ThredUp Review: What New Buyers Need to Know

This conversation is sponsored by ThredUp but my honest opinions and Thredup Review are all my own as a customer over the last 4 years.

Several years ago I learned about ThredUp for the first time and I was so excited! An online consignment shop for women and kids clothes and shoes?! Yes, please!

We were poor and needed affordable clothes for ourselves and our growing family, but I really didn’t love going to local consignments or thrift stores, mostly because my husband hated going to such things.

Shopping online is way more convenient and you can better find sizes and colors and styles that you like.

A few years ago, ThredUp even opened its first storefront right by where I lived, and they invited me to check it out! Unfortunately, it has since closed (and I am not sure about the other ones they opened).

As a customer for several years, I’ve seen various changes to their company, their service, their clothes, and more.

*KEEP READING TO THE END FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $100 THREDUP GIFT CARD!**

What is ThredUp?

First, let’s back up and go over what ThredUp is.

According to its website, ThredUp is:

“The world’s largest online secondhand shopping destination with thousands of like-new styles from your favorite brands at up to 90% off estimated retail. We make sure every single one of the 15K new arrivals we add to the site every day is 100% authentic and in such good shape anyone could mistake them as new. No knockoffs here—just knockoff prices. Find high-quality used women’s clothing and used children’s clothing from fashionable closets just like yours. Specially curated by our style experts.

Basically, it’s the thrift store you’ve been looking for!

ThredUp Clothes

ThredUp offers a lot of different secondhand items but also several items that are still in packages or have tags.

ThredUp Sizes

They’ve expanded their offerings over the years to include more sizes and more items like jewelry (which I love). They sell the following items at ThredUp:

• Women’s Everyday, Premium, and Designer Clothing from sizes XXS to 5X
• Maternity Clothing
• Juniors Clothing sizes XXS-XXL
• Women’s Swimwear
• Women’s Everyday and Designer Shoes sizes 4-12
• Women’s Handbags, Diaper Bags, Backpacks, Laptop Bags, Totes, Wallets, Clutches, Coin Purses, and more
• Women’s Accessories like belts, hats, gloves, scarves, sunglasses, tights, watches, makeup bags, and cardholder
• Women’s Jewelry including necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, pins, brooches, and watches
• Boys Clothing and Accessories from size Preemie to Kids 20 (XXL Youth)
• Boys Shoes from baby shoes 0-3 months to Youth Shoes to Kids Size 7
• Girls Clothing and Accessories from size Preemie to Kids 20 (XXL Youth)
• Girls Shoes from baby shoes 0-3 months to Youth Shoes to Kids Size 7
• Boys and Girls Swimwear

They do NOT carry any Men’s clothing, shoes or accessories, or any teen boy clothes or shoes, EXCEPT in the Rescue Boxes where you can get 10-25lbs of Mixed Men’s Clothing (in mixed sizes) for $40.

ThredUp Brands

They have a huge variety of brands, so there is NO way I can list them all (see a full list of womens brands here), but below are some popular premium and designer brands they carry:

• J. Crew
• Ann Taylor LOFT
• Banana Republic
• Gucci
• Burberry
• Giorgia Armani
• Tory Burch
• Coach
• Kate Spade New York
• BCBGMAXAZRIA
• Lullulemon Athletica
• Talbots
• Vince.
• Michael Kors
• Free People
• Lily Pulitzer
• Madewell

ThredUp Quality

Every item on ThredUp goes through a 12-point inspection process, ensuring all items are in like-new condition. Many are even brand new with tags still attached.

If they are less-than-great quality, they will be marked as such.

Many of the less-than-like-new items are found in ThredUp’ new addition to the site called “Rescue Boxes.”

Each Rescue Box is an assortment of 5-100 items of mixed items. You select the size, and they send you an assortment of items in that size for a low, low price.

For example, you can get 15 baby/toddler items for only $24.00, 24 pieces of jewelry for $40, and 10 mixed women’s clothing items for $38.

