Clothing Thrift/Consignment

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I know there are many places in Davis where one can bring old clothes to consign, sell, or donate. Which places are best for which type of clothing? (For example, is one better for designer and another for vintage-style? Hipster?) Any one(s) you'd recommend over the others in general? What are their processes like? [Who gives cash? Credit? Consigns? Need an appointment? How far ahead? That sort of thing.]

The collective wisdom of this community is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I know that as a shopper, I'd probably first go to Poor Little Rich Girl if I were looking for vintage clothes in Davis. I have never consigned anything, so I don't know about the process. When I donate old clothes, I donate them to Goodwill.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I know I can donate to Goodwill and have done that countless times, but I was thinking about exploring the new frontier (for me) of a bit of cash instead of the tax deduction. :)

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Ah, OK, I was thinking of "donation" as separate from selling.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

Also, is there any good place to bring good quality, barely used, women's shoes?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

That would be also be great to know.

[jadelennox]

I bring everything that's in good shape to the shelter in the basement of the Methodist Church on College Ave., right outside of Davis. (If you go up the side street and ring the doorbell on the side of the church, the shelter people will let you in.) I don't just bring them clothes but also anything that might be useful to people: good condition pots and pans, housewares, etc.

The trick with donating to a shelter is you want to make sure everything is in decent condition. No stains, rips, etc.

But the shelter makes sure everything gets to a good home.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Poor Little Rich Girl and Buffalo Exchange both sell lightly used shoes.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Not Davis, but I suggest trying the Garment District. Last weekend, I had just taken a bunch of clothes to the Second Chances donation box in Assembly Sq., and then I was in the GD later that afternoon going, "They would have LOVED that vintage-1992 J.Crew rollneck sweater here! Arrgh!"

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Good thought. It may be a matter of how lazy/mobile I'm feeling at any given point. :)

[acidgalore.livejournal.com]

At Buffalo Exchange you just show up with the items, they go over them and take the ones they like. And they give you a reason why they don't take the rest of them (e.g. "out of style")
They either pay you cash (30% of what they will sell them for) or give you store credit (I think it's 50% of the price they will sell for).
They tend to like hipster stuff and what's currently in fashion better. They take shoes too. Generally they are picky, but polite and pleasant.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Thank you, this is exactly the sort of info I was looking for. :)

[milkhoney.livejournal.com]

+1 for buffalo exchange. trading in my old clothes for newer, more current stuff is my new hobby. :D

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

My understanding (which may be wrong) is that Buffalo Exchange, as a chain, only wants clothes in women's sizes US 0-10; I know someone who had a very unpleasant experience at a Buffalo Exchange in another city when she brought in her sizes 12-16 clothes for resale.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I generally wear 10s and there's some stuff in the local Buffalo Exchange that's too big for me, although I am clearly near the top of the range of what they sell. (It's much more severe at PLRG, though, where suddenly I'm a large or extra-large in everything.)

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

The person I know was told that it was the chain policy not to take clothes over US size 10, but that may have been a misrepresentation by the manager of that particular store, who was a rude asshole.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I usually look for vintage, designer, and "nicer" stuff at Poor Little Rich Girl, and somewhat cheaper, contemporary stuff at Buffalo Exchange or Goodwill. BE is definitely down with hipsters, PLRG to a lesser extent. I have never consigned, but I think PLRG is more typical "consignment" in which you get part of the money when your clothes sell, where BE just buys the clothes from you (IIRC, they give you 30% of the "original value" of the clothes in cash, or 50% in store credit). Also, if it makes any difference to you, BE is (I believe) a national chain, where PLRG is not.

There is Artifaktori, which does have a smaller selection of vintage clothing, but I've only been in a handful of times. It's definitely a cool store, though.

Oh, and also, there's that newer Le Chic Boutique store near Sligo, but I don't know much about that place at all. I don't think they have clothing, though.

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

Buffalo gives you 30-50% of what they will sell it for, not the original value. :)

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

If you haven't looked at PLRG's consignment terms, they are here:
http://shoppoorlittlerichgirl.com/consignmentinformationhtml.html

Note especially the payment terms. I am a semi-regular consignor and shopper at PLRG, so I don't mind if I might have $30 hanging around in my account for several months until a./ I consign more stuff that sells and get my $50+ in the mail after the consignment period, or b./ I use my balance towards a purchase. Also, as a first-time consignor, you have to schedule an appointment, and I would not be surprised if they are booked through May at this point. But call and inquire, if you are interested.

