08/11/2026
Let’s talk about BUYING! 💙
We’ve seen some comments recently that we “never buy anything,” so we thought this was a good opportunity to explain a little more about how buying works at Plato’s Closet.
First—we definitely buy. A LOT. 😂
💵 In July alone, we paid out more than $27,000 in CASH to local sellers!
But the reality is, we simply can’t buy everything that comes through our doors.
Our certified buyers are trained on the brands, styles, condition and inventory needs we’re looking for. Over the last year and a half, we’ve also been able to really narrow down what sells well in our store—and, just as importantly, what doesn’t.
And sometimes we learn that the hard way! 😅
Since opening, we’ve given away approximately $12,000 worth of inventory that didn’t sell for us. When we repeatedly see certain brands, styles or items not selling, we adjust what we buy. That allows us to put our buying dollars toward the items our customers are actually purchasing and helps us keep fresh inventory moving through the store.
So if we pass on something you bring in, please know it isn’t personal and it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong with your item. It may simply be something we already have too much of or something that historically hasn’t sold well for us.
We WANT to buy from you! Our business literally depends on our community bringing us great items to purchase. But in order for this business model to work, we also have to be selective about what we buy.
We also want to acknowledge something else: we’re still a relatively new business.
We’ve learned SO much over the last year and a half, and we’re going to continue learning as we go. Sometimes we’ll get it wrong. We may pass on something we probably should have purchased. We may buy something we think will be great that ends up sitting on the rack. Every one of those experiences helps us learn our local market and become better buyers.
We’ve also seen some criticism about the number of teenagers and young adults we employ, and that is something we’re actually really proud of. 💙
Our team works hard. They’re learning how to sort through hundreds of items, make buying decisions, interact with customers, work as a team and help keep a busy store running. Are mistakes occasionally going to happen? Absolutely. They happen in every workplace.
But along the way, these young employees are gaining real-world experience. They’re learning customer service, responsibility, communication, teamwork and what it means to show up and work hard. We’re proud to provide young people in our community with a place to gain those skills—and we’re pretty proud of the team they’re becoming. 🥹💙
And remember that $12,000 worth of inventory that didn’t sell? We love finding a way to put those items back into our community rather than letting them go to waste!
Our next TAKE WHAT YOU NEED event is coming in just a few weeks! 🎉 We’ll be putting out tons of unsold inventory completely FREE for anyone who can use it. Keep watching our page because we’ll be sharing details soon!
We know we won’t get every buying decision right. But we’ll keep learning, training our team, listening to our customers and working hard to make our store better.
And if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this very long post… thanks for reading! 😂💙 We truly appreciate everyone who buys from us, sells to us, follows our page, shares our posts and supports our locally owned small business. It means more to us than you probably realize. 🫶
