Getting rid of clothes and want to try to make some money from selling your clothing online with ThredUp? Consignment stores are the best way to easily get money for your old clothing. What if you don’t have a consignment store near you, though – or the time to go to a consignment store? ThredUP is an online consignment store offering to buy your clothing and sell gently used clothing online.
But is thredUP worth it?
After I saw thredUP promoted on nearly every blogger’s site that I knew, I was intrigued. Why were so many people suddenly writing about thredUP and how wonderful the online consignment store was?
So I decided to do a thredUP review that wasn’t sponsored. ThredUp did not pay me to write a post in any way.
I had a lot of really nice clothes that I no longer fit into anymore and I wanted to make some money off of them. So I decided to try the online consignment store.
P.S. There are about 200 comments of real-life stories of other people who sold clothes on thredUP and how much they made. Be sure to scroll down and see their comments, too.
ThredUP Consignment
I tried selling some of my Express clothing on a private Facebook group for my HOA community. A few things did sell for about $30-40 profit. I sold Forever 21 dresses for $5 each, and my Express clothing for $10 each.
There was still a huge pile of clothing left, though, including Express pants, shorts, tops and more. Also, some stuff from Kohls. There was some stuff from Synergy Organic Clothing, too, but I knew (based on thredUP’s guidelines) that there was likely no way they’d take them. I decided to keep those items to donate to charity instead.
I am pretty gentle with my clothing. In fact, there are still things from high school in my closet that I can wear. That’s how little wear and tear my clothes get. Especially my dress clothes (I work from home after all. My dress pants might get worn 10 times a year.)
Selling Clothes on thredUP
So I ordered a Clean Out bag when it was free.
{UPDATE October 2018: thredUP has since tried charging for all Clean Out bags, then has changed to a policy where you can get free Clean Out bags or pay for an expedited service with your Clean Out bags}.
I filled the Clean Out bag with what I couldn’t sell on my own and hoped for some money for selling my clothes.
Here’s how thredUP works. You get credit for their online clothing store from clothes that they “accept” to resell. The company is constantly changing. They used to give you the money all at once upfront. Now there is a system of some clothes being bought at once, some going on consignment and you don’t get money until the sell, and some that get you a 10% luxe bonus.
For clothes that you accept the payment immediately, thredUp states that the value will be less than if you sell on consignment. Of course, selling on consignment means you have to wait for the item to sell before being able to get any money.
Note: There is now a Payout Estimator on the thredUP website. I think you’ll be shocked if you put in some of your clothing brands and see how much is being offered. In a search during October 2018, an Express cardigan sweater in good condition was estimated to get just .56 cents as a payout.
I can’t fathom getting paid .56 cents for a piece of clothing rather than donating it in my community to an underprivileged women trying to get back on her feet and in the workplace.
Any clothes not chosen are apparently recycled or donated, unless you want to pay to have them sent back to you.
{An interview with CBS This Morning on April 13, 2017 about the online clothing retailer suggested that the Thred Up’s customers were most interested in getting clothes out of their house, rather than making money. If you want to get clothes out of your house, did you know that there are non-profits and charities that will come pick up a bag in your driveway for free? They include Salvation Army, Vietnam Vets and many others.}
Then, if you’re given any thredUP credit, your choices are:
- Credit for shopping on thredUP (the only option for the first 14 days after receiving the credit)
- PayPal credit (available after 14 days – with a 2% fee)
- Get a thredUP Visa Prepaid card (available after 14 days with no fee)
So I sent in my big bag and waited. And waited. And waited.
Yeah, it took about 30 days. I sent my bag in on August 6. My credit wasn’t processed until September 10.
Related Posts:
- ThredUp Goody Boxes Review – What’s Inside
- Buying Clothes on ThredUp’s Sale Site
- Sustainable Fashion on Amazon
- PACT Organic Clothing at Affordable Prices
ThredUP Review
I was shocked – literally – when I found out that my massive polka dot bag of high quality, name brand clothing only scored a grand total of $7.40 of thredUP credit. That’s all.
WHAT?!?!?
