Just Like New Offers Fresh Perspective

ADAMS CENTER — Eileen M. Moriarty's clothes are better than brand new: They're "just like new".

Mrs. Moriarty, the owner of the Just Like New consignment shop at 12968 Route 11, is one of a growing number of people cashing in on the recession by reselling lightly used and new clothing at discount prices.

"Anything a kid would need, I try to have," she said. "I'm very picky. Everything's washed and gone through several times."

Just Like New is a far cry from area thrift stores in that it accepts clothes only in new and almost new condition. The business specializes in clothes ranging in size from "preemie" to children's size 8 and also carries baby furniture, toys and books; it frequently resells name brands such as Gap, Gymboree, Old Navy, Children's Place and Carter's for 50 percent or less of their original retail values.

"It's not Salvation Army or anything," Mrs. Moriarty said.

According to the shop owner, many small children are given clothes that turn out to be the wrong size for the wrong season. As a result, nearly 75 percent of the items that are brought in meet her standards, which include being stain-free and unwrinkled.

In exchange for dropping off clothes at the consignment shop, customers are given store credit, the exact value of which varies depending on the quality and amount of items donated.

"Everybody's opinion of 'just like new' is different, I've found that out the hard way," Mrs. Moriarty said. She added that she takes on the risk of reselling once she has accepted an item; anything that does not eventually sell is donated to the Rhode's Center in Adams.

For Mrs. Moriarty, specializing in children's items was a natural decision. Even before she had children of her own, she was active in vacation Bible schools and parent-teacher organizations.

"Everything I've done has always been with kids, so this kind of fell into place. Now I get to play with all the baby stuff all day," she said.

Just Like New opened in 2001 and moved to its present location, where it employs five people, three years ago. Since then, it has enjoyed an upswing in popularity due in part to the recession.

"It's been steady," Mrs. Moriarty said of business in the past year. "October is always a busy month with me because of the weather change, and I expect it will be better than ever due to the way the economy is."

Just Like New has a large stock of back-to-school clothes as well as Halloween costumes. The business is open Mondays through Fridays from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm. Visit its Web site at www.justlikenew.org or call
315-583-5336 for more information.