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Best way to sell purged clothes?

Gigi

Veteran

I am doing my first big purge after having been interested in personal style for a year. :^) A lot of the items are still in good condition but are just not "me." I would like to try to sell the items to get at least some money for them, since money is tight for me right now. The items are mostly J. Jill, Eddie Bauer, American Eagle, Gap, and Old Navy. I don't have any super-high-end stuff like Coach or Kate Spade, etc.

I found an old forum post of Laura's where she talked about selling through liketwice.com. I went to their website, and it looks like it would be very simple to do. I would probably get between $3.50 and $5.00 an item. I am wondering if trying to sell through a local consignment boutique would be a little more lucrative. However, my clothing is sized at XXSP and 00P, and I don't know whether local consignment boutiques even want stuff in that size. I'd have to call around first.

I hear differing things about selling on eBay and craigslist. For some it works out really well, for others not so much.

What have your experiences been with selling purged clothing?

General

16 replies

Latest reply was from Laura (rhubarbgirl)

Anonymous

I usually try to consign my items because I don't feel they are nice enough to interest fabbers on the style exchange. I hardly make any money at all, but I try anyway. I would think there might be a real market for your size. I am a smaller size, and I drive all the way across the valley to a consignment store that is known for it's selection of small sizes. I think most items I try to sell are between 5 and 10 years old, and that's why not many of them are accepted. Your things sound newer, so as long as your store is interested in your brands (they'll tell you over the phone) you'll be in business. Is there a Buffalo Exchange near you? They might take items that a boutique wouldn't be interested in (i.e. younger, more casual brands).

Gigi

Veteran

Claire, thanks for the input. I like the idea of maybe searching for a boutique that specializes in smaller sizes...there may very well be such an animal somewhere in my city.

Yes, most of my items are newer. I do have a couple of pieces that are probably 5 years old, but most are 3 or 2 years old. I just finished doing a bunch of laundry for the stuff I intend to sell. Do you iron the stuff first before taking it somewhere? Does that help get a better price, do you think? I have a beautiful J. Jill linen dress that is only 2 years old and has been worn only maybe 10 times. You know how linen looks when it's not ironed!

There is a Buffalo Exchange within driving distance from me, so I will keep that in mind. Most of my clothes are more "grown-up" stuff, though. The lion's share is J. Jill. But BE might take my AE, ON, and Gap stuff (my GAP stuff is just tanks, so a boutique might not be interested).

Anonymous

I think any "merchandizing" you can do helps. I would definitely iron the linen dress and bring it in on a hanger. I have better luck when I bring everything in on hangers than when it's folded in a bag. If you group things by colors, or in possible outfits, that might help sell them to the person making the decision. Of course can be a bit deflating when you go to all that trouble and they offer you what averages out to be a dollar per item, too.

Anonymous

Oh, I just remembered. Check out Yelp and read review from other consigners and you can get a general feel for the place. It seems like most consignment stores are the "house" and we're the gamblers; the house always wins.

Anonymous

I've sent two bags of stuff to Thredup (which I'm guessing is basically the same idea as Liketwice). It seems pretty painless. The payouts weren't huge (around $50 for one of my bags and less for the other), but it's an easy way to get things out of the house, since you literally have to just stick them in a big bag and send them off. The things I've sent have been mostly Gap/BR/Loft/random Nordstrom brands in good condition and they've taken most of them so far.

I used to bring some clothes to a local consignment shop. Which worked well until the place started getting much pickier, and also stopped letting consigners leave what they didn't want for them to take care of donating. So now this particular store isn't really worth the effort for me, but I still think looking into consignment can be a worthwhile option in general.

kkards

Veteran

i have sold some stuff to a local resale shop. since i'm in a college town, they tend to not want the more corporate stuff. but its funny, sometimes they will turn something down, but if i bring it back a month or so later, they take it. i haven't tried the true consignment shops because they require that you come in with your stuff Monday-Friday 10-6. sorry from 10-6, i'm working.
i haven't gone the ebay or craigslist route because it seemed like a lot of work for little payback, but i have a friend who sells all her old kids stuff on ebay, and she thinks its worth it. if you try craigslist, make sure that you meet in a public place and don't give out any personal info.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

You are are probably not going to get anything for Old Navy.
Buffalo Exchange does not care about presentation. I got $30 for a pair of True Religion leather shorts that retailed for over $300.

