The Empire’s New Clothes
I love a good thrift store or clearance section. Yes, I know, I know, I can hear Ramit Sethi’s eyes roll when he decries the time it takes to search for things instead of just buying high quality, long-lasting items at full price.
Of course, I do buy things at full price when price is a true indication of quality.
But I sometimes like the thrill of the hunt. That is living a rich life to me. I am, and have always been, the type of person who makes a game out of acquiring “nice” things for less than full retail price.
Also, while I would love to buy merino-wool t-shirts and underwear, I am pragmatic as I enter middle age. In spite of a super clean diet and rigorous exercise routine, many women 40+ begin to change shape. Which means I could risk using an expensive pair of underwear as a hanky to mop up my tears and the sweat of my brow while I cry about my changing figure on the treadmill.
Truth be told, high quality items are often difficult to come by. Price is not a guaranteed determinant of quality. I have been to high-end department stores and noticed the same fabrics that I see in the aisles of Target, just at five times the price. In order to get better quality, it is now necessary to shop at “bespoke” boutiques. But, to circle back, I find these things, especially clothing, at thrift and consignment stores.
For all the talk about quality, I sometimes just need basic stuff. T-shirts, workout clothes and the like. I’m an active person who frequently endures the elements (#soccermom). I need clothing items that I can wear that aren’t precious, that are cost-conscious, and that won’t leave me crying about sunk costs if my endocrine system rebels.
Enter resellers.
Maybe it’s just my location in the Midwest, but I have recently become aware of about 5 or 6 different “buy-out” or “reseller” type stores in my area. These are companies that buy up “extra” items from one seller, say Amazon returns or last summer’s Target overstock, then sell them in their own store at a deep discount.
There are even reseller grocery stores.
As a deeply frugal person who wears clothes, I’ve discovered that these places are great for finding staple wardrobe items for next to nothing. A few months ago, I bought two, brand-new, name-brand t-shirts for 50 cents each. Which is far less than I would have bought the same (used) shirts at goodwill.
On one hand, I love the reseller thing because it allows me to be frugal while still finding items I need. On the other hand, I am concerned about the environmental toll of inexpensive clothing. So, shopping in these places leaves me feeling icky in a way, which has made me wonder about several different things:
1. What is the true value of anything that I buy?
2. What would happen to these clothes if they weren’t at a reseller?
3. What are the downsides to resellers?
4. How do I limit my demand on a system when I still need reasonably priced clothing?
What is the true value of anything I buy? If the value of a thing is largely determined by the marketplace, and by the law of supply and demand, naturally, the overstock items represent oversupply, so they should cost less. Just last season, the same clothing that I bought for $0.50 was selling for $20. It’s a staple item, so it’s really not much different from what they’re selling this season. If I were to shop in the store it actually came from, and I would likely be shopping from the clearance rack, it would cost $10. Which value is the true value?
The value to me is what I’m willing to pay for it. In either case, whether I buy it from a reseller or the actual store, the company that made the shirt is still making a profit. Even though they are selling these clothes to a reseller at a deep discount.
Which brings me to the next question: what would happen to these clothes if they weren’t at a reseller? I think we all know the answer…they would go in the trash. In my area, most of the retail stores don’t just have a dumpster sitting in the parking lot…it is a dumpster connected to a chute from the store and fully enclosed. That way, nobody can see when a company throws perfectly good but slow moving inventory into the trash. Because it costs them more to keep trying to sell it. And again, they will still be making a profit.
Yep, that’s right. As messed up as that is, stores will simply put unused items into dumpsters rather than take up valuable floor space for the most current inventory. In areas that still have regular dumpsters, this disturbing trend is more apparent.
My husband and I occasionally get lost down the dumpster-diving YouTube rabbit hole. If you have followed any of these channels, you will see just how much new stuff gets trashed to make space for incoming inventory. While it is horrifying and addicting to watch, these YouTubers are doing a valuable service of documenting all the unnecessary waste created by modern business practices.
From this standpoint, the upside to resellers is that some inventory might be diverted from a landfill. Another upside is that resellers make many staple consumer items affordable to struggling families. But what are the downsides? The main downside that I see, is that reselling doesn’t do anything to mitigate the current model of production. If anything, it entrenches existing practices as it likely boosts the bottom line of overproducing corporations.
Costs are low to me, but somewhere in the supply system they are high…whether to the environment or to humans within the system. Both of which are often offshored and largely invisible to the western consumer.
Which leads me to my final question: how do I limit my demand on a system when I still require reasonably priced clothing? There are some things, like sports bras and underwear and workout pants, that I am as yet unwilling to buy used. Yet, I still need these things. Buying a higher-priced version of them doesn’t mean I’m doing the world any favors or getting higher quality.
My answer? I don’t really know. Other than keep my wardrobe small (check), wear things until they are no longer repairable/ don’t fit (check), buy used when possible (check), I haven’t found a better way.
I think this points to the tangled web that we live in every day. That to be conscious of one thing (like saving money) means the potential to cause harm to another thing (to the environment, to factory workers). It points to the fact that choice is an illusion within a system that operates in a certain way. No matter what decision I make, I still benefit and harm the same people in the system.
Which naturally begs the question: What would be a better system-a freer and happier system for everyone?
I’m curious to hear how you see this conundrum. Do you have reseller stores by you? If so, what’s your take on them and their role in the marketplace? How can we create better systems for people and the environment?
Addendum: Of course, just after writing this post, we faced a bit of a cold snap in my area. I pulled out my box of sweaters and realized it was time to replace a few things. In the spirit of the article, I went to both my local thrift store and reseller. Although I found nothing at the charity shop, I almost fell over in the aisles of the reseller, where, lo and behold, there were many name-brand, deeply-discounted, merino wool sweaters in my size.
