Plato’s Closet: 15 most common questions and answers

Believe it or not, only 15% of clothes and shoes are recycled worldwide.

This means that most of them just end up in landfills. However, companies such as Plato’s Closet are here to change that by providing a platform that makes it easy to recycle clothes. 

So, if you were looking to join the sustainable fashion bandwagon, Plato’s Closet is a great place to start.

Here is a guide that covers everything you need to know;

1. How does Plato’s Closet work?

Plato’s Closet buys and sells recycled teen clothes, shoes, beauty products, books, DVD’s and accessories.

If you are want to sell any of the aforementioned items that you no longer use, what you do is walk into their store and they will select from your pile what’s worthy/trendy as per the season and target audience.

Thereafter, they will offer you some money or store credit for the items chosen and return the rest to you.

On the other hand, if you want to buy second-hand clothes, scout for nearby in-store or online locations, choose one with your preferred aesthetic, visit it, and shop to your fill from their distinctly categorized clothing racks.

2. How much does Plato’s Closet pay for clothes?

In most cases, Plato’s Closet will pay you 30-40% of the original retail price of whatever merchandise you are selling. If your item is fairly new or hardly worn, they might up its percentages a little.

Of course, you should make sure your clothes are cleaned to remove any stains and ironed to make them more appealing to the eye so as to get as much cash as possible.

High-end brands tend to fetch more clients and money so technically; you will receive more money if you prioritize the most popular brands when selecting items to sell.

3. Does Plato’s Closet take bras and swimsuits?

Plato does not take normal bras (even if they are brand new) as they are considered too intimate and unhygienic when sold second-hand, though they have recently begun buying sports bras so long as the condition is exemplary.

Also, they do not take swimsuits despite their condition as it is hard to tell the quality and they can easily spread genital diseases.

4. What brands does Plato’s Closet buy?

Plato buys clothes from almost all brands depending on the location of the store, most of the most particular brands include;

Just to name but a few!

5. Does Plato’s Closet take jewelry?

One of the main things Plato’s deals in is Jewelry, you can get very good prices if at all your item has no rust marks and is not chipped. Not only does the company take jewelry but also other accessories such as sunglasses, watches, scarves, belts, hats, bags, and clutches.

For jewelry that comes in pairs such as earrings or those that are sensitive in nature such as belly rings, you will need to provide a cover, packaging, or a case.

6. How does Plato’s Closet decide what to buy?

There are a couple of things that the company considers before buying secondhand clothes. They are:

Quality

First of all, they will check the quality of the merchandise judging by the appearance; any item that looks worn out, torn, or stained is immediately rejected.

Age

Secondly, they check the age of the item, if it happens to be more than 2 years old, chances are, it might be rejected unless the quality is outstanding.

Cleanliness

Most Plato franchises do not have laundromats nearby, those who do, do not fancy paying the potentially highly cleaning fees.

In order for you to increase the chances of your item is chosen, it is advisable to make sure they are cleaned and ironed beforehand.

Volume

During the weekends and peak hours, most of the workers are overwhelmed with the workload of helping the clients to shop and checking the quality of your clothes, this means they will peruse through your pile quickly to cater to others.

This usually translates to a higher rejection rate and lower prices for the items chosen. To prevent this, consider going to sell during weekdays when the traffic is slow.

Seasons or purpose

Also, when selecting the pile, you want to sell, take into account the current season, popular trends, and demographic of the store location.

Your fall clothes will likely be chosen if it is during or nearing the fall season, your summer clothes will be chosen during or before summer, and so on.

Assuming the demographic of the location is mostly university students, most of the clothes they will choose will be for people that age.

So it is important to do your research!

7. Does Plato’s Closet take makeup?

Plato accepts make-up products amongst other beauty products but with some conditions. For example;

• The make-up products, be they creams, foundation, lotions, or others, should be unused or sealed.
• The item should be very authentic and be at least three months away from its expiry date as per the packaging.
• Whatever you are selling should look like it was purchased from the original store, for example, if the brand is Kola then the item should have been purchased from Kola’s official store.
• If the attendants cannot verify the authenticity of the item, then they’re going to have to pass on buying it.
• Packaging should not have any damages or any contaminants such as dye and pet hair.
• All make-up brushes, applicators, and beauty blenders should be new and sealed.
• The exterior container or packaging should be in a sellable condition, for example, the brand name should be easy to decipher, the hinges should be fully functional, and no cracks or dents should be visible.
• False lashes and any product with a reusable applicator such as mascara and lip gloss should be sealed in their original packaging for it to be accepted.

