How does condition affect resale value?

So this week we're digging into how condition affects the resale value of your clothes. How important is it to keep tags on? Is it worth selling items with signs of wear? These are the questions we'll be answering.

To illustrate the point, we'll be taking a UK wardrobe staple - the Zara dress - as an example. Over 80,000 of them were resold in the past year.

Looking into the data, we see that a Zara dress retains close to half its retail value if resold still with tags on. As soon as those tags are taken off, you can expect to receive 20-30% of the original retail value. The 'tags' premium is relatively modest for Zara, and can get very significant for brands at the designer end of the spectrum, where tags become a powerful signal of authenticity as well as condition.

So the takeaways? If possible, limiting the number of impulse purchases would be the best for your wallet and the planet. If you miss the returns period but are still unsure, its best to leave the tags on rather than take them off and wear once! And yes, its definitely worth reselling items in gently used condition :)