Diana

Veteran

I've sold to twice, my local consignment shop, and eBay. eBay will get you the most bang for your buck for certain things, like premium denim and, perhaps oddly, comfort shoes like danskos. Also certain stores like Anthropologie. For midrange things lik BR or gap, consignment or resale is a better bet IMO. I think the consignment shop on average pays more than Twice, but in my experience they are pickier, you have to make an appointment and take time out of your day to schlep everything over there (I have no car), and you have to wait 2 months to get paid. Twice was really painless. I think I got average of $3.50 an item for mostly gap/BR level things.

ETA: twice took all but one of my items, which included a lot of basics like plain tees, etc. consignment store generally took about half of my stuff.

ironkurtin

Veteran

I've never made any substantive money back consigning. You may get a few dollars, but it's better than nothing. I make more on eBay but it is a lot more work (taking pictures, listing, shipping, dealing with buyer questions and buyers in general) and eBay is now taking more and more of a cut from every sale. I think if you get any money back, no matter how you do it, WIN!

rabbit

Veteran

I've just done Buffalo Exchange and Red Light Clothing exchange, there's also a Plato's closet near me which I haven't tried yet. Buffalo Exchange has taken the most clothes out of the pile, they will take no brand clothes only if they are somewhat interesting looking (like a metallic fuschia mini skirt). They will pay 30% of their selling price as cash or 50% as store credit -- but they don't offer a lot of money - it's not much more than I'd get by donating the clothes and doing It's Deductible with my taxes. If you check the website of the shop they often tell you what they are specifically looking for that season.

I'll have to try out Twice. I figured a consignment shop wouldn't be interested in most of my clothes as there are few midrange or higher name brands.

MRL

Veteran

I have sold a lot of my son's clothes at Plato's Closet. I like that they give the cash up front and I don't have to wait until/if the items sell.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

In my experience, places like Buffalo Exchange and Plato's Closet want younger brands - stuff that gals in high school and college would wear. I've never been able to sell them that much; last time I tried they didn't want any of my stuff. And at least in my area, consignment stores want designer brands; for anything midrange they won't pay more than Twice will, and it's more of a pain - going there, hoping your items sell, etc.

Twice would be my bet, unless you wanted to try to sell stuff yourself on eBay, which might be profitable given the size range and how that's hard to find. But of course it's rather time consuming.

Gigi

Veteran

This is all very interesting. Thanks for sharing your experiences, everyone.

We do apparently have a Plato's Closet around as well as the Buffalo Exchange. But Laura, you are right that most of my clothes are not for the younger set. They are pretty conservative things. I do have some younger stuff that I'm wearing right now, so I'll keep them in mind for my next purge. :^) I'll have to look up the area consignment stores and call them to see what brands they like...at least that won't be too much of a time investment up front.

As for eBay...I'm not sure I want to deal with the hassle. If I had higher-end stuff, it might be worth it, but for this midrange stuff, I think it might be smarter to take a bit of a hit on the cash I get back for it and just send it to Twice and be done. But I'm really hoping for a local consignment boutique, since I think I will get a bit more than at Twice, and I also enjoy supporting local business. And I think it might even be instructive to watch someone go through my clothing and show me what they do and don't want and why.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

The few times I have taken clothes to a pay up front place like Buffalo Exchange I have gotten very low prices and left very unimpressed with the buyer's knowledge (and this was in NYC). I do much better with local consignment shops but then only when I am looking to turn a $3 purchase into a $15 take home (hey it adds up!). I also like the idea of donating good condition, current clothes to places that can actually use them like battered women's shelters as I think Shannon recently did, or dress for success as Angie has mentioned.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

My consignment store isn't too picky about brands, more about what season of items they take in. I do eBay for most NWT items because consignment here sells the items at about 30% of retail price and then gives 30% of that to the seller (or maybe 40%, I can't remember). So, a $90 dress gets tagged for $30, of which I'll get $10 or $12. just a bummer and I'd rather take the effort and time with eBay, but you have to have patience for eBay.
Lower end or somewhat worn stuff goes right to donation.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Oh yeah, I forgot about seasons. A new mostly consignment store (they also sell a few new things) has opened up near me and I was in there the other day. The owner was saying that they were full up with summer stuff but were starting to buy for fall. Twice doesn't care about seasonality (Thredup might be the same) which is handy when you're culling out of season or at the end of a season.