PLEASE READ OUR NEWLY UPDATED “HOW WE BUY” SECTION! MOVING FORWARD WE ARE ASKING YOU TO ALIGN WITH US TO MAKE OUR BUYING PROCESS MORE EFFICIENT, SUSTAINABLE, AND ENJOYABLE. Why the change? For Mercy, so we can buy a higher volume of what we need in a shorter amount of time and cut down on storing drop offs. For you, our clients, to shorten the wait time for drop offs and not waste time or trips to the shop if we do not find anything. Thank you for your patience! We welcome any and all feedback! XO

BEFORE YOU SELL TO US:

• Please presort your items before you bring them to us into the equivalent of 3 large IKEA bags or less. 
  • We are looking for clean, seasonal, unique, unusual, and well-made vintage, high-end designer clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories as well as contemporary high-end independent brands. 
  • If you haven’t already, look at the items on our website to get an idea of what we are looking for. For additional information please see “What We Are Looking For” below.
• Please remove all fast fashion including these brands or items of this nature:

 NOTE: We are beginning to do a preliminary scan of items during drop off. If we find any fast fashion during our scan, we will ask you to take your items back with you.

Anyone wishing to sell must be at least 18 years of age and present a valid ID.

HOW WE BUY //

DROP OFF (primary method of buying) :  

Bring your items to 5505 College Ave during shop hours and leave them for us to evaluate. Evaluation times may vary from 3 days to 2 weeks depending on current drop off levels. 

We will do a quick, cursory look through your items at the time of drop off to make sure you are a good fit for us. Once we establish fit, we will take your items as a drop off.

Once we have evaluated and priced your drop off, we will contact you (via text unless otherwise specified) at which point you will have 7 days to pick up any unwanted items and collect payment. Unfortunately, due to very limited space, we will donate your items on the 8th day after we contact you.

If you are moving or traveling out of town, please wait to drop off until you are settled. We really appreciate your understanding of this boundary. We have found ourselves overwhelmed with items to return to clients and unable to work effectively because of it. 

DROP OFF REQUIREMENTS: 

Drop offs should be no larger than the equivalent of 3 large Ikea bags (If you would like to bring more please contact us to make arrangements.)

Please have items in containers that can be closed: small boxes, ikea bags, suitcases, garment bags, etc.

We will only accept 1 drop off at a time. If you are waiting to hear back from us on a drop off, please do not bring additional items.

APPOINTMENTS:  

If you would prefer your items be processed on the spot while you wait, we ask that you schedule an appointment. Our appointments fill up quickly and are often booked 2+ weeks out. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL FOR APPOINTMENTS.

Call during business hours to schedule at 510-325-7324.

We schedule limited appointments for Fridays between 12-4pm. 

We schedule appointments for 1 hour slots, let us know how much you are bringing so we can plan accordingly.

REMOTE and IN HOME APPOINTMENTS: 

For those who aren't local, to show us your items remotely give us a call.

Be prepared to share photos, description and condition for each piece you are interested in selling.

Remote buys are treated as drop-offs and there will still be a wait time.

We will give preliminary pricing for any pieces we are interested in from the pictures, however pricing is only finalized once we have received your items and evaluated condition in person.

Shipping is at the cost of the seller, but we will pay for the return shipping in the event we return items to you. 

If you live locally and have a large collection, we can come to you if your items are a good fit for our store. Please call the shop to set up an appointment and be prepared to give a description, photos and condition of items.

ESTATE LIQUIDATION:

We do estate liquidation and buy entire collections. 

Reach out to us via call or email to schedule a time.

SELLING & CONSIGNMENT PRICE BREAKDOWN //

Your items are carefully reviewed to determine which pieces work for Mercy. We price each item based upon fair market value which reflects rarity, desirability and condition. We strive to be as fair and as transparent as possible in our pricing process and you are shown itemized pricing before anything is finalized. We offer a choice between:

35% of resale value payout. We pay via Venmo, PayPal, or check.

45% of resale value as store credit. With this option, whatever you make from the sale of your old items can go toward the purchase of “new” items in our shop.

Consignment: We offer consignment on select items we price at $200 or more. Once the item sells in our store, we pay a 50% split on consigned items. 

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR //

VINTAGE 

1900s to early 2000s dresses, separates, outerwear, delicates, shoes and accessories; femme and masc.

Unique, well-constructed pieces in a wide variety of colors, prints and textures. Ranging from graphic printed statement pieces to beautifully tailored solids.

Cottons, silks, brocade, beaded, feathered, and art-to-wear. Chinese embroidered silk pajamas, jackets, coats and pongee. Japanese kimonos. 

We are always on the lookout for American-made vintage denim, vintage tees, raglans and workwear.

We are less likely to buy:

polyester, with some exceptions.

more conservative office-wear (plain skirt sets, etc)

costumey pieces, prom dresses, & bridal

'FUTURE VINTAGE' 

Contemporary, independent, higher-end clothing brands that will last the test of time. Some brands include, but are not limited to:

DESIGNER 

Vintage and new designer clothing, bags, shoes, accessories and jewelry. Designers including but not limited to:

Feel free to reach out with any questions regarding designer pieces.

FINE & COSTUME JEWELRY 

We buy fine, gold, sterling, and antique jewelry. We also buy a wide variety of costume jewelry from the turn of the century to the 1980s. We like signed, unsigned, oversized, novelty, Brutalist, wearable art and gold costume jewelry. Please note that we do not buy contemporary costume jewelry.

AUTHENTICATION//

All of our designer clothing, designer accessories and fine jewelry may require authentication before we purchase. After your approval of pricing and permission to authenticate, you may be charged $15 if your item is authenticated and you decide not to sell it to us.

CONDITION//

We prefer all items to come to us clean

Stains are not a definite dealbreaker, but items with sweat stains will not be accepted

We often have to reject pieces due to the amount of wear they have, however the older a piece is, the more forgiving we are. For example, wear or needed repairs on a '30s dress is more likely to work for us than a contemporary piece with damage.

If you knowingly bring us a piece with damage, please alert us to the issue. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES//

This guide is meant to give a general idea of what we're looking for but is not all-inclusive. On the flip side, items that meet these descriptions are not guaranteed to work for our shop and our customer. There's no perfect formula for what we buy, and it varies piece by piece.

Please note that we often buy seasonally, looking for lighter fabrics in spring/summer and heavier in fall/winter.

We strive to create a non-judgemental environment when buying and buy based on the current market and what works for our customer. We understand the connection to clothes and seek to find the best home possible for your items. Don’t see what you have on our list of what we are looking for? Reach out to us, we would love to talk to you directly about your pieces and see if we are a good fit!