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thrift-storeThink you can make a quick buck selling your used togs at a consignment shop? Think again.

On her latest visit to the secondhand store, our writer Nicole was shamed by snooty shop girls for her "unworthy" offerings. Despite being quite the fashionista, her selection was deemed below resale standards, and she left empty-handed of both cash and clothes.

Readers chimed in with similar stories of having their contributions shunned by buyers. Some even had their items turned down -- then found them on sale racks in subsequent weeks.

Donald tells of a friend who often had clothes custom-made for her. "The seamstress sews in a label that reads 'made specially for...' She had taken several pieces to a high-end vintage shop here in L.A. and was told that they weren't interested, but she could leave then as a 'donation' to a charity that collected from the store. Several weeks later, a colleague came to work with several pieces she had purchased at this store. Among the items was one of my friend's custom made dresses complete with label. She paid a visit to the shop and found several other of her items."

So what really goes on inside secondhand stores?

Leigh, a former Buffalo Exchange "buyer slave," gives us the insider perspective: "The pressure to look and act hip while working there was unbelievable. ... The one I worked at actively tried to brainwash you into being hip. Monthly "buy" meetings were a time of shame where the manager would hold up 'undesirable' items and chastise the fool who thought the target shirt was cute. I can honestly say I didn't buy things I thought would sell if I had any inkling it did not fit into my manager's limited sense of style.

"They would say we buy for everyone and then tell us at the buy meetings 'don't buy urban ware – it doesn't sell,' 'don't buy plus sizes, they don't sell' and on and on it went. The only things that were acceptable to buy were clothes for anemic hipsters. The routinely told us we were lucky to work there, and for some reason people would buy into it and feel hipper than thou just because they spent the day looking through strangers' dirty laundry."

Another reader counters that resale shops are meant to cater to a particular clientele that buy only a certain look. Mariah says, "I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble following the logic in this article. This is just a case of wrong store, wrong stuff -- don't take it so hard. Find another resale shop, perhaps in a better neighborhood if your things are mostly designer and not 'hipster' chic."

Consignment shop owner Karen Quinn-Panzer says, "I would suggest taking your next batch of clothing to a smaller, single-proprietor owned consignment boutique who values each and every consignor. Most of these stores will eventually donate clothing to a worthy cause if it doesn't sell after a reasonable time period."

Or instead, says long-time thrifter Mistola, host a swap party for you and your buds: "Bring your gently used jewelry, shoes, sweaters, books, you name it -- and swap for someone else's. No hipsters, no snark and no self-confidence dragged through the mud."

Tell us! Have you had any bad experiences at secondhand shops? What do you do with your used clothing?

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