I live in San Mateo, CA and have a lot of clothes I'd like to get rid
of.  Are there any stores that will buy used clothing?  If not, where
can I donate them?

Hi!

I found out that the best way to sell old/used clothes is online
auctions.
Ebay has a great place to do it at
http://pages.ebay.com/ClothingSellerGuide/index.html#six

You don't have to move out from San Mateo to do it, I think it worth
trying.

There you'll find expert advice on selling your used clothes. 
For example, you may clasify each item between: 

Buy-It-Now
New With Tags
New Without Tags
New In Box
Never Been Worn
Size
Double Breasted
Single Breasted
Authentic
No Reserve

If you still want to donate them, here's a list in San Mateo, CA, of
places where you can do it:

Catholic Social Services
(650) 579-0277

Community Information Program
(650) 595-7950
www.plsinfo.org/community/cip/

Parca
1650 S. Amphlett Blvd. #213
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650) 312-0730
www.parca.org
In San Mateo County, serving persons with disabilities and their
families.

Salvation Army
(650) 368-4643

Samaritan House & Family Kitchen
(650) 347-3648

San Mateo Women's Shelter
(See the Center for Domestic Violence)
A shelter for battered women and their children.

Volunteer Center
(650) 342-0801
Places volunteers with service agencies and organizations.

Youth and Family Assistance
(650) 366-8401
Provides a comprehensive network of programs that serve the needs of
youth and families in high risk situations. Services are provided
throughout the Peninsula in the following four main areas: homeless
and runaway youth, violence and abuse prevention, substance abuse
treatment and education; and general youth and family support. Visit
www.yfa.org for more information.

You will find more social organizations at:
http://www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/residents/org_social.html

Good luck!

Runix-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by runix-ga on 20 Jun 2002 18:42 PDT

Oups! I forgot to tell about search strategy:

Keywords:
"Used clothes"
Selling
Auctions
"San Mateo, CA"
"Social Org"

Again, good luck! :)

Your best bet for something like this is to call resale shops and ask.
Here's pme in your area but they deal mostly in high end items of
clothing.

Afterwards  
(650) 324-2377 
1137 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025

There is also

2nd GoRound

http://www.smartpages.com/home/2ndgoround1

Home Consignment Center

http://www.smartpages.com/home/homeconsignmentctr4

Little Cousins (mostly children's items and clothing I believe)

http://www.smartpages.com/home/littlecousins1

and The Garment Exchange

http://www.smartpages.com/home/thegarmentexchange1

Most of these places probably do consignments and they might buy
things outright. If you click on the links you will be taken to a page
with their phone numbers and a map so you can see which ones are
closest to you.

Hello,

Places that will accept and welcome donated clothing are shelters for
abused women and children, and Salvation Army.

Regards,
tlspiegel-ga

There are actually several stores in San Francisco that will buy used
clothing, but many of them are "picky" about what they buy (i.e., they
will be looking for vintage or designer items).

One chain is Buffalo Exchange: http://www.buffaloexchange.com/, with
locations in SF and Berkeley:
http://www.buffaloexchange.com/loc_sanfrancisco.htm

I also know of several other stores on Haight Street, including
Wasteland: http://www.thewasteland.com

This article also mentions a few other clothing sales places in San
Francisco, including some tips for selling your clothes and the types
of clothes these places are looking for:
http://www.sfstation.com/Sarchives/sellingback.htm.

Good luck!