The UK Sites To Sell Secondhand Clothes Online
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Looking for the best sites to sell your secondhand clothes online for extra cash? Read on for my top recommendations.
I’ve written before about where to buy secondhand clothes online. But what about where to sell secondhand clothes online?
You might be thinking that the most sustainable thing to do is to donate your unwanted clothes to your local charity shops. However, it’s a not-so-well-known fact that charity shops can’t always sell what we donate to them. Therefore, selling secondhand clothes online can be more sustainable than dumping all your old clothes at your local charity shop.
So let’s take a look at what happens to our clothes when we donate them to charity shops, or via clothing banks or doorstep collection bags. Then I’ll take a look at some of the best places to sell your secondhand clothes online, to ensure they remain in active use.
If you’re in a hurry, use these quick links to the best resale sites in the UK:
Where Do Our Clothes Go When We Donate Them to Charity Shops?
We donate our unwanted clothes to charity shops and they sell all of our donations in their store, right?
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. It certainly used to be the case up to around 20 years ago. So what happened? Fast fashion happened. The number of garments being produced has doubled in the last 20 years. At the same time, the cost of clothing has plummeted.
This exponential rise of cheap fast-fashion clothing has meant that clothing is now viewed as a disposable commodity. What this in turn means is that our charity shops are flooded with cheap, poor-quality clothing that nobody wants. What’s more, these items of clothing can’t be sold at a price that makes money for the charity shop.
Dr Andrew Brooks, author of the book Clothing Poverty says that the majority of the clothes we donate to charity shops now won’t be sold in the store. Instead, they will be traded abroad for profit.
In an interview with the BBC, Andrew says:
“I think there is a common presumption amongst the general public that if they give something to charity it’s most likely to be sold in one of these shops. And while many garments are sold in these shops, the demand is relatively low compared to the supply, and far more get exported overseas.”
In fact, in the same interview, it is cited that more than 70% of all UK reused clothing donated via charity shops, clothing banks, and doorstep collection bags heads overseas. Once it arrives overseas, it is chopped up into rags, sold at markets, or thrown into landfills.
The Impact of the International Trade on Secondhand Clothes
Where secondhand clothing is sold at markets, it has a negative effect on local textile industries in many countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where a third of all globally donated clothes are sold, Dr Andrew Brooks found the impacts of the secondhand clothing industry have been devasting for these local textile industries.
In Ghana, for example, he cites that textile and clothing employment fell by 80% between 1975 and 2000. Meanwhile, he also cites that Nigeria’s 200,000-person textile workforce has all but disappeared.
The Rag Trade
Where clothes can’t be sold, they get recycled into rags. The town of Panipat in North India recycles over 100,000 tonnes of our cast-offs every year. So much so that it is known as the world’s “cast-off capital“.
What’s so utterly embarrassing is that the women of Panipat who shred these practically unworn garments have surmised that there is a water shortage in the Western world.
That’s because the mindless nature of our clothing consumption is so alien to them, that they assume it’s too expensive for us to wash our clothes. This is the only way for them to make sense of how we discard our clothing after only wearing it a handful of times.
It’s easy to point the finger at us consumers for buying so many items of clothing, that we barely wear. However, it’s important to remember that fast fashion companies are also complicit.
BooHoo alone adds over 100 new items per day to their website. At the time of writing, H&M’s new arrivals page displays 1697 new items of women’s clothing. These companies constantly push us to buy more and more, when it’s simply not sustainable to do so.
Where to Sell Your Secondhand Clothes Online
Reducing the number of clothes we buy is a great first step in having a more sustainable and planet-friendly wardrobe. However, no matter how considerate we are in buying new clothes, there will always be items that no longer fit us, no longer suit us, or are no longer suitable for the life we now lead. If you’re in the market to sell some of your secondhand clothes, then here are five ideas on where to sell online.
eBay
I’ve been selling clothes on eBay since 2005. Whilst there have been lots of changes since then, and it’s not got the reach it once had, I still rate eBay as a good place to sell secondhand clothes online. It still commands a large audience.
eBay offers a range of selling options. You can list your clothing as a “buy it now”. This allows buyers to immediately purchase the item at a set price.
