What to do with your child’s outgrown clothes

Are you trying to figure out what to do with your child’s outgrown clothes? There is an overwhelming number of options. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each depending on how much time you’re willing to spend selling them and how much value you want in return.

Option 1: Trade Your Kid’s Clothes on Swoondle

How it works: You send in your child’s outgrown clothes to Swoondle in a pre-paid shipping bag. Swoondle values your items in levels 1- 5. You get to trade out items in your trade levels.

Effort: Low- using Swoondle requires minimal effort. You just send in your items and Swoondle takes it from there. Swoondle’s shipping bags are reusable and hanger-friendly, so you can just hang them in your kid’s closet and put items in there as they outgrow them.

Payout: You get a trade balance instead of a payout, so you can get something of equal value to the item you traded in. You only pay a small trading fee.The Standard Plan is $10/ month for 5 trades/month. See all plan options.

Consignment: Swoondle is not based on consignment-- you don’t have to wait until an item sells to get your trade balances.

Acceptance: Swoondle’s like-for-like trading system allows us to be more liberal with what we accept. If you send in something of low value, you’ll simply get a low-level balance in return. If you send in something of high value, you’ll get a high-level balance in return. We can't accept items that are in poor condition, but we will responsibly recycle or donate them on your behalf.

Valuation & Disputes: Swoondle has a transparent valuation process based on each item’s brand, condition, item type, size, and demand (read here). In the infrequent case that a customer disagrees with how her items were valued, Swoondle aims to provide a fair resolution, even sometimes sending back items (though our terms don’t require this).

Best if:

• You don’t have a lot of time to photograph, list, and manage selling your items
• You want the maximum return value for your items
• You want to dress your children in secondhand clothes, either for the cost savings or sustainability benefits
• You need new clothes for your child in the next size or season

 

Option 2: Consign Your Kid’s Clothes on ThredUp

How it works: You send in your child’s outgrown clothes to ThredUp in a pre-paid shipping bag. ThredUp lists the items on consignment for 60-90 days. If your item sells during that time, ThredUp pays you a small percentage of the sale price.

Effort: Low- you just send your items to ThredUp and they list them for you.

Payout: ThredUp pays out 5-10% of the sale price for items that are sold for $20 or less (which is most of kid’s clothes). For example, if you send in an item worth $10, you’ll get $0.50 back if it sells. You can only cash out after the return window has passed (source).

Consignment: ThredUp is based on consignment, meaning you’ll only get paid if your item sells. If your item doesn’t sell after the 60-90 day window, you won’t get paid.

Acceptance: ThredUp is stricter with what they accept. It’s website states that “Our strict guidelines allow us to accept only 40% of items in the average Clean Out Kit.” 

Valuation & Disputes: You can get a pretty clear idea of how much to expect if your item sells using ThredUp’s Payout Calculator, but getting that payout depends on ThredUp first accepting your items and then someone actually purchasing (and not returning) them. If you want to get your items that aren’t accepted back, you have to pay for an upfront “Return Assurance” fee of $10.99 (before you even know how they will value your bag).

Best if:

• You want to sell women’s and kid’s clothes in one place
• You prefer a cash payout, even if it’s less value
• You intend to use the payout from selling clothes to purchase new clothes from retail stores instead of buying secondhand clothing
• You do not need to replace your kid’s clothing with the next size or season

Read more: How does Swoondle compare to ThredUp? 5 real listings.

 

Option 3: Sell Your Kid’s Clothes Online (eBay, PoshMark)

How it works: You photograph and list your kid’s clothes online. If your item sells, you ship the item to the buyer.

Effort: High- you are responsible for photographing, valuing, listing, and shipping your items, while PoshMark handles the financial transaction, shipping labels. PoshMark handles some customer service issues, but you will have to answer questions about the items and manage price negotiations.

Payout: You determine the price of your item. You only get paid if your item sells. If it sells, you get paid directly and pay a selling fee to Poshmark. Poshmark’s fee is $2.95 per item for sales under $15 and 20% for sales over $15 (source).

Consignment: Selling on eBay or PoshMark is different from consignment because you still own your item. If your item doesn’t sell, it’s still in your possession. Acceptance: You decide what to post for sale, as long as it complies with the selling platform’s policies, like the PoshMark’s Prohibited Items Policy.

Valuation & Disputes: It’s up to you as the seller to value your items and determine the right selling price. It’s up to the buyer to determine whether the listing seems fair and accurate. PoshMark and eBay do not professionally assess the items in advance since they are never in their possession. PoshMark gives buyers the right to file a complaint within 3 days if they think their item was inaccurately portrayed in the listing.

