The Complete Glossary of Thrifting and Resale Terms
The first time I saw “NOS” in an online listing I had to Google it. All too often it feels like the secondhand world has a language of its own, and between all of the slang, abbreviations, and business terms, it’s easy to get lost in the confusion.
This glossary is your translator, and it covers many of the terms and acronyms you’ll see while thrifting, shopping online, or building a resale business. Bookmark this page and stop by whenever a mysterious term comes up. (And if you want to go deeper, my book Ultimate Thrifting covers everything from spotting quality at the thrift store to caring for your finds, with a glossary and handy checklists included.)
Condition and Listing
These are some of the terms you’ll see in listing titles and descriptions on popular resale platforms like Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, and more.
- NWT (New With Tags): Clothing that has never been worn and still has the original tags attached. It’s the gold standard for secondhand condition.
- NWOT (New Without Tags): Clothing that has never been worn but no longer has the original tags.
- NIB (New In Box): Items that are still in their original packaging and have never been used.
- NOS (New Old Stock): Vintage items that were never used and are still in their original packaging.
- EUC (Excellent Used Condition): An item that has been used but is still in like-new condition. It should have no flaws whatsoever.
- GUC (Good Used Condition): An item that shows normal signs of wear but has plenty of life left. Flaws should be disclosed in the listing.
- VTG (Vintage): An item that is at least 20 years old.
- ISO (In Search Of): A buyer is looking for a specific item.
- OBO (Or Best Offer): The seller is open to offers below the listed price. The selling price is negotiable.
- Firm: The opposite of OBO. The price is fixed and the seller will not negotiate.
- TTS (True To Size): The item fits as expected for its labeled size.
Buying and Selling
- Bundle: Multiple items or listings are grouped together and sold as a single unit, typically at a discount compared to buying each piece individually.
- Comps (Comparables): Recently sold listings of the same or similar items, typically used to determine what something is actually worth based on what other buyers have paid. Checking comps before pricing your own items is an important habit for resellers.
- Cross-listing: Or cross-posting, it means listing an item on multiple resale platforms to increase the chances of a sale.
- Flipping: Buying an item at a low price with the intention of reselling it for a profit.
- Lowball offer: An offer significantly below the listing price, which is often seen as disrespectful to the seller.
- Offers to Likers (OTL): A Poshmark feature that allows sellers to send discounted, non-public offers to everyone who has liked a listing. It’s a tool to encourage interested buyers to purchase.
- Reserve price: The minimum price that a seller will accept on an auction listing. If bidding doesn’t reach that price, the item doesn’t sell.
- Stale listing: A listing on a resale platform that has been active for a long time but hasn’t sold.
- BOLO (Be On the Look Out): An item or brand that resellers should watch for while sourcing because it tends to sell well for a good profit.
- Death pile: The collection of items that you’ve purchased for resale but haven’t yet cleaned, photographed, or listed.
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Sourcing
Sourcing is the reseller term for acquiring new inventory to sell to secondhand buyers.
- Haul: A large collection of items purchased at once.
- The bins: Pay-by-the-pound outlet stores where you dig through large bins. See this article for some suggestions about making visits to “the bins” pay off.
- Consignment: A selling arrangement where a store displays and sells your items, then pays you if (and only if) the item sells (after the store takes their cut).
- Deadstock: Vintage merchandise that was never sold or worn, typically in its original packaging and with tags.
- Overstock: New items that couldn’t be sold in a regular retail store, so they end up at thrift stores or liquidators at a discount.
Fashion and Sustainability
- Fast fashion: Cheap clothing manufactured and sold quickly to capture current trends, often associated with low quality, environmental harm, and poor labor practices. I’ve written about fast fashion here.
- Circular fashion: A sustainable approach that tries to keep clothing in circulation for as long as possible.
- Capsule wardrobe: A minimalist set of clothing built from a limited number of versatile, high-quality pieces that can be mixed and matched.
- Upcycling: Transforming discarded or old items into something of value, so repurposing them to give them new life.
- Pilling: The small balls of fiber that form on clothing, especially sweaters and knits. A fabric shaver can remove pilling and improve item condition.
Use the lingo
Learning the right terms can help you decode listings and connect with other people in the thrifting and resale space. It can help you spot underpriced items, write listings that are easier for buyers to find, and understand what resellers are talking about.
Happy thrifting!
