures 18.5. The sleeve, from the shoulder to the cuff, measures 25. One photo is taken, with the tape across the chest showing 21 and a half. The SKU is FL-014.

Each row in your spreadsheet corresponds to a single item you’re selling and looks like this:

The text block is copied and pasted into the description section for each of your listings on Poshmark, eBay, Mercari and Depop. Here it is: “Measurements taken flat, in inches. Pit to pit: 21.5 (double for full chest). Length: 29 (top of shoulder to hem). Sleeve: 25 (shoulder seam to cuff). Shoulder: 18.5. Tagged size M. Please compare to a shirt you own that fits well.” This text is under 260 characters, which means it can be included in the condition section of the description, as well as the fabric type for each of the three listing platforms.

Keep the block text simple, without special characters or emojis, because some marketplaces interpret line breaks and special characters in different ways and a simple text block survives most copy and paste operations. With a spreadsheet, you can build the text block with a formula that joins the measurement cells, so typing the four numbers creates the complete sentence automatically. In eBay's clothing categories that offer item specifics like chest size or sleeve length, just copy and paste the values from that row instead of measuring again. Manually entering values is good enough for sellers with under 200 listings and the time saved is not from a tool, but from the fact that you never have to measure again.

Checklist: what to verify before you list

A short printed checklist taped to your measuring table almost catches all measurement mistakes before they are noticed by a buyer. Run through it for each item before measurements are taken.

• The item is to be fully buttoned or zipped, lying flat and not hanging or stretched.
• Pit-to-pit measurements are taken to be straight across from one armpit seam (about 1 inch below)
• Measurements for length are taken to be from the collar-shoulder point to the hem, on the front
• Sleeve measurements are taken from the shoulder to the cuff.
• Every value is rounded to the nearest half inch
• Measurement values are in inches and stated in the text block.
• Note that pit-to-pit is half of chest measurement.
• Tag size is recorded exactly as printed, even if it runs small.
• A photo of the tape measure is saved and its file name is included in the row of the spreadsheet.
• SKU on tape, text block and bin or bag.
• Text block is pasted in description, UNEDITED, for each marketplace.
• Numbers on each listing correspond to the spreadsheet row.

A photo of tape is proof enough in most cases. If a buyer opens a return because the item is measured smaller, and the description is therefore incorrect, a photo of the tape supporting the description is proof in court. Be sure to get the whole tape and the number on it, as well as the end of the tape, and take it from straight above. For higher value items (over $75) add the photo to the listing. For lower value items (under $75), a photo in your camera roll is enough. The photo should be supporting the description of the item. Name the photo the same as the item in the description, for example, “rainbow unicorn 13.jpg”.

There are a few reasons to confirm measurements on an item. It's been returned, it's been washed, it's been folded for months, or it's made with flannel or cotton. All of these causes can lead to shrinkage or creasing in the fabric, and measurements can be off by 1/2". If the measurement has not been altered for any of these reasons, leave it as is.

Put your measurements on every marketplace with PrimeLister

Once your measurements are in a text block, the longest part of the process becomes building the same listing 4 or 6 times and remembering to delete it everywhere when it sells. PrimeLister allows you to crosslist a single listing to multiple marketplaces with the description and measurements included, saving you time, and reducing the number of listings you have to build and type out.

• Crosslist your items to Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, Depop, Etsy, and Facebook Marketplace with one click.
• Inventory sync enables auto-delisting, so the same item doesn't get sold twice.
• Bulk edit multiple listings at the same time.
• Find the same item listed more than once using the duplicate finder.
• Check your sell through rate and time on market using the analytics tool.

Your 7-day free trial of the Poshmark Bot is available with no credit card required.