Yeah, I was pretty upset.
That’s less than $2 per item.
Here’s what was accepted – only 4 items.
For less than $8, I would have rather donated all of my things to a local thrift store who could have made three times that money for worthy programs for the needy.
The amount was truly an insult.
Especially when the pants are now selling for $18.99 (that’s just ONE of the items):
Here’s what I submitted. With no tears. No sweat stains. No pilling on most items. Hardly any wear or tear on most. All were Express except for the lemon dress:
Is Thredup Good?
It depends on how you use the online consignment store.
Will I ever use thredUP again to sell my clothes? No.
I would rather sell my clothing in local stores, through online groups that I know and love, or donate to worthy charities. (Or to these other places to sell clothes online.)
Considering selling clothing through thredUP? They take women’s clothing, children’s clothing – both boys and girls – and handbags and shoes and maternity. No men’s clothing.
You also better have ponied up for some high end brands to begin with. They are very label conscious and brand oriented. I personally don’t like that, because paying a high price for name brand clothing doesn’t mean anything.
I want great clothing, no matter what the brand tag says.
Is buying clothes on Thredup good? It depends.
There are a lot of really great prices to be had. It depends on if there is a sale, and how much the seller is pricing their clothing, shoes and accessories for. However, I have found that the really good deals of name brand clothing that used to be plentiful a couple years ago are now long gone. Much of the name brand clothing is priced higher than what I could buy it for with a sale or discount in another store or online website.
However, there are deals to be had, definitely. And I do buy some clothing in the thredup clothing store.
If you want to see what thredUP is like, use my affiliate link and get a $10 credit. At least you’ll have some money to spend and I’d suggest buying clothes with the company before trying to sell them your clothes to see how it is.
Want to make money by selling other unused items? Here’s a great way to make money with your old electronics!
Have you ever used thredUP? What did you think???
Kayla says
I used to use Thredup many years ago when they first started, I really liked it, got good payouts, and got great prices on clothing. Now I am shocked at the prices they have for clothes and the minimal amounts they give people. I sent in hundreds of dollars worth of maternity clothes and got a payout of $25. Whatever. So I figure I will use that money on some clothing for the baby, it’s cheaper than new right? WRONG! Holy cow. Their prices for baby clothes are asinine for used clothing. If I wanted to spend $15 on a pair of Carter’s baby pants, I would go to Carter’s and buy them new, oh and also they would be cheaper because of in-store coupons and sales. None of the brands they are selling sell their clothes for full retail value on websites or in stores, so why I am I paying that much for used clothing then? I am all about recycling and not buying new, but I am not going to support these prices. So for my $25 it looks like I will get TWO items of used clothing for a baby. And I am done with thredup from now on. For the small payouts, the least they can do is also reflect that in their pricing of the items.
Kimberly Button says
Kayla, I too have seen the prices of clothing rise higher. It used to be super cheap and great value. Now, I can literally use sales and coupons, as you do, and get the same thing brand new for less money. I’ve seen the same Calvin Klein dresses new in Marshall’s for less than what ThredUp is selling them for used online. You need to be a savvy shopper if you are seeking prices that are great, for sure!
Holly Hayes says
I really should have read these reviews before I sent three huge bags of clothing and shoes to them. I sent a Stella McCartney blouse in perfect condition and they didn’t list it for sale. This says to me that someone kept it. I probably sent 40+ items that were in great shape and they only listed a few. I am furious and am having my attorney send them a letter to either send the Stella back or list it.
Sue says
So GLAD to find this post! I’ve had a bag lying around for at least a yer and decided to finally fill it with all the stuff I had listed on Poshmark that was moving too slow. We’re moving and I just want to get these things out now. I was keeping in mind I might only get a few dollars but had absolutely no idea how bad it really was. My experience with Thred-Up as a buyer hasn’t been good either. I made a purchase for a “like new” item that was FAR from it. I ended up donating it right away since I only paid a few dollars to start. The thing though that really annoyed me with them is THEIR mark up. I saw a bracelet I really wanted, however, I noticed in one of the pictures there was a price tag on the item for $3.99… the item was listed for $10!!! I wrote them to let them know they may have had a clerical error and got a response back saying they would look into it. A full week later the item was still there marked up, and I still wanted it, so I replied to that email and even offered to buy it for $5. I never heard back so I tried starting a new email… and yet still never heard back. The next day the picture with the price tag was gone. I was on the fence after my purchase experience whether I wanted to try again, but the price tag thing… that’s when I decided to never purchase from them again. After reading this thread and a couple of others I found, the deal is sealed. SHAME on #threadup .
