Selling your clothes isn’t just great for the environment, it also helps free up space in your wardrobe (for more secondhand clothes).
When asked for tips for selling unwanted clothing, Guardian readers suggest online marketplaces including Facebook, Vinted and eBay. But first, consider selling or giving to friends who might be the same size.
Charities are also a great way to recycle fashion but readers suggests thinking beyond the local op shop to favour organisations that specialise in workwear for job hunters or even theatre schools who might looking to top up their costume supplies.
No matter how you get rid of clothes, most readers agree that the sooner you do it the better, and that effectively cleaning every item before selling makes a huge difference.
No way do I want old clothes hanging around for as much as “a year” while I try to rehome them! By using eBay and Vinted, it’s possible to reach a big audience and sell almost anything in a couple of weeks, so long as you price realistically.
Where sellers go wrong is in assuming that an item’s value now is defined by what they paid for it in the past (the “sunk cost fallacy”). It isn’t.
Instead, if you want a piece to actually sell (and not just languish in a corner), the price has to reflect what a buyer is willing to pay for it. You must accept that you’re not going to recoup the full purchase price – which is only fair: you’ve worn and used the piece already. Even if it’s new, you aren’t offering the refunds or consumer rights of buying in a shop.