#Week #Thrifting #Shoes #Big #Returns #WorthPoint
When gathering content for This Week in Thrifting, I often find myself in the housewares section of a local thrift store. I’m so delighted by stoneware and plates, glassware and mugs, furniture, and home décor, and I sometimes forget to check in with one of the biggest categories in online resale: fashion. On a recent trip to ThriftTown, a local Albuquerque thrift store, I decided it was time to change this. Inspired too by my recent ThriftCon forays, I decided to see if I could start growing my own fashion inventory.
Those who have watched previous episodes in this series have probably figured out that I have a thing for footwear, so shoes seemed like a good starting point for my fashion journey. Although ThriftTown’s shoe section is a bit smaller than its vast selection of clothing, the shoe racks still had a few mighty offerings, and it gave me the chance to explore two very different ends of the apparel spectrum.
First up: A pair of black Stuart Weitzman heels in great condition for just $6. Best of all, these formal shoes were tiny, a mere size 4.5. Although that might make my buyer pool smaller too, I’m sure there are shoppers out there who can never find the right shoes for their tiny feet and might be willing to pay a little more to meet their foot fashion needs.
The second find is an electric-blue pair of Adidas cleats that look like they were never worn. At the very least, they never saw any action on the baseball diamond. I wasn’t necessarily planning to flip athletic shoes. I just assumed that sports gear always gets so much use and that what gets donated isn’t in good enough shape to garner much money. But these cleats proved me wrong, and from now on, I’m definitely going to make thrifted athletic shoes part of my regular shopping routine.
To see how much these finds might resell for, watch this latest episode of This Week in Thrifting.
In addition to her role as HIP’s curator of photography, Allison Radomski is a writer and filmmaker. She spends her days hunting for analog cameras, scoring her own movies in her laundry closet, and building her collections of Polaroids and handkerchiefs. She has degrees in cinema & media studies and religious studies from the University of Chicago.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