8. Does Plato’s Closet buy prom dresses?

Plato buys a whole lot of clothes including prom dresses. So long as the dress in question is of good quality and it fits the target audience of the store then you are good to go.

For better luck, try going to sell your prom dress before or when most schools start holding the prom ceremony.

Note that each store has its own policies and preferred inventory, so try and inquire beforehand whether the store you wanted to visit sells the prom dress and will consider buying it.

9. Does Plato’s Closet buy men’s clothes?

What many people do not know is that Plato’s Closet also buys and sells men’s products and clothes. Mainly because most of the items in their store used to be for the female demographic. However, of late, their male section is quickly catching on.

Guys have a whole range of things to shop including Athletic wear, accessories, shorts, tank tops, vests, t-shirts, shoes, coats, jackets, sweatshirts, pants and so much more!

10. How does Plato’s Closet price clothes?

Plato prides itself in selling clothes that are almost 70% off retail value. However, this figure is dependent on a lot of things.

For starters, they have to consider the age of the cloth and the condition in which it is in. From there, they will know how much they should give you and how much they need to sell it for them to make a profit.

Most of the time, they give you anything from 10-40% of the original price of the product all factors considered.

So assuming they are going to sell your jeans trousers for 20$, Plato’s will only give you 8-9$ on the higher side.

11. Does Plato’s Closet give cash?

Yes, Plato pays you in cash on the same day that you will have visited their store.

What happens is, you walk in with your gently used items and hand them over to a shop attendant, the attendant will inspect the goods and only price the ones that are up to standard.

You will then be called back and told the amount they are willing to offer. If you are ok with it, they will pay you in cash immediately.

The attendant will also tell you about the option of being paid in-store credit instead of cash.

Most of the time, the store credit will be more than the cash they are willing to pay so it is up to you to decide what works best.

Good thing is, you don’t have to use up all the store credit at once, you can come to keep going back to shop until the amount is depleted.

If you do not feel like the price or store credit is justifiable, you could take back the items you feel are unfairly priced then only take cash for the ones you are ok with as far as pricing is concerned.

12. How does Plato’s Closet know how old clothes are?

Most of the re-known brands that are accepted by Plato usually print the date of manufacture on the cloth tag. This way, it is easy for second-hand stores to recycle their items.

If the cloth tag is not present, you are allowed to come with a receipt of purchase if at all you still have it to help in validating your age claim.

Sometimes, stores only manufacture cloth for a specific collection, this can also help to decipher the date. However, it can only work if the item was exclusive to the said collection.

Otherwise, the store attendants will have to guess the age as per the appearance of the item.

13. How long can you leave clothes at Plato’s Closet?

After dropping off the clothes you want to sell for inspection at the Plato store, they will ask you to write down your phone number so they can contact you when it is ready to collect your cash and rejected items.

The inspection can take anything from 30 minutes to two hours during which you can roam around the store or even go back home.

From the time you are called for your items, you will be given a 2-day grace period to come and collect them after which the store can do with them as they please.

14. How old do you have to be to drop clothes off at Plato’s Closet?

Plato requires everyone who sells to them to have their ID in hand which shows they are 16 or older.

However, since every store is owned by a different franchise holder, which means different rules. Some store locations can only allow you to sell to them if you are above 18 years old.

This is because each state has different laws pertaining to such businesses.

15. How to drop off clothes at Plato’s Closet

Every Plato store has almost the same arrangement give or take a few alterations.

When you first enter the store, go to the first sales associate on the left side of the teller desk. He/she will give you a yellow slip of paper to write your name, phone number, and address.

At that point, your clothes will then be taken and handed over to the attendant who is on inspection duty.

Depending on the traffic in-store, you can either choose to shop or roam around the store as you wait or go somewhere else and wait to be called back.

Every time you sell to Plato’s, you will earn yourself some points which can be redeemed for a discount whenever you shop with them so make sure to cash in on it!

Conclusion

About 97% of raw materials that are used in making clothes are not recycled yet the same clothes end up in landfills, promoting pollution.

Recycling clothes from Plato’s Closet will not only help preserve the environment in the long run but also help you save money.

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