Uptown Cheapskate is a trendy secondhand store. This fashion franchise carries men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories.
How this store obtains its inventory is unique because it is all from its customers! That’s right, Uptown Cheapskate buys clothing, shoes, and other accessories from the very people who shop at and visit the store.
So if you want to make some extra cash from your closet, you’re probably wondering about the buying process at Uptown Cheapskate. As a frequent customer at Uptown Cheapskate, I have firsthand experience with selling items at this store.
Plus, I’m very familiar with the buy-sell-trade store world from working at Plato’s Closet for 4 years.
In this post, we will answer your burning questions: How much does Uptown Cheapskate pay for clothes? Does Uptown Cheapskate pay well for clothes? Plus so much more!
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Selling Process Basics
To start off, let’s discuss the basics of the buying process. It all starts with you collecting items from your closet that you no longer want or wear.
This includes clothing items, shoes, jewelry, purses, and other accessories.
Take your clothing items off of their hangers, and pack everything up in a bag or bin. Presentation matters, so try to fold your clothing items neatly! Drive up to your local store and pay a visit to the buy counter.
You will need your ID, and will be required to fill out information about yourself (name, address, phone number, etc). The Uptown Cheapskate associate will let you know how long the wait time is.
You can either shop around while you wait, or leave and return later that day. Either way, the associate will text and email you when your buy is finished.
Plus, the email will include the purchase amount. So with that, let’s get into how much Uptown Cheapskate pays!
How Much Does Uptown Cheapskate Pay?
In general, Uptown Cheapskate pays, in cash, 25-35% of what they price items in the store. So, for example, you will receive $2.50 to $3.50 for an item that is priced at $10.
However, if you opt for store credit, you will receive a value of 25% more than the cash value. So for that same $10 item, you could receive around $3.00 - $4.00 of store credit.
What Does Uptown Cheapskate Pay The Most For?
If the brand(s) or item(s) that you are selling are popular and in demand, you will receive closer to 35% for those item(s). Some examples of more valuable brands include Free People, Zara, and Lululemon Athletica.
How much Uptown Cheapskate pays will vary widely depending on the item, brand, and condition. In addition to more sought-after brands, items that are in better condition will receive a higher payout.
Average Payout Per Item Type
So how much does Uptown Cheapskate pay for different clothing types? Below are approximate, average payouts given for the category of item:
- Tops: $2 - $3
- Dresses: $2 - $12
- Bottoms: $3 - $14
- Outerwear - $3 - $20
- Shoes - $3 - $25
Next, we’ll go over my personal experience with selling at Uptown Cheapskate.
Real Example of How Much Uptown Cheapskate Pays
During my most recent trip to Uptown Cheapskate, I brought in a bag of about 50 items. I mostly brought in women’s clothing items with a few men’s items.
The women’s items consisted of leggings, dresses, rompers, and tops. The men’s items were athletic and casual shorts.
In total, 24 items were accepted. I was offered a price of $94 in cash or $115 in store credit. I ended up opting for the cash so I could take my money and run!
After doing some math, I calculated that I received approximately $4 for each of the 24 items. Although it’s not much, it is still more than if I had just donated the items.
Additionally, I didn’t have many high-end brands that I was selling. I didn’t sell any Lululemon, Athleta, or other popular, designer, or luxury items.
See the following lists below for the brands and types of items that they accepted from my buy:
Brands And Styles Uptown Cheapskate Accepted:
- Urban Outfitters
- A plaid dress
- A polka dot dress
- B Collection by Bobeau
- Floral mini dress
- Lost Ink
- Long sleeve mini dress
- Altar'd State
- Tunic, new with tags
- Love Riche
- Long sleeve ribbed dress
- Olive + Oak
- Floral mini dress
- PGA Tour
- Men’s shorts
- Free People
- Floral dress
- Long sleeve top
- Leith
- Floral tank top dress
- Mod
- Animal print wrap dress
- Speechless
- Geometric glitter dress
- Ark N Co
- Wrap dress
- Forever 21
- Wrap dress
- Crystal Doll
- Bodycon mini dress
- Cabela's
- Sweatshirt
- Loft
- Lounge dress
Items Uptown Cheapskate Did NOT Take:
- Printed Nike leggings
- Geometric print
- Animal print
- Fast fashion brands
- Zaful
- Men’s shorts
- Nike
- Under Armour
- Russell
- Lulu’s
- Skater dress
- Maxi dresses
As you can see, I had a lot of success selling floral mini dresses and wrap dresses. I also had repeated success with Urban Outfitters and Free People items.
I was highly surprised that many of my men’s athletic shorts were not accepted. However, a pair of men’s casual khaki shorts (PGA brand) were accepted.
The associate also told me that the specific location that I was selling to was being more picky with accepting rompers and maxi dresses due to overstock.
Overall, Uptown Cheapskate pays minimal amounts for the items that you’ll sell. However, it is extremely similar to another buy-sell-trade store, Plato’s Closet (as you can see in our post about how much Plato’s Closet pays).
You can make more money selling items individually on a marketplace like Poshmark or eBay, however, that requires a significant amount of time.
As a side note: if you’d like to learn more about selling online, read our guides on signing up for Poshmark, Poshmark for beginners, and how to sell on eBay.
At the end of the day, I was able to make $94 within the hour that it took to sell my items. That ended up being worth it for me, but be sure to carefully evaluate your specific situation!
You can always bring clothes in to sell at Uptown Cheapskate and decline the offer if you feel it is not good enough.
Have you sold at Uptown Cheapskate before? Comment below with your experience!
Uptown Cheapskate takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to look through clothes and process buys.
Alex Hrash
I sold to Uptown Cheapskate today for the first - and last - time. I brought in NEW clothes with tags- Levus, Lands End, LL Bean - for which my father paid 600 dollars. I received 25 dollars for 5 pairs of new Levi's and 4 LL Bean quarter zip pull over sweaters. I took my 25 bucks and hauled my behind out of there.
Amanda Manera
Hey Alex!
Sorry to hear about your experience selling at Uptown. Unfortunately the buy sell trade stores aren't known for shelling out the big bucks, mostly due to their convenience and need to have their own margin for profit to keep operating.
Although it takes more time and effort, you would be likely to make more selling on eBay, Poshmark, or another platform.