Happy Fall Y’all! For many of you, fall means back to school – a time for buying school supplies and new school clothes. Even if you don’t have kids, and aren’t going to school yourself, now is a good time to take advantage of the sales. To make room for interesting new outfits, a good place to start is by cleaning out the outdated items from your closet.
Did you know you can make money by selling your old clothes?
Online Consignment Sites
Using online consignment sites allows you to sell your old clothes without leaving your house. There are numerous websites to choose from, each with its own specific demographic. Selling online can help you reach a larger audience and find just the right buyer who will appreciate – and possibly be willing to pay more for – your unique items.
Copious
Social Media Sites
Cut out the middle man and sell directly to the customer by posting your clothes on social media sites. By selling directly to your customers, you get to keep all the profits from the sale. However, dealing with customers can be more work. One frequent issue is people asking you to hold items for them, but then not showing up at the designated time. Having buyers come to you can help alleviate this issue. Anyone who is truly interested in purchasing your items should be willing to come to you. Play it safe by not inviting strangers to your home – arrange pick up at a safe zone, such as the police station or other public place. Keep in mind that driving to meet people will cost you gas and time, which cuts into your profit. Setting up multiple meetings at a time, or selling in bulk, can help cut down on the hassle.
Craigslist
Brick and Mortar Stores
If you want to sell your stuff but don’t want all the work, try a local brick and mortar consignment store. This method of selling your clothes is super easy – you will set up an account with the store, then drop off your things. Generally, the store will sort, tag, and sell the times for you. On the plus side, it’s less work than selling online, however, once you drop off the items, you give up control of what happens after that. The store will decide the price, when to drop the sale price, and how long they will wait for each item to sell. Once the time-period is up, many consignment stores will donate leftover items to charity rather than returning them to you. Expect to receive as little as 25% – 50% of the sales price, and the store will keep the rest to cover their overhead costs.
Check your area for more options
Have a yard sale
Donate to Charity
If selling your old clothes is too much work for you, items can be donated to charity. No, you won’t make money if you donate your clothes, but you can deduct the value on your taxes – not to mention how good you’ll feel when someone in need receives joy from your old things.
Goodwill
Salvation Army
Domestic Violence shelters
Homeless shelters
Other Local Charity centers