Best Places to Buy Quality Thrift Clothes Online
Looking for the best places to buy quality thrift clothes online? You’re in luck. Today, there are more options than ever.
Thrift clothes hunting used to be a relatively niche activity, but with popularity soaring, there’s a whole thrift-clothes ecosystem just waiting to be discovered. Online, you’ll find resale marketplaces, consignment shops, auction websites, and much more — and that’s on top of all the awesome in-person thrift stores that you’ll have in your local area, too.
With that said, not all thrift clothes stores are created equal, and that matters when buying online. While you can see the quality and condition of an item yourself when looking in-person, online can be a bit of a gamble. Below, we’ll run through some of the best places to purchase thrift clothes online, as well as some broader tips that can increase your chances of ending up with pieces that you positively love.
OK, so where are the best places to buy quality thrift clothes online? Let’s dive in.
Best Places to Buy Quality Thrift Clothes Online
Local Thrift Stores
As we said above, the thrift market is thriving, which means you’ll almost certainly have a thrift store (or multiple) in your local area.
Some thrift stores make a small selection of their inventory available for purchase online. Even if they don’t, however, you can still get a sense of what the thrift store is all about. For example, it’s a good way to discover any causes that the store might support, as well as learn about any discounts they offer to military personnel, over-50 discounts, or general deals. Since it’s a local store, you can simply make the short drive and go to see their inventory in person, which offers a fair few advantages over buying online anyway.
At Thrift Town, we have physical stores in New Mexico and across Texas.
Online Consignment Shops
Online consignment shops can be a good place to find quality thrift clothes. These are stores in which people send in their unwanted clothes, and then receive a cut of the sale once it sells. They’re good because they tend to be well-curated, especially when compared with resale marketplaces (more on those below). Since the collection has been curated by someone with experience, you can cut down on browsing time significantly.
Just note that prices at consignment shops tend to run a little higher than what you’d find elsewhere, and in some cases, much higher. That’s because there are more overheads, and because the original owner of the item also has to be paid out.
Resale Marketplaces
With thrifting more popular than ever, many people are digging through their wardrobes and electing to sell pieces that they no longer need or wear. When they find those pieces, they can upload them to one of the many second-hand marketplaces online.
This is a good option because it can result in some real bargains. Since it’s person-to-person selling, and thus no overheads, you can find some excellent prices, even for high-quality garments. The only downside is that because anyone can upload items, you often have to wade through a fair amount of items that you’re not interested in, even if you’ve made a hyper-specific search.
If buying from a resale marketplace, pay particular attention to photos and sizing information. Some sellers put generic information that could turn out to be a costly mistake (for you).
Boutique Vintage Online Stores
Looking for clothes from a particular era, and want to be all-but-guaranteed that you’re buying quality? Then a boutique vintage online store could be just what you need.
These are small, independent stores that specialize in items from the vintage era. As with consignment stores, prices tend to be higher than what you’d find in a traditional thrift store. Part of the reason for that is that much of the work has already been done for you — instead of having to search for days finding a particular style of clothing, you’ll have it right there waiting for you.
While you’ll pay more, you can be reasonably confident that the piece that arrives at your door will be what you expect. Boutique vintage stores tend to put in a fair amount of effort into their photos and listing descriptions, which means you should have an accurate understanding of what you’ll receive before hitting the purchase button.
Local Buy-Sell-Trade Groups
Local buy-sell-trade groups can be a good place to find some real bargains on secondhand clothing. In fact, they can be a good place to find bargains for pretty much every type of item.
You’ll find them on Facebook and other community-focused websites. The downside is that, first of all, some groups are more active than others. Second, quality can vary widely, and the range of items being offered tends to be pretty limited.
The best approach is to simply join the group and periodically check in, rather than actively using it as a way to buy secondhand clothing. These groups do have a couple of major advantages over other platforms listed in this article, however. The price of the item is often negotiable, and since most can only be retrieved via local pick-up, you’ll get to see the item in person before handing over your cash.
Auction Websites
Auction websites can be another good place to buy thrift clothes. With these, the seller starts an auction, and then waits to see who bids. It’s good for finding some rare items that you can’t find elsewhere, as well as just picking up everyday finds without breaking the bank.
You can snag some real bargains with this approach. On the other hand, sometimes it can be easy to fall into a bidding war that actually means you end up paying more for the item than you intended.
Just note that you’ll need to be sure that you want to purchase the item before bidding. It can be difficult to back out if you win.
What to Look For When Buying Clothes Online
Buying thrift clothes online can be a good way to get quality clothing at an affordable price, but it’s not a slam-dunk. The very nature of buying online — you won’t know what the item is really like until it arrives — means that there’s always a risk of disappointment. This is one of the reasons why buying thrift clothes in-person is usually the better option. That’ll give you a chance to inspect the garment up close before deciding whether you’d like to buy it.
If you do decide to buy online, then it’s important to take a few extra steps to ensure you end up with a piece you genuinely love. Pay particular attention to the sizing information (and remember that different brands interpret the same sizes, such as ‘m’ or ‘l,’ differently).
Looking closely at photos for any scuffs, marks, or other signs of wear and tear is also key. The presence of marks doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t buy it, but it’s good to know about them beforehand!
Finally, if buying from a marketplace or auction site, take a look at the seller’s past reviews if possible. If they consistently get a high rating for selling quality clothing that has been well-described, then that’s a good sign that you’ll end up with a garment that you like.
Tips for Identifying Quality Clothing
Knowing a thing or two about what ‘quality thrift clothes’ means in practice can guide you towards buying the right items.
If the garment is made from natural fibers, such as cotton or linen, and has fully functional zippers, buttons, and clasps, then you’ll likely end up with a piece that is reasonably good. It can also be worth paying some attention to the era of the garment. Items in the past were made to higher standards than a lot of today’s clothing — which is produced by the fast fashion industry — and thus tends to last longer.
Red Flags To Look For When Buying Thrift Clothes Online
We’ve just outlined what to look for when buying thrift clothing online; now let’s focus on the red flags that can be a warning sign that it would be better to look elsewhere.
First, if a listing has limited information about the size or condition of the piece, then move on. You could check those things if you were buying in person, but it’s too much of a gamble when buying online, especially if no refunds or exchanges are allowed. It’s also recommended to be wary if the seller has no reviews or if the prices are suspiciously low. You can find good deals on thrift clothes, but finding absolute bargains — especially for quality clothing — can be a challenge.
Final Thoughts
There are enough online thrift clothes stores to fill your wardrobe ten times over, but as we’ve seen, they’re not all created equal. The best bet for buying thrift clothes is to buy them in person. That’ll allow you to try them on and feel the quality — plus, buying in person can just be a more fun experience!
