A Second Helping

Dear Portsmouth—I’m sorry. We drifted off the face of the Earth for a while, and it’s mostly my fault. I had a rough week that didn’t really inspire motivation, and Jayson jetted off to San Francisco for a long weekend. It doesn’t mean we hadn’t been checking things out for you, it just means I was a lazy writer and a picture hog and Jayson was an evil abandoner* and—whatever, we’re back now.

Hooray!

On Tuesday, March 24th, I brought a bag full of clothing to Second Time Around, my favorite consignment shop in Portsmouth. I love that place. I use it mainly as a way to buy pricey jeans I could never afford otherwise, but I’ve also found great sweaters and coats and boots in there. It’s a good mix of high end and lower end, and the people who run the place have a good eye for what will sell. In fact, in just one week, two-thirds of my stuff is gone and I’m over $50 richer.

This is (sadly) not me.

Here’s how it works:

1. Call ahead and make an appointment to consign your stuff. Sometimes, especially around Christmas, they’re booked for a few weeks. Plan ahead.
2. Sift through your closets and find the quality stuff you don’t wear anymore. (Common sense says not to bring stuff that’s torn or stained unless that’s the way it’s supposed to be—just saying). Make sure it’s seasonal, or they won’t take it yet. I have a pile of sweaters in my closet that are just waiting for colder weather to come back (even though it hasn’t actually left yet.)
3. Bring it to the store at your scheduled time. Browse through the stuff they have while someone decides what’s worthy and what you should probably just donate to Planet Aide.
4. Receive your account number. Go home and register online, and you can see how much your stuff is going for and what’s already been sold. (This kind of feels like Christmas, actually.) You’re done!

You can get a check cut quarterly, or use your money as credit in the store at anytime. They take 60% of the sale, you get the rest. If it doesn’t sell quickly, it will go through a series of markdowns, and at the end of 3 months, you can either come collect what’s left or let them donate it to charity.

In the end, your wallet and your closet will thank you. So will the person who finds that dress that never fit you quite right but makes her feel like Cinderella. (There’s a guy section,too. It’s just much smaller.) And if you tell them I sent you, I get $20 as a referral reward, and *I* will thank you. Profusely.


*What? I’m codependent.