How would you react if I told you that this pretty outfit is from a thrift store? I found it shopping on ThredUp; not bargain hunting or treasure hunting, such as when you go to T.J. Maxx or Marshalls, where you get brand new stuff really discounted. I got it at an actual thrift store, from the comfort of my bed; on the ThredUp app! Shopping on ThredUp is amazing, easy, and dangerously addictive.
So you’re probably wondering – are those clothes from ThredUp “used”? Did someone else “pre-love them” or, said plainly, wore it and got tired of it? Well, the answer can be all: yes, maybe, and not always. It’s called sustainable fashion! Very cool, responsible, and a pretty good way to stretch your hard-earned dollars!
Nanette Lepore Dress $40 and New with tags Schutz Boots ($50)
Disclosure: This post contains referral links.
What is Shopping on ThredUp Like?/ Is ThredUp Legit?
ThredUp has been around since 2009; yep, that long. In October 2020, ThredUp confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its stock. So, knowing that tells you that they’re here to stay; they’re not a fly-by-night or a scam.
In my experience, you can buy with confidence with your credit card. If you are within the U.S., ThredUp will accept most major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB. Still, if for some reason you do not feel comfortable providing them with your credit card, you may also complete your purchase with PayPal or Amazon Pay.
Is ThredUp Worth It?
The short answer is: yes! But you may need to work on your mindset depending on what’s your perception of buying used clothes.
Would you think this outfit is “used”?
Faux fur Frame coat – got it on Thedup for $112, retails for over $500
Many people associate buying at thrift stores with being poor or unable to afford to go to a “regular” store. Believe me, I’ve heard this kind of thing!
However, this way of thinking not only is a misconception but, in reality, deprives you of so many experiences. What do I mean by this? When you shop at a thrift store you get to help the environment by not contributing to waste, you get to wear stuff or brands you couldn’t otherwise afford at retail price, you get to save money by not overspending (allowing you to allocate that money towards savings). Overall, it’s a win-win situation for everyone but, mostly, yourself.
How Do You Search and Shop on ThredUp?
Shopping on ThredUp can be overwhelming because their inventory is huge. The best way is to search by brand or the category of the thing you want. But first, create your profile with all your sizes; that way the information stays saved and your searches will only show items in your size.
After you create your profile with your sizes, look for things you normally love and fit you well. You can also narrow by color, fabric, style, neckline, and condition of the item.
What’s the Heart Icon For?
If you see something you like, click on the heart icon to add it to your favorites. You can scroll down and click on the heart icon without having to actually click on the item and open a separate window, which takes longer. You can later see all the items for which you clicked on the heart by going to the heart at the top right corner and take your time reviewing them and reading the item’s description.
Items will stay saved in your “favorites” until you eliminate the heart icon by clicking on it. The item will remain on your favorites even if it’s sold, so you can always search for something similar.
What to buy on ThredUp?
When shopping on ThredUp you should buy clothes from brands you normally love and fit you well.
They have a good selection of brands including my go-to’s: J.Crew, BCBG Maxazria, Zara, Rebecca Taylor, Loft, and DVF. You can also look for a special item that you loved but was sold out and missed.
ThredUp is also good for buying brands you like but stay away from because they’re too expensive, either luxury brands like Yves Saint Laurent or mid-level luxury ones like Veronica Beard, All-Saints, Ganni, and Hemant and Nandita. If the items are of good quality they usually stand the test of time better than raggedy clothes that are cheaper and of lesser quality.
Another awesome thing to buy is girls’ dresses and outerwear. The nicer, the better because kids tend to wear them less, such as on special occasions, and also outgrow them often. You can find beautiful dresses from brands you like for kids such as Gap Kids, Jani and Jack, and Osh Kosh B’gosh. When searching for kids’ clothes, I like to narrow the search to: “new with tags”, or “like new”, so that I don’t end up with an item that is faded from the use or because someone stuck it on the dryer, rather than hanging it to dry.
Around 7 years ago I bought this top from Zara but the matching skirt (which was over $60) was sold out in my size. I stumbled upon the skirt recently on ThredUp and in my size. I knew I had to get it. It was almost brand new and under $15.
The Zara skirt found 7 years later while shopping on Thredup to match the top I had from Zara.
How Do You Score an Awesome Piece?
The easiest way to score something awesome is to look under a brand or designer you like and when the results show, select the heart at the top so that you can favorite your search.
Since you’ll already have a saved profile with your sizes everything will be in your size range! Once you favorite a search, it’ll create a feed that is updated every time an item in your saved search is available. You can set it up to give you email alerts and push notifications, although I do not recommend it unless you’re looking for something very specific and rare to find because the emails and/or push notifications will drive you insane.
MSGM designer skirt from ThredUp
By Brand
Start by searching for brands you love. Then, either see all the items or narrow it to a category such as blouses only. You can save the end result and see when new items for that category come in. An example would be a motorcycle jacket from All Saints, size 4. You can create that saved search and stay in the loop when new items come in.
