Anybody else in Europe?

[Gabs007]

I got a slight problem, moved to the UK over 10 years ago to be with my then boyfriend, now husband, we bought a house, my job was easily transferable then Brexit happened, we are now going to move together back to the mainland (I always kept my EU citizenship) but I have about 2 rooms full of designer clothes, shoes and stuff.

Sounds obsessive, but I am an ex fashion and music journo who then started to work in personal PR (usually helping the people I used to interview to make scandals go away, and nope, no dirt, waterclad NDAs), so I do need to dress the part, I'm a lot in LA and NYC due to work, if the Brits make coming and going difficult, I can't do my job anymore, apart from that the atmosphere here is horrendous, was already attacked once by some right wing guy who claimed "All foreigners steal benefits" - well, I guess, he means that me paying a high tax rate is this?

Anyway, to cut to the chase, I don't really fancy packing up and shipping all my clothes to another country, the thing is, I can wear them once or twice and at events are often the same people.

I looked at a bunch of websites who deal with reselling (the stuff is definitely not eBay stuff, we're not talking totally outrageous, but a lot of Dior, Burberry, Alberta Ferretti, Marc Jacobs etc). I had really bad experience with some websites

Vestaire - they gauge you price wise and sorry, I am not selling Bally shoes when I might get a tenner for them and they are brand new and still boxed, for that kind of money, I give them away and have less hassle. There don't seem to be buyers there (or maybe my tastes are just not theirs?) I tend to get a lot of ridiculous offers, even you accept it, you never hear back...

Rebelle - quite miffled with them, sent them brand new items they removed the labels and attached their own, then sent it back to me by mistake, when I asked them why they removed the label, apparently they don't do that (how odd, if I send something with a label and there is a different label - theirs - on it, because they messed up the address of the buyer with the sender, chances are it happened on their end), so I am quite miffled with them.

I found HEWIT, but they are a bit of a nightmare to deal with and frankly they seem to have no idea about new and old. Last thing that happened, and sadly not just a single incident, wanted to list Zanotti pumps, love them and hardly wore them but had an ankle fracture and several surgeries for it already, won't be wearing heels for year or so. So I get this email back which mentions the pumps, but then asks me to provide clear pictures of the trousers in natural light. I write back that I can't provide pictures of trousers when I am selling SHOES, then they simply deleted the listing...

Does anybody know of a website where I could list? Sadly enough we don't seem to have a lot of them in Europe, and most of the consignment stores want money upfront to display and total free hand in the pricing. Now I know anything that leaves the shop automatically loses value but for mint items I would think 10 to 30% would be alright?

Thought I ask other fashionistas, could be that one of you has an idea.

 

[Gabs007]

I had a look at Lollipuff, however they don't mention shipping?

 

[Bibi25260]

Designer Vintage, Dutch based but also sellers from UK and other countries.

 

[Gabs007]

Designer Vintage charge you for listing an item, they mainly want bags and only accept a few brands like Hermes and LV, I am not selling my bags, and they want you to send a receipt for everything you bought, since I am traveling a lot, I usually don't keep the receipts as as I paid a few times horrendous customs duty, plus if I bought something on a business trip, highly unlikely that I fly back to the country again to bring it back to the shop.
If I would have known that I'm leaving the UK, might have kept all my receipts, but until a year ago, I just thought this is it, I am settled and happily collected my clothes.

 

[Bibi25260]

Try a google search to find something what fits you.

 

[Gabs007]

Thanks, but that was the first thing I did, since nothing came up, that is why I asked. Google was actually my first port of call, as would anybody's, I think

 

[anitsirk]

You could go the Ebay route and spend a lot of time and effort but set the prices you feel are best, or you can give the clothes to a consignment store/website but they will always take a significant cut. We’d all love to sell hassle-free and recoup most of what we paid but unfortunately you can’t have it both ways. If I were you I would consign with those that give me the best quote since I value my time too much to make my own listings. Maybe check out US sites too if they allow items sent from outside the US (but shipping may cost a lot..)

If you were not moving out of the country, would you keep all these clothes or would you still sell them? Also, just out of curiosity, if you really want to stay in the UK then couldn’t you get a work visa or apply for settlement (I believe they are coming out with a scheme for EU nationals that have lived in the UK for over 5 years to be able to do this)?

