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ECO SPEAKS CLE
ECO SPEAKS CLE is where the eco-curious explore Northeast Ohio's unique and thriving environmental community. Each episode delivers thoughtful and informative interviews with local sustainability leaders and offers tips to help listeners connect, learn, and live with the community and planet in mind. ECO SPEAKS CLE is hosted by Diane Bickett and produced by her son-in-law, Greg Rotuno. Diane draws on experiences and relationships developed during her 31-year environmental career to showcase the impactful work shaping Cleveland's environmental future in a podcast that speaks to sustainability newcomers and masters alike.
ECO SPEAKS CLE
Secondhand Savvy with Kathleen Colan
We all love a good find at a vintage store and have done our fair share of donating or selling stuff we no longer want. These sustainable actions fuel a booming industry called the secondary market for consumer goods. But how much do we know about the consumer resale market? How can we make good decisions about where we donate, and how can we be savvy shoppers in the resale retail world? Joining us with the inside scoop is Kathleen Colan - a seasoned writer, author, and the founder of KC Media Partners. Kathleen has reported on the resale retail industry and sells vintage goods herself. In this episode, we unlock some of the best places in town to find those pre-loved treasures, share our favorite finds, and hear some tips for savvy shopping that we hope will inspire you to shop secondhand this holiday season.
Guest:
Kathleen Colan, Founder of KC Media Partners
C'estParfait.love (Kathleen's vintage on Ebay)
Resources:
PBS feature: Buy low, sell high: commodifying commerce in the consumer goods secondary market by Kathleen Colan
Consumer brand buy-back programs
Unboxing Shein on Hulu
Shop Vintage Cleveland and More:
Great Lakes Vintage
Goodwill Bins Outlet
Worn Wear (Patagonia)
Attenson's Antiques and Books
Eclectic Eccentric
Monarch Boutique
Flower Child
Sweet Lorain
All Things for You
Schoolhouse Salvage
ROOK Modern
Main Street Modern
Beachland Ballroom
Bainbridge Antique Center
Habitat Re-Store
Follow us:
https://www.facebook.com/ecospeakscle
https://www.instagram.com/ecospeakscle
Contact us:
hello@ecospeakscle.com
You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE, where the EcoCurious explore the unique and thriving environmental community here in Northeast Ohio. My name is Diane Pickett and my producer is Greg Rotuno. Together, we bring you inspiring stories from local sustainability leaders and invite you to connect, learn and live with our community and planet in mind. Hello friends, today we're going to talk about the wonderful world of resale retail. If you're like me, you love a good find at a thrift store and you've probably done your fair share of donating or selling stuff you no longer want.
Speaker 1:Facebook, marketplace Rebuilders, exchange, your favorite consignment shop, whatever you're, jam, you're not alone. In fact, 82% of Americans buy and sell secondhand goods and we've become very fond of our donation centers. We all have stuff we don't want and we don't want our stuff going to a landfill, and that can be good for the resale economy. But how much do we really know about the consumer resale market? How can we make good decisions about where we donate our stuff and how can we be savvy shoppers in the resale retail world? Here to give us all the goods is Kathleen Cullen. Kathleen is a writer, author, former society reporter for the Plain Dealer and the founder of KC Media Partners. She reported on the secondary markets for consumer goods, for PBS idea stream and as a seller of vintage goods herself. And Kathleen knows a thing or two about recycling and reuse because for years she was my communications consultant when I worked for the Kauhoga County Solid Waste District, so it's fun to tap into her experience and expertise once again. So welcome Kathleen.
Speaker 2:Thanks, tye, and you know I'm excited to talk about this topic.
Speaker 1:Well, I will start by saying this scarf I'm wearing today should look familiar to you, because I bought it from you at the Mabridge. Antique Center for 10 months.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, it does look great on you. It's a perfect match for your coloring and your hair. I love it.
Speaker 1:Thank you. So let's start by saying you know, when did your passion for selling secondhand goods start?