By Category
If you’re looking for something in particular like a jacket, but not necessarily care about the brand, you can create a search by category.
For example: let’s say you’re looking for a cream, motorcycle leather jacket, in small. Go to “women”, in “all clothing” select, “coats and jackets”, then narrow to “motorcycle”. Go to the “material” category and select “leather”; then go to color and select “white” and “beige”. Go to “condition” and select: “new with tags”, “like-new”, and “gently used”. When the search comes up, there will be a heart icon at the top right corner, click on it to save the search. A window will pop-up saying “Save This Search”. You need to give the search a name (whatever you want) then select the options for them to notify you.
That’s it!
Look at this leather Motorcycle jacket from All Saints that I found on ThredUp. I found it under the “Revive” by Rent the Runway category.
All your Saved Searches in One Place!
If you want to see all your saved searches, just click on the heart icon at the bottom. That’ll reveal two tabs: one for saved searches and one for favorites, which are the specific items that you favorited.
How to Save Money on Shipping by Bundling
ThredUp does not have free shipping on every purchase. Normally, it costs $5.99. However, there is a way around this, if you “Choose Buy & Bundle”, ThredUp gives more time to reach the $79 FREE Shipping threshold. That way, they’ll combine items from multiple orders into a single package and ship everything together.
Here’s how to do it:
- Select Buy & Bundle when choosing your shipping preference at checkout to add your order to a Bundle.
- If your first Bundle purchase doesn’t reach the $79 FREE Shipping threshold, an initial $5.99 refundable shipping deposit will be charged along with your order.
- You have 7 days from your first Bundle purchase to add additional orders to your Bundle. Once your Bundle totals $79 or more, your shipping deposit will be automatically refunded.
You can also redeem your rewards points for free shipping if you don’t want to spend the amount it takes to meet the bundle threshold.
What if I Don’t like It or it Does Not Fit?
You can definitely return an item unless it says “final sale”. Shop on ThredUp the same way you would at a regular online store. Since their inventory varies and they sometimes only carry just one particular item, you are not able to exchange for other sizes. However, you can always look for the item again and buy it in the right size. Then you know it was meant to be! HAHA.
They do have a $1.99 restocking fee to cover expenses associated with returns. You can get around this by using rewards points they give you which can be redeemed for things such as a $10 certificate or waiving restocking fees.
My experience as a buyer on ThreadUp
Awesome! That’s how I describe my experience shopping on ThredUp.
I have purchased items as I would on a regular store, and either loved them or return them without issues. Every now and then I come across an item that I thought the quality was not what I expected, such as the item being stained or faded, and I have returned those without hesitation or issue.
Zara dress I got on ThredUp that was sold out at Zara.
Free Rewards Program to Get $10 Coupons to Shop on Thredup
ThredUp Rewards is a free reward program where you earn points by shopping, cleaning out, and doing other things such as visiting the website a set number of times on a given month. The program is free to join and the points are redeemable at checkout, by clicking on the redeem rewards link, available during the checkout process, if eligible.
You can redeem points for free shipping, waiving restocking fees, and $10 off your purchase. You cannot combine rewards with current promotions, and cannot stack up coupons. So you need to think strategically when making your purchase. For instance, if you know you’ll meet the buy and bundle threshold of $79 to get free shipping and you have more than one $10 credit/coupon, then you should place separate orders when completing your purchase.
Keep in mind that if you return items, the points earned will be deducted and you could even end up with a negative balance of points, which means you have to accumulate enough points to cover the deficiency before you start racking them up again.
ThredUp “Brags”
Not yet convinced about shopping on ThredUp? Okay, see it for yourself! Just look at these hashtags on Instagram to see how all the people that wear pre-loved or use clothes proudly by visiting hashtags such as #threadup or #thriftloudly.
Also, the thrifter’s love is real, ThreadUp encourages people that want to get featured on their big wall in TimesSquare to wear their finds with pride and use the #ThriftLoudly. Are you ready to brag about it? Make sure to use that hashtag!
If you want to look amazingly stylish or just want to refresh your wardrobe, shopping on ThredUp will help you accomplish this without breaking the bank. Your dream wardrobe is now attainable. But, be careful, it can also get addictive!
The Lowdown
If you like nice things but prefer bargain hunting instead of paying full price? You can get awesome deals on great quality items without even leaving your home. Try shopping on ThredUp and see for yourself if it’s worth it for you.
That’s my take! I hope you got your shopping dreams covered without breaking the bank.
Remember to stay fashionable, look fabulous, and get the look you want, for less. 😉
Are you going to give ThreadUp a try? Have you ever bought second-hand clothes?
Let’s connect on Instagram! See you there, find me here.
A girl after my heart. Been shopping the “once is not enough” goods for quite a while and found elation after finding a particular piece too!