You can get free shipping on Rescue Boxes with code RESCUE for a limited time.

ThredUp Shipping Costs

ThredUp offers free shipping on orders over $79. This has pretty much always been their free shipping threshold or for as long as I can remember.

They occasionally run promos where shipping is free on orders of less value.

ThredUp Returns

You have 14 days after you receive items to send them back as a return.

One of the biggest changes to ThredUp has been the addition of restocking fees. They didn’t use to have any restocking fees.

But, now they charge you $1.99 restocking fee PER ITEM you return. The exceptions are if the items arrive damaged, defective, or not as described.

They let you return items for ThredUp credits or back to your credit card, but then only if you pay the $8.99 shipping fee (you don’t pay the shipping free when you receive store credit).

ThredUp Selling

I feel like the biggest ThredUp complaints I have read online have been about selling items to ThredUp.

So, let’s talk about how selling items with ThredUp works.

I have requested a Clean Out Bag only once, over two years ago.

You request a FREE Clean Out bag and it’s sent to you in the mail. It’s a pretty large bag that will fit a lot of clothing and shoes and accessories. Fill it up all the way (or not) and then drop it off at any FedEx or USPS location.

It will take several weeks (two or more but you can pay $16 for expedited service), but they will eventually go through everything in your bag, inspect it, and list the items they deem to have enough quality and potential to sell.

That’s the trick.

Even if you have amazing like-new things, they may not want them because they won’t sell. Maybe because they are dated (hello vintage!), or they already have so many of that item, or whatever.

So, if you have items that have high value, and want back, you MUST indicate that you want them returned to you when you are ordering your Clean Out Bag. You cannot change your mind later, so choose wisely.

They will charge you a $10.99 shipping fee for sending back the items they don’t keep, which is deducted from the earnings of the items they do keep from your Clean Out Bag.

Earnings are typically pretty low. The few pieces of mine they kept to sell, I think I made less than a dollar up to around $3 per item. These weren’t really nice items, but mostly children’s clothing items.

I didn’t ask for the items returned to me because they weren’t worth $10.99 to me.

The items they keep but are rejected to resell are either donated, recycled, or sold to other third-party resellers.

While I still prefer donating clothes to places that don’t resell, this is a good way to still make some money.

ThredUp Referral Program

Back when I first started using ThredUp, when you referred someone, both of you got $20 in credits! It was awesome! But, it was short-lived. Soon they cut it back to $10 in credits for both you and for your friend and it’s been that way for years.

There is a $600 credit earnings cap each year, and every $10 in credits you earn from your friends expires within 30 days. There used to not be an expiration at all.

I don’t like that there is an expiration date on the credits, as I would love to let them accumulate. Sometimes I simply forget to shop within those 30 days, or don’t have the budget to do so, etc.

One workaround is that your credits don’t expire when you return items for store credit. I used to regularly make orders before my credits expired, and then whatever didn’t fit or I didn’t like, I would just return for store credits that then never expired.

ThredUp Value

As a buyer, I love the incredible value of so many items found on Thredup!

I think many of us realize that premium and designer items are typically made better than Walmart and Old Navy clothes, but most of us would never, ever dream of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars for those items.

But, because they are used, and maybe show minor signs of wear, we can afford quality clothing and sport designer shoes and handbags.

It’s amazing some of the markdowns you can find on Thredup from the original retail cost of some items!

Some of my favorite wins from ThredUp have been the shoes!

I wear size 11 shoes, which some stores don’t even carry, at all, yet ThredUp not only has size 11 shoes but beautiful, comfortable, stylish designer shoes in my size!

My favorite heels from Thredup are a pair of Shoemint nude pumps. Even after years of wear by me (and my young children trying them on repeatedly at home for fun), they are still in great shape and I still love to wear them! They look great with so many dresses and skirts.

I also got a pair of XAPPEAL beige church flats I wear at least once a month and have for years now! They were one of my first purchases from Thredup!

I also love my silver-studded Mossimo flats!