Speaker 2:At a very young age. You know, at a very young age. There was a unique thrift store on Shore Center Drive in Euclid, where I grew up, and I just loved it, you know, and I would pour over vogue magazines and I couldn't afford those clothes and my grandma taught me how to sew, so I was buying things at the thrift store and converting them into the things I saw in vogue, and mixing and matching and shopping at the mall and I just fell in love with it at a very early age and it's just so economical and it's being sustainable. You know, you don't always have to buy new, so I just I've loved it for a very long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, me too. I remember shopping as a high school kid. There was a store I can't remember it was in Cleveland Heights on Lee Road and they always had cool stuff like I could get Army Navy jackets and wool. You know cool wool jackets and stuff. So when we talk about what you know thrift stores were back then, versus to what this new economy is now, it's really kind of blown up and you've kind of done some research recently and reported that on that. What can you tell us about what the resale second hand market looks now? Because it's not just a neighborhood thrift store or goodwill, it's become a global industry.
Speaker 2:Well, of course you know what you call the second hand market. We sometimes hear a larger term called the secondary market, and that's defined as anything that you know is being sold for a second time and most people come and contact it with it now, not at the thrift store down the street like we're talking about which may indeed be the case with at a goodwill or a salvation army but online, with the invention of the Internet and eBay as one of the first places. So you know, we all know the names eBay and Etsy, perhaps even Poshmark or D-Pop or the real real where people sell things in the secondary market. But there are so many specialty providers. You know there's a site to sell guitars called reverb. You know there's local sites.
Speaker 1:Greg's nodding, he's got you upstairs.
Speaker 2:There's local sites. You know you could go to a site called Great Lakes Vintage and find a bunch of local auction items. You go to estate sales dot net. You'll find all the local estate sales happening here online and in person, and auctions. You could go to live auction. This is all happening here. It's a really vibrant secondary market in northeast Ohio.
Speaker 1:And that's. There's an economy around that which is it's good for the environment, it's good for the people who are trying to get in and sell their things. Rebuilders, exchange refers to it as the salvage economy and that's what they're trying to grow here. But different organizations have different models for what they do with our things, and it's great we have more and more places where we could donate our items or reseller items so they don't have to go to a landfill. But what do you want people to know about how some of those operations work?
Speaker 2:Well, first thing I want to say is, if you're planning on donating old clothes or shoes, or even any furniture or anything, you want to make sure that it's usable by someone down the line, because the thrift stores do just throw away things that are not usable, so you're kind of just passing your work on to somebody a charity that has to use that time to figure out how to dispose of it.
Speaker 1:When people drop things off at a good will store, for instance, what happens?
Speaker 2:Well, they bring the items into intake and they decide what's valuable. I am not privy to everything they do behind the scenes at good will. These items are on make it to the floor their price. You know they've had through the pandemic. They had national consultants in to change the way they do business. They're very smart business people. They completely change the way they do business on a regular basis. They have done many new things. I mean there their prices have up their game. You know, with the invention of Google Lens that has changed the whole secondhand business from the prices at a goodwill to a very, you know, small secondhand thrift store up the street to somebody who's just, you know, selling buttons on eBay. As more information comes online about the prices of things, more people can access it and be involved. So it's just exploding. So but so, and I got a beef track.
Speaker 1:Well, that's all right because I mean, I think we understand, you know, some goods are put on the floor for sale, some things are graded and might go into a bailer and might be sent overseas and that's a whole nother probably podcast in terms of the impact of that. But I also understand from your reporting that goodwill will call the good stuff and sell it online itself, because they're trying to get as much value out of these materials as possible.
Speaker 2:They are. They are I did neglect to mention that stuff. They do. Most of the jewelry well, all of the jewelry. You don't see jewelry in goodwill stores anymore because they take it all to more people that are more expert than the people they typically have working in their local stores and if you go to I think it's just a goodwillcom it might be shopgoodwillcom as well. All of the really valuable stuff more than just jewelry is placed there on a national auction site, just like how eBay works or any other type of online auction. So whereas you know, as local buyers we would be able to go in and have access to those really cool, valuable things that our neighbors had donated, you know we don't have access to that anymore. We have to compete for it nationally, and they also do that with. Sometimes they take the local donations and pool them all from a whole region and then redistribute them. So you think you're going to a goodwill in a fancy neighborhood where there's going to be good stuff, but they've redistributed it.
