I’m a huge thrifting fan.
Anyone who has read a few articles on this blog knows that if I can buy something second hand, I will.
Besides pre-loved items generally being cheaper, as a sustainable conscious shopper I want to reduce textile waste as much as I can.
ThredUp is currently one of the largest online thrift stores that curates your favorite fashion brands, allowing its shoppers to choose from gently use and even new fashion pieces at discounted prices.
Recently, ThredUp has pushed for a more luxury experience, curating pieces from brands like Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. They have also partnered with Rent The Runway, which I’ve talked about in this blog here
Users can also ship their clothing into Thread Up for consignment with ThreadUp’s Clean Out Program, which seems convenient.
However, ThredUp has recently come under some scurienty with how they have been running their consignment program with some even calling it a scam.
This issue is cropping up around the same time that many people are starting to say that ThredUp may be over charging for some of their more popular pieces as well.
I recently purchase two beautiful Zimmermann peices from ThredUp and felt that now might be a good time to discuss my thoughts about ThredUp’s business practices while showing you what I got.
While I have generally enjoyed what I’ve purchased from this company and do feel like I will purchase from them again in the future, I do think the criticism against this company is valid and needs to be properly addressed.
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Table Of Contents
What is ThredUp
Founded in 2009, ThredUp is an online consignment and thrift store with a focus on sustainability through circular fashion.
With a mission to recirculate, educate, elevate and influence, ThredUp has certainly been making waves in the fashion world.
ThredUp has made shopping for the top brands you want more efficient; All you have to do is visit their site and you can select the brands you want to see, or just peer around.
With carefully organized categorizes much like The RealReal, Fashionphile and Rebag, ThredUp makes it easy to go second hand shopping.
But unlike these other strictly luxury focused companies, ThredUp caters to a much wider audience carrying over 55,000 different labels. From American Eagle to Zimmermann, they likely have something from the brand that you are looking for.
Why circular fashion is so important
Over 92 million tons of textile waste is produced each year. And the apparel industry’s global emissions rate is expected to double by 2030.
With the impact that fast fashion has on our environment, it’s becoming increasing important to find ways to reduce our waste both on a personal and industrial level.
This is where the idea of circular fashion comes in to play.
Circular fashion is a subset of circular economy, which is a concept in which designs focus on limiting waste, and materials are kept in circulation for as long as possible through repair and reusing and recycled when needed.
By wearing and repairing our clothing for as long as possible and choosing to buy second hand, we can start to reduce the amount of textiles going to landfill as well as resources being used to make these garments in the first place.
How sustainable is it really?
There is A LOT more that needs to be done and developed before we can truly make a dent in this problem.
That said, buying second hand is something that we can do on an individual level to help reduce out personal waste and on a corporate level, companies can make it easier for consumers to buy pre owned items, further reducing their waste.
Much like Lululemon’s Like New program, ThredUp has partnered with company’s like Rent The Runway, Madewell, Walmart and Reformation to make it easier to shop their pieces second hand.
I do like that since 2017, ThredUp has released an annual report that includes a section on their environmental impact.
According to their findings, the they processed and 172 million articles of clothing thus far, saving over 660 million lbs on CO2 emissions.
From their calculations, if everyone swapped out one regular purchase for a second hand item this year, 2 billion lbs of CO2 emissions could be saved while 23 billion gallons of water and 4 billion kWh of energy could be saved.
More progress is definitely needed, but circular fashion is clearly a step in the right direction.
ThredUp’s Closet Clean Out Program
Like any thrift or consignment shop, ThredUp relies on customers sending products in for them to sell as a key part of their business model.
While ThredUp has partnered with companies like Rent The Runway and Madewell to take on their second hand items as well as partnering with celebrities to sell their things, it appears that the vast majority of their items are coming directly from our closets.
And with their platform now growing at an exponential rate, they seem to be seeking out more high end, designer labels to stock their wearhouses with.
Because of this constant need for stock, ThredUp has their Closet Clean Out program that they highly encourage their shoppers to participate in.
What is it?
So what is the Closet Clean Out program exactly?
For a fee, ThredUp will send you a large bag capable of holding up to 30 lbs of clothing for you to fill up and ship back to them.
From there, they will process your clothing, and list it for consignment on their site.
Once an item of yours has been purchased by someone else, they will ship it out to them.
And after the 14 day return window has passed, ThredUp will pay you any revenue that you have made.
ThredUp had posted a handy tool on their site that can help give you a good idea of what you might make for the times that you send it. They have structured the brands that they are seeking into tiers; Low. Mid and High
Not all brands are eligible for a payout, as they cost too much form them to processes compared to what they would make.
