Let’s start with your fashionable closet. Most people will read a magazine and become quickly obsessed with the latest items in fashion. The best cure for this illness is to go through your closet. First you must pull out anything you can sell. Do not limit yourself to only your closet; you should look through your books, movies, electronics and collectables. Determining what is to be sold is easier if you put it all in a pile. This pile should be made over the course of a few days. After you have completed your pile you should come back in two to three days with a cold drink or snack because you may be here for a while. Begin to look through your items and decide if you really still want the things or if you would rather trade them in for something else.
When you have made your definite pile of cast offs the next step is joining an online auction site such as www.eBay.com . List all your items on this site that are profitable through auction and watch your money grow! Listing your items can at times be confusing but remember that you can always read selling tips on the site. Another reminder is to make sure you set your shipping to cover the costs of the product because if your item sells for a small amount you may not make any money because you will use it to cover shipping.
Next you should find a second hand store that gives you money for your used items. Stores such as Plato’s Closet are very handy for these types of adventures. Plato’s closet is a store that takes brands such as American Eagle and Abercrombie and Fitch, purchased within that year. If you look online you will most likely find many similar stores in your neighborhood. These stores are great for getting rid of items that are not great sellers on auction sites.
Once you have taken your clothing to a second hand store see what is left in your pile. If you have another second hand store available try your luck with it to make a few more dollars. When you have sold everything that will sell then you should re-evaluate the situation and see if you‘d like to keep anything that was unsellable. If not then you should try to make a trade of these things with friends or family or take them to Goodwill. Remember keeping these items is just going to clutter your closet because you really didn’t want to keep them anyways!
Now that you have collected the cash you made into your bank account, piggy bank or vintage Fendi bag box under your bed, you have some options. The first option you will have is to take it all to a luxury store and walk out with a dinky little carrier bag that really doesn’t satisfy your need to shop. The second option you have is to shop for smaller priced items. The best ways to get the most for your small amount of money are www.ebay.com, consignment shops and vintage shops.
EBay is a great resource for those who want to find rare or inexpensive items. This site also can be very addicting so one should always take precautions when buying. One of the best things about the site is that you can watch up to two hundred items at once so that you can determine which items are best to purchase. The site specializes in many different things. Luxury goods and vintage items are perfect for the fashionista. The best sections to shop in are the vintage areas such as vintage Louis Vuitton. Often sellers are able to give you lower prices than regular merchandise because the items are a bit older and maybe have been used more. Although these items are older and well used they often are more fun because they have past experience and have personality.
Consignment shops are the next spot to shop on our list. Consignment shops sometimes are easy to find and sometimes difficult to find. The best way to locate them in your town is to do an online search. Often your friends will not know where they are and if they don’t know then don’t tell because this will be your secret hot spot for cheap clothes! If you are lucky you will find a store that is higher class. Often times after searching around the area you will find a location that resells designer clothes. These can be great places to find pieces from designers like Diane Von Furstenburg, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen. Most of the consumers who can actually afford to buy these items on a regular basis also get rid of these items on a regular basis, so keep your eyes open for consignment shops!
Vintage shops can be another place to find great items. Have you ever noticed or heard your grandmother say “Everything in fashion comes back around”? Well this is one hundred percent true and vintage shops can get your foot in the door on “new” fashions. Vintage stores like consignment stores also should be kept secret so that you will not have to fight with a friend over who gets to buy the 1960’s YSL suit. Looking online is the best way to find these places. Most are stores that buy out estate sale clothing and accessories. These kinds of places can be exactly what you need to freshen up your closet collection. Just be careful that the purchase you make can be dry cleaned and will not fall apart while you are wearing it!
Now that you have new items in your closet you should give yourself a round of applause. Not only did you get rid of items but you replaced these items for practically free! This is a three step process that you can go through every season; find, sell, shop.
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