Consignment and resale shops are great places to cash in on items you no longer want and stock closets with finds that fit your current body and sense of style. Randi Zeid, owner of women’s resale-shop chain Clothes Mentor’s Mayfield Heights location, offers a few tips on what to buy and sell.
What to sell: Clean, gently worn, in-style clothing and accessories free of stains, tears, snags, etc. Clothes Mentor generally takes misses, petite, plus-size and maternity labels from better boutiques, mall chains and department stores purchased within the last year or two. “We’re not looking for old clothes, we’re looking for fashion,” Zeid stresses. Exceptions to the time limit include pieces by true high-end designers such as Chanel and St. John — a Burberry trench coat, for example.
While Zeid’s franchise does not buy lingerie, sleepwear, swimwear or formal wear, it will consider shoes that haven’t been worn or look like they’ve barely touched pavement.
“Nobody wants to wear somebody else’s shoes,” she says. “So they really have to be in like-new condition.”
What to buy: The best deals are scored on handbags, particularly those that originally retailed for $200 and up. “We specialize in designer handbags,” Zeid says — as well as jewelry, coats, activewear, trendy accessories like capes and ponchos and career basics such as black dress pants.
“Nobody wants to spend a fortune on work clothes,” she observes. “We have them for less.”
6145 Mayfield Road, Mayfield Heights, 440-646-9640, clothesmentor.com