Kate says
Whew! Glad I found all these reviews. I was a little skeptical about ThredUp’s whole process and pretty much everyone’s comments confirm my fears. Thanks for everyone sharing about their experience – will try local consignment shop and continue to donate to my favorite thrift stores here in town who do a lot of non-profit work.
Amy says
They scammed me also. I sent in a huge bag worth about 1200.00. It contained 2 breaks new formal dresses and 3 pair of designer jeans that were worn less than 5 times….I got 3.38. I had to pay to get most of my clothes back….over half of my clothing they tossed. I think that they need to be legally looked at.
deloradelora says
TredUP is out for profit only! #Tredup I am deleting my account and will not be recommending this company to anyone. #theft #shoplifting #BBB
TH says
I could go on and on about the scam known as ThredUp… just look at the BBB website and you’ll see hundreds of complaints. There should be a class action lawsuit against this company. I don’t even care about getting my money/items back at this point, I simply think they need to be out of business.
Taby says
If you want to buy cheap clothing, ThredUp can be great. If you want to sell, however, you will probably feel ripped off. This is my quandry with ThredUp. Over the past couple of years I built up a nice wardrobe with gently-used clothing and accessories purchased from their site. However, when I donated two large bags of (mostly designer, hardly used) clothing I made about $12. Many items were not accepted and they give you no reason for it. They will probably claim that the clothes weren’t up to their standards but in my case, I know these items were in excellent shape. It makes you wonder if employees ever steal things for themselves. I hate to say it, but it does make you wonder, My emails received canned responses. So now I do not want to give them anymore of my time or business. Sad really, they used to seem like the best thing since sliced bread. But I can’t stomach how awful it feels to feel ripped off.
Kimberly Button says
Taby I agree! A great place to shop for clothes, especially name brands. But as far as making money on them, not at all. It’s a quandary. By buying from them, you are supporting someone not making a decent amount off of their consigned clothes.
deloradelora says
Why buy clothes if the clothes your are buying are from people they ripped off? Terrible company. Unethical. #tredUP should be put out of business. There are so many legit 2nd hand stores that are really helping communities and also allowing shoppers to make a satisfying purchase.
bess mejia says
I sent A LOT of new men’s clothes, clean hardly uses brand names worth a lot! NOTHING!! I received nothing.. do not send them anything. their prices went up and you might as-well go to sales at stores. NEVER shopping here again!! I just got one thing to use my money and I forgot what it was because I have not received it! its been over a month!!
Kimberly Button says
Bess, did you send Men’s clothing? I don’t think they resell men’s clothing.
Clary P says
I’m not sure that donating to charity is a better option; charities have a high markup on their clothes and privileged folks buy many of the “good items” before they make it to the needy. On that note, the prices on many of the dresses on ThredUp were actually less expensive than Goodwill so I would imagine ThredUp is helping people who might not be able to afford new clothes…as well as giving the environmentally conscious shoppers a way to upcycle and minimize the carbon footprint.
Kimberly Button says
The thrift stores in my area often have sales and you can get clothes for $2-3. So I’m not sure how a charity would be more expensive than ThredUp. It depends on what type of store you buy from. Goodwill tends to have the higher prices among thrift stores. I’ve never seen privileged folks somehow buy clothes before others. It pretty much depends on when they are put on the sales floor. And I’ve seen prices for similar, brand new clothes at stores in cities. So the concept of paying less by buying online only works sometimes. I’ve gotten brand new clothes for less than what ThredUp is selling from the same manufacturer. There is no one answer for the best price on clothing.