As digital commerce transforms retail, brick-and-mortar stores face mounting pressure to adapt. Resale platforms have revolutionized the retail landscape in recent years, with ThredUp emerging as a leading force in this space.
But is selling your clothes on ThredUp worthwhile? Let’s explore this comprehensive ThredUp review.
What is ThredUp?
ThredUp is an online consignment and thrift store founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company operates across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
ThredUp specializes in secondhand clothing and accessories for women, men, and children.
The platform enables users to buy and sell clothes, shoes, and accessories while providing live chat support for questions about the platform, returns, and exchanges. ThredUp maintains strict quality standards to ensure only like-new items reach the marketplace.
Beyond direct sales, ThredUp offers consignment services where customers can send unwanted clothing items for the company to sell on their behalf.
ThredUp earns a commission from each sale.
How Does ThredUp Work?
ThredUp operates as an online consignment and thrift store where you can buy and sell secondhand clothing for women, kids, and men. The platform offers opportunities to earn cash or credit for unwanted clothes.
The process is straightforward: order a free Clean Out Kit from ThredUp, fill it with unwanted clothes from your closet, and send it back using the provided shipping label.
Once ThredUp receives and processes your clothes, you’ll get an email notification with either a credit or cash offer for your items. Accept the offer, and payment arrives via PayPal, or you can use the credit for future purchases on ThredUp.com.
For each item sold, a portion of proceeds goes to one of ThredUp’s nonprofit partners – Goodwill, Room to Grow, or The Children’s Place. You’ll declutter your closet, earn money or credit, and support a worthy cause simultaneously.
ThredUp Requirements
Sellers must meet specific requirements to sell on ThredUp.
To sell on ThredUp, first create an account. You can then request a cleanout kit with a prepaid shipping label to mail your secondhand clothes. This shipping label covers the entire cost of sending your clothing to the consignment shop—a valuable benefit.
Items must be clean and in good condition with no holes, stains, or damage.
All items must come from smoke-free environments.
If you meet these requirements and want to sell on ThredUp, create an account and follow the website instructions.
How Much Can You Make With ThredUp?
While ThredUp offers a solid way to earn extra cash, your potential earnings depend on several factors.
Item quality is the most crucial factor. ThredUp accepts only items in good condition, so stained, ripped, or damaged pieces will likely face rejection.
Popular brands and in-demand items typically command higher prices than lesser-known brands or items with limited appeal.
Packaging condition also influences earnings. Items with original packaging in excellent condition usually yield higher payouts than those without original packaging or with damaged packaging.
Your ThredUp earnings ultimately depend on the quality and desirability of your items. Investing time in listing high-quality pieces can generate attractive profits.
ThredUp Costs
ThredUp’s Cleanout feature allows users to send unwanted clothes and receive payment based on items’ condition and brand. You’ll receive a clean out kit enabling you to mail all items to the online consignment shop simultaneously—without paying shipping.
While ThredUp markets Cleanout as “free and easy,” several costs accompany the service.
You’ll only receive payment for items meeting the site’s quality standards; substandard items get donated to charity. ThredUp takes a percentage of the final sale price as commission.
When filling your clean out kit, you can’t set selling prices—ThredUp determines pricing, and there’s no way to predict your earnings beforehand. You must trust the process. If you decide against selling items you’ve sent, you’ll pay return shipping costs.
How Does ThredUp Compare to Alternatives?
Several options exist for selling used clothes.
Consignment shops sell items on owners’ behalf and take a profit cut.
Online marketplaces like eBay and Mercari allow anyone to list items for sale. Companies like ThredUp specialize in buying and selling used clothes. So how does ThredUp stack up against alternatives?
One key distinction: ThredUp specializes in clothing, while most consignment shops accept broader item ranges. This specialization allows ThredUp to provide better selection for shoppers and higher sale probability for sellers.
ThredUp offers free shipping for sellers—a significant advantage over platforms requiring listing fees and seller-covered shipping costs.
ThredUp excels as an option for selling used clothes, offering convenience, extensive selection, and competitive pricing. With free shipping for sellers, it’s clear why many choose ThredUp over alternatives.
Who is ThredUp Best For?
ThredUp suits anyone wanting to earn money while freeing up closet space.
