The Best Clothing Brands to Resell

I've been reselling clothing on-line for more than 20 years. I started by selling my oldest son's outgrown baby clothes. Kids grow so quickly, that clothes purchased second-hand and worn by them, still had a lot of life left in them. It was a great way as a young couple to basically clothe our children for free for many years. Anything I paid for the clothes, I gained back in the reselling and then put into buying the next season of clothing. For years I only sold items we used personally, but I've since moved on to buying and reselling things I find at Goodwill Outlet and once garage sale season starts again, I'll start reselling items from there too. There are brands that sell well and brands that just aren't worth wasting your time on. Today I'm sharing the brands that I keep my eyes peeled for and you should too. These are the brands that have the best resell value and the ones that will sell quickly and easily so you aren't holding on to any inventory.

0

Brands for Resale that Just Don't Sell

One of the most common questions people ask me is how I know what brands to buy to resell them. So to all you resellers purchasing clothing brands to try to resell, you may be shocked to find the ones that make this list! One of the best places to start is by figuring out what brands not to buy. This is why I put together this list of not only the brands to avoid but the reasons why I pass them up every time I see them. Here are six brands that have little to no resale value.

0

Matthew 25 Challenge Day 4: Giving Versus Sacrifice

This week, things on the blog and on my social media are going to be looking a little bit different. It's because this week, we are being challenged together through the World Vision Matthew 25 Challenge. To learn more about the challenge, click here.

"...I needed clothes and you clothed me..." Today's challenge is to wear the same clothes that you wore yesterday.  Family challenge: spend some time going through each member in the family's closet and select a few nice items {clothes, toys, etc...} to give away. 

0

DIY Upcycle A Large Chalkboard Sign for Under $10!

My spell checker doesn't like the word upcycle, but it's one of my favorite words in all of my vocabulary. I had to look up the definition of upcycle because I wanted to make sure it wasn't just a word I made up and was hoping it would catch on. It's not. Upcycle: also known as creative reuse {side note, love that!}, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality {yep and yep} or for better environmental value. 

To be totally honest, the reason I upcycle is because I'm cheap. The environmental benefit {less waste in the landfill yadda yada} is just a good side effect of my cheapness. It's why I cloth diapered my kiddos. But I digress... This DIY upcycled chalkboard sign. It's huge. Like really big and I made it for under $10. If you want the real total it was really only $2, but I'm thinking if you want to make something similar, I would venture to guess that I could steer you in the right direction and you could DIY a large {and I'm telling you this is like 8-year-old child sized} chalkboard for under $10. Want to know how? Keep reading!

1

Goodwill Upcycles Lives: Taking Another Chance on the Thrift Store

Several years ago, I wrote a post titled "Is Goodwill too Expensive?" I got a lot of response from it on my blog and I was just reminded of it when I saw a sponsored Facebook post this past weekend. The sponsored post that was intended to get people to shop at their local Goodwill had people sharing some of their own thoughts {as one does on the internet}. It saw a handful of comments, some of which expressed the same sentiments I've thought. Things like "you get the stuff for free, why are you marking it up so much?" and "your merchandise is too expensive" and "I can get brand new stuff at my local Walmart or Target in the clearance section!" 
After the blog post that I wrote about Goodwill being too expensive, I pretty much stopped shopping at the regular Goodwill store altogether. {Side note: I did continue shopping at my local Goodwill Outlet because I do love a good treasure hunt and their pay by the pound prices were far more affordable I thought}. I was recently invited to an upcycle event with my local Goodwill and it was like this event was created just for me because I do love a good upcycle. That day, I learned that Goodwill upcycles more than just donated items.

I'm a firm believer in second chances, not only for donated items, but for people and places too. And after my recent visit, I'm ready to take another chance on Goodwill and here's why.

