Is Money Hiding in Your Closet?

If you’re thinking of doing some spring cleaning—and you might as well, what with rain forecast from Friday to Monday—consider getting rid of some of that fabulous clothing that you never wear anymore. No, don’t just get rid of it: Put it to work.

Yesterday, I watched as Tania Anthony (right), founder of the online consignment shop Resale-Riches, met with a potential client. (She visits the homes of people with a lot of good stuff to sell, but to make life easier, she has begun holding “office hours” for people with only an item or two at locations around Tribeca. Yesterday’s was at Cass Lilien‘s jewelry shop at 24 Harrison.) The item in question was a Louis Vuitton garment bag. Its owner had done her homework: She researched when it was probably made (late 70s, maybe early 80s), what similar items go for on eBay ($850), and what a new model costs ($2,300).

They pored over the bag, admiring its details and discussing whether it could be a sophisticated fake. Anthony will do more research when she gets home—to verify its authenticity, and also to determine what an appropriate price would be. Anthony’s commission depends on what the item ends up selling for: Anything under $249 earns the seller 60 percent of the price; $250–$499 earns 65 percent; $500–$999 earns 70 percent; and anything $1,000 and up gets the seller 80 percent. (The bag’s owner said she’s hoping to sell it for $1,000, which Anthony later told me seemed about right, at least from her first impression.) The seller must agree to leave it online for 120 days, after which he or she can take it back at any time.

Eight hundred bucks for a bag you never use? With that kind of money, you can hire someone to do the rest of your spring cleaning.

Tania Anthony is at Cass Lilien’s on Tuesdays and Alycea Ungaro’s Real Pilates on Mondays and Fridays; consultations are by appointment only. If your closet is a trove of amazing merch, get in touch with her via resale-riches.com and she’ll arrange a time to swing by.

 

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