I Think Reseller Hate is Unwarranted

The industry is largely moms, struggling adults, and small business owners - is that really who we're out to villanize?

Hot take: I think getting mad at people who buy used clothing to resell and make a profit off of it is whack. I’m not talking about corporate resellers like Goodwill, Plato’s Closet, whatever. I mean resellers as individuals and small businesses.

“But it makes clothing more expensive.”

Yeah, that’s a downside; I’ll give you that. But it’s usually not a massive markup. And it’s a markup that is still way under what clothing retailers sell their merchandise for brand new, so it's usually still affordable. What’s worse: a used pair of $7 jeans resold for $15 or a t-shirt manufactured for $1 then sold new for $80?

In this capitalist and propaganda-run world, we all have to be asking ourselves, “Who does this criticism actually affect?” It’s easy to just afford blanket hate to anyone who increases the cost of something, but life is way too damn nuanced to be making snap judgments about anything. Most resellers are not the problem.

So, again, yes, it does marginally drive up the cost of used clothing. But I think there is a massive social benefit that justifies a lil’ price increase. The vast majority of resellers are usually college students, broke young adults, and moms just trying to make some money to afford life’s necessities. In attacking resellers, we’re attacking people who likely aren’t in a super strong economic position.

There are also some people who are able to successfully run it as a small business, and I think that’s fine too - money is better in the hands of everyday people than a massive corporation. Reselling used/vintage clothes is not known to be a huge millionaire generator. At best, it’s paying for a Nissan Rogue and a two-bedroom apartment - not bad but, you know, not enough to buy a yacht or the US government.

My range of reseller acceptance runs from teenagers trying to make pocket money to the well-coiffed middle-aged ladies who run upscale consignment boutiques. Individuals, small business owners, and any charitable initiative. Once someone is doing enough volume to have a direct contact at USPS, then they’re on their own.

Why are we policing people with no real power? Villainizing well-meaning people who aren’t causing any significant harm is weird. Take that energy to your local private equity group - that’s who’s really driving up the cost of everything.