Second-hand clothing in New York typically sells for $5 to $810. Brand and condition do most of the work, and in a face-to-face sale the fit does as much as either. Someone who has just tried a coat on and likes it rarely negotiates hard.
Buying clothing in New York
New York apartments are small and most people do not own a car, and those two facts decide the whole second-hand market here.
Labelled sizes drifted for decades and mean little across makers or between one era and the next, so the number sewn inside is a starting point at best. Handling the cloth settles weight, drape and whether a colour is what the screen suggested.
What to check in person
Turn it inside out and follow the seams for splits and clumsy repairs, since that is where wear begins rather than on the face of the cloth. Stretch the cuffs and waistband to see whether the elastic has gone, and read the care label for the fibre content.
Collecting it in New York
It fits in a bag, so most people meet on the way to something else. A station or a high street works, and neither side needs a car.
Almost everything changes hands on the subway or on foot, so agree a station and a time rather than an address. For furniture, the question that decides the sale is which floor and whether there is an elevator — ask it before you agree a price, not when you arrive.
Selling your clothing in New York free
Leases turn over constantly and moving day here means whole apartments emptied at once. The supply of used furniture is effectively continuous rather than seasonal, which is why prices stay reasonable even for good pieces.
Say how often it has been worn and how it was stored, since buyers here care about that as much as about the label. Group several pieces of one size together, which is worth more to somebody than the same items listed apart. Coats and knitwear move from the first cold week onward; everything light moves in spring.
Peer-to-peer payment apps dominate private sales, and buyers will usually offer one before they offer cash. Sales tax does not apply to a private sale between individuals.
Clothing worth listing in New York
Same region (New York)
If nothing in New York suits, Buffalo, Rochester and Yonkers each have their own clothing page, and a seller will often meet part of the way for something worth the trip.
More in New York: everything second hand in New York, or Clothing across the United States.
Prices converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate; sellers set their own price.