We’re setting a new intention for 2020 for you: shop more sustainably. There are numerous benefits to shopping with a conscious through consignment apps. Finding unique products for low prices are among them, in addition to the fact that they’re a goldmine for vintage lovers. Plus, with the resale market at an all-time high, the selection of top-of-the-line merchandise available to online shoppers is larger than ever before. Case in point: there’s simply never been a better time to buy secondhand. Think in the “adopt don’t shop” way of things — upcycling is an easy way to contribute to a more circular economy.
When it comes to looking for legit designer and name brand items to add to your wardrobe, the easy move is to go straight to the source. But, next time you go out looking for a quality, splurge-worthy piece, ask yourself: has it been recycled? We bet is has.
Here we break down 11 of the best free consignment apps to shop in 2020. Get your download buttons ready.
ebay
Why not start with one of the resale world’s OG’s? Not only can you buy almost anything on eBay, the site also has an impressive selection of luxury items, including a wide variety of vintage Louis Vuitton.
Known for: Everything from name brand and designer jewellery, watches, clothing, collectibles, and much more.
Authentication process: eBay’s Authenticate program consists of expert sellers whose authentication capabilities have been vetted by independent experts verify each designer item. You can shop on eBay without fear of being scammed for a fake because each item labeled “eBay Authenticate” is already in eBay’s possession when you purchase it.
Heroine
Heroine is a community-driven marketplace for women’s fashion and streetwear. Think of it as a place to shop all your favourite avant-garde, cool-girl designers like Isabel Marant, Commes Des Garcons, Celine, and Maison Martin Margiela.
Known for: Well-rounded collection of new and vintage designer clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories.
Authentication process: The team at Heroine is constantly monitoring the marketplace for fraudulent items and dishonest buyers/sellers. The site’s Zero-Tolerance Policy means that anyone posting counterfeit goods or posting items they do not own will be immediately frozen from the site.
Basic Space
Basic Space is a consignment app the first-of-its-kind as sellers are invite only. Bridging the gap between traditional consignment, online retail, and event-based shopping, customers can shop a variety of specially curated merchandise and experiences directly from handpicked curators. In other words, you can shop directly from the closests of your most-loved influencers. How cool is that?
Known for: Exclusive access to curated vintage apparel from the likes of Girlboss founder Sophia Amuroso, Sporty & Rich founder Emily Oberg, and designer Sami Miro.
Authentication process: Basic Space only works with trusted sellers, and their in-house luxury authenticators review every item that arrives at its warehouse. The team double checks materials, logos, tags, quality, and hardware before adding products to their platform.
GOAT
Sneakerheads, unite. If you haven’t already visited the GOAT app, you’re in for a treat – it’ll be your new favourite place to find name brand and designer sneakers online for lower prices. GOAT’s app allows you to save all your favourite styles and it’ll send you notifications when prices drop.
Known for: The largest selection of Yeezys, Air Jordans, new releases, classic styles, apparel, and accessories.
Authentication process: All resale products sold on GOAT are verified by a combination of machine learning technology and by hand. The company has logged hundreds of thousands of data points on its products to help define its authenticity. GOAT’s specialists also go through rigorous training and inspect everything from labels and stitching, to texture, color, and more. And, if a product is found to be inauthentic or not as described, you’ll get a notification and be offered a full refund for your order. Bonus!
The RealReal
Growing steadily since 2011, The RealReal hosts millions of shoppers, consignors, and now has three brick-and-mortar stores in New York and Los Angeles. The RealReal has become the world’s largest and most trusted marketplace for authenticated luxury, marketing sustainability by empowering consignors and buyers to extend the life cycle of luxury goods. The brand has partnered with designers like Stella McCartney to give last seasons looks an afterlife, and in addition to creating a one-of-a-kind sustainability calculator, the company has also committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2021.
Known for: Women’s, men’s and kids’ fashion, fine jewelry, watches, fine art, home decor, and amazing deals.
Authentication process: The Real Real is the only reseller in the world that authenticates every single item it sells to remove fakes and counterfeits from the industry. The site also employs over 100 brand authenticators, gemologists, and horologists who oversee the authentication process. Each one of them has a profile on the company’s website.
Depop
Now joined by 10 million users, Depop was originally a social network constructed by co-founder of PIG magazine Simon Beckerman, where PIG’s readers could buy items featured on its pages. Today, Depop is home to influencers across fashion, design, art, music, and more. On Depop, you can discover unique name brand and designer items from creatives across the world.
