Who we are

In 2008, the first Uptown Cheapskate opened its doors for business. Since then, the franchise has emerged as the fastest-growing clothing resale brand in the United States, winning multiple awards for profitability, sustainability, and operational excellence. There are >130 Uptown Cheapskate stores nationwide with an additional 40+ stores under development.

What We Do

Uptown Cheapskate focuses on bringing a wide array of gently-used, fashionable items to the masses at unbeatable prices – typically 50- 70%+ off original retail. We have sustainability at our core: since inception, Uptown Cheapskate and its sister brand Kid to Kid have kept >200 million used items out of landfills.

Why choose Uptown Cheapskate?

The clothing resale industry is thriving! The market grew 9% in 2024 (5x faster than the broader retail clothing market) and is expected to reach $73 billion in the U.S. by 2028 as consumers increasingly gravitate toward resale’s combination of value and sustainability. At Uptown Cheapskate, we marry best-in-class value and assortment with a beautifully designed boutique shopping experience. When shoppers walk into an Uptown Cheapskate for the first time, they might not even realize that they are in a used clothing store – until they look at the prices. That’s exactly why more and more shoppers are turning to Uptown Cheapskate for their fashion needs.

Who we're looking for

• Strong desire to own and operate a business
• Experience effectively managing people and teams
• Very organized with an ability to prioritize and multitask
• Comfort in a fast-paced environment
• High-energy and outgoing
• Dedicated to customer service
• Willing to make a full-time commitment for at least the first full year
• Desire to be an active participant in our franchise community
• Environmentally-conscious

Training and Support

A Franchisee First Approach

We know that the majority of our franchisees join Uptown without any prior business ownership or retail experience. It’s for this reason that Uptown has developed robust training and support resources that will help you thrive in business from day one and every day thereafter. The decision to franchise with Uptown Cheapskate means that you’re never alone in your business.

Integrated Marketing Resources

Most of our franchisees aren’t marketing experts, and they don’t have to be. At Uptown Cheapskate, our goal is to make the complex and ever-changing marketing landscape not only digestible, but also fun! Our full-service team is here to help you with all of your marketing needs, including paid digital advertising, organic social media, local grassroots marketing, promotional campaigns, loyalty programs, and beyond.

Site Selection & Build Out

A key step in the new store process is finding the perfect location. By analyzing a range of considerations, including demographic data, traffic patterns, and visibility, among others, our team will help you pick a location with confidence. From there, we’ll help you with lease negotiation, interior design, equipment orders, and much more. We’ll also conduct a series of walk-throughs to ensure your store is ready to delight customers in your community.

Tech-Enabled Operating Model

Uptown Cheapskate’s technology infrastructure is truly second-to-none and unlike anything else you’ll see in resale. From our point of sales system, to our inventory management and appraisal program, and beyond, the technological backbone of our stores is all proprietary and built on decades of experience and millions of customer data points. These systems represent a critical competitive advantage of our stores – one that we expect to expand for years to come.

Finance & Accounting Made Easy

Your financial performance is extremely important to us, and we want to ensure that you’re positioned for success. At Uptown, you will benefit from our in-house finance and accounting team, who will keep you organized and help you create an actionable business plan. We’ll also help you find ways to optimize your business by comparing your results vs. other stores and system benchmarks.

Industry Leading Training

We have developed a multi-month training curriculum that will help you learn what it takes to successfully operate an Uptown Cheapskate. You'll have access to an extensive library of online training modules that is continuously updated to cover all of the fundamentals of our business. You’ll spend several days at our corporate office to help you learn how to buy, sell, and manage inventory, how to implement effective marketing strategies, how to effectively lead a team, how to use our software systems, and so much more. After that, you’ll spend five days working closely with one of our highest-performing franchisees, getting crucial hands-on experience and mastering our business model firsthand. By the time you leave, you’ll be ready to launch your new business with confidence.

Supportive Franchise Community

At Uptown Cheapskate, we firmly believe in the concept that “we’re better together”. Over the years, we’ve seen countless examples of our franchisees going out of their way to provide advice, counsel, and even boots-on-the-ground support to other franchisees across our system. We believe this camaraderie and community-orientation is unlike anything else you’ll find in franchising.

Expansion & Exit Planning

Whether you want to build a community around a single store or build a multi-store enterprise, our team is here to help you achieve your long-term goals. What’s more, by providing value-added services to help franchisees with transition planning, our support truly extends across the full lifecycle of your store.