About this time every year, I begin the daunting task of cleaning out my closets. Inevitably, there are plenty of items that I haven’t worn in a while and some that I never wore. And I am left wondering why I purchased them in the first place. You get it, don’t you?

Before discovering thredUP, I would load up the car and take bags upon bags down to the local shelter. I still donate some items, thredUP has become my go-to for getting rid of my clothes.

WHAT IS THREDUP?

ThredUp is the largest online consignment and thrift store. Here, you can sell and buy clothes. With thredUP, you can request a cleanout kit and it sent to your address. When you order your kit, you decide if you want to sell the items or if you want to donate them. ThredUP will give $5 per bag to the charity of your choice if you decide to donate. If you choose to sell the items, there is a process of listing them and a payout structure. There is more about the payouts later in the post.

WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU RECEIVE THE CLEANOUT KIT

Once you receive the kit, you get to fill up with all of your items. This includes women’s and girl’s clothing, shoes, and accessories. Once it is full, you can send it back via FedEx or USPS. You can either drop it off or schedule a pickup. It is that easy.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR USING THREDUP

Here are a few helpful tips for identifying what to send to thredUP
• Items should be washed before sending
• Items should be on-trend, in season, and purchased within the last 5 years
• Items should be free of damage, stains, and/odors

Also, here are a few things to remember

• Not all items are guaranteed to be listed (For example, you may include 30 items in a bag and thredUP may only accept 10 to 15 of the items)
• Sending brand new items (such as new-with-tags) does not automatically mean they will accept it

Once your cleanout kit is processed, you are notified by email. You then have the option of reviewing the items before they are ready for sale. You can adjust the prices set by thredUP if you think their assessment is too low or too high. Also, as the items have a consignment window, you can drop prices to increase the chance of them selling as well.

THREDUP’s PAYOUT

The big thing to remember about thredUP is that your payout is based on a percentage of the selling price. While payouts are smaller than say Poshmark, I am okay with this because thredUP has done the work of staging the item and taking photos, and dealing with the customer. On Poshmark, you are responsible for taking several photos, providing a description of the items including all pertinent details such as brand, size, and color, marketing the item (by sharing it on the platform), and packaging and mailing the item in a reasonable timeframe.

Have you used thredUP yet? Do you like it? Let me know in the comments.

~Until Next Time,
Sizable Chic