Buy Or Sell Old Clothes With New Website
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Would you like to make some money from the clothes you don't wear anymore? Or do you have designer taste but not the income?
A new website called Tradesy just might be for you.
Jessica Szymik, of Beechview, tried it when shopping for a dress for her wedding shower. Szymik isn't your typical bride either.
She spent seven years as a fashion designer in New York, so she's particular when it comes to all the bridal clothes she's looking for.
"A bachelorette party dress, shoes and I guess any accessories for the wedding, but I've been keeping an eye out for bridesmaids dresses and maid of honor dresses," she said.
Szymik found her bridal shower dress on Tradesy. It's basically a consignment store online, featuring gently worn and some new clothes, shoes, accessories and handbags, plus a whole bridal section.
Labels range from The Gap to Louis Vuitton, and prices average 70 percent off retail.
"I think it's a great way of saving money and getting a name that you like if you're name driven like that," Szymik said.
For example, you'll find things like a $150 J. Crew dress for $53. A strapless Anthropologie dress that was originally $298, which is now $47. Also a Coach purse marked down from $238 to $49.
There's a $30 and under section where KDKA-TV's Kristine Sorensem found a Cole Hahn $100 purse for $30.
Now, Szymik's gone from being a Tradesy buyer to a seller too. She's selling winter boots, a jacket and jeans. She said she's, "definitely looking to make some money back for what I paid but also looking to kind of find them a good home and someone that would appreciate it the name mainly."
Tradesy's founder and CEO, Tracy DiNunzio, said lots of women want to turn their closet into cash.
"The response has been amazing," she said. "We have over a quarter million women buying and selling on the site in just six months."
Here's how it works:
Take a picture of what you want to sell.
Tradesy gives detailed instructions on how to take the best photos.
Write a detailed description of your item and then upload it on Tradesy.
Then, Tradesy gives a suggested price which includes shipping.
Tradesy cleans up your photo to give it a white background -- a more professional look.
Once the item sells, Tradesy sends you the pre-paid envelope. You just pack it up and mail it from your house.
"When you sell something, Tradesy takes a 9 percent commission, and you keep 91 percent of the sale price, so that really beats consignment or anything else," DiNunzio said.
Local consignment stores usually take about 50 percent commission.
"If you sell something at your local consignment shop, it will be seen by however many people enter that store every day, but when you sell something on Tradesy, it will be seen by millions of people every month," DiNunzio said.
Another benefit of Tradesy, if you buy something and want to return it, you can do it for a full refund.
And if you're the seller and someone returns your item, you are not involved in the return and still keep the money you made.
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