Many customers are surprised to find out that our inventory comes from people just like them, or you! Red Light actually buys most of our clothing directly from the public. Our Buying Counter is open everyday of the week, same hours as the shop itself. Hundreds of people every week sell us thousands of new items!

So, if you haven’t already sold to us, we hope you’ll try it – it’s easy and a great way to make quick cash, support your community (we’re independently owned – shop local, Portland!) and the environment (vintage is the only truly environmentally-friendly fashion).

Here’s a few tips to make your next Red Light selling trip a huge success:

1. Take clothes off of hangers. It’s actually easier for us to look through clothes NOT on hangers…you’ll save yourself and other sellers a lot of time by taking your items off of hangers before bringing them in to sell. Seriously – we go through items in a sack or suitcase twice as fast as items on hangers.

The same thing goes for plastic garment bags or dry cleaning bags. Unless the garment inside is fragile and needs protecting, those bags just get in the way. Please leave them at home.

(Photo, www.cakeinbed.blogspot.com)

2. Respect other customers by calling ahead if you have more than 100 items to sell. Don’t get us wrong – we love going through big buys! However, if you bring in hundreds of items when we already have a number of customers waiting to sell, it can turn into a frustrating wait for everyone. There are many times of the week when we can accommodate larger buys without slowing down the process for all other customers hoping to sell. Call ahead to 503-963-8888 and we’ll be happy to schedule a buying appointment at your convenience.

And if you forget to make an appointment, don’t worry! Just bring in some of the items you plan on selling and alert our Buyers on duty to your special situation. They’ll let you know how much time they need to look through your buy AND those of other customers…And you can always leave items and come back for your cash or credit later in the day!

3. Don’t pre-sort what you bring us based upon what you think we’ll like. If you’ve gone to the trouble to bring in items to sell to us, go ahead and show us everything you want to get rid of! Our buying choices are determined by what Red Light needs and what our customers are asking for…so many sellers have been pleasantly surprised when we give them cash for items they thought we’d never want!

Red Light is the largest clothing exchange in the Northwest. We specialize in vintage, but we buy brand name clothing as well. We have the space and expertise to buy more than any other store in town – and we will, if you’ll let us! We want to give you $$$!