Has the market for secondhand kids clothes totally dried up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Bethesda neighborhood people just give things away. Nobody wants to deal with the work of washing, sorting, photographing, dealing with emails. Not worth it for the money. Either people donate to a charity or give to neighbors to reuse. In my former Moco neighborhood,, which is less wealthy and where I'm still on some lists everybody sells everything still. Guess they value money more and time less.

+1 I live in a rich neighborhood and no one sells children’s clothes, it’s all on Buy Nothing.

Why are rich people doing buy nothing groups? I mean other than self righteousness.

To have people come and get their stuff instead of having to drive to goodwill. Convenience is king. I do it too.

[Anonymous]

This 100%!! The asking prices for used clothes and sometimes toys is hilarious on FB Marketplace. Especially when you can find a lot for $1 or less at a thrift store. Or pay and have guaranteed purchase, shipping, use a credit card, etc thru RealReal or Poshmark. When I buy thru FB I do prefer to buy kids stuff through FB groups specific to the product and prefer shipping or someone on my daily commute.

Anonymous wrote:I buy secondhand but have found people listing on neighborhood listservs/Facebook marketplace have unreasonable expectations for secondhand clothes (like people expecting 80% or more of the original price). I don’t bother reaching out when people are charging too much bc I’m not interested in haggling over email — it is a lot easier for me to go to someplace like Poshmark or the RealReal to find significantly discounted high end/designer clothes and then have it shipped to me directly (rather than also having to travel to someone across town). For the most part now, I buy clothes on Poshmark and only do Fbook marketplace for things too large to ship - strollers, furniture, etc. Occasionally I go consignment shops.

I know the rates for all of those are much lower bc there is a middle man taking a cut - so either you can try your luck there or try cutting the prices you are listing on Fbook. Those places have the added bonus of convenience, which Facebook marketplace is not for buyers. But I think you should manage your expectations of what people want to pay for those items — I personally would never spend more that $5-15 per item, especially not for HA. Between online shopping and people giving away free clothes on neighborhood listservs, it doesn’t make sense for me to buy used clothing at $20+. Hope that is helpful!

[Anonymous]

I have a toddler and an infant and I don’t think Boden and HA are the go-to expensive brands anymore. They kind of fall in the same category as Gap. I see Patagonia, North Face, Little English, TBBC (and other “heirloom” brands), KissyKissy, Luigi, Pink Chicken, and others are worth the resale now I imagine.

[Anonymous]

People asking way too much money. Like $20 for crocs that clearly had a summer of heavy wear. And they won't accept bargaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Bethesda neighborhood people just give things away. Nobody wants to deal with the work of washing, sorting, photographing, dealing with emails. Not worth it for the money. Either people donate to a charity or give to neighbors to reuse. In my former Moco neighborhood,, which is less wealthy and where I'm still on some lists everybody sells everything still. Guess they value money more and time less.

+1 I live in a rich neighborhood and no one sells children’s clothes, it’s all on Buy Nothing.

Why are rich people doing buy nothing groups? I mean other than self righteousness.

First, despite being “rich”, I don’t waste money. There is no reason to buy something new if someone is giving it away barely used (or sometimes new with tags).

Second, I gift because I don’t want to drive to Goodwill and I like the idea of these items getting a second life with someone who will love them like I did — much of what is sent to Goodwill ends up in landfills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Bethesda neighborhood people just give things away. Nobody wants to deal with the work of washing, sorting, photographing, dealing with emails. Not worth it for the money. Either people donate to a charity or give to neighbors to reuse. In my former Moco neighborhood,, which is less wealthy and where I'm still on some lists everybody sells everything still. Guess they value money more and time less.

+1 I live in a rich neighborhood and no one sells children’s clothes, it’s all on Buy Nothing.

Why are rich people doing buy nothing groups? I mean other than self righteousness.

Sustainability, convenience, and amusement. Its nice to get rid of stuff and know that other people enjoy it. The only other options are the throw it away which is just so wasteful you feel guilty, or drop at goodwill which can be a pain.