Best if:

• You have the time and skill required to photograph, value, list, sell, and ship your items
• You don’t mind holding on to your items until they sell (if they sell)
• You want to sell adult and kids items in one place
• You don’t want to dress your children in secondhand clothing so you want a cash payout (as opposed to trading credits) to buy things new from retail stores

 

Option 4: Sell Your Kid’s Clothes through Local Social Platforms (NextDoor, Facebook Moms Groups)

How it works: You photograph and post your kid’s clothes online. If your item sells you coordinate pick-up and payment with the buyer.

Effort: Highest- you are responsible for all aspects of selling your items, including photographing, valuing, listing, financial transactions, and communicating directly with the buyer.

Payout: You determine the price of your items and the buyer pays you directly (usually through PayPal, Venmo, or cash). There are no transaction or consignment fees.

Consignment: Selling the items directly is different from consignment because there is no third party involved.

Acceptance: You decide what to post for sale.

Valuation & Disputes: It’s up to you as the seller to value your items and determine the right selling price. It’s up to the buyer to determine whether the listing seems fair and accurate. Disputes are handled directly between buyers and sellers.

Best if:

• You want to try to get the highest cash return on your items, even if requires a lot of time and effort
• You enjoy the community aspect of buying and selling with people in your neighborhood
• Shipping items is inconvenient for you (for example, your mailbox is too small to ship packages or your post office is far away), so you’d prefer to have buyers come directly to your home to pick up items

 

Option 5: Consign Your Kid’s Clothes at a Local Thrift Shop

How it works: You bring your items to your local consignment store. They review your items during your appointment and determine what they will keep and the selling price. If your item sells, they pay you a percentage of the item’s sale price.

Effort: Medium- you have to set up an appointment with your local consignment store and drive there with all of the clothes you want to sell, but after your appointment, the consignment store takes it from there.

Payout: You only get paid a percentage of the item’s sale if and when it sells. Terms and payouts vary from store to store so it’s up to you to research them upfront. Some thrift stores let you opt for a higher payout if you choose store credit instead of cash. Typical payouts at local shops are 40-60% of the sale price.

Consignment: In a consignment agreement, the store only pays you a percentage of the sale when and if your item sells within a certain amount of time.

Acceptance: The consignment store will determine what they will accept based on the quality and demand for those items. Stores have more limited space than online platforms so they must be more selective in what they can accept. Many will not accept lower/budget brand items at all due to the lack of demand and low price points.

Valuation & Disputes: Consignment stores usually review your items while you are there, so you can decide if the selling price seems fair. You can take back any items they won’t accept or that you don’t want to consign based on their price. Each store has its own policies and approach to customer service.

Best if:

• You want to support local consignment stores
• It’s easier for you to get to a consignment store than ship items
• You also shop at that consignment store and will opt for the higher store credit payout

 

Option 6: Donate Your Kid’s Clothes to Charity

How it works: You drop off your kid’s clothes to a charity shop like Goodwill, The Salvation Army, or a donation dropbox. How your clothes are used depends on the charity. Some go directly to families in need, but most (like Goodwill) sell donated clothing for a profit to support their charitable initiative.

Effort: Medium- dropping off the clothes for donation is usually pretty painless, but documenting what you donated to get a tax deduction takes a bit more effort.

Payout: You don’t get a payout, but you might be able to get a tax deduction. You can deduct the fair market value of each item, which is usually $2-$5 for good condition kid’s clothes according to Goodwill (source).

Consignment: N/A

Acceptance: While charities like Goodwill will take your full clothing donation, they’re usually not able to use all of it. Many charities are inundated with children’s clothing donations and end up sending much of it to textile recycling because they don’t have the resources needed to sort, store, and sell the large number of items they receive.

Valuation & Disputes: N/A

Best if:

• You aren’t looking for a return on your items or just want a tax deduction
• The condition of your items is too low to be accepted by consignment shops
• You want to support certain charities by donating good condition items that they can sell
• Reminder: you may think that sweater with a hole “would be good for someone who doesn’t have a sweater” but charitable thrift stores will not sell or give these items to families - they will (hopefully) recycle them.

 

Option 7: Give Away Your Kid’s Clothes to Friends & Family

How it works: You give your child’s outgrown clothes to a friend or family member with a younger child.

Effort: Depends; low effort if you can give away the items as your child outgrows them and your friend can pick them up, higher effort if you have to store or ship the items.

Payout: You obviously won’t get a payout if you give away your items, but you might get the benefit of making your friend happy!

Consignment: N/A

Acceptance: Your friend might not want or need all of the items depending on the season and their personal taste. Let your friend know in advance if you want any of the items back that they don’t want or are finished using or if they can donate/ sell/ Swoondle them instead.

Valuation & Disputes: N/A

Best if:

• You want to help out a friend or family member and don’t want anything in return
• You have special items that you want to see re-worn, like family heirlooms
• You have a friend or family member who lives close by, has a similar taste, and has a child of the same gender a year or two younger than yours who will be the same size in the same seasons

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