Monday, October 22, 2012

Are your new clothes really second hand? Buyer beware!

Are your new clothes really second hand? Buyer beware!


Now I have nothing against second hand clothing, as is evidenced by my love of vintage clothing, but pre-worn clothing should be priced as such. Apparently some stores are passing off clothing pre-worn by the sales assistants as brand new, complete with stains, smells and pulled threads yet still charging the full rate.

“I hate to admit it, but I worked in retail for years when I was studying and we were totally encouraged to wear the stock for the day. They said that people were more likely to buy stock when they see it on a gal.” (RK1977, Vogue forums)

There’s pages and pages of posts on the Vogue forums where sales assistants discuss the practice:

Sales assistants wearing floor stock
Retail chicks wearing clothes before sold


“That’s true, I’ve worked in so many shops that do that:
*Bardot
*Review
*Jigsaw
They just make sure the tag is hidden and that you wear your jacket on top during lunch!” (MisScorpio, Vogue forums)

Have you fallen victim to this? I’ve rejected plenty of new clothes because of imperfections and marks, but I’ve never been stung because I always try things on before purchasing and inspect them closely. I always thought the marks were made by careless shoppers, but it seems that they are not only to blame!

“The Alannah Hill girls do not wear floor stock then sell it, they used to but this hasn’t happened in quite some time. They have a staff rack out back with clothes for them to wear in-store and their accessories are either provided or their own.” (Krysta, Vogue forums)

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