7 Resale Platforms to Help Clean Out Your Closet

Look at you and your little fashion empire.

Are your shopping habits a blessing or a curse? We all know it’s expensive to keep up with the latest trends. You get the item and wear it once, never to be seen in it again. It’s a vicious consumption cycle that costs money and closet space.

Lorne Michaels Productions / Via giphy.com

I’m the first to admit that my closet is not the most cost-effective or sustainable thing in my life.

Feeling the same way? Have you thought about resale? Because it could be the perfect solution. These platforms allow you to reinvent your closet, make (or save!) dinero, and cut down on your fashion emissions — which unfortunately is absolutely a thing. Plus, you give your wares a second life to someone who, well, wants it. Everyone wins. Resale platforms differ in fees, policies, and style, but whether you’re selling a Prada Saffiano bag or one of your old Aero tanks, the platforms below make getting into the secondhand game — and some extra dinero — only a couple taps away.

1. For The Running-Out-Of-Space Fashionista: Poshmark

Poshmark / Via newsroom.poshmark.com

The marketplace that’s, dare I say it, so posh that celebrities use it — especially to raise money for good causes, like DJ Khaled, Serena Williams, Katherine Heigl and Rachael Ray. On Poshmark, you can turn your closet into a brand. Poshmark is all about community and experience, so there’s a good chance you’ll gain repeat buyers. Once a buyer purchases your item and pays the flat shipping fee, Poshmark sends you a pre-paid, pre-addressed shipping label. They also throw virtual Posh Parties and offer Posh Authenticate to build a robust and dependable fashion community.

The Fine Print: To protect you as a seller, Poshmark does not accept returns and encourages buyers to relist unwanted items. For their share, Poshmark takes a 20% commission, unless the sale is under $15, in which they only take a flat $2.95.

2. For The Brand-Conscious Who Loves A Bargain: Tradesy

Tradesy / Via tradesy.com

If you’re on the market for a more affordable Valentino or need to re-home your Jimmy Choos, you’re in luck. Tradesy does pre-owned luxury designer items, and it does it well. While you have to be based in the U.S. to sell, Tradsey does offer a couple of perks worth noting, like preset discount percentages for your items so it can automatically promote them for you during relevant sales. They also remove the background from your images. To suss out replicas, Tradesy digitally authenticates items with a 99.7% success rate. And for those 0.3% that may slip through the cracks, Tradesy offers a full refund. Not bad, not bad at all.

The Fine Print: While buyers can return items, they can only do so for Tradesy Site Credit, which means you keep your earnings. For items less than $50, Tradesy takes a $7.50 cut. For anything over $50, Tradesy takes a 19.8% commission. There’s also an additional 2.9% transfer fee to withdraw your earnings.

3. For Those Who Just Want To Get Rid Of Clothes: ThredUP

ThredUP / Via play.google.com

ThredUP is the largest online consignment and thrift store that pays for used clothing and accepts donated items, as well. If you want to sell, ThredUP sends you a Clean Out Bag to fill with whatever you don’t want and schedule for pickup. That doesn't mean you can just send anything, though. ThredUP's standard is to ask yourself if you would give the item to your best friend. Items cannot show signs of wear, damage, or alterations. On the other hand, if you donate, ThredUP will give $5 per bag to a charity of your choice and send you a tax receipt. So if you’re going to toss your clothes out anyway, you may as well try ThredUP.

The Fine Print: The catch? You don’t know how much you’ll be paid until ThredUP assesses the bag. On average, ThredUP accepts 40% of the items in the bag. If you want your unaccepted items back, ThredUP charges a $10.99 shipping fee. Otherwise, they’re resold or recycled.

4. For The Thrifter Who Loves To Barter: Vinted

Vinted / Via vinted.com

If fees and commission aren’t your thing, then Vinted is for you. The Lithuanian online marketplace differentiates itself by allowing you to keep the entirety of your earnings. This is especially great for low-priced items where you’d want to maximize your earnings. And if you and someone else are interested in each other’s items, you can just swap them. Buyers can even request bundles when purchasing multiple items from you, which helps encourage more sales.

The Fine Print: After a sale is completed, Vinted transfers earnings directly into your bank account or PayPal. See, no fees! Instead, they charge buyers protection fees. Another plus? A generous return policy.

5. For The Influencer Who Needs A Storefront: Depop

Depop / Via press.depop.com

Imagine Instagram, but as a resale app. That’s Depop. On top of typical resale stuff, Depop has cultivated a whole influencer culture of its own. Shipping-wise, Depop is pretty chill. You can decide who covers the cost of shipping, ship independently (which can be cheaper than the shipping fees set by resale platforms), or meet buyers in-person. Even if you’re not heavily reselling, Depop is also a great way to keep up with the latest trends and styles.

The Fine Print: Originally, you only needed a PayPal account to sell on Depop — making it accessible if you don’t have a bank account (like most teens). As the platform grew, Depop also launched Depop Payments and partnered with Real Authentication to digitally authenticate items based on the posted images. For every sale, Depop takes a 10% commission, then an additional 2.9% and a $0.30 PayPal (or Depop through Depop Payments) transaction fee.

6. For The eBay-er Who Lives In The 21st Century: Mercari

Mercari / Via play.google.com

Even if your clothes are in less-than-great condition, they’re A-OK for Mercari. That’s sort of the point. Mercari is a great place for deals, but don’t expect to sell luxury items. The Japanese platform was designed to be an online flea market. Think a modern eBay. If you’re trying to get rid of clothes (or anything else) that have seen better days, Mercari is the way to go.

The Fine Print: As far as fees go, Mercari takes a flat 10% cut. You pick who pays for shipping and which carrier to use (but if your package exceeds the weight, insurance cost or size limit covered by Mercari, they recommend you ship on your own). And all sales are final. Generally, Mercari does not take any additional fees to cash out. But if you’re transferring less than $10, your bank rejects the transfer, or you’re using Instant Pay, Mercari takes a $2 cut.

7. For The Luxury Consignor Who Means Business: The RealReal

The RealReal / Via play.google.com

Only sell on The RealReal if you’ve got luxury goods and are expecting thousands of dollars in sales. The RealReal works like a classic consignment store, so you’ll ship your items to them and they’ll pay you (this also means they handle returns without you). Quality items sell fast, so The RealReal staffs in-house experts to ensure authenticity — but buyers should always stay vigilant when purchasing. Rather than watch your big-ticket items sit on the shelf, you can make a mint selling on The RealReal.

The Fine Print: There are two different commission structures that determine your earnings. For instance, you can annually keep 70% of your earnings at most, but only if you’re making at least $10K a year through the site. If you sell based on item, your commission will be processed on the 15th of the following month. No matter how much you make, you can get paid through direct deposit or mailed checks, or you can earn an extra 5% if you choose to receive site credit instead.

So what are you waiting for? Go sell!

Red Granite Pictures, Appian Way Productions, Sikelia Productions, EMJAG Productions / Via giphy.com

Thumbnail credit: This Free People Midi Dress sold by lunamoonfinds on Poshmark