ThredUp set out to remove the biggest obstacle in secondhand fashion: the effort it takes to actually sell something. Instead of photographing, pricing and listing every item individually, consignors simply fill a prepaid bag and mail it in, letting ThredUp’s team handle the rest.
That same effort-first philosophy carries over to the shopping side, where secondhand and new-with-tags fashion from thousands of brands is sorted, searchable and filterable the way shoppers expect from any modern retail site, not a pile of unsorted thrift-store racks. The full marketplace is available at ThredUp’s official site.
Who is ThredUp?
ThredUp was founded in 2009 by James Reinhart, Chris Homer and Oliver Lubin, built around a simple idea: make reselling secondhand clothes as easy as throwing them in a box. The company is headquartered in Oakland, California, and went public on Nasdaq in 2021, growing into one of the largest dedicated secondhand fashion marketplaces online.
Over the years ThredUp has processed well over 100 million secondhand items sourced from roughly 55,000 different brands, spanning everyday basics to designer labels. The company has also built a Resale-as-a-Service business, powering branded take-back and resale programs for well-known retailers that want to offer their own customers an easy way to resell. That combination of consumer marketplace and behind-the-scenes infrastructure has made ThredUp one of the more influential names shaping how secondhand fashion works online, well beyond its own storefront.
What ThredUp does best
A handful of strengths explain why ThredUp has become a go-to name in secondhand fashion.
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A genuinely effortless way to sell
The Clean Out Kit removes nearly all the friction of traditional resale, consignors just fill the prepaid bag and send it in, with ThredUp’s team handling the photographing, pricing and listing that would otherwise take hours of work.
Flexible payout options
Sellers can choose between a cash payout or ThredUp credit toward their own shopping, with credit typically earning a higher percentage of an item’s resale price for those happy to shop the platform themselves.
A shopping experience built like modern retail
Filtering by brand, size, condition and price turns what used to be a slow thrift-store search into something closer to shopping a curated online store, making it far easier to find specific pieces.
Responsible handling of unsold items
Clothing that doesn’t meet ThredUp’s resale standards is recycled or donated rather than returned, giving consignors peace of mind that their clean-out won’t simply end up in a landfill.
Branded take-back programs through Resale-as-a-Service
Through its Resale-as-a-Service partnerships, ThredUp powers trade-in and resale programs for well-known retail brands, letting shoppers hand off old items to a brand they already trust while ThredUp manages the sorting, pricing and resale logistics behind the scenes.
Products and pricing at a glance
| Category | What it is | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday women’s fashion | Secondhand tops, dresses and denim from popular brands | $8-$35 |
| Designer & premium labels | Higher-end secondhand pieces, filterable separately | $35-$200+ |
| New with tags | Unworn retail overstock and returns sold at a markdown | $15-$60 |
| Kids’ clothing | Secondhand children’s apparel across sizes | $6-$25 |
| Clean Out Kits | Prepaid bags for mailing in clothes to sell | Free to request |
What customers say
Sellers consistently point to how little effort the Clean Out Kit takes compared with listing items themselves on other platforms, describing the process as close to effortless: request a bag, fill it, schedule a pickup or drop it off, and wait for a payout notification. The choice between cash and credit also comes up often as a nice touch, letting consignors decide what works best for their situation, whether that’s a quick payout or stretching more value into their next purchase.
Shoppers frequently highlight how much faster it is to find something specific compared with digging through a physical thrift store, crediting the brand, size and condition filters for making secondhand shopping feel genuinely convenient. The mix of steep markdowns on recognizable brands and the option to shop new-with-tags items also draws regular praise from budget-conscious buyers. Parents in particular mention how much time the kids’ clothing filters save, since children outgrow sizes quickly and searching by exact size makes repeat shopping fast.
Who ThredUp is best for
ThredUp is an easy recommendation for anyone who wants to clear out a closet without the hassle of photographing and listing individual pieces, as well as shoppers who want secondhand fashion sorted and searchable like a normal retail site rather than a thrift-store free-for-all. Budget-conscious shoppers chasing designer brands at a markdown will find plenty to browse, and anyone who cares about keeping used clothing out of landfills will appreciate the responsible handling of items that don’t get listed. Shoppers of a brand that runs its own branded take-back program through ThredUp also get a familiar, trusted way to both resell and rebuy from that label.
Price and value
Prices on ThredUp generally land well below original retail, with everyday brands priced for quick, casual purchases and designer labels still carrying a meaningful discount off their new-retail price. For sellers, the trade-off for ThredUp handling all the listing work is a payout that’s typically lower than selling an item individually elsewhere, a trade most consignors find worthwhile given how much time it saves, especially when choosing the higher-earning credit payout to put straight back into a future order.
Verdict
By stripping nearly all the effort out of both sides of secondhand fashion, ThredUp built a marketplace that makes clearing out a closet and shopping resale equally painless.
Frequently asked questions
Yes u2014 for anyone who wants to clean out a closet without photographing and listing individual items themselves, or shop secondhand fashion already sorted by brand, size and condition, ThredUp removes most of the usual resale friction.
Consignors receive a free prepaid Clean Out Kit for sending items in, and ThredUp offers a return window on purchases that don't fit or meet expectations, detailed at checkout.
Once an item sells, consignors can choose a cash payout or ThredUp credit, with credit typically paying a higher percentage of the sale price than cash.
ThredUp is the faster option for a hands-off closet clean-out since the team handles photographing and listing, while Poshmark suits sellers who want to manage their own closet and build a following around their personal style.
ThredUp was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Oakland, California, having grown from a small startup into a publicly traded resale company.
Items that don't meet ThredUp's resale standards are responsibly recycled or donated rather than shipped back, keeping them out of landfills even when they can't be listed for sale.
ThredUp partners with well-known retail brands to power their own branded resale and take-back programs, letting shoppers trade in old items with a brand they already know while ThredUp handles the logistics behind the scenes.
Yes u2014 alongside everyday fashion, ThredUp carries a wide range of premium and designer labels, filterable separately so shoppers can browse higher-end secondhand pieces specifically.
