Ally Peet recently hauled a garbage bag full of clothing to a resale store called Plato’s Closet in Orem, Utah, hoping to get some extra money from the chain that pays cash for used apparel and accessories.
The 21-year-old Brigham Young University student watched a clerk sift through the items, including a trendy Dior T-shirt and a Juicy Couture hooded sweatshirt. Then, the clerk rejected them, thinking the high-end labels would turn off budget shoppers.
“Even the really, really great stuff that’s in really great condition, they didn’t even accept it,” Ms. Peet says. “They said [the brands] wouldn’t sell well here.”
In the latest wrinkle in discount shopping, resale clothing stores—places that are super hot among teens and twentysomethings on a tight budget—are getting picky. The growing number of people looking to cash in on their closets means the stores can be more selective about the brands they take and the condition of the items.
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