You can secure decent prices for your clothes, and while you won’t receive full retail value, the reduced earnings are often worthwhile since you avoid buying shipping supplies, calculating sales tax, writing product descriptions, taking photos, or handling other tedious listing tasks required on alternative sites.
ThredUp represents an excellent choice for anyone wanting to sell clothing online.
The exception? Men. While ThredUp accepts virtually any women’s clothing type, it doesn’t yet accept men’s clothing. Guys should choose alternative platforms instead!
How Do You Get Started With ThredUp?
ThredUp operates as an online consignment and thrift store for buying and selling secondhand clothing and accessories.
Getting started is simple: create an account, complete your profile, and begin browsing the site.
If you’re interested in selling on ThredUp—whether to earn extra money by filling a clean out bag or simply free up closet space—request a clean out kit. Fill your clean out bag with closet items (excluding jewelry, formal gowns, items over 10 years old, heavily worn items, men’s clothing, or counterfeit items).
Mail the clean out bag and wait for items to sell. Once they do, earnings get credited to your ThredUp account. You can then deposit earnings to your PayPal account or receive ThredUp credit for shopping. You can also donate store credit to charity if preferred.
ThredUp points convert to discount codes, helping you save money on site purchases (including designer items).
For shopping on ThredUp, search for specific items or browse by category, brand, size, or price. When you find something appealing, request shipping. Upon receiving the item, you have three days to decide whether to keep or return it.
If you keep it, the item cost gets deducted from your account balance. You can then use that balance for other site purchases.
ThredUp offers an excellent way to save money on stylish clothing and accessories while decluttering your closet simultaneously. So what are you waiting for? Sign up today and start shopping!
ThredUp Feedback
Like any platform, ThredUp has both positive and negative aspects for sellers. Let’s examine the pros first.
The biggest advantage of selling through ThredUp is its simplicity. You don’t need to photograph your clothes or write descriptions—simply request a shipping kit, fill it with items you want to sell, and send it off. ThredUp handles everything else!
Additionally, ThredUp offers higher commission rates than many similar platforms (ranging from 20 to 90% of the selling price). This means you can potentially earn more through ThredUp than through other sites or brick-and-mortar stores.
Since ThredUp is a large platform with millions of users, your items will likely sell quickly—often within days or weeks.
This is much faster than consignment stores or garage sales, where items might sit for months without finding buyers.
Now let’s examine the negatives.
There’s always risk that ThredUp’s quality control team will reject your items.
While this happens infrequently (usually less than 20% of items face rejection), it’s worth considering before sending clothes.
Another potential drawback is ThredUp’s lengthy processing and listing times—often 2-3 weeks or longer. If you need to dispose of clothes quickly (for example, when moving), this might not be your best option.
Selling through ThredUp is definitely worth considering if you want an easy way to earn extra cash from unwanted clothes. However, understanding both positives and negatives is important before making decisions.
Final Thoughts: ThredUp Selling Review
Ready to start selling your gently used clothes and accessories for cash? Head over to ThredUp.com to get started today! With millions of fashion-savvy shoppers, you’re sure to find success.
FAQ: ThredUp
How much money does thredUP take from you?
The amount that thredUP charges depends on a number of factors, including the type and condition of the items being sold, the demand for those items, and the shipping costs. In general, thredUP takes a commission of 10-40% on each item sold, but the exact amount will be clearly displayed before you finalize your sale.
Is thredUP a legitimate business?
The short answer is yes. ThredUP is a legitimate business that is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded in 2009. The company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and has been featured in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Forbes, and CBS News. In addition, thredUP is a member of the National Association of Resale Professionals, which requires members to adhere to strict ethical standards.
What does thredUP do with clothes that don’t sell?
thredUP has a team of researchers who examine each piece of clothing that comes in. They look at the style, the fabric, the labels – anything that can help them determine where the piece of clothing should be priced. If they can’t sell it, you will receive a message that you can get your clothing back, but you will have to pay shipping. If you don’t want to do this, they send it to one of their partner charities. And if it’s truly damaged beyond repair, they recycle it.
Are clothes washed on thredUP?
Before clothes are put up for sale on thredUP, they go through a rigorous quality check process. This includes checking for signs of wear and stains, as well as assessing the overall condition of the garment. Once clothes have passed this initial quality check, they are then washed.