Speaker 3:So it's equal. It's bizarre.
Speaker 2:I mean, I hear these things.
Speaker 1:And we're learning so much. So some of my favorite. One of my favorite thrift stores is Thriftik, and I think it's run by the Jewish Women's Federation or something like that National Council of Jewish Women.
Speaker 1:Perfect, and they have good stuff in there. It's at Miles and Richmond, richmond, and that money, I think, is kept, maybe a little bit more local. But I think the model for some of these organizations is they're selling your things because they are trying to raise money for their programs and their charity organizations so Habitat Restores Fund, habitat Homebuilding, et cetera. Some of these are for-profit companies, though, and I think not everyone knows that. Some of the front face of some of these for-profit companies might be like a veteran society or the people that might come pick up stuff on your porch. So how does one kind of be more savvy about who they're donating to so they can put their donations to the best use?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean you've got to take a look. I mean look at the bins, look at the website, ask the management inside the store. You've got to do a little investigation.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what happens to items that don't sell in some of the stores you mentioned? There are some bulk bin locations for the real deep discounted items Goodwill with many stores in Northeast Ohio.
Speaker 2:Things that are not sold there and not put in bails to go overseas are sent to a central location in Akron and it's called the bins the Goodwill Bins where things are sold by the pound and it's recommended that you wear gloves and bring sanitizer, have you?
Speaker 3:been there, no, I haven't.
Speaker 2:It's not my thing.
Speaker 3:I'm just I'm not willing to go there. They had one of those in Dayton.
Speaker 1:Did they?
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm, people would go for, like Halloween costumes and stuff.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was chaos. I mean I've done a lot of stuff but I'm not ready to. I might, if I'm in Akron in the day for something.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm not sure I would want to or have a need to. I mean, I like a good deal, but not that kind of a deal, I think. So, when you were doing your research on this industry, are there some things you discovered that surprised you or would surprise us?
Speaker 3:Hmm.
Speaker 2:Well, I. What's interesting is that the industry is changing so much and that that big brands are getting in on the industry. They want their piece of the pie. You know, when big brands are getting in on something, there's a lot of money happening. So let's take a brand Patagonia. I think you guys would be familiar with that brand. You probably own something from this brand.
Speaker 2:I bet Diane quote today or from R E I probably shop there or athletic or lululemon those are some brands that are participating in Buying their old things back on online so you could submit some old Patagonia items that you have. You could go on their website, find their buy back program, upload pictures of your old Patagonia. They'll decide if it's worthy. You could get cash or credit at the store and they decide if they're gonna upcycle it, recycle it and sell it so that there's a marketplace and there's one company that made the software for this, that selling it to all these people to do it really yes, that.
Speaker 1:I forget the name okay, but why would I? Why would Patagonia R E I do? That is a greenwashing, or is there?
Speaker 2:no, it's to keep. It's to keep the mark, their brand, their brand, loyalty with their people.
Speaker 1:It's not to get me to send my my jacket, and so I buy a new jacket because I get a discount, and of course that, of course that.
Speaker 2:Okay, of course it's that, of course it's branding. Yeah, I mean it does help. I mean it's really a sticky experience for their customer. I can't say how much it's greenwashing, it's just happening.
Speaker 1:So maybe they prefer to get it back themselves, so they can pick, you know, dictate where it goes from there versus Another well then, they're resold.
Speaker 2:They're resold and they're getting. You know, they might buy your Patagonia jacket for twenty dollars and then resell it on the site for forty. So they're still, you know, making money on it and it's staying and it's. They're not making a new jacket yeah, okay and they're making customers happy. So it's, I think it's smart business. Okay, I mean it's just smart business.
Speaker 1:I see that you're, you're kind of winning me over. Okay, you know, levi's bring us your jeans, will quote unquote, recycle your jeans and pay you in the store I'm gonna buy two new pair of jeans for the pair I dropped off. But to me it was like fueling the consumer cycle. But if they are actually doing something good with those used right.
