sell sell sell
the more you sell, the more room you have in your closet for vintage goodies like these scarf dresses I found at Pickwick Vintage Fair.
Here are my pro-thrifter tips for selling IRL at my three favorite places to thrift shop in Los Angeles. (FYI each store requires a state ID and for you to be over 18) I’ll cover selling online in my next post, and probably break it down by each selling platform as there is A LOT to cover. I’ve been selling online since 2015 and have learned so many helpful gems I can’t wait to share with you but here’s the lowdown on how to successfully sell your old closet loves to secondhand stores and make room for new ones.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU SELL AT:
WASTELAND - Appointment Needed: No! They currently buy from 12-6pm in store. Here’s their complete selling guide
WHAT YOU MAKE: 35% of the total marked price of each piece. Always ask them what they’re pricing the piece at. You can occasionally see if they can price it a bit higher, reserve this trick for higher end garments that you’re not the most desperate to part with but just don’t love or need anymore. Any buying appointment that totals over $50 in payout, they write you a check for on the spot.
I’m starting this off from the bougiest place to sell to the most chill, and Wasteland is at the top of this list for a reason. First off, check out my reel of my most recent experience (March 2021) at Wasteland on Melrose. Its hands-down, my favorite thrift store on the West Coast. If someone offered me a $1k spending spree here, I could easily burn through it. Beacon’s Closet in NYC is a spot where I could also do some damage at. Wasteland is the more luxe side of thrift stores, especially the Melrose location. The Sherman Oaks one is great too but its considerably smaller and pretty far from me. It’s probably the coolest place I’ve shopped in as they have music blasting, extremely stylish people working the register (that look like they all go to art/fashion school or are in a band), and items on the racks that range from $25-$3000+.
I’ll be honest, selling here is a bit trickier. I’m an experienced seller both IRL and online yet, I always feel like I’m entering a Level 7 of selling but when I’m trying to unload my old bougie & designer pieces that I either bought at an extreme discount or am just 100% over and need the space in my closet. I downgraded from a walk in to move in with my boyfriend so I have extremely limited space to house my thrift store gems. I recently got offered $70 for my old Louboutin mules which retail for that with a zero added to the end. I obviously passed on that but sold an AREA NYC dress, For Love & Lemons, Reformation, Flynn Skye, and Stone Cold Fox pieces there recently. They buy vintage (20’s - 90’s), trendy, and modern brands as well as all kinds of higher end and luxury garments but can be extremely picky. Their website says they buy “fashion forward” pieces so keep that in mind when pulling things to sell.
When they only take 5-7 pieces from your bag of 30, don’t take it personally. They usually give a general explanation of why they passed on the other pieces. It could be that they have similar styles already in store or that the style your selling is too old and not on trend right now (I’ve been told this many times). Wasteland inventory thrives on being highly-curated so the cut, color, fabric, and condition (cleanliness and no damage) of your clothes is all being considered when they buy. Basically, if you’ve got pieces in your closet that fit the criteria I stated above, and you’re not someone who’s easily offended, take a large tote bag there and get some cash.
CROSSROADS TRADING - Appointment Needed: Yes & No. It’s better if you make an appointment ahead of time as a lot of people are also thinning out their closet right now and these stores can get backed up. Someday’s you’ll get lucky and can drop off you clothes to sell while you shop in store. You can also sell by mail or drop it off for them to go through and choose to pick up or donate whatever they don’t take to a local charity like Goodwill or American Veteran’s Thrift Stores. Here’s their complete selling guide
WHAT YOU MAKE: 50% in store credit or 30% cash for non consignment items
It took a few years of selling here to learn what to bring and what to drop off at Goodwill but IMO they’re great about telling you what they didn’t take and why. I’ve sold here maybe a dozen times because I prefer to sell on Poshmark to control pricing and pocket most of the money myself. But when things don’t move online and I need to make space asap, I bring my gently used cute things to Crossroads. They’re really big on clean items, name brands, on trend pieces, non damaged clothing, and most of all seasonally relevant pieces. If you’re bringing in luxury designer shoes, bags or accessories they’ll consign them most of the time. Just make sure they fit the criteria I stated above. These are the items that are displayed behind the registers and they pay you when it sells. I’ve seen consignment pieces priced anywhere from $65-$3000 (yes really). It ranges what you take home of that sale but they’ve got a pretty decent pay out structure for your nicer luxury items.
Big insider “I-might-have-a-thrifting-problem” tip: If you’re ready to make a day of it, bring your bag of Spring cleaning to different stores on the same day. I recently tried this technique for myself and earned $115 in store credit. I always take store credit because I shop at Crossroads, QUITE A BIT and they always offer 20% more in store credit. Make an appointment for at least one of these spots and bring whatever one store doesn’t take to the next store. I’ve only hit up two stores in a row to do this but you could easily do 3 if you’re bored and willing to try it out.
BUFFALO EXCHANGE - Appointment Needed: Yes! You can also sell by mail if you’re not down to sell IRL yet. Here’s their complete selling guide
WHAT YOU’LL MAKE: 25% of each items selling price in cash via PayPal or 50% in store credit.
They’re a lot more chill about what they take and as a frequent shopper, I can attest to seeing all kinds of cool things in store. Like the rest of these stores, they buy men’s and women’s clothes and accessories in excellent conditions. Unlike Wasteland & Crossroads, they buy for all seasons, all year long. They love designer, vintage and new labels. Hanging on the racks are dresses, cute/clean/cool shoes, plus sizes, rad menswear, wardrobe staples like denim, band tees, chic and cozy sweaters & jackets and on and on. Jewelry, bags, and hats are also in abundance. Basically, bring in the things you’re no longer in love with in your closet as long as they’re things you’d buy if you saw them hanging on a rack yourself. If anything is dirty, broken, stained or damaged, bring it to H&M to recycle (the one good thing this fast fashion company is good for IMO). Their website says it best, “When in doubt, put it in the bag!”. Their payouts aren’t incredibly high so if you’re looking to make that money honey, selling online yourself is the best way to go. But if you’re down to thin out your closet and make the world a better place right now, bring it all to Buffalo.
MAIN TAKEAWAY: Only bring clothes you’re not desperate to get rid of and if they take them, great. If they don’t, you have plenty of options to sell online, donate to a worthy cause or recycle them in a garment collecting program.
ONE LAST THING: In regards to selling your vintage items, there are tons of places all over LA, but Burbank has some of the best. The only place I’ve really loved selling and buying from is Play Clothes Vintage in Burbank, CA. I took my grandma’s older clothing there that either didn’t fit me or wasn’t my style. She also had a ton of hats that they ended up buying from me, I think it was about 16 for $200~. If you’re looking for OG thrifted gems, take a trip here!