Known for: Everything from Nike sneakers to Gucci totes. P.S.A: Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad lists tons of designer items on her Depop feed.
Authentication process: Depop has partnered with Real Authentication, a company that services brands like Alexander Mcqueen and Burberry, which digitally authenticates a selection of high-end products. Look for a green tick in the comments or a Real Authentication certificate to verify an item has been authenticated on the Depop app.
Grailed
Kin to Heroine, Grailed is another place for hype beasts to shop a broad selection of streetwear. Think: Supreme, Off-White, Balenciaga, and so many more.
Known for: High-quality men’s streetwear and designer pieces.
Authentication process: Expert moderators at Grailed are continuously reviewing and verifying listings for authenticity. The team checks labels, patterns, textiles, and many other details to make sure items are the real deal.
Rebag
Meet the designer bag retailer of your dreams. Rebag purchases high-end designer handbags for cash, offering beautiful styles from over 50 brands. You’ll see new arrivals arrive on the Rebag app and at its Los Angeles, Miami, and New York stores every week, making your digital or in-person shopping experience a literal handbag heaven. And with Rebag Infinity, it’s totally cool to have a 6 month fling with any one of your favourite designer purses, and then return it for up to 70 per cent of its purchase price. #NoBaggage is right – and you bet you can use your Rebag credit towards your next buy.
Known for: Quality and quantity of high-end designer handbags, especially Hermes and Chanel.
Authentication process: Every handbag undergoes a white-glove inspection and in-house multilayered evaluation by Rebag authentication experts before its listed for sale.
ThredUp
Choose used with thredUP and get up to 90 per cent off brands ranging from Gap to Gucci. With a strong mission to reduce textile waste, thredUP has a hand in supporting the Circular Fashion Fund, a non-profit organization that identifies, vets, and distributes funds to organizations and individuals committed to a more sustainable future. To date, thredUP’s automated Upcycled Centers have redistributed 65 million garments, meaning its commitment to encouraging others to think secondhand first is working.
Known for: High quality, secondhand name brand and designer clothing at some of the steepest discounts there is.
Authentication process: thredUp has a staff of highly trained authenticators with extensive experience in identifying fake designer items that ensures there is no counterfeit “luxe” product that enters their inventory.
Poshmark
When you have 100 million items and 5,000 brands to choose from, finding products you love isn’t hard on an app like Poshmark. And if you’ve ever wished for an online shopping buddy, now’s the time to attend a Posh Party – a series of virtual buying and selling events on the Poshmark app that you can browse and list on together with your friends.
Known for: Name brand and designer accessories, bags, clothing, shoes, makeup, home essentials, decor, and even party supplies at up to 70 per cent off their regular price.
Authentication process: As soon as you purchase a luxury item on Poshmark, it gets shipped to the company’s headquarters for authentication. Its staff inspects everything from hardware to logos before shipping your precious cargo to you.
StockX
Operating out of Detroit, Michigan, StockX sells some of the hottest street-sneakers on the market, as well as luxury designer items and memorabilia. The company is also the world’s first stock market for “things” – a live bid/ask marketplace. Think of StockX as your authority on all things Nike, Air Jordan, Yeezy, and streetwear brands such as Supreme and Off-White.
Known for: Sneakers, streetwear, handbags, and watches.
Authentication process: You never have to worry about legitimate buyers or sellers on StockX, as the company acts as a middleman in every transaction so that anonymity can remain in tact. First, sellers ship to StockX, then the company puts every item through a rigorous two-step verification and authentication process. As a result, less than point three per cent of StockX customers are ever unhappy with their purchases. If that satisfaction rate isn’t enough reassurance for you, what is?
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It’s never been more chic to wear someone else’s clothing—that is, clothes that once belonged to someone else. Kate Moss herself is a great advocate of vintage. “I love the idea that the clothes have a history and have been worn previously,” she said recently in a press interview for her new book. “Who knows what they have experienced?” While we can’t all be the poster child for the super glamorous supermodels, there’s no doubt that the secondhand fashion market is thriving. According to a study by ThredUp earlier this year, the total secondhand apparel market is set to double in the next five years—with resale and shopping apps driving a lot of that growth. In fact, resale has grown a whopping 21 times faster than retail over the past three years.
These are numbers to be happy about, especially when we are coming to terms with the impact that consumerism and fashion can have on the planet.