Brands like Forever21 and Old Navy are considered low tier and will only earn you 3%-20% of the list price.
For mid tier brands like Nike and Zara, you can earn between 30%-60% of the list price.
Finally, for high end and luxury brands, such as Gucci, you can earn upwards of 80% of the list price.
Keep in mind that the amount you have the potential to make is dependent on the brand, as well as how much they can sell that particular item for.
How much do they charge?
While ThredUp totes this Closet Clean Out program to by easy, it comes at a cost.
Each closet Clean Out Bag cost you $2.99 USD, which can be waived sometimes if you’re new to the program or haven’t submitted in a while. However, you can always choose to have them email you a label at no cost.
Then there is a $14.99 USD processing fee. This fee is deducted from your earrings.
Standard processing takes about 3+ weeks, however you can pay to have you items processed in 2 weeks for an additional $8.00 USD.
And if you wish to have and clothing not sold returned to you, that will be another $10.99 USD for that service.
All and all, a Closet Clean Out from ThredUp can cost you up to $22.00 USD out of pocket and then another $15.00 USD from whatever profit you make.
If you choose to use their Consignment Pro service, which gives you more control over the listing on their site, that is another $35.00 USD you can expect to spend.
Issues people have complained about
With such steep fees many people who send their items into ThredUp don’t actually see a profit.
If you are sending in items that are only listing for $10.00- $20.00USD, then you are only making $3.00-$5.00USD which is easily getting swallowed up by their processing fee.
Many people have also complained about their process not being as transparent as it should.
On the BBB site, there is a long list of people who have complained about not easily being able to see where their consignment items are, sets being split up to sell them for less and items just going missing all together.
While ThreadUp has listed most of these complaints as “resolved”, a quick look into these resolutions show that many of them are only resolved because the plaintiff didn’t respond in 2-3 business days.
To me, that’s not a proper resolution of the issue at hand.
I understand that in order for ThredUp and companies like them to continue providing space for circular fashion in a digital format, that they have to turn a profit.
And I also understand that when you look at ratings on the BBB, you are disproportionately looking at complaints.
That said, the amount of recent complaints, the nature of these complaints and how ThredUp as a company decided to ‘resolve’ them by not actually addressing many of the complaints at all is concerning for me.
Because of these issues, I can’t recommend that people send in their clothing for consignment with ThredUp.
I feel like the mark up is going to be just too high for most people and I really can’t get behind them loosing sellers items, splitting sets and just ignoring the issues that people are complaining about.
Until these issues are addressed, I can only recommend that people shop from ThredUp.
But even then, you should know that ThredUp might now always have the best second prices available.
Designer Items on ThredUp
As mentioned early, ThredUp has been making a big push to offer a more luxury experience for those who want it.
As a luxury lover myself, I think this is a wonderful opportunity and a move in the right direction.
After all– from a business predictive, if you can diversify your clientele, you’ll be in a much better position to weather any turbulent markets.
While in the beginning ThredUp’s luxury offering selection was limited, it has now grown to a decent size, carrying brands such as Gucci, Sea NewYork, Acne Studios, Prada, Fram Rio and of course, Chanel.
Having a luxury offering that feels much more on par now with The RealReal, ThredUp should be on your list of consideration if you are looking to shop luxury apparel second hand.
That said, I do think that shoppers who choose to shop luxury items on ThredUp should keep these next few things in mind.
Quality
This applies more so to the accessories than the apparel, however the quality isn’t always the best.
The way in which they grade their luxury items seems to be much more relaxed compared to TheRealReal or Rebag.
And while they do have independent authentication services inspect the products to make sure they are real, I have read some complains that some of the luxury items people have received have been fake.
To be fair, this isn’t an issue exclusive to ThredUp, as all of the major luxury consignment stores have had this issue to some degree. And it doesn’t seem to be a very large spread issue with ThredUp either, and from what I’ve been seeing, they have always been willing to help remedy these issues when they pop up, which I’m satisfied with.
Prices
Another thing to consider when shopping with ThredUp is that when it comes to luxury items, sometimes their prices are a bit inflated.
Currently, they are offering this Gucci Marmont Top Handle Flap bag for about $2,1000.00USD– $290.00USD less than in stores.
However, you can buy the same bag in slightly better condition with Rebag for $1,525.50 USD. That’s about $575.00 USD less than what ThredUp is selling it for.
This can sometimes carry over to some of their higher end clothing as well, though normally the clothing is priced pretty fairly.
