Crossroads Trading — Local services in Seattle

This is my favorite secondhand store in Seattle! The u district location is also great. Everyone in the staff is always so kind to me.

For sellers: It isn't a great place to sell price wise, but if you want immediate cash there is nowhere else to go besides Buffalo exchange which is a mess. They give fair prices though for more fast fashion or accesible brands especially. I like to sell my less expensive pieces here. It is much better than thredup where you get 50¢ for a brand new cashmere sweater or 20¢ for madewell jeans. Otherwise, for selling more designer pieces consignment or online tends to be a better option though it takes much longer and is not guaranteed to sell. I have bought things like a brand new with tag Stone Cold Fox dress and DVF wool blazer for $50 and $40 respectively which means the seller only got 50% of that in credit or 33% cash which is little compared to what they could have gotten selling on poshmark. The higher priced consignment items here are hung up high or behind the counter which makes it hard to see them I honestly never shop from the pieces behind the counter, and I see the same items week in and out, so I'm not sure how well you would do consigning here. They do consign more designer pieces and offer 50% of the selling price. This location is super busy even on days when you wouldn't expect it. They have an app which is amazing because you can put your name on the list from home and leave when it gets close so you get there right in time to sell. Otherwise you can spend hours waiting. The u district store I've never spent more than 10 minutes waiting. They are pretty picky with what they take needing to be in good condition and on trend and in season. A designer brand simply isn't enough if it doesn't meet those requirements. They do take non branded things or non designer things if it is on trend and in good condition.

For buyers: this is a great place to shop! The buyers are great and buy some amazing pieces. Most things are on trend and in great condition. You'll find some good things if you look. I have found amazing things for prices I wouldn't be able to get anywhere else even secondhand like on poshmark or a consignment store. sometimes the prices are even better than the goodwill down the street. (that goodwill is expensive though.) Some things I've gotten from here are a leather collar wool peacoat from the Kooples for $65, Mother jeans for $22, silk equipment shirt for $24, AG shearling denim jacket from $42. The prices are not dirt cheap but the clothes are current, and in excellent to new condition for about a quarter of the price you can find at a place like Nordstrom rack. And I always find a ton more things than goodwill. I find more here than all the consignment stores I've been to as they tend to price super high and much more than Buffalo exchange which truly has almost nothing. it really is hit or miss though. I could go every day and find completely different things. after items have been there 30 days, they get marked down 50% which is when you can find even better deals although all the really amazing things tend to be snatched up before then. They allow you to return for store credit within 7 days with a receipt which is nice as well. They do have a range of sizes but tend to have more on the smaller end. It varies depending on what...

I watched my partner try to simply sell two very nice but unused pairs of shoes here. From my observation they practically stole them from her and gave her nothing but frustration and sadness in return.

As a user experience designer I have to say this store is sadly on the end of the spectrum in which the consumer suffers the most, the most work is put on them, and the store policy is to simply explain their bad process with no justification or remedy. I’d like to explain the selling process there as a consumer, in hopes that this helps employees understand the pain you’re putting on sellers:

You show up and give your clothes to a clerk. The clerk has you wait (45-120 minutes) Finally you’re seen just to be told you have to come back later. When you come back you’re finally able to see someone but you’re told to fill out several long forms of personal and contact info. You wait again (with the occasionally rude staff) If you don’t want to wait you’re told you can come back whenever at your convenience, or that they’ll text you. (If you’re seeing the pattern here it’s that there are several waits, several disconnected systems, and plenty of times where they are too busy or backed up). You finally come back, but if you waited more than 48 hours to come back in person they donate your goods without telling you.

No one could tell us where her shoes were donated or why. No one could tell us why they didn’t contact us to say they were going to donate the goods after a 2 day wait. No one offered a way to remedy the situation. We’ve seen similar reviews from up to 6 months ago meaning not much is changing and their policy and process is simply confusing and enraging with no hope of fixing. As an employed person my partner didn’t have six hours to wait on getting old shoes evaluated, and when she came back at her convenience they were simply gone with no warning.

I would say this is not something the Better Business Bureau would be happy with and was very sad and angry to see her go through this. But nothing matches the anger of seeing that this has been an ongoing problem for six months with no solution.

Last but not least, I feel awful for the clerks who must get yelled at weekly by frustrated sellers like us because their supervisors have put in place a policy that makes shoppers feel abused...

Just not worth it to sell here. For a place that relies exclusively on buying product to stock its shelves, they have to have some of the least seller-friendly policies I’ve ever come across. Wait times to sell are essentially always an hour plus, and they don’t let you leave your clothes on site while waiting. This would be fine for a location with a nice big parking lot, but this is Broadway - you’ll be lucky to find a parking spot within a few blocks, meaning you have to just sit there with your clothes, or lug them around with you while you occupy yourself while waiting.

After all of that, you’re getting pennies on the dollar back when selling (this should be your last stop before donating) and of the four times I’ve gone in to sell or so, three of them I’ve felt like it hasn’t been worth my time. They are very selective which, given the amount of completely unsellable junk they’re probably presented with every day, isn’t as big of an issue for me, but the things they do take will be a fraction of what you paid for them. This location definitely seems to buy off of style over label, and has relatively high standards for wear/cleanliness (don’t bother bringing in H&M/Zara/fast fashion though).

I rarely ever buy here, but occasionally I’ve found some underpriced raw/selvedge denim - outside of that, it’s mall core/obey/SuperDry level quality/styles, which I suppose is what a certain demographic is looking for. They do have some decent prices on designer consignment (as an aside, sometimes I see laughably out of style pieces/brands consigned for less than what they have similar items marked for on racks and have to distract myself from the second hand embarrassment that buyer must have had trying to keep a straight face while looking that seller in the eye), but I usually only pop in here if I need to kill time or just have nothing better to do and want to create some space in my closet and get...