Shopping apps like Depop, Carousell, and Poshmark have made names for themselves by offering users the opportunity to gain a little cash from clothes they probably just had lying around anyway. Closer to home, Toronto-grown trading app Bunz, extended this philosophy past just your closet to your entire household.
There’s money to be made off of your own closet, it seems—and with strangers you’ve never met on the internet.
The sustainability bonus is a significant benefit.
Ethical blogger Nannan Wan has been a proponent for secondhand fashion for a while, noting that consumer trends are shifting quickly away from fast fashion to more sustainable options.
“Secondhand clothing has started a movement where it’s now cool to purchase luxury vintage at the thrift store,” she says. “These apps open the space for people to explore secondhand buying and selling, maybe for the first time.”
What makes these apps so attractive, aside from diverting has-been clothing from landfills, is knowing that you’re in it together with thousands of others with similar goals. These apps have gained traction not only for their ease of use, but also the platforms and communities that they have created.
Poshmark, for example, made its hotly-anticipated expansion to Canada just this year (after being founded 8 years ago in California. The app now boasts over 500,000 users in Canada alone.
“Our app allows people to create a revolving closet, giving a second, third, or even fourth life to clothing while also making room for new pieces,” says Maria Morales, Poshmark’s Director of International Expansion.
“But most importantly, Poshmark is a social platform above all else. We’ve seen the community grow so quickly because buyers and sellers have the ability to like, share, comment, and build connections with each other.”
Community is the core driving force of these apps and consequently, it’s become the core driving force of secondhand fashion in general.
These apps would be unfeasible if not for the thousands of users scrolling, posting, and engaging everyday. The apps offer a new digitized version of thrift shopping and conscious consumerism, and they do it in a way that is mimics social media.
London-born Depop gained traction due to its uncanny resemblance to Instagram, (founded a year earlier in 2010). Users have similar profile pages with likes and comments, and the home feed looks nearly identical.
Even Bunz originated from a secret Facebook group.
Since 2016, the company has grown to a user base of over 400,000 and averaging 5,000 posts a day—with clothing and accessories as its largest category, about three times as much posted daily as furniture or beauty.
For Toronto-based illustrator Wandy Cheng, Bunz is a welcoming place, where you can get rid of things for something useful to satisfy both parties’ needs.
“The app had just launched when I joined, so it was a whole new exciting space for everyone,” she says. Cheng has quite an extensive history with reselling clothes, from Kijiji and eBay to Salvation Army, but stuck with Bunz because of the people she found there.
“Compared to other sites, Bunz was the only space where I felt a strong sense of community, which was a surprising bonus when I had initially joined with the sole purpose to declutter.”
Since joining three years ago, Bunz and thrift-shop finds to make up the bulk of her closet—however, she continues: “I’ve also been making a conscious effort [not only] to buy less, but also to bring less clothes into my life. Although I am still excited to trade for cool items, I ponder on the article of clothing for a lot longer than I used to.”
Whether you’re just dipping your toe into the world of reselling or if you’ve been a secondhand apparel wearer for years, there’s no question that apps have become an integral part of the process.
Poshmark, Bunz, and Depop apps act like closet extensions, mini thrift-shops and social platforms all in one—all from your phone, meaning you don’t even have to leave your house. It’s like online shopping, except better for the planet. Only in this case, there’s no telling what—or who— you’ll find.
We’ve all seen those amazing thrift hauls on YouTube and Instagram and been immediately inspired to hit up our local thrift stores. After watching someone else’s haul, you’ve got hopes of finding a coveted pair of orange label Levi’s (or whatever you’ve been coveting. You do you, boo.), only to be disappointed with the selection of items available — very, very disappointed.
But what if we told you that you don’t have to spend hours and hours sifting through racks upon racks of clothing to find what you’re after? Online secondhand shopping is a thing, y’all, and it’s so much easier to navigate than your local thrift store.
We’ve rounded up our 8 smart tips for secondhand shopping online so that you can score thrifted gems every time!
Instagram/@therealreal
1. Choose your store (carefully)!
Are you looking for luxury or are you looking for more budget-friendly brands? Vintage or contemporary? Something in between? Narrowing in on what exactly you’re looking for and choosing an online shop that reflects your needs will set a foundation for success.
There are so many great sites to shop secondhand online. We love: ThredUp, The RealReal, Poshmark, Etsy, rose girls, Depop, sororité, VSP Consignment, and the Vestiaire Collective.
