ThredUp, An Honest Review

Between COVID and winter weather, I haven’t been able to do as much second hand shopping as I like. Even over the summer I only made it to a few yard sales. So I’ve been looking for online thrift shops. I tried ThredUp and offer you an honest review. I have no affiliation with ThredUp and won’t receive any compensation if you order from them.

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I like thrift shopping for the prices, but especially for reducing my carbon footprint. The EPA estimates that as of 2018, Americans were discarding 17 million tons of unwanted clothing into the trash, which ends up in landfills. That’s 17 million tons per year! And only an estimated 15% of clothing and textiles like sheets are getting recycled. Yet most of what remains is still usable.

ThredUp bills itself as the largest online consignment and thrift store. As such, it’s making a big impact on keeping clothing out of the landfills. Shopping second hand lowers the carbon footprint of each clothing item.

Selling Through ThredUp, An Honest Review

ThredUp makes selling your clothes very easy with their “clean out kit.” You simply print out a mailing label and attach it to your package of clothes, which ships free.

The company asks for clothes that are less than three years old. I didn’t know how old the clothes I sent in were! At least two of the four pieces I sent had come from yard sales. One was a hand me down from a neighbor. But they were in very good condition and didn’t look dated at all.

ThredUp accepts an average of only 40 percent of items submitted. Three out of four pieces I sent were accepted. You can choose ahead of time what will happen with items that aren’t accepted. They can be recycled, or, for $10.99, they can be returned to you.

Due to high volume and COVID-related staff shortages, they currently anticipate it will take 8 weeks to process your “clean out kit.” You can request a shorter processing time of 3 weeks for an additional $16.

Higher priced brands are given 90 days to sell, lower priced brands get 60 days. The higher the sales price of any item, the higher percentage you can receive in pay out, so it can vary widely. You can choose to request higher prices for your clothing than ThredUp’s initial suggestion. I upped the price on one of my items by a couple dollars. I recommend doing it, since over time, prices will be discounted by sales or coupon codes.

It was exciting when one item after the other sold. But the amount I got in credit for them was pretty sad. For the 3 clothing items that sold, my payout was $5.67.

You can choose to receive payment for your sold items or use the earnings for ThredUp credit.

Buying at ThredUp, An Honest Review

It’s not easy to find clothing when you’ve lost weight. I really need to try things on. That’s not an option anywhere during COVID. I’d have the same risk of clothing not fitting at any store, in person or online.

I tried searching for specific brands and sizes that I already had since I knew these would fit. I didn’t find any of those. Then I decided to look for DressBarn pieces. For some reason, their clothes tend to fit me well. Then I ordered one size smaller than I previously bought.

For second hand clothes, I felt ThredUp’s prices were a bit high. Then again, I think Goodwill charges too much! I prefer the prices I get at yard sales, though neither can compete with ThredUp’s inventory!

Every item I bought was reduced in price, but the discounts were shown as one total rather than by piece, so I’m estimating the discounted price.

Item	Retail Price	ThredUp Price	Discounted Price
Gloves	36.00	12.99	8.80
Top	24.00	13.99	9.50
Sweater	40.00	18.99	12.90
Shorts	24.00	12.99	8.80

I used my $5.67 credit from the 3 items I sold to further reduce my order cost. In total, my order was $37.95, plus I got free shipping! I also used a credit card that pays cash back. I wish I’d checked beforehand, because Swagbucks is offering $10 cash back on your first order over $20 with the ThredUp App.

As of this writing, ThredUp is offering 50% off a first time order, with code “NEW”. If you are considering an order, I suggest you wait until you’re ready to order to put in your email for the code, so it doesn’t expire as quickly.

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Packaging

When I placed my order, ThredUp informed me it would be shipped in two packages. Both packages were tyvek plastic bags which aren’t recyclable.

Inside each package, the items were wrapped in pretty tissue paper which was held together with a big sticker. When I tried to remove the sticker, it ripped the tissue paper which now isn’t reusable. That’s okay because I just cleared out excess tissue and wrapping paper! Read about my Decluttering Breakthrough!

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I realize they use plastic to protect the clothing, but I don’t like getting materials that need to be thrown out. So I decided to save the bags with my trash bags to use in the bedroom and bathroom containers. I should be able to empty and reuse them numerous times as long as nobody puts anything gross in them!

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My ThredUp Order

This soft blue sweater was just too tight for my comfort. I don’t like wearing clothes that shout “look at my chest,” and this did. I saw that ThredUp had easy returns, so decided this was going back.

The black shorts are a bit snug, but I’m gearing up for another round of weight loss, so I’m keeping them. (Read How I Lost 25 Pounds!) It’s a risk, but one I’m willing to take.

I’ve been using a pair of my daughter’s gloves to work outside. They’re already too far gone to return to her, so I picked out gloves that looked like those I borrowed. You can’t always tell by the photographs and not all pieces have adequate descriptions. Sadly, these gloves were not made of the same material as my daughter’s gloves. Since the gloves fit me, I sent them to my daughter. I haven’t gotten any feedback yet!

The embellished brown top fit very nicely. It’s definitely a keeper. Now I just need somewhere to wear it!

Returning to ThredUp

I decided it was not worth making a return after I looked into the details. Every piece returned incurs a $1.99 restocking fee. ThredUp will waive this fee for frequent customers who rack up points in their point program. I’m nowhere near the number of points needed. There were 3 options for returns.

• Free return label and receive store credit only.
• Pay $8.99 for the shipping label and receive a credit on your card, less the restocking fee.
• Pay for shipping yourself and receive a credit on your card, less restocking fee.

Final Analysis

I think it’s wonderful there are more second hand shops online. ThredUp, as one of the largest, is making a real difference in keeping clothing out of landfills.

I think ThredUp is ideal for sellers who have high end pieces and buyers who know thier best size in different manufacturer’s clothing.

I don’t fit either category, but I’ll definitely browse their website periodically to look for more deals!

Have you tried any online thrift or consignment shops? Please share your experience, recommendations or warnings!