If you haven’t heard, there is a booming secondary market for fashion. It takes place on the Internet, every day and most likely, in the wee small hours when everyone else in the house is sleeping. The following is an introduction to our favorite “jumbles.”
Working the wisdom of “one woman’s trash is another’s treasure” the undisputed big mama of all resale shops is THE REAL REAL There- there you can find a curated and authenticated collection of everything from Chanel Bags to Dolce’s last season for sale at a deep discount. As for cleaning out your closet and consigning your clothes, they better be in perfect condition and no older than a few seasons.
The designer directory is a who’s who of fashion and shopping mall brands are discouraged. That Coach bag or Banana Republic raincoat won’t pass muster with the discerning Real Real “Luxury Managers.” If you have more than 10 qualifying items, they offer a white glove in-home pick up service in 21 cities. They also offer a free consignment kit, which includes shipping labels and a box – that is, after they decide they are buying what you are selling. They pay bi-monthly and the commission to you is somewhere between 55 – 60%. You can choose to take the money and run or keep it in a THE REAL REAL account for- you guessed it – more shopping.
Vestiaire Collective is a European based company founded in Paris in 2009.
The very French concern boasts over 60 million members and 25k new items for sale each week. That is one Le Grand Mac of a marketplace of potential customers for your cast-offs. Their process is easy but taking good photos is key and so is listing your items at an appropriate price. In other words: you have to be a good merchant to succeed on VC but the commission structure is favorable based on a flat fee. Once sold, shipping to VC is free.
Vestiaire’s investment partners include Conde Nast but public relations and customer experience on the site is garnering less than magnifique reviews.
RE-SEE is a magnificent walk down memory lane, featuring rare vintage collections. They prefer to acquire collections, but are not averse to taking that fringed Claude Montana leather jacket off your hands. You must first describe your items to them, and if accepted they handle the photography, the stocking and the shipping of your perfect or near perfect treasures. They pay a commission of up to 70%.
Rebag is a tightly curated site for the marketing of the “up-est” market leather accessories. Their standards are high to impossible, no missing stitches or tiny ink dots are allowed, but you send them photos, they send you an offer, a pre-paid shipping label and in a few business days after receiving you small-loved bag, they send you a check.
TRADESY is a buy and sell marketplace where you see all kinds of fashion from Zara to Chanel. The site is user-friendly: snap a few photos that they will enhance, they will suggest a price if you haven’t a clue and they send you a shipping kit (label and box) to send to the buyer just as soon as your listed item sells. They handle any returns and payout is based on the selling price. The commissions and fees are transparent and you can always opt –out, if you don’t like what you see.
At the other end of the spectrum sits THRED UP an online jumble sale of 35,000 acceptable brands . This site’s motto might be: “give me your tired your poor your yearning to be free .“ The offering is a little complicated but also tempting when it comes time to spring clean. They send you a really cute big bag with a pre-paid label, and they do the rest: photograph, list and ship. If you don’t like the prices they assign your cast-offs, which can be anywhere from 25 cents for an Old Navy tee to $131.99 for a Kate Spade satchel, you do have a short window to re-price your items. Sometimes they buy your stuff outright and pay accordingly and sometimes you must wait until it sells. If it doesn’t sell it is recycled responsibly. You are paid
Up to a 90% commission but you’ll need an MA In accounting to check the math.
