Selling your old clothes is now a billion-dollar industry
<img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/556e08886da811be16e53b46-1200-924/rare-goodwill-store-3.jpg" border="0" alt="rare goodwill store ">
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Used clothing is turning into a big industry.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Popular consignment clothing chains like Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads Trading Co., and Second Time Around have opened a number of incredibly successful locations across the United States.</span>
<span class="s1" style="line-height: 1.5em;">Reselling clothing has exploded into a </span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 1.5em;">$16 billion industry, according to Racked. </span>
<p class="p2">While the stores' policies vary, they all tend to offer shoppers cash or store credit in exchange for their used clothing.
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span></span>Crossroads Trading Co. pays sellers<span> 35% of the price they will sell the item for in the store, and the franchise offers sellers a trading option as well. Clothes can be traded in exchange for 50% of the price the item will sell for in the store. </span></span>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Second Time Around offers sellers <span>40% of the final selling price of each item, with different rates for luxury apparel. Buffalo Exchange offers sellers <span>50% of the sale in store credit or 30% in cash, according to Racked.</span>
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<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The stores say many customers believe their clothing is worth more than it is. </span>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"It's hard for people to understand the value of their own stuff. A lot of times, people think their items are worth more than they actually are," Justin Goellner, a manager at Buffalo Exchange in Chelsea, told Racked.</span></span>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The success of consignment culture shows that shoppers are getting more frugal and fleeing traditional luxury brands.</span></span>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"The top 10 luxury brands, including Prada, Gucci, and Cartier, lost 6% in combined brand value, or about $7 billion, from 2014 to 2015," according to Quartz.</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span>
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