How to Sell Your Used Clothing! Make Money From Your Castoffs!

Is your closet so full of clothes you can hardly open the door? You have so many things that are “too nice to part with” that you end up living them in your overcrowded closet for another day. But, you need the room desperately!! Would you feel better if you could get some money for the clothes you no longer wear? Well, you can! There are a variety of ways you can get money for your used clothes depending on how much time and energy you want to invest. Here are some ideas for turning old clothes into dollars:

1. Harness the power of your local consignment and resale shops

In most cities,If you look in the yellow pages under “consignment stores” or “resale stores”, you’ll find at least a few listings for stores that sell second hand clothing. A resale store will generally buy your used clothing outright and then resell it, whereas a consignment store will pay you for the clothing only after it sells. The advantage to the resale store is you get your money immediately. The disadvantage is you’ll probably get less money for your clothing than you’d get at a consignment store. At a consignment store, you generally get 50% of the purchase price when the item sells and nothing if the item fails to attract a buyer. If you’re in a hurry for your money and don’t want to wait and see if your items sell, you might want to go the resale store route. If you have plenty of time and want to maximize your returns, I would use the services of a consignment store. Both stores, in general, buy only current, in style merchandise in excellent condition. Usually they require merchandise to be brought in on a hanger. An exception would be a resale store that specializes in vintage clothing. They, of course, would take older clothing.

2. Sell your used clothing on Ebay or other auction sites.

It may be surprising to learn used clothing, particularly designer names, are very fast sellers on Ebay. Despite the fact that people are unable to try the item on, they still bid and bid big for the right items. High end designer names, brand names, and like new clothing sells the best. When presenting your items, you’ll need to include several photos showing different views of the garment and include size as well as measurements. The disadvantage to this method is it can be time consuming, requiring you to both measure, photograph, describe, and ship the item.

3. Have a garage or yard sale.

If properly displayed on hangers, nicer clothing can sell well at yard and garage sales, although you’re not going to get as much money as you would if you sold them through a consignment store or online auction. The advantage is you don’t have to haul your clothing to a store or take photographs and do description as you would if you sold them online. On the last day of your sale, if you want to get rid of what’s left, sell clothing in lots during the last few hours.

4. Sell vintage items to a vintage clothing store

Look in your yellow page phone book under “vintage clothing” for vintage clothing stores in your area. Give them a call to see what type of items they take. Some stores specialize in certain periods which limits what they’ll accept. These stores can be a good resource for selling clothing that’s at least 30 years old.

5. Harness the power of local and online classifieds.

If you have a special piece of clothing such as a wedding dress, consider listing it in your local classifieds or trading post type newspaper. You can also list these items on high traffic online classified sites that cater to your local area such as Craig’s List. If you have clothing all in one size, you may be able to sell your clothing items as a lot. There are lots of people out there looking for an inexpensive new work wardrobe that might wear your size.

6. What you can’t sell, donate.

If you have items that won’t sell for one reason or another, consider donating them to your local Salvation Army or Goodwill. You can use the donation as a tax deduction and do a good deed at the same time.

As you can see, there are a variety of options for selling used clothing both online and offline. So before you toss those gently worn pieces, give these ideas a try!