How to Sell Old Clothes for Money

Need some extra cash? Check out these tips on how to sell old clothes for money.

If you’re looking for ways to make some extra money, consider cleaning out your closet. Just imagine: All those things you buy that you never get around to wearing could be turned into cash, not to mention free up precious closet space.

It’s true that compared to items like electronics clothes may have a relatively low resale value, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still make some decent cash. One thing to note is to not just think about selling old clothes. The following websites and stores are great places to look into if you want to sell old clothes.

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THREDUP

When you sell your old clothes with ThredUp, you’ll send them your clothes free via FedEx or UPS in a ThredUp Clean Out Bag and receive up to 80% of your clothing’s value (they take a 20% cut and do the selling work for you). Payouts are given in the form of shopping credits or PayPal payments. If an item is received but not accepted, you can either choose to have it given away to charity or pay a $12.99 shipping fee to get the item back.

MERCARI

With Mercari you can snap some pics of your clothing (they also allow you to sell a wide variety of homegoods too), upload to the app, and you're ready to sell. When someone purchases your item, you can even, "get a home pickup with your carrier so you never have to leave home." That's a simply way to make some extra cash without running extra errands.

POSHMARK

Poshmark is an online marketplace where you take pictures of your clothes with their built-in filters then list them on their website. That’s it. Your clothes are then added to one of their “parties.” Here people can browse and buy different clothing options organized in themes, i.e. boots, Vera Wang, blouses, etc. If any of your stuff sells, then they provide the shipping labels and cover the cost of all boxes under 5 pounds.

Here’s Poshmark’s commission structure, straight from their website (as of March 2016): “For all sales under $15, Poshmark takes a flat commission of $2.95. You keep the rest. For sales of $15 or more, you keep 80% of your sale and Poshmark’s commission is 20%.”

TRADESY

At 9%, Tradesy deducts the lowest commission from a sale that we’ve found. But that’s only if you decide to keep your sale money on Tradesy. If you want the money in your pocket, there is a 2.9% PayPal transfer fee added to Tradesy’s 9% commission. But even with a total of 11.9% taken off of a sale, Tradesy still puts more money in your pocket than most other online options.

Using Tradesy is easy too. Just take a picture of the piece of clothing you’re looking to sell and click post. Tradesy will then propose a price for your item, or you can set the price point at whatever you’d like. Once you’ve set the price, they will remove the background from your photo within 24-hours. That way your bag, belt or sundress looks great.

EBAY

eBay has fallen out of favor among some sellers in recent years due to seller fee hikes, but it’s still a great option for selling clothes, shoes, and accessories.

eBay’s price structure is favorable for clothing sellers because the first 100 auction-style listings you have are free and each additional item is $0.30 after that. Upon making a sale, you pay a 10% fee on the total price of the item, which is a considerably lower commission than many other clothing sales sites charge. For more advanced selling options, check out eBay’s selling policies.

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BUFFALO EXCHANGE

Buffalo Exchange is mostly a brick-and-mortar based company with locations around the United States. Selling with them can be useful for people looking to profit from their old clothes or possibly trade in their old clothes in exchange for another outfit. Buffalo Exchange doesn’t accept everything, but many of their items sell for an average of $15 according to their website, so it’s a good place to make a little cash from your old clothes.

LOCAL CLOTHING EXCHANGES

Do an internet search for stores in or near your city that buy and sell secondhand clothes. Sometimes these stores even have a considerable online presence, where they make more money than they do selling exclusively to local customers. So research different secondhand stores in your area and contact them regarding their rates and policies for the clothes you’re looking to sell.

GARAGE SALE

Worst-case scenario: None of the aforementioned options worked for you. It may not be glamorous, but hosting a garage sale one weekend may be your best bet. Clothes aren’t usually popular items in comparison to used sports and electronic equipment, but if you manage to find some buyers, you could still make a couple bucks off your old wardrobe.

GOODWILL / SALVATION ARMY

You may not get any cash for dropping off your clothes at the local Goodwill/Salvation Army, but your donations can be used as deductions come tax season, which can save you some money and possibly get you a larger tax return.

Clean Closet, Happy Wallet

If you’re tired of having an overflowing closet and an under flowing wallet, then by using some of these options you’ll be looking at a tidy closet and a flush bank account in no time.