Charlotte Ranks as one of the Worst Places to Resell Clothes
The back-to-school season often means a wardrobe refresh. But rather than discarding old clothes to make room for new ones that harms Mother Nature, why not resell your used clothes to help pay for your new look?
In some cities, you can find more opportunities and earn more cash for selling your secondhand apparel. That’s why Lawn Love ranked nearly 180 of the biggest U.S. cities to determine the Best Cities to Resell Clothes. We looked for cities with plenty of consignment stores, flea markets, and thrift stores. We also gauged buyer interest based on Google search trends.
Check out the 10 best (and 10 worst) cities for offering your used clothes below, along with surprising findings from our data. So who is number one? Fort Lauderdale, Florida, might be known as the “Venice of America,” but it’s more like Milan when it comes to fashion. Fort Lauderdale took first place both in our overall ranking and in the Access category.
The stylish residents of California cities Pasadena and Orange took silver (No. 2) and bronze (No. 3), respectively, in our ranking. These cities pulled ahead because of high buyer interest and easy access to resale establishments. Locally, Greensboro, North Carolina ranked 39 on the list, and Charlotte…well it ranked at number 94 making it one of the worst.
| 2021’s Best Cities to Resell Clothes | |
| Rank | City |
| 1 | Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| 2 | Pasadena, CA |
| 3 | Orange, CA |
| 4 | Hollywood, FL |
| 5 | Tempe, AZ |
| 6 | Richmond, VA |
| 7 | Huntington Beach, CA |
| 8 | Springfield, MO |
| 9 | Fullerton, CA |
| 10 | Portland, OR |
Now ready for the worst? Cities that fell to the bottom of our list share two things in common: Buyers are less interested in thrifting, and clothing-swap stores are lacking.
Anchorage, Alaska (dead last), Columbus, Georgia (No. 176), Springfield, Massachusetts (No. 175), and Toledo, Ohio (No. 174) all have populations less than 300,000, which could explain the lower demand. Springfield, Toledo, and Columbus also are not known for tourism, limiting their customer base.
San Diego (No. 173) is an outlier, especially considering its proximity to Pasadena and Orange. San Diego is known for having a large military community — military families tend to move frequently and may be less likely to hold on to unwanted items. If you live in one of these cities, you might be better off selling your clothes online.
| 2021’s Worst Cities to Resell Clothes | |
| Rank | City |
| 168 | Milwaukee, WI |
| 169 | Enterprise, NV |
| 170 | Seattle, WA |
| 171 | Fremont, CA |
| 172 | Colorado Springs, CO |
| 173 | San Diego, CA |
| 174 | Toledo, OH |
| 175 | Springfield, MA |
| 176 | Columbus, GA |
| 177 | Anchorage, AK |
