Thrifty Tip #26: There's levels to this: Resale Shopping Terms

I love resale. The fact that I can make a huge score for pennies as to what the original purchaser made makes me all kinds of giddily. But resale can be tricky. Items can be worn, torn, or a very good fake posing as the real thing, and if you're not paying attention, you could end up with a dud rather than a deal. It's happened to me more than I care to share

So, in order to avoid a shopping shipwreck, here's a list of shopping terms to let you know exactly what you're getting:

New: Fresh off the runway and landed into the store. When new items show up at resale shops, what has typically happened are a few things:

1) The resale shop has a partnership with the brand. You will find this in stores such as Buffalo Exchange where items factory fresh will make their way to the shop and will be sold along side of older or used merchandise.
2) A shopper (like you, wonderful reader) will have purchased something, but for whatever reason, will not have used the item. The item finds its way to the resale shops, tags still on or in its original packaging to be sold.

Clearance: when stores need to make more room for incoming inventory, they place "older" newer items here.Clearance items in a resale show are a little different than your average store. When an item is marked clearance here, it's usually because the item hasn't sold for some time, is out of season, or has some form of defect (stain, tear, mark, missing buttons, etc). Items of ANY age can land here so keep your eyes peeled for real gems here.

Nouveau Vintage: Recently coined by Refinery 29, nouveau vintage would be those things that are too old to be in stores but not old enought to be called vintage. Those pumps you fell in love with or that Tiffany's silver set you saw 4 years ago but now have the funds to afford? Yep, right here. Typically, items up to about 9 years old fit in this category.

Vintage: Mom's Louis Vuitton? Dad's leather motorcycle jacket? Yeah, those would be in this category. Items up to 49 years old fit here.

Estate: clothing and items that are 50 to 99 years old. Granny's debutante pearls and pop pop's aviator sunglasses fit here.

Antique: any pieces that are 100 years older or more. In these cases (other than jewelry), these should probably not be worn but be in a collection or museum.

Hope this helps you in your resale journey, may you keep finding treasure!