Juan Villa / The Collegian

Local Thrift Store

For most college students, saving money can be difficult. And finding a store that has reasonable prices is hard.

Plato̢۪s Closet is a nationwide store that specializes in clothes for young adults. The store buys and sells gently used clothes from the latest styles of brand name designers for men and women, such as Hollister, American Eagle and Forever 21.

Plato’s Closet calls their store “Trendy Teen Wear.â€Â

When you walk into the store, there are rows of jackets and sweatshirts followed by rows of jeans. Everything is organized by color and sizes, which makes it easy for customers to find styles they like.

The Fresno store opened up Sept. 14, 2006.

Brand clothes, one third of the price

“Plato’s Closet carries designer items like jeans and wallets, but unlike department stores the things are cheap,â€Â said customer Vanessa Wells.

Everything in the store can also be found in the mall, but Plato’s Closet offers a cheaper price. The staff does walkthroughs of the mall to know what is current when buying back people’s clothes.

When pricing items, it is all computer ran through a corporate data base. They enter the basic information like brand, condition, size and it generates a quote of what the retail stores sell it at and what Plato̢۪s Closet will buy it back for or sell it at.

Plato̢۪s Closet̢۪s price is one third of what the original retail price is.

Juan Villa / The Collegian

Buy and sell

“Plato’s only takes back items that can be resold and are in good condition,â€Â said customer Sammy Freitas. “And in most cases the clothes they sell are brands that are recognizable.â€Â

Freitas, who was looking around while she waited for her clothes to be priced, comes into Plato̢۪s Closet to mainly sell back clothes.

“I just sell clothes. I have found a top once that still had the tag on it, so it made me excited enough to buy it,â€Â Freitas said.

When people sell their clothes back, Plato̢۪s Closet looks for style and condition and if it is trendy.

“We look to see what is in other stores and magazines,â€Â employee Kaylyn Lasko said.

At times, Plato̢۪s Closet is looked at as a thrift store, but is often compared to places like Ross and Goodwill.

“I see thrift stores as more vintage, with pieces that are one of a kind, where Plato’s has more trendy items, which are obviously wearable,â€Â Freitas said.

Close-knit store offers trendy, off-beat styles

“This is my first time in the store,â€Â Gwen Huff of Fresno said, as she shopped with her daughter. “It is all department store stuff but at a cheaper price.â€Â

One employee said they also look for style unlike other stores.

Plato̢۪s Closet not only takes what is seen in the malls but unheard of clothing, as well.

“We will take almost any brand if it is a good style and in good condition,â€Â Andrew Belleci, regional manager, said.

What sets Plato̢۪s Closet away from other department stores is their small base of customers. They recognize faces and know people by name.

“We are able to build better relationships,â€Â Lasko said.