I”m not sure about everyone else, but the fresh Spokane bursts of sunshine have inspired me to clean out my closets and switch out my winter clothes for my summer and spring ware. As I was loading up my closet, I realized how many sweaters I never wore this season, and was looking at some of the spring gear which, I knew was something that would not fit with some winter weight I’d added on.
By the end of the transition, I had a Rubbermaid tub filled with clothes I wanted to get rid of. I had a hard time considering donating these classics to Goodwill, because many of them were perfectly good clothes that I’d hardly worn and would like to get some money out of.
Plato's Closet is a great place to seek out the newest trends, or even inspiration with the quirky displays, constantly changing within the stores.
I’ve heard ads for a store called Plato’s Closet where they take gently used clothing for resale. There is an ethical, earth conscious argument for supporting such stores in that clothes aren’t wasted after only being worn a few times. I definitely agree with this. However, resale stores like Plato’s Closet and Fringe & Fray work by weeding out some of the scuzzier used clothing, and pull out the fashionable, in-style clothes and sell them for a small percentage of what they originally were.
I brought my bin to Plato’s Closet to see what they would take. I expected, since most of my clothes were new, had no stains, weren’t worn or frayed, and some even had tags on them, that I’d be able to either trade them for newer clothes, or get cash for my trade in.
These are the standards for Plato’s Closet Trade ins:
- Bring in gently used clothing, preferrably name brand
- The buyers in the store will review the clothes and find which are useable for the store. They accept all sizes and clothes for all seasons (meaning they’ll buy your sweaters, even in August).
- The buyer will then create an offer based on which clothes they’ll take based on the current styles and what stock the store can handle.
- Generally offers increase by 10 percent if you’re willing to take in-store credit instead of cash.
When I brought my big tub of clothes in, I walked around the store finding some cute new sundresses, shoes and light jackets that were in style and much cheaper than if I’d bought them new. Sometimes, Plato’s Closet will have clearance racks; these are pure gold in value. I found some fantastic Tommy Hilfiger and Nordstrom brand shirts and skirts for $2 each.
I left the store with clothes that were new to me and in great condition.
Unfortunately, in my whole tub of clothes, the buyer only pulled out six items because many of my clothes were “too dressy,” “not geared to a teen audience” or “not in style anymore.” It stung. It was frustrating too because I only had $17 to spend on the rest of the clothes I’d picked up.
If I would have looked on Plato’s Closet’s website and sorted through my clothes to seek out the Most Wanted Items, I probably could have saved some time. Still though, I walked out of the store with five new items after trading in six.
Dime Days 