Speaker 2:There's a market place on their website for the youth stuff and a lot of these brands have a whole separate website marketing plan name, like Patagonia is, is called warn where and there's a whole warn where dot com website of just Patagonia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm totally down with Patagonia. Lululemon has so much I'm not sure I would want to buy used yoga pants for anybody they say they clean them.
Speaker 2:Ikea apparently does it car heart okay so well some of those are.
Speaker 1:You know, brands that have good quality clothing that that probably do stand up in a resale market for sure. So let's talk about shopping, shopping second hand in Cleveland. So I was in the Bainbridge antique center, your friend Ron Silverman. He paid me a hundred bucks for some lot. You know, big batch of jewelry that.
Speaker 1:I don't know where anymore and he's like I'll take it off your hands, reluctantly because the shop was filled with jewelry. You mentioned jewelry before, but I'm curious about the terminology, the difference between vintage antique stores and thrift stores we're gonna need a Venn diagram, typically so crossover yeah, they okay, an antique is typically a hundred years old or more.
Speaker 2:Okay, vintage. Now they're saying 10 years, which I think is crazy.
Speaker 1:Wow yeah, so now we're all vintage.
Speaker 2:Right right, a thrift store. You could find an antique and a vintage item in a thrift store. So a thrift store is a wide category. Vintage could be a wide category. You could find something that's thrifted at antique in a vintage store.
Speaker 1:It's the Venn diagram.
Speaker 2:So, but an antique is typically a strict term of a hundred years or more, but that's in strict circles. I mean, not everybody that's talking about these things is using these strict definitions. It goes to the definition, but in the sales community of people that buy and sell. These are kind of given definitions these days and they're always changing. This is a very changing industry and sometimes it's not.
Speaker 1:So you know vintage could refer to an era like I want a 50s leather jacket or something and I'll know where to go. Vintage might also be used to make something that's cheap, sound cooler. I mean, I'm sure there's some of that going on, but what unique resale stores did you discover here in your research?
Speaker 2:I have a lot of neat shops that I go to. All the time I'm not. I'm not really buying right now. I'm trying to divest myself. I have a lot of stuff for sale on eBay. There are some favorite shops. I have always Antonsons on Coventry and they're wonderful.
Speaker 1:I love what type of things do they sell?
Speaker 2:They have everything they divest estates, so everything that doesn't sell at their estate sales comes to the store. Plus, they just always have fabulous, fabulous things from wonderful estates and they're from clothing to housewares Just beautiful things, eclectic, eccentric. On large mirror. Same, just beautiful style and also on large mirror. Monarch boutique. You mentioned leather jacket. I think that's where you go for the leather jacket, the jean jacket maybe, a lot eclectic, eccentric. The fur and since Coventry, all the and I'm an east side of that- that's why I know you definitely are in a geographical area.
Speaker 3:There's one right there Flower child flower child has.
Speaker 2:I haven't been in there in a while. They've always had fabulous things.
Speaker 1:It's a very cool store, mm hmm, what's the one we went to? Greg on Lorraine.
Speaker 2:All things for you is fabulous.
Speaker 1:It's very small and very definitely vintage.
Speaker 3:There's like a bunch of Lorraine. There's sweet Lorraine.
Speaker 1:There's right around the corner from.
Speaker 3:Oh, I know what you're talking about. Uh, it was him and his they're not there.
Speaker 1:They closed. Oh yeah, Okay.
Speaker 3:They were in the old uh, but a cycle place.
Speaker 2:All things for you. On Lorraine in Ohio City, um, and they just got flooded out in the last rainstorm, but they had a basement with like a couple dozen Um people showing great vintage collections, and now they've brought them up while they're redoing, so it's a great place to stop. If you're in Ohio City, all things for you is a good place.
Speaker 1:So if Goodwill and some other stores are calling the good stuff and selling them in other ways than their store, where can we still find the good and cool treasures and kind of beat the competition?
Speaker 2:It's just part of the journey, part of the fun you might want to check out estatesalesnet or auctionsipcom, you know, to find it's really the garage sales, the estate sales, the church basements and, like I said, with the invention of Google Lens, even all those people know what they have and know what you know because the information's available.
