The Consignment Store That Chooses Old Navy Over Tommy Hilfiger

The luxury-brand jacket that fits perfectly and has a tiny price tag is the holy grail of the consignment store shopper. Prada, Chanel, Burberry, Gucci—the truly tenacious bargain hunter can find all these brands at the pre-loved price at the right secondhand outlet.

The largest online consignment store in the U.S., however, is stockpiling clothes that were never that costly to begin with: ThredUp says some of its most popular brands are H&M, Forever 21, and Old Navy. In fact, it won't even accept used Tommy Hilfiger clothes because there isn't enough demand from its target customers—25- to 40-year-old women. H&M and other discount "fast-fashion" labels cost next to nothing by the time they're for sale on ThredUp and customers are adding them to their checkout carts impulsively as they would packs of gum at the supermarket counter.