We all have clothes languishing in the back of our closets. They’re a guilty reminder of the things we should be crossing off our to-do lists — tidying up the home, cleaning out our closets, and selling unwanted clothes on eBay so we can recoup some of our hard-earned money. If you find yourself procrastinating season after season, consider sending your items to LuxeSwap, an eBay consignor who will do all the hard work for you. They’ll photograph your items, create the listing, and ship things out to individual buyers.
Naturally, this service comes with a fee, which is 40% of the net proceeds. But a few years ago, the company debuted a “trade-up” program with one of the web’s favorite high-end menswear shops, No Man Walks Alone, to help consignors get a little more out of their listings. If you’re willing to take your proceeds in the form of a No Man Walks Alone gift card, LuxeSwap will lower their commission from 40% to 30%, and No Man Walks Alone will top your credit with a 10% bonus.
Last week, LuxeSwap debuted a similar program with Epaulet, one of the companies we included in our series about value-focused brands. The program works in precisely the same way. Consignors can take their proceeds in the form of an Epaulet gift card, at which point LuxeSwap will lower their commission to 30%, and Epaulet will add a 10% bonus.
Let’s do a sample calculation. Say you send LuxeSwap a jacket, which sells for $500. After eBay and PayPal fees, this typically means you take home $266. But through these two trade-up programs, you can receive a $342 gift card instead. The credits never expire and can be used on any purchase, including sale items and custom orders. As LuxeSwap owner Matthew Ruiz puts it, “it’s found money.”
Note, LuxeSwap only trades in high-end items in good condition. The items don’t have to be from No Man Walks Alone or Epaulet, but they have to be of that caliber (so, you know, don’t send mustard-stained Old Navy sweats). To start the process, email LuxeSwap a list of the items you’re thinking about consigning. Once you get approval, you can ship everything to them in a big box using one of their easy shipping labels. A couple of weeks later and viola — you have some extra spending cash or a gift card you can use to buy clothes you’ll actually wear.
