Who would wear my cast off clothes?
By Mary M Clarke
Too many people to wear someone else's cast off clothes would be distasteful, and many may say "never in a million years".
BUT times are a changing, most folk are on a tight budget and really decent, quality clothes cost the earth, so buying clothes second hand makes real economic sense.
Sure there are charity and thrift shops around most street corner but the quantity and quality of goods on offer is often limited and time consuming.
Buying online is most popular for new goods and some massive discounts can be had, BUT the internet is rife with fraud, theft and fakes so "let the buyer beware" is a vital message for inspiring clothes buyers.
Putting your redundant clothes on auction sites like Ebay and hundreds of others to many is time consuming and costly, and for the potential buyer dependent upon being the "lucky bidder". All too often you can spend hours researching and bidding only to loose out in the last few minutes of the auction.
A new approach in recent times has been trading clothes (and other
wearables) for points rather than selling for money. Users place ads of items on offer for free and other users can make contact and request a trade.
The user needs a credit balance of points before they can initiate a trade, being given a starter credit, and can boost their points "bank" by referring other members to the site earning extra points in the process
Trading with other members or simply topping up their account with real money are other ways points can be boosted.
Leading this new breed of web site is whatweusedtowear.com which offers goods internationally in 12 wearable product categories including clothes, jewellery, headwear, wedding wear and sports wear.
Whilst women in age group 16-35 are the main target area for the service the items on offer appeal equally to men, women and children of all ages.
Only time will tell if this revolution in online trading will succeed, perhaps you should keep an open mind and perhaps try listing a few items from your wardrobe that are otherwise gathering dust and loosing appeal and value in the meantime.
Mary M Clarke is co-founder of the web site whatweusedtowear.com and lives in Rugby, UK