 

[Bibi25260]

Thanks, but that was the first thing I did, since nothing came up, that is why I asked. Google was actually my first port of call, as would anybody's, I think

I was trying to be helpful. I have experienced a lot here on the forum members ask for 'simple things' which can be simple found if searched on Google. Sorry if I offended you.

Good luck and I hope some one will give a good tip.

 

[Gabs007]

I am NOT paying a consignment store upfront, before I do that, I rather burn and destroy each single item.

I would possibly still keep them as we got a lot of space ATM and I love fashion.

Yes, I could easily stay in the UK, they'd love to keep my considerable tax, but the thing is I do NOT want to stay in a country where people regularly insult me, where I was attacked by some right wing bloke and almost died in the attack, the reason why I have to get rid of most of my shoes is that he broke bones in both of my feet, which grew together the wrong way, fractured an ankle, fractured my cheekbone, ruptured tendons in my right shoulder, dislocated the left shoulder, fractured my collar bone. My British husband was asked to leave a pub for being married to an EU citizen. A country that is crashing right left and center and where you have to worry about leaving the house? Standing in line forever when I travel and being harassed? Why would I want to stay in a country with pretty awful weather, and such a hateful atmosphere? I don't know what gave you the impression that I would want to stay here? I lived in quite a few countries, but Britain at the moment, you couldn't pay me enough to stay in a place that seriously reminds me of Germany around 1933, basically almost everybody who isn't British among our friends has already left, we have a foster child who's mixed race, she runs the gauntlet daily, being told to go back from where she came (which happens to be England), if I would want to stay, what I would do is buy cheap houses as people are having foreclosures left right and center and rent them out, but I want to cut all ties because the UK is going down the drain at an alarming speed. The apparently low unemployment figures, well people get zero hour jobs, which means they don't have work, but technically they aren't working, homelessness, crime and especially hate crime has risen dramatically, add to that a health system on the brink of collapse because it was underfunded. I kept my maiden name for professional reasons, I had to remove it from all social media due to serious threats, my maiden name is Scandinavian, but apparently I still came here to escape the poverty at home, odd, never really seen poverty like in the UK in Sweden, some streets in the main towns however remind me distinctively of Skid Row, just with much more rain and lately snow.

Look, the consignment shops here are pretty horrendous, most actually charge you for displaying the items, you have to go to them, usually not a lot of customers there, so they make their money by charging people for "displaying" items, then you get them back ages later. I also don't live in London, the area where I live, well, mostly full of footballers, their WAGs won't buy from a consignment store, people here "Don't do that" - so I would have to drive across the country, with the clothes and visit the shops in London. Outside of the few pockets in the UK that are quite affluent but where people will not buy 2nd hand, the other areas, some people don't have enough money to buy even from thrift stores.

The currency is dropping daily, inflation is crazy, I much prefer to sell in a different currency.

Right now I am at the point where I say before I put them on eBay (yikes, seriously not), pay a consignment store or a webpage a ton of money to maybe get something back in a currency I really don't want and that's losing value every minute, I prefer to go the hassle free way and destroy it all.

 

[Gabs007]

Thank you, nope I wasn't offended, I was just thinking everybody would use Google 1st? It seems logic, a few things came up and most of them seem to be inactive, if you do mail them and ask and you haven't gotten a reply after 3 weeks, I simply wonder if you would ever get any money if you sell something? It seems apart from Vestaire, Rebelle and HEWIT (which sadly a lot of people use to "borrow" items and then return them after having worn them) and maybe Videdressing, there don't seem to be a lot of options here.

As I said, never before ran into the problem, I think there is a massive gap in the market.

 

[EmilyM111]

I am NOT paying a consignment store upfront, before I do that, I rather burn and destroy each single item.

I would possibly still keep them as we got a lot of space ATM and I love fashion.

Yes, I could easily stay in the UK, they'd love to keep my considerable tax, but the thing is I do NOT want to stay in a country where people regularly insult me, where I was attacked by some right wing bloke and almost died in the attack.

I feel for you though as a Polish citizen (despite a British husband) there is no country where I'd be not insulted (including Poland) so didn't bother to move out from here

 

[Gabs007]

That is awful, seriously, in most countries any insult regarding your nationality or ethnic roots is considered a hate crime.

