2022 Resale Report: My Top Tips for Making Coin off Your Closet

New Year? New Closet!

Can you believe we are nearly two years deep into COVID? You know how they say “If you haven’t worn it in a year, it’s time to purge?” Well, you haven’t worn most of your wardrobe in two years and you’re officially out of excuses.

The first step, organize & purge your wardrobe. Here’s your closet cleanout guide.

Next, let’s make some coin off your closet! If you are a newbie to fashion resale, now is a great time to jump into the secondary marketplace. Driven by COVID, increased awareness by sustainably minded Gen Z shoppers and a multitude of easy to use resale platforms, the circular fashion movement is having a much needed moment.

I've learned a lot from my experience as a former successful reseller. While there is a market for your purge pile, but you might be surprised by what actually has value (and if trying to sell it all yourself is even worth your time). Check out my top resale do's and don'ts below.

DO: Get Excited About Resale

The secondary market is projected to double in size over the next 5 years, reaching $77B in sales and outpacing the retail sector by 11x by 2025.

DON'T: Assume Resale is “Easy” Money

Resale requires an investment in time, energy, and resources. There are several steps to the resale process. Think: pricing, photography, copywriting, communication & shipping costs. There are resale platforms that will do all of the work for you in exchange for a lower return and others that pay a higher percentage on sales but require a lot of effort on your end.

DO: Front Load with High Value

Items high in value, return, and demand are perennial money makers. You’d be surprised by how much money you can make off of only a few high ticket items. (Keep this in mind when we get to the part about reselling clothes).

When selling high value DO: Partner with Resale Platforms that Authenticate and have a customer base familiar with current market value so you don’t waste your precious time trying to prove your items are real and validating their price tag.

Here are my top 3 high value, high return resale categories in 2022:

Premier designer & marquee VINTAGE handbags are ROI heavyweights. Rising interest in vintage handbags from Gen Z and millennial shoppers has driven up prices for most-wanted vintage handbags at a rate well above more recent versions. The highest earners: Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes. Trending up: Prada and Christian Dior

Unbranded Fine Jewelry - In 2021, 14K - 24K jewelry was the hottest resale “brand” after Gucci and is literally “worth its weight in gold,” no matter how outdated. The current gram weight is: $58
Streetwear + Sneakers - High-value sneaker consignors grew +383% YOY, with Off-White, Jordan, Nike collabs and Yeezy + Adidas earning the highest returns. Why? Scarcity, collectors and the rise of designer streetwear. I can’t think of a better example of how Covid proved its cool to be comfy.

DON'T: Get Price-Sensitive About Apparel

Clothes are not an investment.

There is a glut of fast fashion inventory in our closets and the resale space. Apparel adds up at scale, but on a piece by piece basis, it recoups a fraction of the original MSRP - even if it has tags. Worst offenders: Occasion dresses. An Alice + Olivia dress that retails for $495 will earn about $40 at resale. EVEN IF IT HAS TAGS.

DON’T: Overlook Donation as a money-making proposition. The IRS deduction value of clothes and shoes in good condition rivals what you’ll earn at resale, it’s a lot less work, and it's for a good cause.

DO: Commit to Buying Resale

You can land up to 90% savings off original retail. On the secondary market you can score a pair of $295 MSRP Frame jeans for $50! That’s less than what you would pay at a fashion fashion retailer for a low value dupe.

Buying second hand reduces a garments carbon footprint by up to 82%. Learn more here. The fashion industry is one of the world’s top polluting industries at a time when climate change is threatening the planet. The reason? Fast fashion. Shopping second-hand helps save on the natural resources that go into making a new garment and keeps a piece of clothing out of the landfill. You get higher quality, designer items for cheap. You’ll often find unique, vintage pieces that can define your personal style.

Look at resale as an intentional replacement for impulse shopping. For the money you spend on a closet of fast fashion, you could curate high quality, capsule wardrobe of unique pieces with little to no impact on the planet. Think: Less but better.

Check out this years The Real Real Consignment report for the latest info and inspo.