Plato's Closet

**nuisance26** · 07-31-2011, 11:18 AM

~Well, I finally checked it out. Color me unimpressed.
The potential is definitely there. The store was clean and well organized. The selection was amazing. The staff was friendly and helpful. But the products were sub-par.
I know this stuff is used but I've been buying used all my life. I would be willing to pay $18 for a used Gap dress in great shape. But I won't pay that for one with extreme pilling or a quarter sized stain on the front bodice.
Seriously, 50% of the items I pulled out of the racks were too used to wear. The other 50% were ludicrously overpriced.
We went on a bag sale day so we waited in a line of 300 people to fill a bag for $10. Unfortunately they only had about 500 clothing items in the bins for the bag sale and they were gone before I got a chance to look through them. That's ok since I was going for the fun of it. But that's probably the only way to get a deal there.
It's surprising to me that the kids buying clothes there haven't realized that they're paying about the same for a worn-in, 2 year old item that they would for a new item at an end-of-season clearance sale.
I'm more impressed than ever with the sorters at my Goodwill. $6 for a used Gap top in great shape won't seem so high to me after my PC experience.

~

**Jamielane** · 07-31-2011, 01:11 PM

I just took DD there last weekend and we did ok but you have to be really careful. We ended up with 3 shirts and a pair of jeans for 22.00 . Some of the stuff is crazy over priced . There were some jeans she looked at I could have went to Kohls and gotten brand new on sale for less. A lot of the tshirts were simply "to used" to be worth the 7 or 8 bucks they had on the ticket . Our store did not have the bag sale I have seen a few people talk about online but she did find a few things. The jeans were 8.00 and she was quite happy with them. I have tried our salvation army store a few times and it is waaaaay overpriced. If you find a shirt without a stain it is at least 5 or 6 dollars and honestly I can get a brand new one at Walmart for that. Sigh.... I will keep on trying though.

**Neeley** · 07-31-2011, 01:18 PM

I think it must vary by location. We have one in our city that is terrible.I won't waste my time even stopping by there. However, the one 45 miles from us is great. We go there often and have been very happy. They are very selective about what items they take in. If it is stained or shows excessive wear, they do not accept it. I have gotten new with tags North Face jackets for $20, UnderArmour sweatshirts for $15, Polos, A&F, etc...all reasonably priced and in good condition. We usually give the kids around $100-$150 each and they come out with several bags full of goodies.

**Debbie-cat** · 07-31-2011, 05:14 PM

Never heard of the store. I definitely wouldn't go back if it's that bad.

**Luckybustert** · 07-31-2011, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Neeley

I think it must vary by location. We have one in our city that is terrible.I won't waste my time even stopping by there. However, the one 45 miles from us is great. We go there often and have been very happy. They are very selective about what items they take in. If it is stained or shows excessive wear, they do not accept it. I have gotten new with tags North Face jackets for $20, UnderArmour sweatshirts for $15, Polos, A&F, etc...all reasonably priced and in good condition. We usually give the kids around $100-$150 each and they come out with several bags full of goodies.

I agree each location must be different. The one near where I live is also great.

**Nana2two** · 08-02-2011, 01:26 AM

The one near us shut down. They had hollister jeans for $35 when you can get them new for $45 to 50 and clearance you could get them for $25.00. All the sizes seemed to be 00 to 7/8 all the time.

**happymomof4** · 08-02-2011, 06:57 AM

My daughter want to go to this store so badly. I see that they are putting one in our area soon.

She wears a size 00 or 1. I think she wants to go so she can sell some of her clothes. Most of her clothes look brand new and are name brand things.

**nuisance26** · 08-02-2011, 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by happymomof4

My daughter want to go to this store so badly. I see that they are putting one in our area soon.

She wears a size 00 or 1. I think she wants to go so she can sell some of her clothes. Most of her clothes look brand new and are name brand things.

~From what I've read, they don't give you much for them, maybe 10% of ticket value?
You may have better luck selling on Ebay. You can list 100 items a month for free.

I see the big brands go for 20-50% of retail value there. But the items have to be fairly recent(less than 2 years out of stores).~

**Jayne** · 08-02-2011, 09:52 AM

We are getting one close by, so I looked at their website and was not impressed by that. The comments here have made my mind up. I can go to our S.A. on 1/2 price Wednesday and get clothes for myself for 2.00 and as low as .50. Plus they have a huge plus size section

**brennasmom** · 08-02-2011, 11:03 AM

DD and I went several months ago. At our location we thought most of the items were pretty overpriced and some were pretty worn or lower quality.

**imagine** · 08-02-2011, 12:20 PM

I have only Platos' closet through my son.

My daughter is still to small for there.

The guys section was nice but never small only a few of each item. say three shirts in one size and three jackets in two sizes to or three was their magic number so there was so little to choice from.

I might have hit them on a low day but I'm not so sure cause the two guys racks were pretty tight even with so little stuff.

**JanieD** · 08-02-2011, 01:42 PM

I wasn't impressed by the one in my area (45 mins away in large city). Definitely marketing the teen/college crowd. The items were very "trendy" & overpriced. I agree w/others that you can buy new for less, just wait for sales. Our area consignment stores have lower prices (some have weekly sales) & the selection isn't limited like at PC.

**shoiji** · 08-02-2011, 04:01 PM

When reading your post all I could think of was end of season sales in September. Have been saving some money to be able to but a couple of things. Can't wait!

**Roses5** · 08-03-2011, 07:34 AM

They are overpriced for used clothing in my opinion. I'm new to the forum but have been second hand shopping for decades. Last week I scored a pair of white Lucky brand shorts and a pair of Lucky brand jeans for $0.50 each. You can find nice things at thrift stores much cheaper than PC, it may just take a little more time if your "brand hunting." (which I often am)

**frugalkikiv** · 08-05-2011, 05:19 PM

i don't like plato's closet, myself. they are extremely picky about what they purchase in the store and each time i go, the staff has been super rude!