Speaker 1:Okay, you mentioned Google Lens twice now and I don't really know what that is. Can you explain it's?
Speaker 2:an app on our phones and you just you can put it up to anything or a picture of anything, and it will tell you. You know where this item is on the internet, how much it costs, what it is Cool, and so you know it's very easy to use. And you see, that's what people are doing when they're in the Goodwill with their phones they're taking pictures of stuff on Google Lens and looking if it's valuable or not.
Speaker 1:Very interesting, okay, and that'll help me know if I'm going to pay the right price for something that works on Facebook Marketplace 2 in a way.
Speaker 2:It brings up mostly. It doesn't bring up Facebook Marketplace. It brings up eBay, etsy, it brings up all kinds of other things, but I think Facebook's a walled garden in that effect. Gotcha.
Speaker 1:So what was your all-time favorite second hand buy?
Speaker 2:You know there have been so many, but I have one on my rack right now and I'm debating selling it because I only wore it once in the past year and I got it at a church basement store and it's a full length black, velvet, very satin lined cape with a hood and it belongs and it's embroidered with the Society Lady's name.
Speaker 2:This is a yeah in shaker. I'm not telling you what it is and I think you need to keep that yeah. Anyway, it's beautiful and I'm thinking about selling it because I only wore it once. And how often do you need that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so tell us about how you sell your. Mostly what you sell is vintage clothing right.
Speaker 2:Really all kinds of stuff clothing and accessories for women, just unique stuff that I find that comes to me Do you have a shop somewhere online. Just on eBay, just on eBay. So yeah, I just sell things just as a hobby or job. You know, half job, half hobby.
Speaker 1:Well, I imagine, since you were a former society reporter for the plain dealer, you have lots of like evening wear because you had to cover all these events right.
Speaker 2:You know, yes, yes and so that's. And I always pulled from the second hand stories. You know, for my stuff I certainly couldn't afford to go buying all this. You know, fancy clothes for these parties.
Speaker 1:So they didn't have clothing rental, they didn't have rent the runway back then. My favorite second hand buy was the find of a lifetime. It was the Chagrin Falls sidewalk sale years ago and this guy was moving from a house on Coddard Street which was like a Victorian house to a loft downtown. He's like well, this our house dining set won't work down there. So I got a steal for, you know, six tables and a beautiful refactory our house table for like 600 bucks. It was great, I know I was very excited about that.
Speaker 2:That was just a great one.
Speaker 1:And then my second favorite was this mid mod style porch furniture that set that I got from Habitat and I just recovered the cushions and it's been sitting on my porch for the last 10 years.
Speaker 2:Which habitats you go to.
Speaker 1:This set I got at the Lorraine 130, at the original restorer up here, and then my other favorite one was in Jogga County, but they closed that store.
Speaker 2:They did. I know I was out in Newberry.
Speaker 1:I was a little bummed about that.
Speaker 2:So how about Peace Unique out by you? Do you go to that one?
Speaker 1:I sell a lot of stuff at Peace Unique. That's a consignment store, so hot tip If you just want to get a few dollars for your items they're too good to give away, They'll give you 50 cents on the dollar for that. So I have pretty good luck there. Yeah, they're good. And then Rebuilder's Exchange, getting away from the clothing stuff. I just got a check for 87 bucks from them. I took an old light fixture and a couple old chairs Wow, and they paid me for that. There's a new documentary out on Hulu that I just saw yesterday about the fast fashion company She-In. Have you watched it yet? Is it coming out?
Speaker 2:Yes, unboxing She-In, and it's short, just about 45 minutes, I think. But so enlightening about that we don't even know the name of the owner of the company because he hides Wow and they can't get any information about. Are these people in sweatshops? When any American person owns a factory in China, our people are in there shutting these places down if they're exploiting anybody, but this company has been able to avoid all that somehow.
Speaker 3:They're like the it thing on TikTok right now. So all the high school kids can you buy stuff for like $5, like a shirt or blouse for like $5. And then the trend goes away two weeks later and you buy something else.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's sick. We can do better. We could go into Black Friday and go to a resale store. Support these organizations who are selling donated goods to support their work. We could buy cool items from a vintage store as a gift. I brought you something, kathleen.
