It is estimated that 26 billion pounds of clothes will end up in American landfills in just one year, each person producing personally 81 on average pounds. (HuffPost) Fast fashion has taken over, it is cheap, trendy, convenient and shopping sustainably can be difficult. Finding fashionable clothing in your size at thrift stores can be ever harder. Thanks to technology and the rise of online second hand stores, this just got a little easier.
In order to adequately compare these online second hand shops, I browsed and purchased from four different variants: Mercari, Depop, Poshmark and Instagram Shops. I will be exploring the pros and cons I found shopping from each in this article.
During quarantine, my sister and I both found ourselves out of work and looking to make money. We saw a commercial for the app Mercari and decided to give it a go. We put some clothes up for sale and ended up making a good amount of money in a couple months. This is what inspired me to start shopping on this website.
Mercari is my personal favorite and go-to online thrift store. The format of the app is easy to understand and use. A favorite feature of mine is if you like something up for sale, you can make an offer and the seller has 24 hours to accept or decline. This allows you to shop within your budget no matter what the price that’s set is. I have purchased jewelry, clothes, shoes and sewing supplies from here. My favorite item purchased here would have to be my Doc Marten sandals, they were brand new for almost $30 off retail price!
Depop has a reputation of being overpriced and filled with those trying to sell “rare” clothes for very high prices. This website is definitely the most youthful and trendy one, but this causes many items to be expensive. The web design is very confusing, say you search for “tennis skirts”, it will show you the same twenty tennis skirts in a continuous loop until you stop scrolling. This makes it hard to find what you are looking for.
The sellers I spoke to were all very amiable, they were excited to work with me through any questions or offers I had. I ended up purchasing an AU crewneck! If you are looking to necessarily save a lot of money, I wouldn’t recommend Depop. Although some items are priced fairly, most I saw were overpriced for being secondhand. This website also only accepts Paypal which could pose as an inconvenience.
Next, we’ll look at Poshmark. Poshmark is very similar to Mercari in terms of how you use it and what people sell. A big difference is the price of shipping. Unless the seller chooses to pay for shipping, which they often don’t because they make less money, the lowest price for shipping is $7.11. This can be the straw that broke the camel’s back if you are on a strict budget. Other than that, items are mostly reasonably priced and good quality and this app has the “Make an Offer” feature as well.
To continue, the app can be a little overwhelming. Poshmark sellers are constantly following you or inviting you to “Selling Parties” in an attempt to gain customers. The notifications can clog up your phone and app. There was one issue, where a shirt I ordered had a stain that wasn’t mentioned in the description, but the Poshmark customer service helped me to resolve this issue quickly and efficiently.
Finally, the world of Instagram thrifting boutiques. These shops are anything but few and far between. Since they are so easy to make, a lot of these Instagram accounts are run by people with no business experience, or even children trying to make money. With this in mind, you have to search to find credible sellers selling good quality clothes in my experience. Out of all the options available, this one is the riskiest. Since Instagram is not a store, if you choose to buy from someone who has a shop on this platform you are putting all your trust in them. Any sort of security or policy for safety is not required and often doesn’t exist. So, you have to take the risk in the small shop owner with your business and money. I have bought from multiple different sellers, through Venmo, and I haven’t had a bad experience yet!
Brand consultant, Rachel Kibbe once told Insider Magazine, “The only true sustainable way to shop is to not shop at all, unless you’re buying clothes that already exist,” . It is hard to stray away from fast fashion, and nobody is perfect, I know I can’t resist a good sale at Forever 21! Shopping second hand is an easy way to start making your life more environmentally and budget friendly. No single person can end the detriments of fast fashion, but making minor choices of buying some of your clothes second hand can only help.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Photos: Her Campus Media