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I recently cleaned out my closet and got rid of a lot of clothes that were worn out, didn’t fit right, or I just didn’t love. I kept only my favorites.
The end result was so beautiful and refreshing. My closet is no longer jam packed with things I don’t wear or love. I can easily see my clothes, especially since they are sorted by colors.
It’s so much easier to pick outfits out now, and to find what I’m looking for. I realized what I have a lot of, and what I might like more of.
With that in mind, I went on a very frugal online shopping spree at thredUP.
What is thredUP?
thredUP is an online consignment and thrift store.
Customers send in gently used name-brand clothes for them to inspect and resell. They look the items over for wear, damages, and flaws. The website says they accept less than 40% of the items they receive.
What items do they sell?
thredUP sells women’s and kid’s clothes and accessories. They offer all types of clothing, even designer items, maternity, plus size, junior, shoes, handbags, and accessories.
They have a huge selection of items, any and all brand names, and all sizes and they also have a “Basement” section that offers flawed items at a huge discount, as well.
My experience with thredUP
I reviewed thredUP on several criteria: ease of shopping, selection, pricing, checkout, packaging, quality, and returns.
Ease of Shopping
I really enjoy the thredUP website! It’s neat, clean, and colorful.
You can hover over items to see the front and back and when you click on an item, you can see the full details that explain the condition of the item, how it fits, the material, and measurements.
You can easily search items by size, brand, style, tops, bottoms, dresses, etc. It can be a little overwhelming how many items they have, but that brings me to my next point.
Selection
I think you could easily find anything you are looking for on their website. They have so much inventory that it can be overwhelming, but you can also find exactly what you are looking for.
They really seem to have everything!
Pricing
I think the prices are great, especially when you consider how easy it is to shop the site. I think you could find cheaper prices at thrift stores or yard sales, but it seems the quality is much better on thredUP‘s site. It is much easier to shop their site online and search for exactly what you are looking for and your size, rather than to comb through thrift store racks.
You can search items under a certain price, or look at the lowest prices first.
I placed all my items in my cart, left them for a day to think about them, and I received an email coupon code with free shipping if I finished my order!
Checkout
Checkout is super easy. The way I shop online is to add anything I love to my cart, then go through and remove my least favorites. I typically have a dollar amount I want to stay under, so I remove items until I’m under that number.
If you sign up for their emails, you will often get coupon codes to use. Love that!
Packaging
thredUP has the cutest packaging! It felt so exciting to open my polka dot box, like it was so delicately put together just for me. Everything was folded nicely. They don’t seem to waste a lot of packaging, just a cardboard box (that I can reuse), some tissue, and my order details.
They also included a cute little card that helps you decide what to keep, sell, or donate.
Quality
I made sure to look at the condition of the item before I purchased it.
The quality of the items I received accurately matched their description on the thredUP site. I even got a brand new pair of jeans for $4.99!
Returns
I am keeping everything I got in my first box, so I don’t need to return anything yet. They included info about how to return and ask that you only keep it if you love it.
If you return your items, you can get a full refund for store credit. If you return your items and want your money back in your account, you pay a $6.99 shipping charge. You have 14 days to return items if you wish.
Some items are final sales and will not be refunded, so make sure to look for that!
My thredUP finds
Old Navy Summer Dress $11.99
Old Navy Black Dress $11.99
BDG Demin Shorts $10.99
Gap Jeans $4.99
And I may or may not already have another thredUP polka dot box already on they way! 🙂
Shopping on a Budget
The prices at thredUP are great, but you could still blow your budget if you’re not careful. To stay within budget, I would recommend,
- Having a set amount that you can spend and not going over it. I place everything I love in my online cart, and then delete my least favorites until I’m under budget.
- Only shopping when you have coupon codes or credits.
- Delete their emails when you don’t have any money left in your clothes budget. Don’t even go to browse!
- Look in your closet first to see if, and what, you really need to be looking for.
Final Rating
I really surprised myself by loving thredUP. I have not purchased a lot of secondhand clothes before, mostly because I don’t like going shopping in general, much less searching through racks upon racks at the thrift store.
The thredUP website is super easy to shop, and it feels like a really classy and clean way to buy secondhand clothes. What I liked most about it is how you can find just about anything you are looking for and at a huge discount!
I was just as pleased when I received my cute polka dot box, and everything was packaging neatly.
I will definitely continue shopping at thredUP and I would highly recommend it to my friends and family looking to update their wardrobe on a frugal budget.
Who says you can’t get great clothes on a tight budget!?
What are your favorite frugal clothes shopping tips?
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