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Why online resale sites are my new-year obsession: I recycle my clothes to stay in style

Published November 13, 2025

Why online resale sites are my new-year obsession: I recycle my clothes to stay in style

By Jan Tuckwood

I used to own 37 pairs of pricey black pants that I called “my serious businesswoman bottoms”.

Tailored trousers from Banana Republic, wide-leg pants from Anthropologie, sassy straight-legs from Rebecca Taylor — I owned black pants for every “boss-lady” occasion.

I wanted to burn them all when I retired five years ago. Instead, I carried my tower of trousers to Goodwill.

But that was then. Now, I’m hip to online resale sites. Apps like ThredUp, Poshmark, The RealReal and eBay help me move my clothes to new homes — and also allow me to stalk clothes and shoes that I covet but could never afford when they’re new.

It’s a personal mission for me to buy fewer new clothes in 2026. Recycling my stuff is one way to enhance my style without adding to my pile.

Here’s how I would unload 37 pairs of pants today: I’d order a big “Clean Out” bag from ThredUp, put my pants in the bag and ship it back. ThredUp would rifle through the pile, photograph and list the items they think will sell, then ship the items to new homes when they do. If items don’t sell, ThredUp donates them or ships them back to you.

“Black work slacks” is its own category on ThredUp. ThredUp takes a cut, so if my pants sold for $20 each, I’d get $3. Not much…but 37 times 3 is still $111. At Poshmark, an item that sells for under $15 earns you $2.95. If it sells for $15 or more, Poshmark keeps 20 percent of the listing price, and the seller keeps 80 percent.

Each site states its policies on a “how to” page in the app. Many resale apps are ready to declutter your closet, from eBay to Depop (for affordable clothes, like the Shein brand), to Gilt and The Real Real (for designer duds and top accessories like Chanel bags).

Depop, a division of Etsy, has a motto I share: “Keep fashion circular.” If you don’t want it anymore, give someone else a shot.

My daughter, Kate, 38, is an executive in the entertainment industry. She gets inspiration from retailers and influencers each season, decides what outfits she needs, then she “moves the same $500” around Poshmark, ThredUp and The RealReal — buying one piece from Poshmark, say, then “RePoshing” it the next year, or selling something from her closet on ThredUp to earn cash or credits to buy something else. She also rents clothes from Rent the Runway and Nuuly.

This keeps fashion circular — and customers like Kate are fueling a boom in online resale. ThredUp’s 2025 resale report states America’s secondhand apparel market is growing 9 percent a year on average, four times faster than the overall retail clothing sector. In 2024, online resale accounted for 88 percent of resale spending.

Millennials like Kate (born from 1981 to 1996) and Gen Z shoppers (born between 1997 and 2012) drive the market. They’ve led their mothers to online resale, too. In 2024, 58 percent of consumers shopped secondhand apparel, an all-time high.

Why? The top five reasons, according to the report: “to get better deals, to enjoy the thrill of the hunt, to afford higher-end brands, to ease pressure on the planet, to find one-of-a-kind looks.”

Here’s one tale of resale romance: a few years ago, Kate noticed a guest on the Today show wearing a mustard-colored top and skirt with a metallic sheen. She fell in love with the outfit, looked for it online and discovered it was by Ulla Johnson, an expensive designer brand.

Cost for that outfit when it came out: $1,000. Cost for Kate after three years of resale sleuthing: $146.

“I found the top on Poshmark for $62 (originally $395), and then I spent a couple years stalking the skirt,” she recalls. “I finally found it on The RealReal for $84 (originally $595). Now I have something to wear that no one else will have this season, and it’s in perfect condition. For me, it’s not about the deal, it’s about scoring certain pieces that I can’t afford when they first come out.”

I also shop the sites with a specific destination in mind. My favorite Ugg boots are a style called Cailyn that I bought for around $200 10 years ago. I wore the original ones out. After a short search on Poshmark, I found the same boots — new! — for $50.

Online resale is not for everybody. If you don’t shop much, checking out the resale sites might be overwhelming and not worth the wander.

But if you love to shop, like I do, and you like to add spice to your wardrobe, you can find items that make you happy — and keep your old clothes and your cash circulating.

Here are some tips…

Know your brands and your sizes: Online sites are no place to play size roulette and guess whether you’re an 8 or a 10. There’s usually just one of every item, and this item could be new with tags or well worn. The most popular brands on resale sites are common ones, like Vuori, Lululemon, Free People and Anthropologie.

If you know what brands you like and how they fit you, you can set alerts on the apps, and you’ll be notified if your size in that brand comes up. If you are not sure but still want to buy, check the listing for measurements or message the seller.

Know your style. If you see an outfit you like on social media, Google it to discover the brand, or use AI technology to identify it. For example, you can upload a photo of an outfit to ThredUp, and the site will identify the brand and alert you if the pieces are in stock. It also will alert you to similar items.

My daughter Kate has such a good nose for resale that she often buys an outfit one year, wears it, then resells it for the same price or more the next season. If an item is popular and a year or so out of season, it can be valuable, because it will be sold out at retail stores.

Quality matters: I prefer to buy high-quality shoes and specialty items, like distinctive jackets, even though they cost more, because I calculate “price per wear.” Also…the better an item is, the more value it holds over time.

My all-time favorite boots are expensive handmade Calleen Cordero boots that I bought new for $650 several years ago. For me, the “price per wear” makes them worth it, because I know the size 8 is comfortable, the heel is low, they fit even with the compression socks I now must wear often, and I will love them till I drop. A few years ago, I found a slightly different pair, perhaps even more beautiful, and new, in my size for $200. Sold!

Haggle: You can make offers and negotiate with online sellers or “bundle” your purchases for a deal from a single seller. Discount codes are plentiful and easy to find on the sites. Resale nirvana is when you find a fellow shopper who is your size and has your style.

“That’s the community, and that’s the culture,” Kate says. “I’ve never paid the asking price for anything on Poshmark.”

Know what “NWT” means: It’s “new with tags,” and lots of items on resale sites have never been worn. This is especially true of high-end pieces, because women who can afford expensive things often buy many expensive things and never wear them.

For me, “NWT” also means Never Wearing (boss-lady black) Trousers again. This old gal is learning new resale shopping tricks.

Jan Tuckwood bio

Jan Tuckwood is an award-winning journalist who was associate editor and revenue content director of The Palm Beach Post for 30 years. She’s also a former fashion editor of The Denver Post, and her work has appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and Glamour magazine, among other publications. She is the editor of five books, including the official history book of Palm Beach County, and she is the co-author of “Too Young to Be Old,” the 2022 memoir of Diane Gilman, HSN’s “Jean Queen.”