Shopping Secondhand
Feeling awesome about my preloved Ulla Johnson blouse that I bought off a seller on Facebook for $95.
Buying secondhand lets me hunt for certain brands or styles I love, almost like going through the racks at Jeremys in SF (RIP), Century 21 in NYC, or shopping the outlets at Horizon Plaza in HK. Except the difference is it’s preloved of course. But the thrill is still there. I found a hard to find brand in Singapore, for $95 from a random FB post. Score!
Now that I’ve started selling my clients secondhand pieces too, I get a lot of questions about pricing both from a seller & buyers perspective. Here’s a bit of my thinking from both sides of the coin:
For a seller, I use the analogy of a used car: Once you drive it off the lot, the value depreciates up to 40%. So please don’t try to sell your $100 dress for $90. You’re not saving the buyer any money, it actually isn’t a good deal, as she can probably get this discounted later. There is 0 incentive to buy this. No one cares what you paid for it! 🤷🏻♀️
Also… it’s not the buyers fault you bought something you didn’t like, didn’t fit right, or that you only felt like wearing once. You can’t be expected to be rewarded your money back for a bad decision YOU made. That’s on you and that’s life, my friend. Sorry to be blunt. 🙊 (But this is why my services exist: to stop this vicious cycle.)
On the flip side of being a buyer: don’t be a jerk and ask for something to be discounted even further if you really want the item.
Think about it this way: If you really want the item, you should be able to pay for the item full price. This isn’t about getting the “lowest possible price,” it’s about supporting a circular economy. By paying the price that is listed, you’re giving the money to actual people & making them feel better about their used clothes not going to waste. Not to companies who will turn the profits into even more junk.
So there you have it! That’s how I justify a $95 used blouse because it’s just amazing, regardless of what it sold for at its peak. To me, this is $95 really well spent. 😊
What are some of your favorite secondhand scores?
Buying secondhand lets me hunt for certain brands or styles I love, almost like going through the racks at Jeremys in SF (RIP), Century 21 in NYC, or shopping the outlets at Horizon Plaza in HK. Except the difference is it’s preloved of course. But the thrill is still there. I found a hard to find brand in Singapore, for $95 from a random FB post. Score!
Now that I’ve started selling my clients secondhand pieces too, I get a lot of questions about pricing both from a seller & buyers perspective. Here’s a bit of my thinking from both sides of the coin:
For a seller, I use the analogy of a used car: Once you drive it off the lot, the value depreciates up to 40%. So please don’t try to sell your $100 dress for $90. You’re not saving the buyer any money, it actually isn’t a good deal, as she can probably get this discounted later. There is 0 incentive to buy this. No one cares what you paid for it! 🤷🏻♀️
Also… it’s not the buyers fault you bought something you didn’t like, didn’t fit right, or that you only felt like wearing once. You can’t be expected to be rewarded your money back for a bad decision YOU made. That’s on you and that’s life, my friend. Sorry to be blunt. 🙊 (But this is why my services exist: to stop this vicious cycle.)
On the flip side of being a buyer: don’t be a jerk and ask for something to be discounted even further if you really want the item.
Think about it this way: If you really want the item, you should be able to pay for the item full price. This isn’t about getting the “lowest possible price,” it’s about supporting a circular economy. By paying the price that is listed, you’re giving the money to actual people & making them feel better about their used clothes not going to waste. Not to companies who will turn the profits into even more junk.
So there you have it! That’s how I justify a $95 used blouse because it’s just amazing, regardless of what it sold for at its peak. To me, this is $95 really well spent. 😊
What are some of your favorite secondhand scores?