My love of resale began years ago.  I remember my mom taking me to consignment shops where I would find the name brands of clothing that everyone at my school wore.  My mom would buy them for me and I'd keep it a secret where I bought them.  I didn't want to be labeled for shopping resale.

When I got to college, I discovered thrift shops.  I would shop at Goodwill and the Salvation Army for random things that you couldn't find just anywhere.  I even dabbled in vintage shops.  My interest in resale didn't go much farther than that. 

It wasn't until I moved to St. Louis that my interest became something more.  I was looking for a job after college and randomly answered a job posting for a consignment shop (learn more about that here).  It wasn't until I started working there, that I realized what a big industry the resale business actually is.  I learned from my boss and co-workers about other resale shops in St. Louis.  Before too long I was visiting them all on a regular basis.  I could honestly say I had visited a vast majority of the resale shops in St. Louis.  I was able to go to a NARTS (Association of Resale Professionals...I know right?) workshop, where I learned even more about this bumming industry.  Before too long, I was on to bigger and better things (read about that here), and found myself working for a non for profit resale shop.  I feel like I became a real "resale professional" at this job.  I even got to attend a NARTS conference, where I spent three days learning about the resale/consignment/NFP business.  I really saw this as my career and I feel like it could've been, but that's another story for another time.

One of the things I love about resale (besides it's affordability) is that you can find very nice things at very low prices.  I especially love NFP (non for profit) stores.  When you spend money at these shops, the money goes to help a certain organization or cause.

St. Louis has so many resale shops, that I can't even count them or visit all of them (although that is a tempting challenge).  If you live in St. Louis or are planning to visit, here are some awesome resale shops to visit (I'll link each shop with their website):

Children's Resale
Kangaroo Kids Favorite! You can also find breastfeeding support groups here!
Purple Cow You can get lots of designer and higher end items here!
Sprung Favorite! This is a non-profit store full of awesomeness.

Women's Resale
Rung Favorite! This is a non-profit connected to Sprung.  Perfect for mother-daughter/son shopping!
Upscale Resale Higher end items with a higher price tag.
Women's Closet Exchange Get your designer items here!

Teen's Resale
Dos Favorite! Love this little gem in the heart of Clayton! Great prices too!
Clique Find higher end and designer brands here.
Refresh  Another awesome non-profit.

Furniture Resale
Second Sitting If you see it here, buy it!  It may not be there tomorrow.
Consign and Design Favorite! If Pinterest had a store, this would be it!
Garvey Decor Allow plenty of time to shop this store!  They've got lots of stuff!

A Little Bit of Everything
The Scholar Shop Favorite! And this shop has TWO locations! Also a non-profit.
Ditto This non-profit has everything!  Women's, men's, children's, teen's furniture, home decor!
The Resale Shop Another non-profit!


Here are some national chain stores that are also full of great finds:

Goodwill Everything!
Plato's Closet Teen's
Once Upon a Child Kid's
Avalon Exchange Teen's, Women's, Men's, Vintage
Hut No. 8 Teen's
Red Racks Everything!

Again, there are so many resale shops in St. Louis that there are lots of awesome shops that I haven't even visited yet.  This list doesn't even cover all of the great vintage shops in St. Louis.  I'll save that list for another day....

What are your favorite resale shops?