[Anonymous]

I buy most of my kids’ nicer items from online consignment stores like Mercari, Kidizen and Poshmark. There's a lot of inflated prices but for the really cute, unique or heirloom quality items, the sellers know the market.

But I have noticed that items are not getting scooped up as quickly as they used to. A year ago, if I sat on a Beaufort Bonnet or Proper Peony item for a day or two, it would get sold before I could go back to it. Now I see more items sitting or getting sold at lower prices.

I had big plans to resell some of the good items. I’d like to get some money “back” and I like the idea of good items being worn again. It’s nice to know that someone got a good deal (I know I’m grateful for those $30 picture perfect holiday dresses that retail for $100)…but now that I actually have to start posting them, I don’t see myself putting in the work.

[Anonymous]

I used to sell in size lots on FB marketplace, but only locally as I didn’t want to deal with shipping or taking individual pictures. I’d take one of two pictures of all the clothes laid out. Some were unworn and others more so. The average price of the clothes was about $1/piece, so a bag would be about $25-$30 for a season of clothes.

When I started, things sold very quickly. Now they just sit there. They don’t even seem to get views.

[Anonymous]

All our gently used items go to a local kid’s charity, aside from niche items like racing swimsuits which we give away on buy nothing. Most parents I talk to do the same thing. The bulk of my kids’ wardrobes are new, but we’re happy to take hand me downs from friends/buy nothing or shop at a good thrift shop. I don’t have any interest in investing a lot of time in selling, especially since there’s a great charity that puts those clothes to good use.

For my own clothes I mostly buy from Thred Up and use a rental subscription service for work clothes.

[Anonymous]

I think it has. My kids are in high school and I shopped at the two consignment stores in Kensington, the one in Bethesda, and once in awhile the one near Tysons until they outgrew the stores. As they got older there were less good items but Covid really just killed the stores and only one is still open. But, even that store has very few good items anymore. And, even what used to be higher end clothes are not as well made anymore it seems.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s harder to sell stuff now that buy nothing and other free groups have proliferated.
I used to sell HA and Boden on specific resale Facebook pages. I also bought from those pages. Stuff has to be priced right.

[Anonymous]

I used to buy a ton on the FB resale pages, especially Lilly, Boden, WDW and Boutique Brands. But as people above mentioned, things aren't selling for what they used to and it isn't worth the fight if people find a flaw you missed and demand money back etc. The shipping and demanding buyers stress me out! I sell at Blossoms and Buds in Arlington now. I don't get the full price like I would on FB, but the ability to just drop it off and forget about it is a lot more appealing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Bethesda neighborhood people just give things away. Nobody wants to deal with the work of washing, sorting, photographing, dealing with emails. Not worth it for the money. Either people donate to a charity or give to neighbors to reuse. In my former Moco neighborhood,, which is less wealthy and where I'm still on some lists everybody sells everything still. Guess they value money more and time less.

+1 I live in a rich neighborhood and no one sells children’s clothes, it’s all on Buy Nothing.

Why are rich people doing buy nothing groups? I mean other than self righteousness.

Buy nothing groups have nothing to do with how much money you have. It’s not a charity group. It’s about gifting within your community.

There’s nothing self-righteous about it. If I have an item that I wish to give away, I can do so within my own community and keep it out of a landfill.

[Anonymous]

Kidizen’s prices are hilarious, but once you get a relationship with a few good sellers (and there’s only a few) you get into the 5nwt leggings for $25 deals which is what makes it worth it to shop there.

Local consignment is much easier and helps explain to little kids the concept of recycling and avoiding waste.

[Anonymous]

I put everything on our listserv for free but I sometimes buy dresses for weddings and such on Poshmark.

I just don’t need that much Boden stuff and everything from HA we wear into the ground. I don’t like to have a lot of kid clothes that require special laundry of any kind.

When I have more special hand me downs like wool sweaters and good coats I usually give them to friends and family.