During one of my late-night Depop scrolls, I came across a generic branded, somewhat damaged coat that was listed for $50. I rolled my eyes and checked the seller’s account; they had hundreds of similar items on their storefront. “Another overpriced reseller,” I thought to myself, as I closed the app in frustration.
New York City is one of the epicenters for thrifting in the United States, containing over 400 businesses that sell secondhand and vintage pieces.
Thrifting originated as a largely environmentally friendly and affordable way to shop, allowing for both lower prices and a second life for clothing that would otherwise be tossed into a landfill.
Thrifting was not seen as a luxury; instead it was a way for donated pieces to be purchased and appreciated by people who could not necessarily afford new clothing.
It is now a trendy pastime to visit such stores, in addition to being a generally cost-effective, eco-conscious way to shop. There are countless thrift hauls online, which present thrifting as an entertaining hobby rather than a practical way for those of various economic situations to shop.
For those who do not live near a thrift store, there are countless online platforms that sell secondhand clothing such as the aforementioned Depop, ThredUp and eBay. Individual sellers can create and manage their own virtual storefronts, putting millions of items at consumers’ fingertips.
Although this seems like it would be a convenient and discounted way to thrift, the rise of digital independent secondhand businesses lends itself to inflated prices and sometimes even misleading product descriptions.
The items that resellers purchase are typically marked up, justified with labels such as “vintage” and “Y2K” to entice buyers into paying pretty high prices for pieces that were likely purchased for significantly less.
Furthermore, such business owners typically are not selling personal clothing items that they no longer use. Instead, many of them stock up at their local thrift stores and re-list the pieces they found at much higher prices. This practice leads to cost hikes and a lackluster inventory of remaining pieces.
The most desirable pieces are quickly bought by resellers, limiting the options available to everyday consumers. Thrift resellers often visit stores in lower-income neighborhoods specifically in order to optimize their profits, which is especially harmful to their local buyers.
Of course, there are some high-quality vintage items that are objectively worth higher prices than they are sold for at thrift stores. Designer pieces are often hidden and can be found if you diligently search. Resellers want to be rewarded with profitable sales after taking the time and putting in the effort to discover them.
Oftentimes, however, the items that are sold by online thrift resellers simply are not worth their listed price. Secondhand clothing is meant to be significantly less expensive than new items — at least 25 to 50% cheaper.
Thrift resellers tend to ignore this principle, championing convenience and profit over the actual value of the product.
If resellers continue to dominate the thrifting landscape, accessibility and affordability will plummet further. A shopping technique that was meant to benefit low-income communities is on track to become unattainable and gentrified.