Looking to spend a little bit more on a designer piece? Choose a shop that employs a team of experts to authenticate its luxury items. While you’re at it, make sure to check out each shop’s shipping and return policies. You know, just in case.
2. Make a list
…but don’t restrict yourself to it. Identifying gaps in your wardrobe and making a list will help you focus, but sometimes you’ll stumble upon a wonderful something that you didn’t know you needed. And that’s totally okay, too!
Instagram/@vestiaireco
3. Look for brands you already love
In case you didn’t know, a lot of the brands you already shop from can be found secondhand online.
Looking for and purchasing familiar brands takes the guesswork out of online shopping because you already know the quality of the clothing and the brands unique sizing. Easy peasy.
4. Know your measurements
Are you looking to explore vintage or brands that you may not already wear? Well, you’re going to need to know your measurements for that. We’re not tailors, but you can find a comprehensive guide to figuring that out on websites like The Chic Fashionista. Once you’re armed with that knowledge, make sure to check your measurements against the measurements of each item you’re considering to ensure a great fit!
Instagram/@swapsoiree_
5. Take advantage of each online store’s search filters
Searching specifically for a red midi dress from Reformation? Same, girl. We recommend using your favourite online secondhand store’s filters (clothing type, colour, size, etc.) to find exactly what you’re looking for in under a minute. Bet you can’t do that at your local thrift store!
6. Put it all into your virtual cart
Do a quick scan of items available and (virtually) grab everything that catches your attention, even if you’re not sure about it — this is especially important when shopping from online stores that reserve your items for a specified period of time. Your first look through is not the time for making final cuts. If you don’t grab it when you first see it, there’s a chance someone else will snag it from right under you.
Instagram/@rosegirlsvintage
7. Always double check
Enlarge the photos of the item and scrutinize them. Read and reread the description of the item. And then do it again. You don’t want to be surprised when your secondhand item arrives and it’s not in the like-new condition you envisioned it in.
8. Don’t buy it just because it’s cheap
For the love of all things thrift, don’t buy something just because it’s cheap! When you buy something you’re not one hundred percent into, you risk filling up your closet space with items you don’t end up wearing. Not to mention, you could be taking away the opportunity for someone else to love that piece to death. Just let them have it.
Instagram/@thredup
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Have a ton of clothing, but never anything to wear? Instead of staring mournfully at your closet, put that unworn clothing to use and make a bit of money while you’re at it. Yes, it’s true that donating your clothes is a nice thing to do but donating to your bank account is also nice and your gently used clothing can do just that. Below we’ve rounded up different ways to sell your clothes to make some extra cash:
Websites
When it comes to selling your lightly used clothing, the Internet is your best friend. There are a ton of websites for listing things at your disposal that require little to no effort. The obvious go-to’s are websites like eBay, Kijiji, and Craigslist, but there are also clothes-specific sites like Trend Trunk, ASOS Market Place, Tradesy and The RealReal. Plop yourself down on the couch and watch the cash roll in.
Facebook Groups
Another great way to sell your clothing is using Facebook groups like Shop My Closet, Everything Must Go, selling and giving, and Fashion Curator – Buy & Sell. Once part of the group, list an item by simply posting a pic and naming your price (any other requirements per listing will be described within the group rules). Once sold, all that’s left to do is coordinate a time and place for pickup with the buyer. This may seem tedious, but a huge benefit is that you won’t have to worry about shipping. Go to groups and click “discover” to find group suggestions for your area.
Phone Apps
If you live on your phone, you’ll be happy to know you can definitely use your mobile device to sell your clothing. Basically, all the websites listed above have mobile apps to make your life easier – no laptop or camera necessary, just your phone! In addition, Offer Up Now and Depop are the best mobile-only apps out there right now. Depop is great if you’re looking to sell trendier or fad clothing and Offer Up Now has an amazing feature that displays only items close by, while providing the location if you want to avoid shipping.
Consignment Stores
We couldn’t make a list of ways to sell your clothing without including good, old consignment stores and Toronto has plenty. With a number of stores that will give you either a store credit or money up-front, it’s perhaps the fastest way to cash in your clothes. Even if it doesn’t, and you have to wait for the item to sell, it still forgoes the effort of listing. If you’re looking to sell fast fashion labels or cheaper clothing, head to Common Sort or Kind Exchange. Alternatively, if its higher-end or designer clothing you want to resell, try Fashionably Yours, VSP Consignment or Extoggery.
How do you plan on selling your clothing to make some extra cash?
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