Alternatively, you can set a best-offer price, that allows buyers to haggle with you. Or you can list your item in eBay’s online auction. Here you can set a starting price of your choice, with an auction length of between one and ten days. If the item fails to sell in the auction, you can choose to automatically relist your item.
It’s really easy to sell on eBay – you can list items directly via the eBay app. Alternatively, you can take some photos and list them via your laptop/computer.
Fees
If you’re a private seller, you generally don’t pay a fee to list your item on eBay, as long as you are selling under 300 items a month and only posting to UK buyers. If you chose to sell internationally, fees do apply so watch out for those. There are also options to upgrade your listing – all of which command additional fees.
Depop
Depop has really risen in popularity in the last few years, as one of the places to shop online for secondhand clothes, via its Instagram meets eBay format.
Selling on Depop is simple. Add some photos of your item and a description, and decide the price you want to sell at.
For UK sellers it’s free to sell on Depop, and you get paid via Stripe as soon as your item sells. You are then charged a payment processing fee of 2.9% + £0.30 in the UK. This means that for an item of clothing that sells for £10 and has a £3 postage fee, you’re charged 59p.
Vinted
Vinted is another secondhand clothing resale site, where anyone can list their clothes for sale.
Like eBay and Depop, there are no selling fees. Instead, the buyer pays a fee to buy an item, which varies based on the price of the item they are buying. This means as a seller that you get 100% of the sale price of an item. The buyer also pays the postage costs, and Vinted doesn’t take a cut of this either.
Thrift+
Can’t stand the thought of taking photos of items, writing descriptions, dealing with buyers, and making trips to the post office? This is where Thrift+ comes in. They will do all of this leg work for you and donate a percentage of the profits to charity too.
If you have clothes to sell, Thrift+ will send you a pre-paid postage bag which you use to send your items to Thrift+. That’s the limit of what you need to do.
What Thrift+ Accepts
Thrift+ isn’t a panacea for solving your overflowing wardrobe woes. They have standards in place as to what they can accept, so you can’t offload Boohoo or Primark hauls.
They accept recognisable brands in the following categories:
- High-street brands in excellent condition – such as Boden, Topshop, Asos, and Zara.
- Premium brands in good condition – such as &Other Stories, Whistles, COS, Hobbs, Phase Eight, Reiss, and North Face.
- Designer brands, which can have minor defects – such as Kenzo, Chloe, Versace, Stella McCartney, Burberry, Missoni, Prada, and Gucci.
Everything Thrift+ sells also has to pass their quality assessment, so before you send in your clothes, please check that they are clean, in good condition, and are a brand they accept.
When an item fails their quality tests, they will donate them to their charity partners, and cannot return these items, so do be honest with yourself before sending in your items.
What Fees Do Thrift+ Charge?
As Thrift+ does all of the leg work for you, there is a much higher charge for this service compared to other outlets:
- For items sold for £4.99 or less, you’ll receive 10% of the sale price.
- For items sold in the £5 – £49.99 range, you’ll receive 20% of the sale price.
- For items sold for more than £50, you’ll receive 40% of the sale price.
Thrift+ doesn’t charge anything upfront. Instead, fees are deducted from the sale amounts.
When your items sell, you have a few options to get paid. You can choose to be paid in cash directly into your bank account, once a month (a new feature that launched in March 2024). Alternatively, you can choose to earn Thrift+ credits, which you can then donate to your chosen charity, or you can choose to keep some or all of the credits to spend again on the Thrift+ site.
Vestiaire Collective
French-owned Vestiaire Collective specialises in designer labels.
You list your item free of charge on their site. Then, once your item sells you post it to Vestiaire Collective for authentication by their experts. Once authenticated, Vestiaire then sends it to the buyer.
