Where can I sell a leather jacket in LA right now?
June 27, 2012 10:23 AM Subscribe
Where can I sell a leather jacket in LA right now? Is online or in store best?
I have a leather jacket I would like to sell for as much money as reasonably possible. I guess I could do eBay but I'm a little leery of that since I've never sold clothes (or anything) on it before.
A bit about the jacket: handmade nice leather from Argentina. About 13 years old. I have worn it approximately 15 times or less. Black, ladies size small, no discernible label.
I contacted Buffalo Exchange who said they weren't buying jackets right now. I imagine Crossroads will be the same, since they also purchase what's "in season."
I am not sure where to go from here. Any advice?
I have a leather jacket I would like to sell for as much money as reasonably possible. I guess I could do eBay but I'm a little leery of that since I've never sold clothes (or anything) on it before.
A bit about the jacket: handmade nice leather from Argentina. About 13 years old. I have worn it approximately 15 times or less. Black, ladies size small, no discernible label.
I contacted Buffalo Exchange who said they weren't buying jackets right now. I imagine Crossroads will be the same, since they also purchase what's "in season."
I am not sure where to go from here. Any advice?
You can generally sell things quickly, or for a lot of money, but rarely both. Clothing shops or pawn shops will probably take it off your hands for a few bucks, but if you want to maximize the amount of cash you get for it, you'll probably have to sell it on craigslist or something, and wait.
posted by xedrik at 1:06 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by xedrik at 1:06 PM on June 27, 2012
It has to be right now? If you want to get the most money, wait until the fall to sell this. You're just not going to get as much money if you sell out of season. If it's handmade/nearing vintage I'd try etsy. You might be able to get a good price for it there, it's easy to set up a shop and it will hardly cost you anything.
posted by Katine at 1:13 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Katine at 1:13 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
Have you looked at the prices for out-of-date, unbranded leather jackets on eBay? Unless there are exciting things about this particular coat, this is worth maybe $10. A junk shop with a clothing section might give you $5 for it.
The market for second-hand items is...well, lots of people have old leather jackets, and not a lot of people want old leather jackets, so that it was at one point probably expensive has stopped mattering; the supply exceeds demand here by such an order of magnitude that I don't know what to say. The best route to cash with this would likely be to teach yourself simple leatherworking and cut the coat up into change purses or some such. There's probably a better idea for "upcycling" it, but you get the idea. Thirteen years is a long time in clothing cuts nowadays.
If you could wait another month or two you would maybe find that consignment stores are taking jackets (they do here in Canada; not sure about LA), but outside of thrift store-type joints there aren't places that deal in much 13yo merchandise. It's old enough to be undesirable but too new to be "vintage" (and it's not saleable on Etsy; Etsy "old" requires the item to be at least twenty years old).
Craigslist would be the best route for the +/- $10 -- you could also try advertising it on Facebook if you use Facebook.
posted by kmennie at 2:49 PM on June 27, 2012
The market for second-hand items is...well, lots of people have old leather jackets, and not a lot of people want old leather jackets, so that it was at one point probably expensive has stopped mattering; the supply exceeds demand here by such an order of magnitude that I don't know what to say. The best route to cash with this would likely be to teach yourself simple leatherworking and cut the coat up into change purses or some such. There's probably a better idea for "upcycling" it, but you get the idea. Thirteen years is a long time in clothing cuts nowadays.
If you could wait another month or two you would maybe find that consignment stores are taking jackets (they do here in Canada; not sure about LA), but outside of thrift store-type joints there aren't places that deal in much 13yo merchandise. It's old enough to be undesirable but too new to be "vintage" (and it's not saleable on Etsy; Etsy "old" requires the item to be at least twenty years old).
Craigslist would be the best route for the +/- $10 -- you could also try advertising it on Facebook if you use Facebook.
posted by kmennie at 2:49 PM on June 27, 2012
You could try Wasteland - my friend had pretty good luck there. But she was selling nice, nice stuff (designer dresses with the tags on). I went through a phase of trying to sell my clothing, and I was quite disappointed by the experience. I had a pair of barely worn Ferragamo shoes, and the highest offer I got for them was $14. (I tried Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads, and a few other places that I don't remember).
posted by ablazingsaddle at 2:54 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by ablazingsaddle at 2:54 PM on June 27, 2012
Wasteland really depends. No label, and not actually vintage (ie: not a pair of, say, groovy plaid bell bottoms), I don't think they'll take it, especially in summer. I really don't think anywhere that would buy this will want it right now.
I've had good experiences selling clothes on eBay, but they were never worn, tags-on, designer brands. Something that's not branded is hard to sell on eBay because SO many people are selling SO much stuff on there, and you will get lost in the shuffle.
I second Craigslist if you really want to unload it now, but waiting until fall will possibly get you some cash at Wasteland or Crossroads.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 4:56 PM on June 27, 2012
I've had good experiences selling clothes on eBay, but they were never worn, tags-on, designer brands. Something that's not branded is hard to sell on eBay because SO many people are selling SO much stuff on there, and you will get lost in the shuffle.
I second Craigslist if you really want to unload it now, but waiting until fall will possibly get you some cash at Wasteland or Crossroads.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 4:56 PM on June 27, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! This is exactly the kind of information I wanted.
posted by Temeraria at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2012
posted by Temeraria at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by exogenous at 10:32 AM on June 27, 2012