Better place to buy
Always comparison shop when you can because sometimes you can find a great luxury deal on ThredUp.
But normally, if I’m looking to thrift a bargain deal for a luxury item, eBay and Poshmark using their authentication services are my top options.
Consistently they have the better offers, with the ability to sometimes to negotiate your price down further.
The RealReal is also a great option, especially for closing. However their return policy isn’t as great anymore so I have to feel really confident in what I’m buying from them.
Lastly, Rebag has many great options, a wide selection of products and run sales pretty often so you can normally find a great deal with them.
My Zimmermann Pieces
I wanted to dedicate a small section to this blog to the actual clothing that I picked up.
I might do a separate blog on Zimmermann later, but as you can see, these outfits do deserve their own shine!
And the fact that both of these items were thrifted in “New With Tags’ condition just make this an even better deal in my opinion.
Cassia ruffle mini dress
The first piece that I picked up from ThredUp is this beautiful Cassia ruffle mini dress from their swim and resort collection.
I thought that this would be perfect to have for my up coming trips to more tropical areas.
I really love the design of this dress as it looks pretty flattering to my figure even with all the cutouts on in
And the construction of this dress is also very nice and neat. It is made from a quality linen that hangs against the body very nicely and just feels so soft and feminine.
With Zimmermann dresses now being mass produced, I have heard that not every release has good quality nowadays, but I have to say that I hope this dress is the rule and not the exception.
My only issue with this dress is that a Zimmermann size 4 is too big for me. Now that I’m back down to an American size 8-10, I will need to get this dress taken in a bit. But as an avid thrifter, this isn’t an issue for me.
It’s hard for me to phantom why someone would get rid of such a beautiful and brand new dress, but I’m very happy that I found it.
In stores, this dress retailed for $695.00USD new. However, on ThredUp I was able to purchase it for $255.00USD; that’s just under 65% in savings.
Postcard Shell Bustier
The second item that I got in my haul is this beautiful Postcard shell bustier.
I’m a girl of the water and I love anything that reminds me of the ocean.
This top is so intricate with strings of crochet scallops and real tiny shells.
While there is a matching skirt that can be worn with this top, It wasn’t available on ThredUp–or else I would have surly grabbed it up!
I ended up paring this top with this beautiful satin dress that I picked up from Shoedazzle and rolled down to wear as a skirt.
Just like the mini dress above, the quality of this top is very nice. The construction is very neat and the linen material feels very nice.
This top is in a size 3 which is still just a tad bit too big, but workable for me especially with the strappy shoulder ties.
I was able to find this top on the Harrods site, listed at $595.00USD; however on ThredUp, I paid only $150.00USD.
Final Thoughts
Despite some of the issues that I have with ThredUp when it comes how they operate their Closet Clean Out program and how overpriced their luxury accessories can be, I ultimately think that ThredUp has pioneered a much needed space in the second hand goodies market that is vital to circular fashion.
In the future, I would like to see them truly address the concerns that have cropped up with all the fees associated with selling on their platform and perhaps even have more transparency about the program so that sellers truly know what to expect going in.
Sellers are interregnal to this business model because they are the ones providing the stock and more important, are the reason that buyers like me can buy second hand.
Having such a high bar to gain profit with a program like this is a deterrent for many sellers which seems to fly in the face of the sustainability goals this company seems to genuinely care about.
I also don’t appreciate how market up some of their luxury items can be.
I will assume that part of the mark up steams from the fact that they still aren’t widely known for their luxury accessories, so these items may not have the same turnover rate that a company like The RealReal or Rebag would have.
That said, some of their items are going for more than $500.00USD more than their competitors while appearing to be in worse condition.
Clearly though, it’s not all bad news for ThredUp, as I love this company as a shopper for clothing.
This time around, I was able to shop two ‘New With Tags’ Zimmermann pieces for amazing prices; both compared to the department stores and competitors such as eBay, Poshmark and The RealReal.
These pieces arrived in excellent condition and thanks to Thred Up, I was able to try a brand that I have been looking over for ages, but just couldn’t commit to at full price.
Thanks to TreadUp, I’ve been introduced to many of my now favorite designer brands such as Sea New York, Solace London and now Zimmermann.
Besides designer items, ThredUp offers the tried and true family brands for low, everyday prices.
Now that my kids are growing like beautiful dandelions, I’ll be making more use of buying their clothing second hand as well.
All in all, ThredUp is a company this is flawed, but capable of change and worth shopping at (just probably throughohly weight your pros and cons before you sell to them
