Welcome back, y’all! Ever heard of a store called Plato’s Closet? If you haven’t, it’s a store that sells teen/young adult clothing for cheaper than retail prices.
They have locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, with nearly one in every state. You can not only buy clothes, but also sell your own clothing to them for cash!
Also, it just so happens to be one of the many places I get my clothes from.
While I love Plato’s Closet, they often get bad reviews because of their buying process. Many of their negative reviews tend to be people complaining one way or the other.
Today’s blog post is all about how I can go into any Plato’s Closet and walk out with no less than $25-$30 more in my pocket. Believe it or not, there’s more going on behind the scenes than you might imagine.
The bottom line
The first thing you need to know about Plato’s Closet is that when they take in your items, they give you between 30% and 40% of the retail value of that item. Say you bring in a pair of jean shorts that you bought for $20, the store can only give you so much for it.
Do your research…
All Plato’s Closet stores aren’t the same. When I’m in Metro Atlanta, their stores are much different than when I’m in south Georgia or west Georgia.
Stores in urban centers tend to take more sporty and street wear brands, like Fashion Nova, Nike and Boohoo. Stores in rural areas tend to look for those western/southern brands like Miss Me or Southern Tide.
My favorite way to do research on a store I potentially want to sell to is to follow them on Instagram. It’s the perfect way to get an idea of what the store is selling and what they are likely to buy.
…and investigate!
Of course, pictures online can only do so much. Sometimes you might have to go look around in a store. Walk up and down the aisle of the store and take a look at their inventory.
If the racks are loaded down with jeans and short sleeved tops, might not be a good idea to try and sell both of those items to that particular store. Try and find which section is looking bare or has less full racks and try and sell those items instead.
One time I took a lot of jeans to a particular Plato’s Closet location that didn’t have a lot of jeans in my size and the took them all. This isn’t exactly foolproof, but I have had way more success looking before I go.
Go big, pick the right time, or go home
This might seem like a no-brainer, but make sure you’re bringing a decent amount of clothes. I like to bring in two medium sized bags or one large bag (a Goodwill or Kohl’s bag).
I’ve seen people bring in large suitcases stuffed full of clothes, boxes, etc, but I like to put everything in a retail like bag, just to make it easier for the people going through my clothes. I make the most amount of money when I bring at least two bags of clothing in.
I don’t recommend taking in only a few items, or just all of one item, like a pair of shoes.
Also, timing can increase the amount of things bought. Bringing in your clothing to be sold on weekdays or early in the day on weekends gives the employees more time to thoroughly look through your bags for items.
Employees are often swamped on the weekends and peak times, like the holiday season and summer, when college kids are home.
A few other tidbits
I’ve been selling to Plato’s Closet for years and there a few other tidbits that I wanted to share that I couldn’t exactly fit anywhere else. So think of the next few bulletpoints as a mini FAQ!
- “I saw this really ugly clothing item that looks like belongs in an incinerator, but they didn’t take my (insert item here)???? Why???” Believe it or not, there’s plenty of items in their stores that have been in there for months or even years. If you find something that’s obscenely ugly still in a store for sale, it’s possible that the item has been in there for a while.
- “I brought in loads of clothes and it looks like they didn’t even go through my bag! What gives?” Back when I first began selling to them, I had the same thoughts. To test my suspicions, I would put something on top of the pile to see if it moved. If you’re suspicious about your location, try remembering what you had on top when you dropped your clothes off and see if it’s moved or not.
- “I brought in (insert item here) and they didn’t take it even though it’s still hot/cold outside. Why?” Even though Plato’s Closet is a secondhand store, they still follow stocking guidelines like other retail stores. I personally stop bringing in tank tops and warmer clothes by the end of July every year and cooler clothes by the end of February. Like I mentioned earlier, check out your local store’s social media pages, as they’ll tell you when they’re looking for fall/winter or spring/summer clothes!
Phew, now that was a lot. All of these tips are just based on my own experience and have been through trial and error!
Now, even though this is strictly for Plato’s Closet stores, I’m sure a lot of these tips can be applied for similar stores!
What store do you like selling your old clothes to, or are you more of Poshmark/Depop type of person? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Great advice I did not know about that!
Is it true that “plus size” woman’s clothing is more likely to not only be purchased by Plato’s but more profitable than the “average” sized woman’s clothing?
Hey Nick! In my experience, any plus sized clothing (larger than XL) would almost always get bought versus items of a smaller size, because the plus sized items are always lacking in PC. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can bring in any quality of plus sized clothing, but your chances of it being bought is way higher, IMO. Thanks for the question!
These are great tips! THANKS
In your experience have they paid out reasonably for higher end brands such as True Religion etc …like is it even worth taking them in there or should someone with items like this be better off taking the time to sell online?
just curious
xoxo
Glad you enjoyed Tiffany!
I’d honestly say you’re better off selling higher end brands via consignment places or even online. For online places, eBay would be your best bet. I’ve very rarely seen True Religion and similar brands on the racks for sale. Now, purses are a different story! Nothing super expensive, but people donate Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Coach, etc. all the time. I’m not sure if you have Clothes Mentor locations near you, but I find that’s a great in person alternative. Hope this helps!
What about clothes with tags still in them? Best to leave them on in they see it’s never been worn?
that’s what I typically do! though I have had them not take clothing with the tags on them. I would look around the store you want to sell at and see if they have a NWT rack, or have a large amount of items with the tags still on them for whatever item you have (ex. look at their skirt section if you have a skirt with tags still on to see if they have a lot of skirts with tags still on them). hope that helps!
I sold to them yesterday and walked out with $58. They offered me $92, but I decided to keep the pair of name brand boots and sell them on Poshmark as I paid $159 for them and my daughter only wore them once. They offered $32, but were selling an identical pair for $90 in the store. Bottom line I took in one large American Eagle shopping bag of things I couldn’t fit or didn’t want so $58 was fine with me. Normally I’d have taken to Goodwill so this was a win! What I have left I’ll take to Clothes Mentor and the boots will go on Poshmark. Great article and good advice for those wanting to sell.
Actually they offered me $34 my daughter said 😂
yay lynn! glad my article helped! I used to frequent poshmark and depop but now if plato’s doesn’t take it, I just donate it lol. I don’t have the time or want to put in the effort to set things up and wait for months for it to sell. great move on the boots though! I would’ve done the same thing!