Secondhand Fashion Prices Climb as Resale Market Heads for $367 Billion by 2029

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 24

Thrifting has become markedly more expensive as secondhand clothing moves from niche habit to mainstream market, squeezing bargain hunters and low-income shoppers who once relied on charity stores.
A 28% global surge in thrifting between 2021 and 2022, pandemic-era online shopping and platforms such as Depop, Vinted and ThredUp have made resale easier and taught stores to price against app listings.
Goodwill reported a record $7 billion in revenue last year and plans 50 to 100 new North American stores, while managers increasingly use brand cheat sheets, eBay comparisons and Google Lens to spot higher-value donations.
At the high end, scarcity is pushing vintage luxury sharply upward—some Cavalli pieces have risen fivefold in four years—and U.S. import costs have also increased after the end of the sub-$800 tariff exemption, adding a 15% charge for some sellers.
The boom's green image is also under strain: a Yale study found clothing donations rose 37.2% from 2020 to 2024, but new clothing purchases still increased 38%, suggesting resale often adds to consumption rather than replacing it.