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How much do these bales cost usually? How would an individual buy them? I've visited one of the "ropa" stores in south Texas, the ones where they have massive p
by marktangotango 6y ago
How much do these bales cost usually? How would an individual buy them? I've visited one of the "ropa" stores in south Texas, the ones where they have massive piles of clothes you literally climb over to dig through, it was a real surprise those exist!
- gumby 6y ago> it was a real surprise those exist! There used to be a store like that in Cambridge next to MIT where real estate was essentially free. We used to go to one where you just filed a plastic bag; the bag was weighed and you paid $1/lb. Great for parties and amazing finds.
- sbrother 6y agoOh, I remember doing this - the Garment District? Looks like they are still around.
- gumby 6y agoOh yeah, that was their real name! I couldn’t remember as we always called it “dollar a pound”
- Arete314159 6y agoThe Garment District is the part upstairs that has cute vintage / upcycled ... Dollar a Pound is below.
- blackearl 6y agoNo clue how they're handling post-covid but before they were still doing clothes by the pound as usual
- Arete314159 6y agoIt was literally called Dollar a Pound and it's where I got all my clothes as a teenager.
- Scoundreller 6y ago> next to MIT where real estate was essentially free Is MIT built in/near a dump or something? Or you mean it was but definitely isn’t essentially free now? Or?
- jmuhlich 6y agoYeah, that part of Cambridge was originally all industry. It’s been changing slower than you would think.
- gumby 6y agoBasically yes. The very scungeiness and corruption of East Cambridge leant it charm. It wasn’t like Yale or Columbia, wealthy walled fortresses in poor neighborhoods. Nerds and blue collar folk lived tooth by jowl. And Kendall square was a wasteland of decaying industrial buildings and weed-filled concrete lots. I went to high school in Boston (the city on other side of the river) which was much more dangerous. At MIT I never felt my life was in danger.
- ejstronge 6y agoThat was true historically but all of the real estate around MIT is now worth millions
- wbraun 6y agoOne of my friends got jabbed by a used needle in a pair of pants he bought from Dollar a Pound. It was not a fun experience for him... I liked the clothes I got from there though! I found a cool jacket once.
- gumby 6y agoI used to go there in the 80s so that would have been considered “extra authentic”. Yes, kids are dumb.
- gnopgnip 6y agoThe big 500-2000lb bales of clothes will sell for 15 to 20 cents a pound, it varies some depending on the quality of the clothing and the transportation and storage costs. If it is really all undamaged high quality clothing it could be more than $1 a lb, but generally what is sold in these big bales is a combination of it not being worth the time to sort and sell, and being damaged and not desirable. What isn't sold is recycled into rags, or sometimes sent overseas where the labor costs and incentives are different.