Andrea Lane, a mother of three has been consigning for years. Recently, she's upped her sales, thanks to some changes in trends. The trends aren't in styles, though, they're in the way items are sold. A growing number of online sale sites are popping up online. Lane's favorite to place sell: Facebook.
"The biggest perk is not having to split your winnings so to speak. If you're asking ten dollars, you get ten dollars. You're not having to pay an admin fee and another percentage to someone else," Lane said.
Consignment apps have exploded too. The largest of its kind, Thredup, gets about 30 thousand articles ofclothing each day. Buying and selling used clothing online is now an 18 billion dollar industry.
Kelly Valentine owns Scout in the Dundee neighborhood. Shoppers buy, sell, and trade in clothing there. With more and more sites springing up, Valentine says sure, there's competition, but it doesn't hurt her store.
"It takes kind of a long time. There's one company I am thinking of, they send you the bags, then it processes it for 3-4 weeks, and then you may not get any money out of it," Valentine said.
Valentine has seen a growth in the growing resale and recycle trend. In fact, she moved across the street to a space twice the size of her old shop. Most of all, she's found a silver lining to it all.
"The way I see it is it's keeping more items out of landfills, so that's a positive."
Here's a short list of some of the most popular resale sites:
Thred-Up
Largest online consignment store
The consignment process: The site sends you a plastic bag and pre-paid shipping label (they call it a Clean Out Kit). You fill the bag, send it back, and then Thred-Up tells you what they will pay. If Thred-Up takes some of your goods, shipping is deducted from your payout. If you want clothes that Thred-Up decides to pass on returned, you have to buy Return Assurance. If not, all unaccepted clothing gets recycled or passed on to third-party sellers.
Poshmark
Similar to Ebay
The consignment process: Similar to Ebay, you upload photos of your items, select category tags, and set the price. The actual selling of the clothes may take longer. Poshmark keeps a 20% commission for items over $15 and a flat $2.95 commission for items under $15.
The RealReal
Luxury resale
The consignment process: If you live in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, the site sends someone to pick up your items. In Omaha, you'll receive a pre-paid shipping label and mailer to pack up your stuff. They accept designer women's, men's, and kid's clothing, luxury accessories (like $38,000 purses) and fine art. Sellers keep 60 percent of the selling price if the item is under $10,000. 70 percent if it's over.
Vestiaire Collective
Luxury resale
The consignment process: Sellers must get approval before items go live. Vestiaire sends for the items once they are sold. Commission ranges depending on sale price. Vestiaire Collective takes a flat $25 from anything $70 or less, 33 percent out of anything sold for $70 to $140, 31 percent out of anything sold for $140 to $345, etc.
Material Wrld
Women's only brand specific resale for a good cause
The consignment process: The site sends you a free trade-in kit complete with a plastic shipping bag and a pre-paid label. If Material Wrld wants your items, sellers choose to receive either retailer gift cards or a pre-paid debit card. If they don't want your items, you choose to have them returned or to donate them to Housing Works, a New York City-based non-profit. No men's, children's, or mall brands accepted.
Grailed
Menswear consignment
The consignment process: Similar to Ebay, you upload photos of your items, select category tags, and set the price. Grailed takes 6% commission once an item sells.
Tradesy
Mix of consignment site sales with a wedding section
The consignment process: Sellers create your own listing and set your own price. After the listing goes up, Tradesy sends a pre-paid shipping box and label to send your goods off to them. Tradesy takes a 9% commission if you decide to spend your earnings on the site. Or Tradesy takes 11.9% if you cash out with PayPal, debit card, or your bank account.
Stores in Omaha:
Scout Dry Goods and Trade
Vintage or Modern clothing
Sellers go in store with items, a cashier will evaluate for 15-30 minutes, and pay seller for items they want to sell for cash or store credit.
Plato's Closet
Brand specific clothing
Sellers go in store with items, a cashier will evaluate for 15-30 minutes, and pay seller for items they want to sell for cash or store credit.
Re-Runs are Fun
Event only consignment sale for non profits
Twice a year (Spring & Fall), organizers sell over 100,000 items in 15 days. For more, visit rerunsrfun.org/consignors
