Source: Skylar Kang/Pexels

Ah, clothing. One of the most abundant resources on this Earth. According to the United States Environmental Agency,  Americans discard more than 34 billion pounds of used textiles each year. Given its proximity and economic similarity to the United States, I have no doubt that Canada holds a similar record. There is no end to the selection of secondhand clothing. If you look hard enough, you’ll be able to find your grailed item at a reasonable price. It is just a matter of patience.  

Sizing

It is imperative to know your measurements in both centimetres and inches. FabricFits has an excellent guide to measuring yourself. The United States and Canada generally use inches for item measurements, but most other countries use centimetres. Never buy items exclusively based on dress sizes or small, medium, large, etc. Items from East Asia, for example, tend to be one to two sizes smaller than their North American equivalent. Always remember that clothing is supposed to fit your body, not the other way around. Body standards imposed by clothing companies are rigorous and typically have only one body type in mind. It is not your fault that you don’t fit their narrow mold. 

Finding what you want

It sounds old school, but reading fashion magazines and blogs are a great way to see what clothing items are out there. While it is an incredible resource, relying on social media to develop your personal style can be detrimental to your fashion journey. Avoid influencers who have paid partnerships with fast fashion retailers and/or post content that implies that you need to change up your wardrobe every season.

 Take notes, narrow down what you want specifically. Which materials are most comfortable to you?  What colours bring me the most joy? These are examples of questions to ask yourself as you’re browsing.

Another great resource is Depop, an app I rarely use for buying secondhand clothing. Due to the excessive fees taken by Depop per sale, sellers are allegedly forced to sell their wares far more than what is considered acceptable. I take note of brand names and other keywords, and then plug them into Ebay or Facebook Marketplace.

Ebay

Ebay is beloved by fashionable people worldwide for affordable, secondhand clothing. However, it can be incredibly daunting to use for beginners. SEO-abusing dropshipping companies and price-gouging resellers occupy most of the first few pages of searches. It takes time to find mom and pop shops who simply want to let unworn pieces go. 

Five of six of the sweaters in this screenshot come from dropshipping businesses. Dropshippers  source their inventory from cheap manufacturers and significantly upcharge, but do not make this immediately known to the consumer.

 A few warning signs are:

1. Multiple listings with the same information and/or photos
2. Abuses SEO strategies with long, keyword heavy listing titles
3. Offers free shipping, typically from a region that is expensive to ship from.
4. Use of sponsored listing to boost visibility
5. Pressures buyers to leave good feedback

If you purchase from a dropshipper, there is a good chance that you’ll receive a poor quality item that you could’ve bought cheaper on Temu or Aliexpress.

Similar to searching for research materials at a library, one must take advantage of search bar query shortcuts and sidebar categories to narrow down results.

Common search bar query tools:

“” – Only searches for the exact keywords

AND – searches for two or more keywords together in the same title

* – Allows flexibility for word endings (Example: Canad* for Canada or Canadian)

This is my search result after using specific keywords and search bar query tools. My results went down to 59 from 860,000. The first cardigan is so cute!

Pros: Limitless selection of clothing, pieces can be affordable, and chat feature allows buyers to directly communicate with sellers.

Cons: Littered with dropshippers and price gougers, shipping can be extremely expensive even within Canada, and takes strategy to find good pieces.

Facebook Marketplace

I consider Facebook Marketplace to be a hybrid between online and in-person shopping. One browses online for items, but typically makes arrangements with the seller to meet in-person to collect payment and pick up the item. Facebook Marketplace is similar to EBay, but has far fewer dropshippers as it is nearly impossible to do so on the platform. 

My best Facebook Marketplace find was a Fjallraven Kanken backpack for $10. The bags retail for $115. It appeared to be in great condition on the listing, but I was worried that it was too good to be true. I met with the seller and saw that the bag really was in excellent condition. If it was not, I would’ve walked away. You are under no obligation to purchase an item, even if you are currently meeting with the seller.

As meet-ups with sellers are highly encouraged, it is important to exercise safety precautions. 

Here are a useful set of tips:

1. Never pay for an item ahead of a meet-up. 
2. Always meet in a public space
3. Bring another person with you, if possible.

An important tool on Facebook Marketplace is the location tab. It is possible to limit listings from your immediate neighbourhood to nearly the entire province. Unfortunately, Facebook will still show listings outside of your desired range but will state so on the listing. Your in-app location and desired radius can be adjusted at any time, making it useful for upcoming vacations. 

Take note of the day of the week when shopping, most sellers post their wares on weekends. Of course, this does not apply to every seller, but generally, sellers are regular individuals attempting to clear out their closets and will do so on time away from their jobs. 

Facebook takes note of your recent searches and items you’ve clicked on. This is both a blessing and a curse. While I now see listings for platform shoes as soon as they’re listed, I also see fast food restaurants fixtures and life-size celebrity cardboard cutouts. Think before you click!

Don’t be afraid to bargain with sellers. It is perfectly reasonable to request a slight discount for a bundle of items or if commuting a long distance. The worst they’ll say is no. I’d even encourage bargaining with sellers who are selling their wares way more than market value. Just be prepared to provide proof. I did this to someone price-gouging on a book I wanted and they were willing to accept my offer! 

Thank you for reading this blog post. Building a closet with affordable, beautiful secondhand clothing takes time and effort. I hope the strategies I’ve listed in this article prove useful on your journey!