Use Social Media to Find Designer Items for Less

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You don’t have to go on eBay anymore to find designer hidden gems. You also don’t need to spend hours at a thrift store just hoping to stumble upon your dream Burberry purse. Now, you can find all you want with a simple search online. Social media and resale clothing apps give consumers dreaming about owning well-known (and expensive) brands the chance to without completely breaking the bank.

Apps, by far, have affected our efficiency as consumers and have become centerpieces to the 21st century. In particular, Instagram has transformed itself into more than just a hub to share our personal photos. It’s also a place to sell to the world. Even brick-and-mortar resale clothing shops have tapped into this marketplace. Clothes Mentor, a national reseller of designer items with local franchises, is a frontrunner in adopting this selling strategy. If you look up any Clothes Mentor Instagram account, of which there are many in Minnesota, you will see a variety of clothing items being featured. There are brands ranging from LuluLemon to Chanel—for a significantly lesser price than the original.

Clothing resale apps, like Mercari or ThredUp, have also caught onto the efficiency and convenience of selling resale designer items online. Simply search what you want, like “Gucci Sneakers” and bam! Hundreds of results pop up on the screen.

In apps like these, it’s easy to forget that the person on the other side may not be selling you the real deal. Be wary: Some apps allow sellers and buyers to interact directly without authenticity checks by the app or company. With so many designer brands being ripped off, like Gucci or Louis Vuitton, it is important that for apps like Mercari, Poshmark, and Depop you do research on what the product really looks like. For an app that does authenticate its items, head to ThredUp.

The market for thrifting is evolving. Digital thrifting can now reveal the exact item you have always been looking for. While there may be downsides, like designer fakes, there are ways around this, like researching or using authenticated sites. But it’s worth it to look. You never know if the perfect designer purse, coat, or watch might be a simple search away.