0

Easy Framed Sign Tutorial

You guys know how much I love to shop at thrift shops and garage sales. Heck, I even wrote a book about it.  You can usually pick up frames quite inexpensively {like for under a dollar}. There is usually an abundant supply of them in all shapes, sizes and colors.  I love the current wood frame sign trend and while you can make your own frame, I know I couldn't pick up the lumber for the frame for a quarter like I picked up each of the frames I used from the Goodwill Outlet. Curious about the Goodwill Outlet? Here's how you can shop if you are a first-timer. Love the sign trend? Keep scrolling for the full tutorial.

3

DIY Aged TerraCotta Pots

I love a good deal almost as much as I love a good before and after. It's even better when both come together and create a project I've been drooling over in the stores but haven't necessarily been able to pull the trigger to buy. There is far more satisfaction in creating something rather than purchasing a completed piece, and if I can do it on a budget, then it's a major bonus! I love the current farmhouse style trend and love being able to bring some living greenery inside and this project mixes both of those with an updated thrift store find. 

I do a lot of thrift store and garage sale shopping and while it's sometimes hard to get creative and see past the current state of an item, it's possible. I usually have to remind myself multiple times to look at the bones of something and get past the current color. In fact, color is one of the easiest things to change. I have a huge stash of spray paint in many different colors because it's such a quick transformation for so many items.

I found this hot pink wooden tray at my local second hand store. It looked like it had a bad spray paint job, but overall, it was an interesting shape and I knew I could look past the color since I could easily change it with some spray paint.

I love the look of an aged terracotta pot but not necessarily the price tag or the time it would take to create one, so I found a way to create my own DIY aged terracotta and I found that four pots would fit perfectly into my newly spray painted tray. 

0

How to Shop Goodwill Outlet. Tips to Make your First Experience Successful

Goodwill Outlet's are starting to pop up all over the place. {find a store near you} I have started going on a nearly weekly basis and I have found all kinds of treasures. Before you attempt your first trip, I have compiled a few things that you should know before you go.

This isn't your normal Goodwill store. You will have to dig. Bins are rolled out and filled to the Large bins are filled to the brim with anything from knives to teddy bears. Sometimes glass frames are put into the bins and then something heavy is loaded on top and before you know it, there is broken glass everywhere. In an attempt to dig to find that one thing you have to have but don't know what it is, you could have a close call with that broken piece of glass. Which is why tip number one is wear gloves.

2

Thrift shopping in Tacoma, Washington

Thrift shops in Tacoma, Washington

Last week, I went thrift shopping with my friend Mandi. You know, the Mandi from Persnickety's Awesomeness Emporioum. Earlier this year, Mandi and I visited the Goodwill outlet in Seattle for the first time. It was an experience! (Don't miss this post for tips on how to shop Goodwill Outlet for the first time!) I may or may not have gotten spoken to {in a loud voice} about following the rules of the Outlet and been threatened by the Goodwill security. Since hearing that they opened a Goodwill outlet a little closer to home in Tacoma, we decided we were going to go together to see how they compared. It took us about 6 months to schedule a day that worked for both of us. Yikes! Mandi needed to fill her shop, and I needed to find some bargains.
Here are a few of the Tacoma, Washington area places we shopped at.

1

Lessons Learned From My Time Working as a Goodwill Employee

When I was barely 16, I started my first job as an employee of the Westfield, Indiana Goodwill. The job not only provided me valuable work experience during my 18 months of employment, but it satisfied my love of digging through old boxes for treasures, and sorting through piles of used clothes for gems {I got my first Giorgio Armani shirt there}. Last week, after going to the Goodwill Outlet with my friend Mandi, I started retelling some of my favorite Goodwill stories on our way home and we laughed until my side hurt!

11

Junkin' in Seattle

Last week, my friend Mandi and I decided to hit the Goodwill Outlet in Seattle for the first time.

I have heard of the Goodwill Outlet but sort of boycotted it because to me, it sounds like a bit of an oxymoron.

