(Note: This post was sponsored by thredUP. Read our disclosure policy here.)
Need to freshen up your wardrobe or your kids’ wardrobe for spring and summer? Have your kids grown since last summer and you need to buy clothes for them for this summer?
I highly recommend checking out thredUP — especially if you’re like me and don’t love the process of having to go to multiple stores and shop for clothes! thredUP is the world’s largest online thrift store and is a great way to help you afford the brands and designers you might not normally be able to.
thredUP sells high-quality, practically new women’s and kids’ clothing and accessories, with a range of great brands to choose from at up to 90% off the original retail price! They have a HUGE selection of items — from baby clothes, kids’ clothes, and clothes for women.
I’m always impressed by the variety they offer and just the sheer number of items they have available on their site at any given time. It’s WAY more than you’d find at your local consignment sale!
Now, if the thought of them having so many different options to choose from feels like it might be overwhelming to you, I can guarantee you that it won’t be because their search features are so incredible. You see, they allow you to search by what types of clothes you are looking for, what colors you like, what brands you prefer, and/or what price range.
This allows you to really find exactly what types of things you are looking for quickly and efficiently — and saves you lots of time and frustration having to wade through pages of pages of items that aren’t your style, aren’t in colors you like, or are out of your price range.
I love getting great deals and shopping secondhand, but honestly, at this season of my life, digging through racks at the thrift store or going to garage sales just isn’t really my cup of tea. So I love that there are options to shop secondhand clothes online. thredUP is one of my favorite online sites to buy secondhand clothes.
thredUP prides itself on the “unboxing” experience. When you receive your thredUP box, all of the clothing items will be hand-folded with cute thredUP tags attached to each. The items are wrapped in nice tissue paper and delivered to your doorstep in an cute polka dot box.
We’ve ordered many, many clothes from thredUP over the years and many of the clothes we’ve ordered have been items we’ve worn over and over again.
One of my favorite ways to shop thredUP is to search for deals on high-quality brands I already know that I love and adore but would never pay full price for. For instance, you can choose from popular brands such as Lululemon, Gap, J.Crew, Express, Forever 21, H&M, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, and many more.
You can often find name brand items that are in like-new condition (or even new with tags!) — for up to 90% off the retail price! And my favorite thing is that they have lots of items for $5-8 each — and if you use the 40% off coupon code (below), you’ll be able to find some amazing deals!
Note: thredUP also offers an easy way to clean out your closet. You can check their website to see which brands of your secondhand clothes they take and what the payouts are. Simply order a thredUP Clean Out Bag, fill it with items you no longer want, and place it at your door for pick-up.
I needed to freshen up my wardrobe for spring/summer, so I ordered some new and like-new items from thredUP two weeks ago. I was so happy with some of my finds!
These J. Crew shorts were just $17.99 (originally $65!) and this Express Sleeveless tank was just $11.99 (originally $40!). Both of these fit me so well and are in great condition. I can dress them up or dress them down, depending upon the occasion. (See how I wore the Sleeveless Top today here.)
I love this purple Black Saks Fifth Avenue Sleeveless Top I found. It was just $16.99 (originally $60) and in excellent condition. I actually wore this on Sunday for Easter!
In all honesty, I wasn’t sure what I would think of this top, but I went ahead and got it because I knew that thredUP has a great return policy. If an item doesn’t fit you, you can log into your account within 14 days from when it’s delivered to say that you want to return it. You can then opt for free shipping if you want store credit or simply pay the price of return shipping to get a refund.
The purple Black Saks Fifth Avenue Sleeveless Top is perfect to wear with my very favorite find… these American Eagle white jeans!
I’ve told you all how jeans are a struggle for me. I’m short, but not petite. Small, but not tiny. So finding jeans that fit without being too long, too short, too loose, or too tight is a constant challenge. I have a few pairs that I wear over and over and over again.
So I was thrilled to find these American Eagle white jeans for just $14.99 (originally $50) in excellent condition. They fit me like a glove! They are a little long, but look cute when rolled at the hem. My only complaint is that you can see the pockets through them, but if I wear a longer top, you won’t be able to.
I already know that these will be jeans I will be wearing again and again and again this spring and summer!
Would you like to try thredUP?
thredUP is offering MoneySavingMom.com readers a special offer! The first 100 new sign-ups who place an order and use coupon code SAVING40 at checkout will get 40% off your purchase (up to a $50 discount). This coupon is valid for new thredUP customers only.
I first fell in love with Like Twice, and online higher end second hand store. When they sold their business, I switched to Thred Up. I will say that I have spent probably over $1000 with this company in the last 2-3yrs. Many of the items I bought were favorites that I still wear over and over. The quality on other items has been hit or miss. One dress I got had the hem falling out, but was marked “like new” other times I got shirts or sweaters that had deodorant markings in them..yuck!
Their marketing has been frustrating too at times. For example, they try to sell items that are badly wrinkled and look like they have come off of someone’s floor rather than something you’d expect from a sale rack. The other issue is the profanity in many of the sales campaigns and emails. Not cool!
