As resale becomes more curated and more competitive, the bargain-hunt dynamics that once defined thrifting are shifting, and high prices are sending shoppers back to fast fashion.
For decades, thrift stores were a low-friction way to buy decent clothes cheaply. A casual post-brunch stop at Goodwill could turn up a vintage blouse, a name-brand coat, or a trendy bag for under $20, without much planning or resale knowledge. All you needed was a little time and an open mind. That assumption no longer holds, though. The secondhand market has become one of the most competitive arenas as demand for resale goods skyrockets.
According to ThredUp’s 13th Resale Report, the U.S. secondhand apparel market grew 14 percent in 2024 and is projected to reach $74 billion by 2029; it also projects that the global secondhand apparel market will reach nearly $400 billion by 2029. “Resale continues to outpace the broader retail sector, with online resale in particular driving the sector’s growth,” Neil Saunders, Managing Director, GlobalData, said in the report.
“Shoppers are prioritizing quality as resale value becomes an increasingly important factor in purchasing decisions, and retailers are evolving their secondhand offerings to meet consumer demand with new avenues like social commerce, further driving adoption and preference for secondhand,” he noted.
What makes the moment even more complicated is what is happening next door. Fast fashion giants continue to proliferate, drawing consumers to their cheap and poorly made clothing, often priced at less than a cup of coffee. Leading the fast fashion churn is China’s Shein, whose 2024 sales rose 19 percent to $38 billion even as profit fell, according to the Financial Times. A separate Reuters report, based on a U.K. filing, found Shein’s British business posted £2.05 billion in 2024 sales, up 32.3 percent year over year.
Resale is booming, and ultrafast fashion is booming, too. Rather than one industry neatly replacing the other, shoppers, particularly budget shoppers who have long relied on thrift stores for affordable access, are now migrating toward the latter as resale becomes far more competitive and expensive.
The high price of cheap thrift finds
Today’s resale economy, driven by search filters, meticulous measurements, condition grading, authentication, buyer protection, and easier returns, has made used clothing simpler to buy. It has also made it more expensive to sell. Sorting, steaming, photographing, listing, storage, shipping, and customer support are baked into the price. So are platform fees, payment processing, and the cost of returns, which can erase margins quickly. The tag on a “curated” secondhand item reflects not only the garment, but the system built to make the purchase feel less risky.
Offline thrift has moved upstream as well. The Wall Street Journal reported that “the rise of canny used-clothing resellers has driven some prices up at thrift stores,” alongside inflationary pressures. In practice, pricing has become more market-aware: if a chain can see online comps for recognizable labels, it has more incentive to price closer to perceived value rather than at a blanket “used” discount. When the floor price rises, the shopper who relies on thrift for basics can end up competing with a side-hustle reseller sourcing inventory. The same rack becomes two different things at once: a budget lifeline and a supply chain.
The thrift-to-marketplace pipeline
The modern secondhand ecosystem is not a single marketplace, but a pipeline: at one end are donation-driven thrift stores and charity shops, where inventory is unpredictable but plentiful. In the middle are resellers and curators, who convert unpredictability into selection. At the other end are higher-end marketplaces where selection, photography, customer service, and trust are part of the product.
Resellers scour thrift stores, outlet bins, estate sales, and liquidation channels with a trained eye. Then the work begins: cleaning, repairs, measurements, listing strategy, and the logistics of storage and shipping. A coat that arrived as a donation can emerge as a “curated vintage find” after it has been processed like retail inventory.
Policy expectations can intensify the pressure. ThredUp’s report noted that 59 percent of consumers said that if tariffs and trade policies make apparel more expensive, it will push them to seek more affordable options like secondhand, a view that rose to 69 percent among millennials. In theory, that should be thrift’s moment. In practice, it can heighten the competition for the same finite pool of “good” items, particularly branded goods with predictable resale value.
Are higher resale prices feeding fast fashion?
While thrifting has been positioned as the anti-fast-fashion, the competitive landscape may be driving budget-conscious consumers toward it. The best evidence suggests many consumers already shop both. Reuters’ reporting on Shein’s rising sales underscores that ultrafast fashion still captures massive demand. Meanwhile, research complicates the idea that secondhand purchasing displaces new purchasing. A Scientific Reports study found a positive correlation between spending in the secondhand and primary clothing markets, particularly among younger consumers and frequent shoppers, suggesting that secondhand purchasing can supplement primary-market consumption rather than replacing it.
“Our study provides strong evidence that secondhand clothing markets contribute to a self-reinforcing cycle of overconsumption,” said Meital Peleg Mizrachi, a postdoctoral fellow in Yale’s Department of Economics and a coauthor of the study. “Unfortunately, our findings suggest that rather than solving the problem, secondary markets may inadvertently encourage unsustainable purchasing patterns.”
Peleg Mizrachi described the motivation behind heavy resale shoppers: “They appear to be driven by a desire for novelty and stay aligned with new fashion trends. Ultimately, those most engaged in the secondhand market are generating more textile waste than other consumers.“
Those findings align with what shoppers experience in practice. Resale can satisfy the desire for individuality and discovery, especially as mass-market brands open resale platforms. But when secondhand tags rise, fast fashion’s predictability can become more tempting for certain purchases, especially trend items and event looks where shoppers want a dependable fit and an easy return path.
Both behaviors are born from the same motivations, according to the Scientific Reports research. “Many consumers derive pleasure, identity affirmation, or a sense of novelty from shopping, regardless of whether they purchase new or used items,” the researchers note.
“People who buy a lot of secondhand clothes also tend to get rid clothes more quickly than other people, discarding them when they’re still in good condition or even brand new,” Mizrachi said. “Our findings suggest that rather than solving the problem [of overconsumption], secondary markets may inadvertently encourage unsustainable purchasing patterns.”
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