My ThredUp review - YouLookFab Forum

I just got my first payout for sending items to ThredUp to resell, so I thought I'd do a quick review for anyone else who's interested in trying them. (If you want to sign up after reading this, send me a PM with your email, and I'll send you an invite which gets you $10 off your first order.)

Selling
You have to request a special bag from them via the website, which you then can send back for free via either USPS or FedEx. Before you send it back, if you want unwanted items to come back to you, you have to indicate that on your account on their website - the return fee is $12.95. If you wait until they get and process your bag, it's too late - you won't be able to get any items back. (I don't normally want any of my unwanted items back; donating them to charity is fine with me. But I don't think they do a very good job of explaining this policy.)

My bag took about a week to get to their warehouse, at which point I was notified by mail and told that I'd find out what I'd gotten for my items in 3 weeks (!). I was a little surprised at the slow turnaround, but I had no choice but to wait. Then, oddly, a couple days after that they had processed my bag and gave me my total. I don't know if the lag was real and I just got lucky, or they are just telling people a longer time so they don't get impatient.

I sent a large bag of items to them - I didn't count precisely but it was probably around 20 items. They offered me money for 6. So clearly they are quite picky, and don't take everything. The payout per item averaged to 5 dollars. Since that included a new with tags handbag (from the Twice closing sale, as it happens), I don't think the payout per item was very much.

A note on payout - once they process your bag, that money is available for you to spend on the site right away. If you want to cash it out (via paypal), you have to wait two weeks for the money to be available.

Buying
There's no wishlist functionality, as far as I can tell. Items that you don't purchase within 24 hours of putting them in your cart go back into the marketplace, but there's no way to retrieve them later, in case you still want them and they happen to still be available.

You can search by size, brand, color, and all the usual characteristics. Unfortunately, they don't always give garment measurements of items, so you have to guess based on your past experience of a brand (particularly tricky since these are used items that might have shrunk in the wash or been altered).

I don't find their website particularly easy to use, browse or search. They are in the middle of redesigning their "personal shops" so fingers crossed that the user experience improves in the future.

Returns - handbags are not returnable, no matter what. (I find this inexplicable.) Everything else is fully returnable; you must return items within 14 days.

Shipping - shipping is free if you spend over $70; otherwise it's $5.99.

Overall thoughts: I was spoiled by Twice, I guess, because I didn't find ThredUp quite as nice an experience. The payout per item is comparable, but they are even more particular about what they accept, and you have to use their bags instead of your own bags or boxes. You have to wait to cash out any earnings, and you don't get any bonus for spending your payout on new ThredUp items.

I'm looking for a balance of time and effort with dealing with my unwanted items. I've never found that reselling my items myself is worth the investment of time, and consignment stores here are only interested in high-end designer stuff. For me, it's either ThredUp or similar, or donating everything to the thrift store (I donate plenty of other stuff there). So I guess I'll keep using ThredUp for now, as long as I get a few bucks out of it.

8 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

Thanks for the review! It will be interesting to see if others are turned off enough by the experience. I give most of my items to my sister or a friend, so I have done little consigning.

unfrumped

Thanks loads! I was so bummed when Twice closed.
I made an appointment with my local consignment store for first time in a couple of years. It may totally irritate me. But I don't think it works well year- round because they'll say this item is wrong season, or now we're full up on inventory. So I need a ThredUp but as you say, may find it less satisfying.

carter

Very detailed review. Thank you. I have been a serial donater (word??) forever, but I have been trying ebay for the past few weeks. I've sold 19 items for just over $500 so far. About 15 other items did not sell in the first round. A few of those sold when re-posted. The things that didn't sell are off to (or already gone) to charity. It does take some time, but I'm getting quicker with the pictures/postings. I am in the middle of my first non-payment issue, so we'll see how I feel about it by the end of this process. Hopefully I can get rid of a bunch more this month.