I have also re-sold clothing at The Garment District with good results. I forget the cash-back percentage, but it's 50% store credit value.
http://www.garmentdistrict.com/sellyourclothes/

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

It might be easier to get an appointment at the Cambridge PLRG. That's what I did a few months back, and my stuff sold very well. Meredith is great to work with, too--friendly and professional, and my check came right on time. I have another round of things over there now and will bring more in when I next pick up my leftovers.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Indeed, I dropped off some stuff this afternoon, and the staff said they'd take my bag to the Cambridge store. (So whatever they pass on, I'll take it over to the Garment District...).

Meredith is very nice; I've been consigning with PLRG since the early days when the store was on Highland Ave, where Magpie is now.

[tracelina.livejournal.com]

One heads-up with PLRG, though (I don't know whether this applies to BE as well)--they won't look at anything that has been in a home with pets. I understand that this policy is for allergy-related reasons, which makes sense, but it's a good thing to know before you bring clothing in there (also a good reason to call ahead)...

my consignment system

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

This is how it works for me, and I completetly love that I can do this.

1- Bring clothes/shoes/hats to Poor Little Rich Girl first. If you haven't been there, you need to make an appointment, after that you can drop off any time the first 10 days of any month. They pay the most, but only if your items sell, and you do have to wait for payment. They tend to favor the nicest items I have.
2- Take back the items that were rejected from Poor/Rich Girl and walk across the street to Buffalo Exchange. They will assess and pay on the spot, no appointment necessary. It's low money. It's cash though! They tend to take the cheaper, more "youthful" trendy Tshirty stuff.
3 - Take Buffalo's rejects (now twice rejected) and walk another half-block down the street to drop off for donation at Goodwill and pick up a donation receipt!

It's totally ideal, especially if you like Poor Little Rich Girl. Any money I make there I keep in my account rather than cash, since you get 20% more for doing so and I can afford not needing the cash, plus I appreciate their choice and shop their frequently, so big win for me. Buffalo Exchange gives me a little extra coin in my pocket, and Goodwill takes the rest off my hands with a tax write-off as well. I love my system and feel really lucky to be able to mostly avoid mall stores and their prices!

Re: my consignment system

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

That is excellent!

Re: my consignment system

[borgin.livejournal.com]

This is exactly what I do. I always end up buying new (to me) clothes at PLRG with my store credit.

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

I've gotten the most money from the Garment District.

[tenshikurai9.livejournal.com]

I have similar concerns surrealestate, but I'm willing to wander to suggestions that go beyond Davis and isn't The Garment District. (I'm used to having to travel from the suburbs to Boston/Cambridge/Somerville to get what I want done.)

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

We've only had experience with PLRG and our experience has been ... not good. We've brought several batches of things to consign and never received a single penny or any "hey, your stuff didn't sell so we gave it away" kind of notification. It feels like dropping clothes off into a black hole. Also, the last time I went, I dropped off (since we had an account and they were very busy I dropped off and didn't watch the stuff get evaluated) and two cashmere sweater sets (new and with tags still on) were rejected. We checked the "donate items that you are not going to take" box on the contract but we never figured perfect-condition, current cashmere would get rejected. I'll spare you all my musings about the "plus size" rack at PLRG. Whoever thinks that there isn't a market for plus size retail, really needs to check out Re/Dress and the industry acclaim it's getting. Suffice to say, I think we've written off whatever money we hoped to get from PLRG and the next time we have clothes to sell, we'll be looking elsewhere.

credit

[plittlergirl.livejournal.com]

Hi On Reserve,

I am sorry you did not have a good experience consigning, but I would like to be able to give you your under $50 earnings...Just email me at plrgsomerville@gmail.com or you can come find me at our soon to be new location (which will also be in Somerville, but just need to firm up the details before I can say exactly where).

As far as plus size clothing goes, I would love to have a better selection, but honestly the good stuff sells fast and I am not offered it on as much as a regular basis.

Take care,
Meredith