Wednesday 18 July 2012

Wandering out of my comfort zone ...

After much contemplation of my navel (bellybutton lint up for sale soon!), and advice from other sellers, I took my first scary step into the world of adult clothing.  And when I say adult, I don't mean bras with tassles on the nipples.
Whoops, now where did he saunter in from?  


I followed some advice from my awesome new mentor, Ms Maggie and chose a non-scary item to start with - men's jeans.


I did the search for completed and found the top $ sellers in "used" men's jeans in Australia are:


True Religion
RM Williams
G Star
Nudie
Tsubi Ksubi Dee Dee  (try saying that when you're drunk)
Diesel


Following along in the decent sale range were:


Levi
Lee
Billabong
Quiksilver




Looking at sizing - some were rarer than others  - for example a lot less of Size 44 was up for sale - when I looked at the completeds for them - of the 31 listed - 26 of them had sold.   Interesting.


So I trotted off to my local Op Shop with $5 in my moth-infested purse.   This is a community-run op shop rather than a big name charity.   One plastic bag of clothing is $5.   I thought this was a good place to learn without having the fork out the huge amounts of the prices at the big name op shops such as Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul or Brotherhood of St Laurence.


It made it easier focussing on just one item.    I shuffled through the jeans with the list above in mind.   There was an awful lot of boring generic jeans (probably 80%) such as  Target and Kmart jeans which I rejected.  And some that looked like the owner had been fired out of a cannon whilst wearing them.    It was simple for my tiny brain because I was not over-whelmed with too many things to look through.  


I got a few pairs of jeans and then had a quick look at the shorts and a shuffle through the shirts (don't know anything about men's shirts yet!).


On the way home I drove past the local Salvos store with my nose in the air (it could have been my finger - sorry!)  Then the local St Vinnies had a red sign in the window saying "Sale" - so I thought I'd have a quick peek.


I sneered at their high-priced jeans muttering about highway robbery like a grumpy old bag.   Then I saw the sign above the books section.   Any 2 books for $1.   I hyperventilated.   I grabbed a salesperson, and they said - yes, any book - hardback, large or small.    I probably gave a moan of pain, because a woman peeked out from behind the crockery and stared at me.


I dug in my purse - empty.  I dug around in my handbag - empty.   I stuck a couple of fingers in my jeans pocket - and came out with $2.   Score!    I trotted out the door with 4 books in a bag.


I'm never going to be able to keep away from books.


This is what was in the bag of clothes that I got for $5.
First was the only pair of Levis on the rack - these are Levi Strauss 508.  Are these red-tab because of the label on the pocket?  These are in nice condition - and don't show any wear at all, except on the label on the back.   I'm confused by the sizing which is 78 - possibly this is American sizing?  I must rustle myself up a sizing comparison chart between different countries.
Looking these up when I got home, they don't look high on the wish-lists.  Not many for sale - and seem to sell rarely.  Going price between $10 - 20.  


These are Target brand longer shorts - but then I noticed the Tony Hawk on the label.  He's a famous skateboarder, so I assume these are skate-shorts.  These are in nice condition.  The colour is more a grey denim.
There are NO men's Tony Hawk shorts on ebay, only Boys, so I might have a chance with these.


These are Industrie brand.  I don't know why I picked these up, I just "thought" the brand sounded popular?   These are in nice condition except for wear on the bottom of the cuffs.
Looking up the Industrie web-site, their jeans go for $100.  But these don't have the right label.  Perhaps an older pair.  These are very normal looking jeans, with nothing to make them stand out.  There are no completeds on these - they are all the newer tagged ones.  These are probably a different Industrie label altogether.  


These are Saltwater long shorts.  I've never heard of this brand, but these were funky-looking shorts, with pre-made slashes, and a cool decal label on one leg.  These show a very small amount of wear.
Looking at Completeds only shows some very boring Saltwater brand jeans that are not even selling for $2.  Interesting.


Wrangler wasn't on my list either, but it seemed to ring a bell so I picked up these brown pants.   These have no size tag on them.  Made in Mexico of US fabric.  These are brown pants - not denim, but a heavy fabric with a bit of a weave on it.  Chinos?
All it has is this weird half-missing tattoo inside and this label that I can't figure out.   Can anybody help with the sizing from this tag, or is it useless?
My final item, was the only top that I could recognize.  This top is actually grey.  It's an XL size - but I think it might be a boy's shirt, as it's really not *that* big to me.   This says its a Majestic Dodgers Major Baseball League Genuine Merchandise.  It has no marks or wear.
There is nothing to compare this with on Ebay Australia - either sold or currently for sale.  Maybe a good pickup.


Now I have to wash these clothing, and hope that my iron still works.  It hasn't been used in a few years!!!


These are my books that I got.    
The two Terry Brooks are brand new.   Juicing books are very popular at the moment, as are self-sufficiency books.  I've already listed all these and hope to get $38 in total after sales.


So that was my baby-steps in jeans.   I can't see that I found any sure-fire winners, but at least I tried, right?


might need a stiff drink (or 3 or 4) to recover.





5 comments:

  1. Hi Karina, On the Wranglers I see 34X36. The first number on mens pants size tag is always the waist measurement. The 2nd number is the inseam. So you have a pair of 34-waist pants with a 36 inseam. 36" inseam is one tall dude with long legs--lol! Make sure the pants haven't been hemmed...you will need a nice cloth or vinyl tape measure. Tall or long leg sizes do well for me...as those sizes have a hard time finding clothes that fit. A 34" waist is average...the Wranglers are not chinos...they are jeans. Skater stuff does well...research your keywords in that genre. The Levis I am afraid are women's jeans the "L" stands for "Long" that is women's size-lingo. Levis (and most jeans manufactures always tag mens jeans with waist x inseam format. Size charts are a totally necessary tool...I use a couple and toggle back and forth when I reference them to get better idea of size. Here is a good one to start you out...anything you learn about clothing measurements in regards to mens pants...will help you avoid buying womens sizes or kids sizes or husky size. Those sizes--Anything can sell on ebay, of course- but it might take longer. The shirt--if you think it looks small...is probably a "youth" size

    http://www.overstock.com/sizing.html?AID=10654383&PID=4169806&SID=msu4nn32oryv

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  2. wow a 34 x 36-that's for a tall skinny guy.Very hard size to find in a store.You should do well with those.When I buy mens clothes too resell,I either get the tall sizes with a 34"+ inseam or big (XXL and up)clothes.Anything hard to find in a regular store.
    Miss Maggie is right-the baseball jersey is probably a youth size.Nice.
    Congratulations on branching out.

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  3. I give you a lot of credit. I'm not brave enough to branch out into clothing. Good luck!

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  4. Bon courage as they say in my neck of the woods - all sounds good!

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  5. Selling clothes scares me. LOL EBay is so picky about listing them. I do have some I need to list though. LOL

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