Where to buy and sell used clothing in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
August 27, 2010 2:18 PM   Subscribe

Where to buy and sell used clothing in Manhattan or Brooklyn?

I'm only in the city part of the year and realized today I had a bunch of older (but decent) men's clothing to get rid of. So I Googled around and found a few places near Park Slope. Long story short, the proprietors of all three places were pretty outright dismissive toward the idea of buying my old clothes, all of which are decent quality and medium-fashionable. And after these interactions, I had no desire to sell them anything anyway...

So, I realized, I don't know where the middle ground is in NYC for buying/selling used clothes that are decent and interesting without it being on the snooty Park Slope end of the spectrum or the ill-fitting, threadbare Salvation Army end of the spectrum.

Judging by my Park Slope experience, I should just give away my clothes instead of selling them. What's a decent place to do that and also find decent threads for a mid-30s guy who isn't too unhip?
posted by deern the headlice to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Did you try Beacon's Closet?
posted by Magnakai at 2:34 PM on August 27, 2010


Buffalo Exchange buys, sells, and trades used clothing. I've see a lot of brand-name stuff there, so I'd say it's more like a thrift store than a vintage store. Might be up your alley- I don't pick up a snotty vibe there.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 3:20 PM on August 27, 2010


Seconding Beacon's Closet but they are super picky.
posted by spec80 at 3:42 PM on August 27, 2010


Best answer: I've used both Beacon's Closet and Buffalo Exchange in the past. In fact, I usually time my selling so that I can bring a big load around to Beacon's on N. 11th in Williamsburg, then bring whatever they don't take to Buffalo over on N. 5th. Whatever's left over after that goes in Buffalo's charity bin.

Beacon's is selective in a weird way that makes no sense to me at all. I've dropped off a wide selection of stuff from vintage/designer things that are very much in style and in the season they're currently buying for, only to have them rejected. And then they will take a ratty old t-shirt from Target. I have had pretty good luck, overall, in terms of the amount of money/credit that has resulted from all of this. Once I made over $50 and I'm pretty sure they only took a couple of things, none of which were mega sought after items. My only assumption at this point is that the buyers have to be high.

Do not ever leave behind anything "to be donated" at Beacon's Closet. It's widely known that by "donate" they mean, like, to them. For sale. Right there in the store.

Buffalo Exchange is a little more together. They buy about the stuff you'd expect them to buy, and the amount of money is in keeping with what you'd expect. They're usually willing to go through it in front of you, if you want.
posted by Sara C. at 4:04 PM on August 27, 2010


I have found that Beacon's Closet is even more picky about men's clothing than they are for women's. They are certainly either high, or evil - expecting you to "donate" everything they've rejected.

Buffalo Exchange is far better.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 11:43 PM on August 27, 2010


Response by poster: Yeah, Beacon's was one of the places I visited and got nothing but bad vibes. Then went to read reviews on Yelp (I think) and found much more of the same.

Thanks, heading to Buffalo Exchange today.
posted by deern the headlice at 10:18 AM on August 29, 2010


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