Closet Cash: Aussie women sitting on a small fortune in unwanted clothing!

The average Aussie woman has a potential small fortune of $725* worth of unwanted clothing lurking in her wardrobe, according to a recent survey commissioned by eBay.com.au. Women beat their male counterparts hands down, who have on average just $372.00* worth of clothes they no longer wear in their closets.

Most women admitted the primary reason they did not wear the clothes any more is that they no longer fit into them (60%) or they realised they actually didnt like the item once they got it home (40%). Men tend to lose interest in clothing they own with 26% stating they are now bored with their collection, compared to just 18% of their female counterparts.

Rather than leaving their unwanted clothes in their closets, smart Aussies are turning to eBay where they can convert them easily and quickly into cash.

"With the cold weather upon us, most people want to update their wardrobes with warmer fashion for the new season. Financial pressures of high petrol prices, rising rents and ever-increasing interest rates can make it a little harder to find the extra cash to buy new winter clothes," said eBay Australia spokesperson Sian Kennedy.

"If you turn that closet clutter into cash by selling it on eBay.com.au, the money from your sales can help you keep up with the latest trends and stay warm this winter without your wallet suffering!"

Theres little doubt women are the biggest clothes hoarders, with each having approximately 24 items each that they no longer wear stashed in their closets, including t-shirts (93% of women), shoes (85%) and dresses (83%). This compares to only 14 items for men who are most likely to have tops (90% of men) or jumpers (86%).

Other key differences between men and women include:

50% of women admit to owning three or more unwanted pairs of shoes, compared to only 15% of men

44% of women have three or more pairs of unwanted trousers, compared to 32% for men

Women have two pairs of jeans they dont wear, whilst the average bloke only has one

87% of men have a suit they no longer want, compared to 80% of women

The research findings also highlight not only do we hoard clothing that no longer fits, many Australians have clothes in their closets they have never even worn, with 85% of women admitting to owning unworn clothes with the tags still on them. Despite their existing closet clutter, more than half the women surveyed admitted to buying new clothing every season with 94% planning to update their wardrobes in the next month as the cold weather arrives.

So where do Australias ultimate clothes hoarders live? The state by state comparison from eBay Australias research shows:

NSW residents have the most closet cash with the average person
admitting to $637* worth of clothing they no longer wear, versus the national average of $548.53

100% of ACT residents surveyed admit to having items of clothing they have never worn

Tasmanians love their shoes with two out of three people planning to buy a new pair in the next month

44% of Victorians plan to buy jeans in the next month compared to only 35% on average in other states

South Australians are more likely to have unwanted jeans with 6% admitting to having more than 10 pairs they dont wear

Western Australians are most likely to stop wearing clothes because they are bored of them with 45% admitting this is the case

Northern Territorians tend to wear what they buy, with only 50% having unworn clothes clogging their wardrobes.

53% of Queenslanders said they buy new clothes every season

Among the most unloved wardrobe items is the humble t-shirt. The average female owns five t-shirts she does not wear, while men have three. Despite this, 47% of Aussie women still plan to purchase another t-shirt in the next month.

While many of those surveyed said they would spend the extra money raised by selling unwanted clothing on eBay.com.au in predictable ways, such as holidays or adding to savings, a surprising number of Australians - one in ten - confessed that given the extra cash, they would turn around and spend it on more clothing!

"eBay takes the pain out of cleaning out your wardrobe because it is simple, easy and fun and theres a financial reward! With more than 5 million Australian eBay members and a piece of clothing selling every 6 seconds, more and more people are turning their unwanted clothes into cold hard cash on eBay.com.au!" said Ms Kennedy.

*Average wardrobe values calculated by eBay average selling price between October 2006 and April 2007 from each clothing category surveyed in relation to the collective amount of unworn items per Australian surveyed

eBay.com.au