Online Thrifting? My ThredUp Experience
I have never really understood online shopping. People say being able to just open up a laptop wherever they are and buy something gives them that instant jolt of buyer's high, but to me waiting 5-7 business days to receive a package sounds more like prolonged suffering than instant gratification. That said, ThredUp has always been on my radar, and when a friend of mine reached out to suggest it, I decided to finally give it a shot.
ThredUp is an online consignment store, and while I'm not so big on online shopping, I am real big on secondhand shopping in any form. Shopping secondhand also seems to be integral to ThredUp's vision for the world. Their site outlines their part in changing attitudes around buying secondhand, and what small but helpful part buying secondhand plays in creating a more sustainable system for fashion. I can definitely get behind that. Shopping secondhand definitely does do a small part in keeping clothes out of landfills and in homes that can appreciate them, but the work of shifting attitudes around secondhand shopping grows that impact. ThredUp, in my opinion, makes secondhand shopping a lot more approachable. Sifting through racks of old clothes in a thrift store for hours is my jam, sure, but I completely understand how it's not everyone's cup of tea. And if it's not yours, I think think ThredUp is one option for a secondhand shopping experience that's a little easier, probably cleaner, and a lot closer to buying from a regular retail store. I tried it out myself and am sharing my experience here, so you can decide for yourself if it's something you want to try.
I only got two things, because I decided to use ThredUp to buy the things I've been wanting but not finding while thrifting. The first was a pair of striped culottes, and the second was a plain black jumpsuit. Both pieces were exactly what I expected when they arrived, fit great, and they were $11.99 each!
The site itself:
The site describes the wear and tear on each item, and sorts results based on sizes you input when you create your account. The feel of the website reminds me a lot of fast fashion sites (Like F21 or H&M) with a ton (and I mean a TON) of inventory, but streamlined, organized and filtered easily. For me, someone who's not a fan of online shopping, knowing exactly what I was looking for was key for narrowing down my search. Otherwise, I could have scrolled for hours. That said, I'm confident that whatever I might be looking for, they'll have pages worth of inventory to scroll through that fits my needs.
Shipping/Customer Service:
Shipping was $5.99. During checkout I found out my two items would be shipping from two separate facilities in different states, so I'd be getting two separate packages. The first arrived right on time and within a week, but the second came a while later. I got an email after receiving the first package that the second had been sent back to their facility for an unknown reason. The person emailing (and it was a real person!) asked if I still wanted the piece, or if I wanted credit back. I definitely still wanted the jumpsuit, so I sent them my shipping address one more time as requested, and was given a tracking number for the package this time. So while it definitely arrived a lot later than originally expected, I always knew where the item was, and appreciated the communication.
Pricing:
Usually for outfit posts I do a cost breakdown, but here I'll just show you my receipt! They offer a discount for first time-buyers, so all in all I paid $23.85 for shipping, tax, and my two pieces.
I am very happy with my purchases, and I'm definitely a fan of ThredUp as a concept. I still prefer a hands on thrift trip, but I trust that should I be dying to have a specific item (like vertically striped culottes lol), I don't have to break the bank to find it, and I can avoid buying new. Mostly I think I like ThredUp for how approachable they make secondhand shopping and consignment. It's thrifting made for the masses, and I think that's good for all of our closets, wallets and planet. ThredUp has a few other services including a subscription box, their own clothing line, and of course the consignment portion of the site which allows you to sell your clothing to ThredUp to be resold. I may try them out in the future, but for now, as a shopper, ThredUp gets a ThumbsUp.
