My ThredUp Experience

I’ve talked about my love of online consignment stores before and was a huge fan of Twice for years. However, Twice recently closed their doors… leaving an opening in my heart for a new online consignment love.

So, I decided to try out ThredUp to see if it would make the cut. Since I haven’t done my end-of-season clean out, I haven’t tried selling items to ThredUp yet. Instead, I browsed their stock of like-new clothing and ordered a couple items.

Tip #1: Browsing a ton of items can be pretty overwhelming, so I streamlined the process by creating my own “personal shop.”
I’ve learned over the years that I am super picky about my consignment purchases, so I typically only order brands that I KNOW fit me well. For my personal shop, I included J.Crew, Anthropologie and Lucky Brand in sizes 12 and Large. This way, all I had to do was press that button and everything that shows up is stuff I know will fit me right.

Tip #2: KNOW your Stuff.
I love J.Crew cardigan sweaters because they really do wear better than their cheaper counterparts. I’ve been wearing the crap out of my green version, so when I saw a similar blue cardigan pop up I grabbed it. It was just called “J.Crew Cardigan” but I knew that based on the 100% cotton material of the sweater that it was probably either the Jackie sweater (the J.Crew store version) or the Clare sweater (the J. Crew Factory version).

Here’s where it’s a good idea to know what you’re looking for… the Jackie cardigan typically sells for $65 full price and the Clare cardigan goes for $54.50 before sales. Much lower than the $110 retail price showing up on the ThredUp website. If you keep an eye on the sales, it is possible that you could get either of these sweaters for $30 – 40. The ThredUp sweater, which ended up being the Clare version, was marked at $29.49. I was able to use a new customer promo code for an additional percentage off my order… so the sweater came to just $17.70. By being an informed shopper, I was able to know that I was getting a pretty great deal.

Tip #3: Take a Chance.
I’d been looking for a simple, yet supportive, bikini top to add to my collection. When I saw that this orange version – also from J.Crew – was only $12.49 for an underwire style with halter straps, I took a chance on it and pressed “buy.”

With my additional promo code, the swimsuit top came to just $7.49… which is even cheaper than one from Target (for a much better quality). At that price, I figured that if it didn’t fit I wasn’t losing much. However, ThredUp offers free returns. So, it really was worth a try.

When the swimsuit top came in the mail I was shocked that it not only had the halter straps, but also came with a baggie containing the bra-type straps with their original tag still attached. WHAT A DEAL! You know what was an even better deal? The fact that the bikini top fits like it was made for me. I can’t wait to wear it on our last trip to the ocean in a couple weeks!

Both items I ordered had notes that there were “tiny flaws” on them… however after searching over them each closely, I can’t find a single thing wrong with them. I even wore my new blue sweater to work last week:

A little different silhouette then I’ve been wearing lately, but still on the black and white train this week. Super old wrap dress from #loft and new-to-me #jcrew sweater by way of ThredUp! #loftstyle #thredup #styleblogger #ootd #wiw @thredup

A photo posted by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Aug 6, 2015 at 4:51am PDT

I have to say that for my first order with ThredUp, I was really quite satisfied. For a total of $31.18 I was able to purchase a classic cardigan sweater and a really well-made swimsuit top. There are certainly items on ThredUp that I find a bit too highly priced for a consignment item, but if you are an informed shopper you can certainly score some really great items for fantastic prices!

Would you like $20 to spend at ThredUp? I have a special referral promo code that will give you $20 towards your order.

Have you shopped online at ThredUp before? Is there a particular brand/item you always search for, like my addiction to J.Crew cardigans?

Disclosure: ThredUp provided me with a credit to try out their company and post about my experiences. All thoughts and opinions are my own. If you choose to use my referral link, you will receive $20 towards your ThredUp purchase and I will receive a referral benefit as well. Thank you to anyone who chooses to click through and support my shopping addiction!