Help empty my closet

May 19, 2005 6:58 AM

What's the best place / way to sell my quality but no-longer-wanted clothing in the Boston area? Craigslist? eBay? Consignment shops? I'm curious about how I can get the most money possible.

My closet is only 22" wide, so I'm selling a lot of the clothes I just don't wear very often that've been hanging around. These are mostly things like: nice slacks, sportcoats, dress shirts, etc. There are a lot of stores I can go to--anyone have any personal experience doing this in Boston?

posted by josh to work & money (6 comments total)

I once sold a closet-load of nice men's clothing (suits, ties, pants, coats, sportscoats) to Keezers on River St. in Cambridge and was happy with what they gave me for them. This was several years ago (pre-Craigslist), though, and I chose them mostly because they were in my neighborhood.
posted by TimeFactor at 8:26 AM on May 19, 2005

I have tried without success to sell clothing on craigslist, and in browsing the clothing section of Seattle craigslist I have seen the same items re-listed over the course of several weeks. YMMV - the Boston craigslist clothing section may be more (or even less) active.

I would recommend selling the nicer pieces on eBay - especially anything with a "designer" label and/or in good to like-new condition - in theory, you should be able to get a better price than you would out of a consignment shop. However, the consignment store might be able to sell pieces that you can't sell on eBay, so that's something to consider as well.
posted by salad spork at 9:58 AM on May 19, 2005

I can't help you with your local resellers, but I can help you with Ebay.

First thing to do is go to Ebay and search for the same clothing that you have. Do an "advanced" search and look for "closed" auctions. This will tell you how much you can expect to get for your clothing.

Selling on Ebay can be very time consuming. You'll have to take good pictures of each item. A good picture is one that show details and accurate color. Look at the pics in the clothing auctions to get an idea of a good pic. Then you have to create a listing. You can use Ebay's free listing service. Most buyers/sellers on Ebay use Paypal, so you need one of those accounts. Once an item sells you have to package it and take it to the PO to ship. This can be time consuming. Make sure that you determine accurate shipping costs before you make the listing.

Then there are the fees. You have to pay Ebay a fee for listing each auction and a percentage of the price when an item sells. You also have to pay Paypal a fee when auction payments are sent to you.

If it were me and I could sell the clothes to a used clothing stor in my area and I could get 50%+ of what I could get selling on Ebay, I would sell to the reseller. It's a lot less work.

On Preview: If you have any items that are very expensive, unique or collectable, (Ralph Lauren Black Label, Pucci tie, etc) selling on Ebay will probably get you more money.
posted by Juicylicious at 10:11 AM on May 19, 2005

When I lived in Boston, there was a good consignment shop on Newbury St. I believe it was called "Second Time Around" or something like that. I would guess that you'll probably make more money selling on Newbury St. than most other neighborhoods. I picked up a very nice tuxedo for $100 there, but I am a weird size and I bet it was priced to sell.
posted by lackutrol at 11:55 AM on May 19, 2005

If the clothes are clean, recent, and in good conditon, you could try Second Time Around. They have locations on Newberry Street and Harvard Square. You have to make an appointment to bring in your clothes, and since it's consignment, you don't get paid until things sell. Also, they drop their prices the longer something has been in the store, so you have better luck if you bring in clothes that are seasonally appropriate.
posted by SobaFett at 11:57 AM on May 19, 2005

Try The Garment District. I haven't sold / bought anything there, personally, but I have friends that have.
posted by bshort at 12:11 PM on May 19, 2005