Unlike ThredUp, "vintage" items seem to sell well on ebay:-)

Stephanie

Active Member

Thanks for posting this! I have been curious about how sites like this work. From how it sounds, I'm not sure it'd be the best fit for me, but only because I'm lazy when it comes to these things (hence why my donate pile has been sitting in a closet for close to 2 months). Consignment can be a pain too…you have to hit the store on the right day in the right season with the right stuff. Who knows, maybe I'll give this a try in the future but for now I'll stick to donating. Easiest option!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Thistle, you're lucky to have others who are a similar size. All of my friends are tiny compared to me, and my mom is several inches shorter. I wish I had someone to give my halfway-decent donations to. Maybe someone who's slightly shorter than me who can take all my pants after they shrink in the wash.

Unfrumped, I hope your consigning goes well. There's a lovely second-hand store in my area, but they always have more than they can quickly sell, and don't take items out of season. I don't want to store things for 9 months just to get a few bucks from them - I want them out of the house!

Carter, you have kicked butt on ebay - TBH it's been a few years since I've actively tried selling things, but it was such a slog at the time. Maybe prices have gone up now that the economy has mostly recovered.

Stephanie, there is a certain simplicity to just taking stuff to the thrift store and offloading it! We even have charities that will come by your neighborhood a few times a year and pick up bags that you can set out.

AviaMariah

Thanks for your review. I just tried ThredUp for the first time too. I actually sent a very full bag of new or hardly used baby clothing. I didn't really pay close attention to how many items they kept but my payout was about $12. Not really worth in the effort IMO. I may try another bag with some things of mine that I'm getting rid of...but I'm not sure. I haven't purchased anything from them.

Laura, this is my first experience with selling on ebay, but I will say I feel like the prices paid are okay. I typically price at 33-40% of full retail for NWT (sadly, there are several of these), and 25-30% for gently used. I'm often a bargain shopper when it comes to multiples, so I've actually sold a few items for more than I paid for them. Go figure. Also, unless it's a popular designer/item, I've found that 30 days fixed price or Best Offer works best for clothing.

I even sold my husband's inline skates. He bought them one Sunday morning and was in an ambulance that afternoon with a severely broken arm. I fully disclosed the peril, and they still sold for asking price with a huge shipping charge!

Give ebay another shot if you have the time. Other than time, the only downside is the shopping;-) I've perhaps bought a few items!

Anonymous

Believe it or not I have made a ton of money through local FB garage sales. My payout is much better than consignment shops. I have sold clothes, scarves, shoes, handbags, household, and personal items, such as sunglasses, a Clarisonic, etc. No shipping costs or returns. I have been doing this for over a year now and I sell 100% of what I post. Sometimes my prices are negotiable; other times I am firm on the price.

I tried consignment shops, but they take a huge cut plus many charge a consignment fee. I use auction houses to sell some pricier things and while they take a 15 to 20% cut, I make out much better than trying to sell on my own. For example, I had a vintage Gucci wallet that I was not using and a local consignment shop wanted to price it at $50 to sell it quickly, but the auction house I took it to got me 4 times as much.

Gail

I sent a bag to thredup about a week ago so it was good to read this review. I don't know yet how much I will get paid for the items. I have sold a few items on eBay, mostly Coach stuff which sold quickly. I have listed clothing but it didn't sell I guess I was asking too much. I have tried consignment shops but agree with previous posters that they can be fussy with the seasons .

Keix

I sent a bag to Thredup a little while ago and they actually took 4 weeks to get back to me... sent an apologetic email after 3 weeks saying that they were still behind on processing. The payout wasn't as high as when I used Twice in the past, but I didn't pay much attention to how many/what quality items I sent. Agreed that the cash out policy is annoying, as I have no interest in buying from their site.

I will probably continue to use them because requesting and mailing in a bag (I have an easy all-carriers dropoff point at work) is more convenient for me than dropping things off at Goodwill. But I'm more hesitant to send in nicer items now and I may try out eBay some time.

Style Fan

Thanks for the review. I have tried consignment stores and been disappointed in the amount of money I received. They seem to take a very large cut. I have thought about ebay but not sure I can be bothered. I usually take my clothes to a charity.

Summer

Thanks for the comprehensive review, Laura. You have just confirmed what I have always suspected: that it's probably better just to donate to charity in the first place!

dakotacheryl

Totally not worth the time spent mailing items in...I have had good luck selling quality jewelry items on eBay...might list a few handbags there in the near future...clothes, I will continue to donate.

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