Speaker 3:That's over here.
Speaker 2:Right, we can visit the secondary market on any platform. I love the paper.
Speaker 1:I got this for you today, Edda.
Speaker 2:Should I open now?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a store around the corner for me Schoolhouse Salvage and Shred Falls. I haven't been in there yet, but I know some people involved that I love the paper.
Speaker 2:Was this their paper?
Speaker 4:It's some it's a dressmaker pattern.
Speaker 1:Yeah just cute little felt bird and postcard Fabulous and your Eco Speaks Klee stickers.
Speaker 2:That's right. Well, those are Eco Speaks Klee is that those will be vintage in 10 years. This is beautiful nine years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I thought that reminded me of you, just because you have such style. And now I know why you're like the most put together person I've ever met, because while we worked together all those years, you always came into the office and you were always just so well dressed. Aw, thank you. Always very well put together so this is beautiful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks so much. I'm gonna put this somewhere special, very nice so wrap up with some tip time here.
Speaker 1:So how about we do like a round robin? I say the best place to find blank, and you tell me what store you would recommend I'll try. I may not be good, all right here we go Best place to find a vintage Jean Jack.
Speaker 2:I'll say Eclectic, eccentric on Large Mirror.
Speaker 1:Okay, best place to find Mid-Mod furniture.
Speaker 2:Mm. Well, there's three places. The one is in Canton and the name is escaping me, but it'll come back. Sweet Lorraine has a lot, and what's the place in Tremont? The names are escaping me. I'm trying to do this, it has all and it begins with an R, but it'll come back to me. Sorry, I am putting you on the spot. You are, you are.
Speaker 1:You're gonna hate me for that, Okay best place to shop for vinyl records. Vinyl records you know they have a shop in the basement of the Beachland Ballroom.
Speaker 2:that has a lot of records down there, so I'd start there and then they can direct you. There's a whole room at Flower Child.
Speaker 3:Flower Child the downstairs of Flower Child.
Speaker 1:That's a whole record room. Where's Flower Child? You've mentioned that twice, it's on.
Speaker 2:Clifton, right up the street, right next to the Lucky's.
Speaker 1:Best place to find a vintage wedding dress.
Speaker 2:Mm vintage wedding dress. I know I've seen a bunch somewhere. You know sometimes you can find those in the. They're in the Goodwill all the time. And I remember the name of the mid-century modern furniture store in Tremont is Rook Modern and the one in Canton is Main Street Modern.
Speaker 3:Miranda's Vintage Bridal.
Speaker 1:What's it?
Speaker 3:called Miranda's Vintage Bridal.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So Hailey had her wedding dress altered at Miranda's Vintage Bridal. It's right on West. What is it 41st?
Speaker 3:It goes into Tremont, off of that 41st goes into the West, so you sixth is sixth goes into the Tremont or night West night, oh god you can have some fun editing this podcast. We just got to stop naming places and speculating on the 14th Miranda's Vintage.
Speaker 1:Bridal in Tremont. So what's next for you? Are you going to continue to cover this topic or are you going to continue to write novels based in Lakeview Cemetery?
Speaker 2:I will always be writing about something. It's just. I mean it's just what I do and who I am. And I think I'll always be selling on the secondary market, because that is so interesting too. And I mean I just like to imagine the lives these items have had before and make up stories about them. So I mean, both suit me. So, yeah, just continue doing what I do. And my eBay store is at, say, parfaitlove, which means it's perfect love in French.
Speaker 1:Okay, we will put a link in our show notes. Thank you, Diane. Thank you, Kathleen. This has been fun.
Speaker 4:We hope you've enjoyed this episode of EcoSpeak CLE. You can find our full catalog of episodes on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available the first and third Tuesday of each month. Please follow EcoSpeak CLE on Facebook and Instagram and become part of the conversation. If you would like to send us feedback and suggestions, or if you'd like to become a sponsor of EcoSpeak CLE, you can email us at hello at ecospeaksclecom. Stay tuned for more important and inspiring stories to come.
