My mum was a professional tailor for years and swore blind that I would never be able to sell gents suits on ebay because of the importance of good quality and fit

I agree with her and yet I have been able to sell many suits so here is my solution ...

1. A Good place to source suits is your local dry cleaners who often have a pile of uncollected suits that have been freshly and professionally cleaned. 

2. Charity Shops are not so good as the suits will have only been steam cleaned and this is not really adequate to remove the heavy wear most suits get.  There is nothing stopping you taking a chance and buying a suit to get it dry cleaned if it is a top designer brand - Paul Smith, Jaeger, Crombie, Aquascutum ... but I do not think it is financially sensible to dry clean M&S, Cita Citerro, Burtons, Hornes etc as you will be unlikely to recoup your costs.

3. Measurements are vitally important - collect the following in inches and cm

Jacket - Chest around the armpits, Nape of Neck to Hem, Underarm to wrist, Top of shoulder seam to wrist

Waistcoat - Chest around underarms

Trousers - Waist and Inside Leg

Put all these istings in your description and invite the buyer to compare them with measurements from his own most comfortable fitting suit in his wardrobe

4. Tailoring - What type of fabric is the suit made from ?... quality Cashmere mix, dureable wool mix, practical  polyester, Cool Linen. What weight is the fabric, if unsure say medium weight  as it incorporates the most seasons.

Is the jacket single or double vented, how many buttons down the front and on the sleeve, is the lining monogrammed or contrasting coloured, are the pockets still sewn up as new ?

Are the trousers staypress, pleated, flatfronted, turn ups etc? 

5. Devise a  title which will work with search engines and which incorporates the BRAND COLOUR FABRIC SIZE AND CONDITION eg As New Navy Wool CROMBIE Suit 42R Trs W36 L 32.

6. Take lots of photographs of the suit hanging up on a door - use flash to capture details like buttons on cuffs, labels inside jacket etc - don't worry if flash makes your black suit look grey just mention in your description that this is what you have done to show tailored detailing.

7.Use auctiva to create a professional looking listing and with  up to 16 free photos but do invest in a BIN price because if someone thinks his is the suit they have been looking for they really need look now further - and contrary to what you might think men are much more impulsive shoppers than women !!

8. Never stick a suit on for 99p ... if you don't value it noone else will - choose a start price around the minimum you will accept for the garment and invest in a BIN of what you would hope to get - you should look at completed listings to guage the market value of your item don't be afraid to ask for what you think it is worth !.

9. With high value items you might want to offer a try before you buy service using paypal - ie for the BIN price plus #20 you will send it and provided they return it in the same condition you will refund less #20 - obviously they will want to keep it in which case you refund just the #20

Good luck and let me know if my mum was right or not ?

Best wishes Kay