I find the whole prejudices so stupid, what, being born in one country automatically makes you (fill in prejudices)... What kind of logic is that? I'm an embassy brat, so I lived in quite a few countries, continued moving about when I studied (no point in studying languages if you don't go to the countries and study there), then later on through journalism also got around a bit and lived in different countries, never experienced anything like the UK lately, I never really saw that coming, one of the reasons why I liked it was the cultural diversity (but then I loved living in NYC, which is a total melting pot), my hubby is Welsh, and he likes pointing out to the people that technically they've been there 1st, so if other Brits have an issue with foreigners, they should take a good long look at history...

It makes me wonder though if that aspect was always there, because in the last 18 months or so, things really seem to have exploded, Pandora's box has truly been opened. I recall going to pubs for conversation groups, so I could brush up my French, Italian and German and keep it from getting rusty, always used to be at least 10 people there, now we would maybe get 3 together as most have left, and the pubs told us it is not a good idea, if we could cancel it, people take offense hearing other languages. A friend who used to teach economics at university was pepper sprayed for taking a phone call from home and speaking Polish on the phone while walking down the street.

Btw if you don't mind me asking, most of the people I met from Poland were superb with numbers, quite a few mathematicians and such, I always wondered if it was just an odd coincidence or if your education system maybe concentrates a lot on mathematics?

 

[doni]

I think you have pretty much covered all bases. If you would find something more obscure, it would be niche and would not offer a wide enough reach to sell everything.
Basically, if you don't want to pay consignment or commission, ebay is very much it. I use Vestiare Collective. The commission is horrendous, I know, but you are well protected as a seller and they do have a high turnover so you can sell things quite fast, specially if you devote some time to pics and descriptions.

I am sorry for what has happened to you and what is happening in England. Quite a few of my friends there are also making plans to leave, if not already left.

 

[EmilyM111]

That is awful, seriously, in most countries any insult regarding your nationality or ethnic roots is considered a hate crime.

I find the whole prejudices so stupid, what, being born in one country automatically makes you (fill in prejudices)... What kind of logic is that? I'm an embassy brat, so I lived in quite a few countries, continued moving about when I studied (no point in studying languages if you don't go to the countries and study there), then later on through journalism also got around a bit and lived in different countries, never experienced anything like the UK lately, I never really saw that coming, one of the reasons why I liked it was the cultural diversity (but then I loved living in NYC, which is a total melting pot), my hubby is Welsh, and he likes pointing out to the people that technically they've been there 1st, so if other Brits have an issue with foreigners, they should take a good long look at history...

It makes me wonder though if that aspect was always there, because in the last 18 months or so, things really seem to have exploded, Pandora's box has truly been opened. I recall going to pubs for conversation groups, so I could brush up my French, Italian and German and keep it from getting rusty, always used to be at least 10 people there, now we would maybe get 3 together as most have left, and the pubs told us it is not a good idea, if we could cancel it, people take offense hearing other languages. A friend who used to teach economics at university was pepper sprayed for taking a phone call from home and speaking Polish on the phone while walking down the street.

Btw if you don't mind me asking, most of the people I met from Poland were superb with numbers, quite a few mathematicians and such, I always wondered if it was just an odd coincidence or if your education system maybe concentrates a lot on mathematics?

Haha, no idea but guess what - I have masters in statistics. Might be your background - my hypothesis would be Polish people come here mostly for low paid jobs, immigration is seen in Poland as sort of failure so people in your circle choosing to come here voluntarily must be highly educated and work in City, research or IT so automatically that has higher likehood of maths background.

On the other note - I tend not to get open hate (apart from usual contempt from shop assistants/train staff as I speak with heavy accent). I reckon two reasons: I’m 6ft tall and former athlete so people know their chances are thin and also (will sound bad but heyho) tend to travel first class on train, work almost exclusively with Oxbridge graduates and also don’t hang out with Brits too much (no common interests) so no attacks on me whatsoever. Will move eventually cos this economy will fall apart at some point and also would prefer living in Germany or Switzerland or Canada. For now keeping calm and buying handbags

 

[EmilyM111]

I I use Vestiare Collective. The commission is horrendous, I know, but you are well protected as a seller and they do have a high turnover so you can sell things quite fast, specially if you devote some time to pics and descriptions.

Think that’s the point. Other platforms in Europe have low frequency of visits so despite low commission clothes will be there forever, while Vestiaire has buyers from all over the world.
UK platforms seem to be pointless as as you said, people who have taste in fashion live in London, the rest worships Primark if they’re lucky (I know as I live in nice but not super well off area) and with low visits hitting the spot with size and style sounds like lottery win.