What if I told you there was a way to take the clothes people leave behind, whether from self-service or wash-and-fold, and turn them into extra revenue?
I know what you’re thinking. Here Waleed goes again with some crazy ideas!
Today’s article isn’t just some idea I came up with. It’s something we practice at our store — both with clothes people leave behind and unwanted items we encourage people to bring in.
We make extra revenue reselling those items.
Just check out these stats:
“The second-hand apparel is becoming a global phenomenon. The resale market grew 24% in 2022 alone, and is expected to reach a $218 billion market valuation by 2026.”
YOU can have a piece of that second hand apparel market and add additional revenue to your business.
We’re going to look at 3 ways to do this:
- Clothing left by self-service clients
- Clothing not picked up or delivered for wash-and-fold clients
- Donations
Clothing Left by Self-Service Clients
Clothing that gets left in the store by self-service customers is an easy, low-cost sale.
We don’t pay anything for these clothes, so all we need to factor in is the labor and time spent listing these items for sale.
Go through these items and look for:
- Clothing in good condition or close to new condition
- Possibly distress or vintage items
- Name brand items that are currently in fashion
Clothing Left by Wash and Fold Clients
Clothing that gets left by wash-and-fold clients, whether from drop-off or pick-up and delivery, can be a little more costly, especially if the client did not prepay.
If they did not prepay, factor in the labor and materials you used to clean and fold the clothes, as well as the time and labor spent listing these items for sale.
Look for the same clothing as that left by self-service clients:
- Clothing in good condition or close to new condition
- Possibly distress or vintage items
- Name brand items that are currently in fashion
Donations
In this case, you’re going to ask clients and the community to bring in their unwanted items.
There are a few ways to get these donations:
- Place flyers in your store and around the community that you accept unwanted clothing and sneakers
- Place flyers in customers’ orders
- Sent out email and text message campaigns to all of your clients
- Set up a donation bin in your store. Here are some we recommend:
Sidenote: check your local laws and regulations concerning what laundromats must do with leftover clothing. Some areas may require you to donate the items to charity when left after a certain amount of time.
So, how do you turn these clothes into revenue?
There are two ways:
