Second-hand shopping—through vintage stores, online apps, independent sellers, or the beloved charity shop—has undeniably made its way into the public sphere, driven by Gen Z via a ‘pre-loved’ renaissance. In big cities like Manchester, where charity shops aren’t scarce, they have shifted in the public eye from a fashion backup plan to an exciting alternative shopping spree.
It comes with many benefits, above all affordability and sustainability, where fewer guaranteed purchases are traded off for low prices and better quality. The inventories of second-hand retailers aren’t typically tailored towards specific trends, which can inspire creativity with more unique pieces that don’t adhere to a specific aesthetic. However, this very sense of individualism in fashion has itself become a macro trend. The inherent accessibility of second-hand fashion has led to increasing competition for buyers.
The pitfalls of reselling and price gouging
The high quality of pre-loved items has been a cornerstone of their appeal, especially for vintage high-end clothing that offers a feeling of luxury for a fraction of the cost. However, this is rapidly declining in charity shops. Their extreme popularity has had a short-lived boom, and we are now seeing the onslaught of fast fashion entering the reselling market.
The quick turnaround on micro-trends is filling racks with Pretty Little Thing, Boohoo, and, most commonly, Shein. While this may seem like a positive means of extending the lifespan of these garments, their poor quality remains unchanged, and they often still end up in landfills due to wear and tear. Many may never even make it onto the shop floor because of how quickly fast fashion cycles through micro-trends, leaving shoppers disinterested before the items even sell. Shoppers now have to sift through fewer original pieces or slow fashion finds, while filtering through online platforms presents the alternative issue of price gouging.
While reselling clothing online may seem innocent at first glance, another means of extending the lifespan of clothing and giving people more access to unique fashion, it becomes problematic when price hikes and markups reach multiple times the cost of the original purchase. Platforms like Depop, Vinted, and Ebay are designed for reselling, with users employing clever marketing. Tagging pieces as ‘unique’ or ‘rare’ is becoming increasingly exaggerated, blurring the line between exclusive and mass-produced. If a garment vaguely resembles something ‘y2k’ or ‘coquette,’ for example, it is often marked up regardless of its original price or availability elsewhere.
Resellers not only buy up large portions of inventories from physical stores but also profit in ways that charity shops themselves do not. This makes it harder for in-person shoppers to discover interesting new clothes, when everyday garments are rebranded as special and highly desirable. As a result, the roster of clothing shrinks in both quantity and quality, undermining the very core of second-hand shopping: its emphasis on slow fashion. Avoiding the high street and its monthly stock refreshes based on new trends can start to feel meaningless when second-hand stock is instead moved online for inflated prices that still cater to the same fast-moving, disposable trends.
The solution: Embracing creativity and mindful shopping
This may all seem daunting, but hope isn’t lost, especially if we shift our mindset away from overconsumption. Fewer options in charity shops only feel limiting when we’re constantly buying, but curating personal style should be about signature pieces and creative styling. Price gougers are frustrating, but in the grand scheme of things, reselling is just a drop in the ocean compared to the sheer volume of textiles in circulation.
The growing popularity of second-hand shopping is still a net positive in the exploitative, exhausting world of fast fashion. When vintage becomes more competitive, it can be seen as a fun challenge rather than a restriction. There’s no need to compete with fellow fashion lovers for the ‘most unique’ or ‘most trendy’ style.