Still, when I need business attire or even a new pair of jeans, this is one of the first places I look because their prices for name brand items are hard to beat.
Thanks for sharing your honest feedback! -Meg, MSM Team
Hi Crystal, Wondering if you are still sticking to your minimalist wardrobe philosophy, not that I don’t love this new “Wild Crystal” 😉
I did an updated wardrobe philosophy post in 2015 and it’s what I’m still sticking to: https://moneysavingmom.com/2015/10/how-ive-simplified-my-wardrobe.html 🙂
I’ve been tempted to try it, but I don’t want to pay $18 for a pair of shorts even when they are brand new. I go to resale shops in high end areas and get awesome things for $6 or under. But, like you said, it can be hard to go digging around thrift stores in the child-centered stage of life.
Everything looks great on you! Do you USE the pockets of your jeans? if not, you could sew them closed just below the opening and then cut them off…..
I always sew up pockets in white jeans and cut out the extra fabric, and sometimes other dress pants. White jeans look so much better without front pockets! Just an FYI!
Thanks so much for that tip!
Thredup has been hit or miss for me. I have bought a few items which I love and wear over and over, but have probably returned more of what I bought than kept. Either the sizing was off or it didn’t look good on me. I paid my own shipping to return to get a refund instead of store credit. Also, the few items I did try to sell to them they paid very little for, which was really disappointing, since they were fairly new and still in season.
I do like how you can specify what you’re looking for, like “striped t-shirts from J Crew” in the search bar and it does bring up exactly what you’re searching for.
I’ve heard that their resell program is pretty hit and miss. I’m so sorry you had a disappointing experience with them! 🙁
I know that we are all busy, but as a consignment store owner in a small town, I find that ThredUp, StitchFix and other online consignment stores are really killing my business. It is frustrating to put over 14 years in the business to see that more and more people won’t support the local shops, and are using the online route. I am currently changing my store hours and trying to post more of my items online to accommodate shoppers, but not sure if it will help. I have some great loyal consignors that bring me quality clothes, so it is disappointing to me to see so many items that come through my store and never sell because of the lack of traffic. Please, if you can, continue to shop your local stores and support your neighbors and friends who are trying to make money on their clothes to pay bills and so much more. My store also supports many local charities, and I cannot do this if I don’t make enough to pay my bills.
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective and for encouraging people to support their local stores!
I wondered if anyone else has tips on how to search their site. I tried it and was overwhelmed and options kept changing, so it just frustrated me. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
I have recently started using Stitch Fix and am loving the Facebook boards to sell and buy their items. Less choices seem to work better for me and only 4 or so sizes to deal with. But would really like to try ThedUP too. Love not having to go shopping to a clothes store with two kids!
I usually sort by size, item, and then color. So if I’m looking for tank tops, I’d sort by Women’s Clothing> Tops> > Tank Tops >
And then I’d choose my price range and colors and the neckline.
By putting in so many search terms, it really helps eliminate all the items that I’m not interested in.
I’ve ordered from thredUP before and was happy with what I ordered. I’ve also sold through them and have been mostly happy. The only thing I haven’t been happy about was the new charge to order a bag from them to sell items.
Crystal, I have to tell you that your stomach looks amazing!!!! You inspire me to get up and exercise right now!
Thanks so much for your honest review!
And thank you so much for your kind encouragement!
If you’re after the first 100 readers to order, the code THRIFTY40 also saves 40% 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing!
Just curious-have you ever returned anything to Thred-Up? I’m wondering because I’ve tried returning items twice now, and given up both because they were going to charge an $8.00 ‘processing fee’ (or something to the effect) which was almost as much as I paid for the item in the first place. I think that might have included the shipping, but I’m not sure. I wasn’t given the option of getting store credit instead.
I tried to return them the same day that I received them, so it wasn’t an issue of being late or not having tags, etc.
So I’m curious to know if anyone has had a similar experience (or has had a good experience!) returning items to Thred-Up. 🙂
I love the idea of this store, but my experience has been that their return policy isn’t actually all that great, unless maybe you are returning a lot of items or a more expensive item? (Although, to be fair, I don’t like paying any money for things I’m not going to wear, so the idea of paying $8 to essentially try something on does not appeal to me at all. It could be amazing compared to other online stores, though! 🙂
I recently tried ThredUp and it was an awful experience. Not a single one of the items looked like they did online. In fact, several of them had logos that were photo-shopped out of the pictures. The waistband on the leggings was completely twisted beyond repair. Some items were see-through. Again, not apparent in the online photos. I am generally not picky but my whole order was completely ridiculous. I had to return everything and had to pay to do so. Not impressed at.all. I was so frustrated and disappointed.
That’s terrible!! That must have been so frustrating. I haven’t had too much trouble with quality, but the sizes don’t always fit very well.
Yikes!! Thank you so much for this honest review. That is terrible. I have not heard of this happening before… I’m so glad to know. Did you contact them??
I’ve not heard of that regarding their return policy! Thank you so much for sharing — that’s weird that you weren’t offered store credit. I’ve not heard of that happening before, but I really appreciate your honest review.