The Goodwill outlet is the final stop for all of the items donated at the local Goodwill stores before heading to the dump.  Most of the items are sold by the pound and are deeply discounted from the normal {expensive} Goodwill prices.  You can see my post here about how I think Goodwill is too expensive.

You enter into a warehouse building like this and find hoards of people.

Rows of blue bins are rolled in filled to the brim with clothing, toys, and household items.

People quickly gather around the newest rolling carts and dig.

There is a little bit of organization to the madness.

Everyone waits behind a blue line until all of the new carts are in place.

Then once they wheel in the final cart, everyone starts digging.

I may have gotten yelled at more than once for not being aware of how this system works.

Now you know.

Bring a pair of gloves or better yet, your haz mat suit.

You will leave feeling like bugs are crawling all over you.

The Goodwill outlet has it's own security...and it needs it.

A fight nearly broke out within the first five minutes of us being there because someone was upset that someone else threw the clothes they were sorting too aggressively across the blue bins.

Yep, that really happened.

And we were told by other Goodwill outlet customers who are frequent shoppers that that happens a lot.

It's like prison.

Keep your head down and mind your own business.

I wasn't on a search for clothes on this trip but I was curious to see why all the people flock to the clothing bins.  I really didn't come away with any answers.  I'm sure there are finds to be had, but every single pair of pants that I found had holes in the crotch.

I'm not joking.  

Every.single.pair.

I did also spend some time searching for shoes.

There were a few pairs that had potential, but only if you had one foot.

Pairs were hard to come by.

Finding a pair of shoes was like searching for a needle in a hay stack.

So, I gave up.

If you are a one legged individual who doesn't care if you have a crotch in your pants, then the Goodwill outlet is your place to shop!

This is my basket filled with my goodies.

The clothes that I did find were found on the top of the piles.

Rejects that people no longer wanted in their own carts.

I picked up a coat for my son and a zip up jacket for my dad.

I also found some fantastic fabric samples, a large rug, a duvet cover, and an old suitcase.

I'm sure there were other fun finds in there.

Grand total for all of this...$19.

I found that the prices for items seemed to be set by each cashier.

Especially those items not sold by the pound.

Mandi got this basket of goodies for about the same price as all of my stuff.

Pretty sure she got a better deal.

I would definitely head back to the Goodwill Outlet for another shopping experience.

I learned a thing or two and feel like a real expert.

I probably wouldn't go by myself though.

And I would never go without gloves.

The next stop Mandi and I made was just down the road at a shop called Second Use.

Second Use is a salvage store that is slightly cheaper than Earthwise, but not cheap like a garage sale.

There were some finds to be had {especially in the free pile}.

Mandi picked up this half door {soon to be table} and two window frames for $5 each.

There were a lot of things that were eye candy.

This green scale is fantabulous isn't it?

You know how I love old windows.

My new window passion is leaded glass.

Hard to find, but amazing when you do.

If you need a door, Second Use is the place.

There were rows and rows of old doors.

Barn doors, front doors, screen doors, you name it.

I'm a sucker for old machines.

Isn't this buffet beautiful?

It looks like it was an old built in in a turn of the century house.

Image the parties it has seen!

Industrial is awesome.

This was probably my favorite piece of the whole day.

It is so much better in person.

Wouldn't it be an awesome upper cabinet if you were re doing a kitchen?

Mandi was loving this as a store front check out area.

Did you know my favorite store, Persnickety's Awesomeness Emporium is moving to downtown Sumner?

It's a big deal.

Aren't these handles super rad?

Need a knob or a hinge?

Perhaps an old school house pendant?

Not sure what you would do with an old radiator.

So many people have been hiding them for years.

It's time to embrace them as a decorative element.

Love the design on this one.

We had so much fun junkin' in Seattle.  

Do you have a favorite place to score old junk or an experience with the Goodwill Outlet?

I would love to hear from you!

I'm sure there are stories to be told!

2