Last time around Genni and I gave some info on buying clothes at the thrift store, but this time it’s about selling them back.
I usually don’t shop in consignment stores for clothes — furniture is another deal — but opt for the thrift shops. Thrift shops usually have donated clothing with no cost to the person donating, and because a consignment store pays the donater at the time of the sell, the clothes end up being more expensive.* Even though I get a ton of clothes at the thrift shop on the fly for very little money, I often end up with things that don’t fit correctly or that I never end up wearing. Every laundry day is closet cleaning day. You do need access to a car and a few big garbage bags.**
1) Throw anything you haven’t worn in six months in the pile. If it doesn’t fit, pile. If you kinda like it but don’t wear it, pile. Unless it’s truly reserved for some special occasion, pile. Don’t lie to yourself.
1a) Children’s clothing is truly special for money-making. Unless you have somebody specific that you’re absolutely going to pass down the clothes down to, pile.
2) When your pile gets too big to handle or when you’re particularly low on cash, start sorting. I make one pile of clothes that are too ratty to sell and another pile for clothes that reasonably follow trends enough to sell. For adult clothes, no holes, stains, missing buttons, or loose hems. Some stores I sell to are weird about clothing that develop pills (sweaters, some cotton blends) and others are not. With children’s clothes, try to sell everything. Bag everything up in separate bags and label.
3) Pick your stores. Donate everything that can’t be bought to a charity. (Goodwill overprices the truly needy out of their market, oddly, and chances are that if you donate everything to a charity all of it will actually be placed out on the racks. Also it’s kind of cool to find your old clothes on the racks next time you go thrifting.)
Children’s used clothes stores are a dime a dozen and I make the rounds — plus they pay well for nice used goods. If it doesn’t get sold to the first store I take it to another, and then another. I also use this time to find newer, nicer clothes for my little one if necessary.
As for adult stores, try to sell the trendiest stuff to a store aimed at teenagers and then branch out from there, since those stores usually offer more money — especially for mall clothes and brand names. Don’t donate something that is a few years out of style or has seen better days, keep trying to sell it at the next place.
I use this technique when I need money to get me through to the next paycheck or if something relatively small but unexpected pops up. If I spend a Saturday afternoon lugging my stuff all over town I can usually make a good deal of closet space and about about fifty bucks for the effort.
* If you do decide to get your stuff into a consignment store make sure you continue to keep up with your wares. A large portion of bread made at consignment stores is off of unclaimed sales.
** Believe it or not, one store I sell to is snotty about bringing in clothing in garbage bags, so I always save one laundry basket for the trip to take the clothes into the store.
Goodwill overprices the truly needy out of their market, oddly
I worked for Goodwill for 5 years as a store manager. The Central Indiana corporate powers that be wanted to revamp Goodwill’s image about 8 years ago. They see themselves in line with stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart (or at least that’s what they aspire to be). It seems like every few years they up the prices about 0.25-0.50 cents.
If you are going to shop at Goodwill I would look for the Grey Goods. These items will be mixed in with the regular clothing, but will have a grey tag attached. These are new items that Goodwill has purchased from Target (usually it’s returns and overstock/clearance items). Most of the time these items are reasonably priced and they will have a wide range of sizes.
This is a great summary. One thing I found when I consigned my kids’ clothes is that the clothing had to be in season or the stores here wouldn’t take it. Also, the store I dealt with most often wanted the clothes brought in *on hangers* (eyeroll) so I made a point of saving those.
Stride-rite toddler shoes in reasonable condition were always good for a few bucks per pair on Ebay. And don’t get me started about the so-called “brown market” in gently worn cloth diapers. Those suckers are money in the bank.
I love thrift shops! I did notice over the years that the prices do creep up at Goodwill but considering the quality vs price it’s still such a bargain. The tip I have is that if you have a car and can travel to a Goodwill or other thrift shop in a swankier neighborhood, do it. They donate great stuff but are too snobby to shop there themselves so there is alot of variety to choose from.
Instead of doing consignment shops, I do ebay. I shop the thrift stores for both family clothing… and things that none of us are interested in but I know someone else would be. I shop garage/yard sales/estate sales for these in the summer. I also shop close-out stores. You have to be good at estimating what you will get at auction, it does no good to buy a sweater at $8, sell it for $10, and pay $4 in ebay and paypal fees, does it? What’s been really good is household and hunting items though. My husband bought a Browning bow for $75 at a garage sale and we sold it on ebay for $500. I bought 3 Coca Cola shower curtains at $6 at Big Lots and sold them on ebay for $40 each. I also bought two painted metal trays that meant nothing to me for $1 a piece at a yard sale, just because they were pretty, and found out they are some huge collectable and sold them for $50 and $65 (NashCo if I remember correctly).
“If I spend a Saturday afternoon lugging my stuff all over town I can usually make a good deal of closet space and about about fifty bucks for the effort.”
I didn’t find this worked well for me.
A litre of gas here costs between $.90 to $1.15. That’s about $5 a gallon for gas.
Basic insurance for a 4 cylinder car about 20years old cost around $800 a year if you are a driver with no accidents.
Other operating costs about $800 a year at $65-$85 an hour for a mechanic, oil, tune ups, parking etc.
I understand costs are less for gas/oil/automotive products in the States. But why they are is also something to consider.
Now I get a lot from dumpsters around student buildings, and in the lobby of my building which has an place to put things you don’t need or want. I get all those mall labels, and wonder how complicit I am in someone’s poverty if I’m wearing a 79 cent new looking Gap t-shirt? I bought a couple pair if pants at Goodwill that were brand new, both pair for $3. I later found through a news story that Wal-Mart had dumped a label they’d been called on. The clothing was made by children working in a Sri Lankan sweat shop. Guilt.
If you dress as beautifully as Genni then I applaud you for your sense of style and thrift.
{Now looking for the recipe I came here for. Thanks for the HUHO idea}