I recently purchased several pairs of winter and dress boots for myself and my children as we will need them soon. Living in New York now, we’re preparing for snow in the winter for the first time in five years and need the proper equipment!

Rather than spending new prices for boots and winter coats, I can order some used from ThredUp for way less.

I even scored some awesome Camper winter snow boots that usually retail for $297 for only $53.99 (82% off)! They are waterproof and brand-new with tags still! I plan on having these boots forever.

I got one of my daughters a Sketcher snow jacket for only $20.99 down from $77 (73% off), and another daughter a C9 by Champion winter snow jacket for only $17.99, down from $45 (60% off)!

And I picked up some fashionable winter church boots from Naturalizer for only $42.99, down from $119 (63% off)!

I have also previously bought Halloween costumes for my kids from ThredUp like this pretty Asian dress for $19.99 normally $51.

And we got a green shirt and green shorts for my son’s DIY dinosaur costume for only $8.99/piece instead of $18-$23 full-price. He has worn them both so many times since they have totally been worth it!

Another great buy from ThredUp has been workout apparel!

I bought several workout tops, workout pants, and even a Nike Livestrong sports bra.

I hate going into stores to shop for myself, so this has been amazing. I wear these items often when I go for runs and workout and they have been great!

I even got my kids some athletic wear that they love and wear all the time too, like this Puma shirt for my daughter Alison for $14.99, down from $26.

I got these Tek Gear active pants for $12.99, down from $27, the Marmot active T-shirt (that I LOVE so much!) for $37.99, down from $89, and the Nike Livestrong Sports Bra for $23.99, down from $54. (All worn in the picture above)

I also have another great Under Armor active T-shirt for $12.99, down from $30.

One of my favorite buys are dresses and skirts!

I got a beautiful Eva Mendes dress. I don’t remember exactly how much I paid for it, but probably only like $27! I shared about it on my Instagram two years ago and still love it even if it fits a little tighter these days.

I also got a beautiful Oscar De La Renta skirt (that I can no longer fit into) for like $17 down from around $80-$100.

I have also bought numerous other tops and shoes and shorts, many of which I still wear regularly, and have now for years.

However, I have also bought and returned many items over the years. The description on items isn’t always clear.

You can’t always tell if an item is see-through, if its sleeves are split, how short it is, how low the neckline is, or how good its quality, what it is made of, or if it is handwash only via the two pictures on their website and its very simple description.

Some items arrived not in like-new condition and had major piling, fading, worn elastic, or holes, for example.

I was, and am, always very picky about the clothes I actually keep for my wardrobe, so it was frustrating to not get exactly what you were expecting.

However, by and large, the items I have kept from Thredup have been awesome and new staples in my wardrobe!

I have even ordered swim bottoms and tops from Thredup, and cheap used maternity clothes!

In conclusion, while not everything you order is amazing, or just as advertised, you can truly find some amazing wardrobe pieces and save a ton of money on high-quality, namebrand clothes, shoes, and accessories that you normally wouldn’t even dream of buying.

I would recommend shopping around on Thredup for truly great deals.

The kids clothes aren’t always that amazing of a deal – you can still get brand new clothes from regular retail stores for the Thredup discounted price, for example.

I find that the more “specialty” piece I am looking for – fancy dresses, fancy shoes, fancy purse, fancy belt – the better deals I can find, whereas lower-quality items, like those from Walmart, Target, or Old Navy, aren’t going to give you that much off retail price.

I recommend searching for some great deals for your family, ordering clothing totaling over $79 to get the free shipping, and seeing what you think. Then get your friends to try it so you can both get $10 off your next purchase. ?

But, what do you think about ThredUp? How long have you been a customer?

ThredUp Giveaway

Thanks to ThredUp sponsoring this Thredup Review, I am able to give away a $100 store credit to Thredup! To enter, just enter in the rafflecopter giveaway widget below! Good luck! Giveaway will end September 30, 2019 at midnight EST.