It sounds a bit of a faff, but this authentication process makes buyers feel more confident buying pre-owned designer goods online. You may therefore earn more money selling designer items on Vestiaire Collective compared to other online sites.
It’s important to bear in mind that because of the authentication process, you don’t get paid as soon as your item sells. After authentication, your payment should arrive two to six days after that.
When it comes to selling fees, Vestiaire Collective offer 0% selling fees on more than 4000 selected brands for UK sellers. However, a payment processing fee of 3% is due after your item sells to cover the external processing costs of the transaction.
Not sure what to price your item at? Vestiaire Collective has a handy resale calculator to help you price your item accordingly.
Facebook Groups
Not to be confused with Facebook Marketplace, which I think is rubbish for selling clothes, Facebooks Groups can be a good way to sell preloved clothes from a specific brand.
The only downfall is that it can be tricky to find groups. There’s no specific page anywhere that lists every active group. As such I find the best way is to search for the brand name in Facebook’s search bar, and press the groups button to see if there is a resale group for that particular brand. If there is, then you can then put in a request to join the group.
Resale groups that I know of include:
These groups are filled with like-minded fans of particular brands, so your items are reaching an audience that already appreciates their style and quality. It’s an easy, community-focused way to sell sustainably. There are no fees. Plus, it often feels more personal than selling through generic platforms as you enter into a direct dialogue with the buyer.
Generally, you’ll need a PayPal account to be able to accept payment. Be sure to photograph your items well, include honest descriptions, and check the group rules for pricing or posting etiquette.
Should I Not Donate My Secondhand Clothes To Charity Shops?
I’m not saying that we should never donate to charity shops. I think we should be more considerate of what we are donating.
It’s important to remember that just because a charity shop is run by a charity doesn’t mean that there aren’t costs involved.
Most charity shops aren’t run 100% by volunteers. In most cases, the store manager is salaried. Meanwhile, there are rental costs, utility costs, and all the costs involved in running a business. Many charity shops have monthly sales targets that they need to meet to show that they are covering their running costs and contributing to the charity.
Cheap, poor-quality clothing is hard for charity shops to sell. What’s more, it doesn’t generate much profit. Because of the low margins, these are the types of clothing that are most likely to get sent abroad.
However, when you donate good quality and desirable clothing, this allows charity shops to sell the item in the store at a price that enables them to make money.
As with many of the problems caused by fast fashion, the solution all comes down to people with disposable incomes choosing to buy fewer items of clothing.
As well as that, it involves the people who can spend more on quality items of clothing that they will wear time and time again. The fast fashion industry, and the spill-off problems it creates, won’t change until those of us with disposable incomes slow our consumption patterns right down.
What About Used Clothes That You Can’t Sell?
Stained, ripped, holey, or other clothes in bad condition can’t be sold online. Charity shops wouldn’t want them either. However, there is no need for these items to go to landfill. Simply pop them in a bag marked as rags, and donate to your local charity shop.
The charity shop can sell these on to the rag trade. This way, the charity shop still receives some money. Meanwhile, textile recycling companies can recycle these unwanted items of clothing into useful products. Think fillings for use in mattress production, or for producing filling material for furniture padding, panel linings, loudspeaker cones, and car insulation.
Alternatively, check out my guide on what to do with old clothes you can’t donate and my guide on what to do with old jeans, for heaps of upcycling and recycling ideas.
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Thanks, this article was super useful!
I am currently trying out Vinted.
I am finding it to be a super helpful, and simple process so far!
Oilio is another App which I use if I can’t sell my items. I then place on Oilio and Gumtree for free and this can also work. If they want it posted, they pay the postage fee or can collect from my home or workplace.
Some clothes I have, I cut up and use as rags or if in good condition, pass onto others I personally know. This works well with people who are similar body shape and age.
I always thought Olio was just for food – that’s really useful to know you can use it for other items now! Thank you!
I’ve had more luck with Facebook Marketplace. No fees!