As students leave Columbia for the summer, it becomes clear that what we have is an overwhelming amount of stuff—often piles of clothes that aren’t worn anymore. A great solution to cutting the clutter and turning it into cash is to take those items to a consignment store.
Ian Thomas, manager of New Beginning Consignment Clothing, said he would like to see more students bring their clothes into the store.
“There (are) just mounds of stuff that (go) to waste when the students leave,” he said. “They could be putting their clothes to work. We take consignment, which means that they bring in the clothes, and if they sell, they get the money. It pays.”
New Beginning requires that clothes sold be brand name, in excellent condition and current style. The store also sells accessories, like high-end purses and scarves.
Thomas said a pair of good jeans, for example, would probably get a seller about $7, with the maximum price for jeans being about $15.
New Beginning is different in that sellers only receive their payment once their clothes sell in the store. Also, they only accept clothes by appointment, so call before hauling a box downtown.
Thomas said the best aspect of New Beginning is the variety it offers. Variety is certainly offered elsewhere in downtown Columbia. Maude Vintage graces Broadway with its windows of mannequins in outfits of the past.
“We do mostly vintage items from the early ‘80s and before, and the modern clothes we take are from the last two seasons, with a vintage look,” Maude Vintage employee Latoya Jackson said. “We have some newer items, too, and some locally designed clothes.” Jackson said the stock of clothing mostly comes from college students and elderly women, but some items come from state auctions.
“With some college students, their parents pass these things down to them,” Jackson said. Maude Vintage offers sellers 40 percent of the product resale value in cash, or 60 percent in store trade. A pair of good jeans, to keep up the example, would sell for about $15, meaning the cash value a seller would receive would be $6.
Six dollars may not seem like much, but clothes in consignment shops are also cheaper.
“I like shopping at Blackberry Exchange because you can get such great deals,” said sophomore Holland Baker, who was perusing the stock at Blackberry Exchange, another consignment shop in The District, on Tuesday. “You kind of have to dig sometimes, but it’s worth it finding something really good for a reasonable price.”
Baker said Columbia’s various consignment shops all have something different to offer.
“I got my Halloween costume from Maude V., and that worked out really well,” she said. “I think Maude V. was a little more expensive, but they also have vintage stuff that I probably couldn’t find anywhere else. But I just bought a dress for $8 at Blackberry Exchange, and you can’t really beat that.”
As an out-of-state student, Baker plans to sell some clothes to a consignment store instead of taking them all back to California.
“At least then I could trade them for something new,” she said. “As a college student, I’d be more likely to trade my clothes in at a consignment shop, because I don’t have a lot of money.”
For those who can donate clothes, however, Goodwill will take almost anything—and donations are tax-deductible. According to Goodwill’s website, 84 percent of Goodwill’s revenues go directly to providing employment and training programs for people who would otherwise be unemployed.
Consignment stores in Columbia are currently buying for the spring and summer now. Jackson said Maude Vintage will begin buying coats in the fall, around Halloween.
