ISO advice - best way to max resell profit on brand clothing

[Anonymous]

After 2 kids, my body is totally different and I find myself inclined to pretty much empty a TON of clothing. My stuff is typically high quality - they are NOT name brands ie Farragamo shoes for example. In fact, I don't really own many pairs of shoes - this is ONLY clothing. Clothing including suits, business casual, daily wear and all seasons. Most pieces are from Anthropologie and other boutique places like Periwinkle in Alexandria for example. Some things are from Max Studio, Banana Republic, South Moon Under, etc. The brands include Spendid, Velvet, Vince, etc. The pieces are all classic so nothing is "out of fashion" and all are in excellent condition.

Here's the thing - I'd really really like (since currently I'm seeking a new job) to find a way to make more than $5 on a piece of this type of quality clothing. I know I can sell it on eBay - that would take a lot of effort/time/energy which I don't actually have since I have 2 little ones at home. I know I can take to consignment but I have A LOT of clothing and I'm trying to spare myself the visit to consignment and see if I can sell for more $ on my own via Craigslist for example - that has not gone too well however because I have so many pieces and again, lots of time/energy/effort/etc.

I'm wondering if I should just donate to charity and get a ton of receipts to add up so that come tax season, it would help us out that way? The stuff is REALLY NICE. I just don't fit into anything or have opportunity really to wear out in all reality My preference is to keep this as a last resort and seek other opportunities to try to sell for cash my stuff. We're talking about near new and a few totally new pieces that retail for $50-125 that I really would be happy to be getting $20-50 for.

I know there are a number of sites online that function similar to eBay but again, a lot of pictures/time/effort for maybe 100 pieces of clothing.

Any ideas for me to sell/give away but get just something out of it?

[Anonymous]

I think consignment is that way to go to maximize. You make one visit to the consignment shop and that's it (or 4 visits, go each season). Taking photos of it all would be too time consuming. However, expecting $20-50 per piece is unrealistic, but even with fees consignment can get you a decent amount. Maybe save some bigger pieces for ebay.

The only other option would be finding some sort of pop up consignment boutique where the fees might be lower. If some group organizes some sort of sale they might have lower fees. (I participate in a smaller kids clothing sale twice a year that gets me more than consigning - you still have to tag and organize everything). Not sure if anything like that exists. But it would be more work than consigning.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much PP.

What about the idea of receiving tax donations for everything I have?

[Anonymous]

PP here - I often wonder if tax donations is better. Am curious to see what others will say. You can google and get a guideline for how much you can deduct for various types of clothing. But, the gov't doesn't care about brands, so it's much lower per item than you might expect. Not recalling off hand, but I doubt any single piece would be more than $10. So you'd still have to document everything (5 shirts, 10 skirts, 2 suits, etc), but less burdensome.

I think cosigning gets you the cash in hand, and is probably your best bet. But I would lower expectations a little.

Years ago I used Secondi in Dupont - they gave a pretty good rate.

[Anonymous]

Have you checked out tradesy? I just got $60 for a pair of boots I bought for around $100. You do have to take pictures and describe the listing. And you have to price lower than you might want if you want it to sell anytime soon. But if it's new or perfect condition, that might be an option.

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that when you donate items you can only claim the amount of money that they will reasonably sell for... so suits might go for a bit more but shirts and pants (no matter the brand) would be about $5 each, definitely not more than $10.