Fair Trade?

You’re back at school and your dorm room offers about half the closet space than what you’re used to. This year, instead of tossing threads in the trash or storing clothes you’ll never wear again at your parents’ house, why not make a quick buck? We peddled our clothes to three resale shops to rate the returns.

The clothes
Men’s Yves Saint Laurent dress shirt, men’s green American Eagle Outfitters sweatshirt (from at least three years ago), women’s Marc by Marc Jacobs spaghetti-strap shirt, men’s Levi’s Premium skinner jeans, women’s James jeans, women’s Tocca shift dress

The stores
We felt pretty good about bringing our clothes to Crossroads Trading Co.(2711 N Clark St at Diversey Pkwy, 773-296-1000). After a glance at the merchandise for sale, we thought our items would be right at home: There were racks of unfitted dress shirts for men and sprinklings of all the looks that were so popular last year. The selection also included loads of Express clothing, Seven jeans and enough Abercrombie for a miniboutique.

The friendly staffer asked for a valid photo ID and examined our clothes. Ten fast minutes later we were offered a disappointing $27.50. The Yves Saint Laurent shirt and American Eagle sweatshirt were both rejected—a sad surprise, since we were so sure the shop would snatch up sweatshirts for fall. The total cash offer was way less than the retail value of the Levi’s alone—although Crossroads only offers sellers 35 percent of the amount the store will charge for each item. Doing a trade gets you a bigger percentage—a more respectable 50 percent—but we’re looking to get rid of our crap, not bring home more.

According to an employee at the Wicker Park location (1519 N Milwaukee Ave between Damen Ave and Evergreen St, 773-227-5300), the condition of the clothes is important. If your shit is wrinkly or covered with cat hair, you’re probably not going to get much money for it, if any at all. When asked what Crossroads won’t accept, our clerk coyly told us that Crossroads has a kitschy slogan, saying it’ll take “everything from Gap to Gucci.”

Guess that motto doesn’t include Yves Saint Laurent, which was also rejected at Plato’s Closet(2150 N Clybourn Ave between Southport and Wayne Aves, 773-549-2070). The clerk at the store told us the designer “just doesn’t sell here.” What does sell, though, are standby lines such as Diesel, Old Navy, Express and Banana Republic—which we saw a lot of throughout the store. As with most retailers, female shoppers have more selections to choose from and the merchandise is divided by style and color.

The payback was better at Plato’s—but not by much. Here, we were offered $29.30—a paltry $1.80 more than Crossroads. In addition to passing on the dress shirt, Plato’s also rejected the Tocca dress. Just like at Crossroads, appointments aren’t necessary, but Plato’s kept us waiting. It took almost an hour for the sales associate to sort through our stuff and tally up the total. We were given a flyer to read while we were waiting, which informed us of brands Plato’s is looking for (including Bebe, H&M and Steve Madden) and the sizes it accepts (girls up to 17/18; guys 28–38 waist sizes).

It didn’t take long—five minutes, tops—for the folks at Disgraceland(3338 N Clark St between Buckingham Pl and Roscoe St, 773-281-5875) to go through our clothes. But the shop doesn’t buy every day, so it’s a good idea to call ahead before you haul in your duds. Although this policy makes it seem like the store is a little more picky than others, it accepted just about all of our items—except for one. (Once again, the Yves Saint Laurent shirt was a no-go.) Even though we were able to unload the bulk of our clothes here, we were only offered a grand total of $30.45. Disgraceland pays only $2 to $10 for each item, a range that’s just a bit lower than the other stores—which could also explain why we found fewer designer names and more Old Navy and Banana Republic on the racks. But the shop is big on accessories. We found plenty of sunglasses, bags and shoes—so if you’re an accessories fiend, make this your first stop. And if all you’re really looking for is a way to make room in your closet—and get a little fast cash—Disgraceland is the way to go.

Sell it yourself?
Just out of curiosity, we looked to see what similar Yves Saint Laurent shirts were going for on eBay. Bidding ranged from $7 to $20—the kind of prices we were hoping to get from the shops. Taking your clothes to a resale store is good for a quick fix when you’re really hard up for cash (hey—everyone could use a little extra weekend-drinking money). But if you’ve got a digital camera, Internet connection and the patience to wait out an online auction, we say eBay is your best bet.