guide/info what’s avaiable, how to actually source will be the paid version
Breif info on Thred Up? (different headlines, like appealing)
In the reselling world most know Thred Up as a place where you can send your stuff for them to resell it for you. Also a chance to buy inventory in bulk like their curated mystery rescue boxes & the famous 50/100 pound mixed clothing boxes that you see all over social media showing what they got.
When I mean sourcing on Thred Up I don’t mean those boxes but instead sourcing their individual pieces they have listed. I get the hype surrounding mystery boxes and understand that if you don’t have time to source your inventory you would think this would be ideal. But you’re just getting a large quantity of clothing with almost always filled with more not so great brands(to resell) an outcome of only a handful of items worth reselling. Leaving you with a pile of “meh” items that just take up space.
Think about it this way would you have even picked up those pieces indiviually at the thrift store? Sure, it saves you time, but it’s items. Let’s steer away from that and focus on higher profit sales with less labor work to do. The way to do this is selecting brands that others overlook.
If you’ve never sourced this way on Thred Up before and are interested but feeling unsure where to start. Check out these tips on what you need to know about before sourcing on Thred Up.
Shipping on thred up
Finding brands worth reselling
Lowering your cog
Quick storytime on how I started sourcing Thred Up
Before sourcing on Thred Up I had already done online sourcing from other platforms. Seeing other resellers talk about flipping items from Thred Up it convinced me to try it out too. Time to time I’d send old inventory to thred Up. Scanning through the website I found and flipped brands I’ve never even heard or found in thrift stores. Here’s a list of a few items I’ve sold from sourcing on Thred Up. Again, never heard of these brands before.
- (left)Rockmount Ranchwear found for $13.30 sold on Depop for $40
- Ripskirt($15) sold on Poshmark for $45
- Honest Cotton($17) sold on Poshmark for $89
- Bahhgoose($11.58)sold on Poshmark for $85(right)
Here’s a mini check list of questions to ask yourself to figure out if it’s worth paying up for an item
- After cost of goods, how much will profit be?
- Are there recent sold comps similar to the item I’m going to buy?
- Is the item in good condition? Thred up will say what condition it is down below the price (maybe show the different condition pictures, like flaw gem, excellent, slightly good NEEDS MORE WORK AND DETAIL TOO BROAD
- What exact profit are you ok with? Say you found an item for $15 and it seems you can only flip it for around $30-$40 leaving you with a profit close to $20.
Lowering your cost of goods on Thred Up
Sourcing on Thred Up can be quite high for your cost of goods, but here’s a few ways you can try to reduce it before you reach your inventory budget.
If you’ve never shopped on Thred Up, You get a discount For first timers buying off Thred Up you can use a discount code that includes 50% off your first order and free shipping. (make another account and check if it works from there)
Sourcing their discounted markdowns/sales Everyday they have a discount code you can use. Thred up is always discounting and having sales on a daily basis. If you have found a few potential items but the price is too high to resale, you can mark it as a favorite, save it and check at a later time if the item has been marked down or is on sale. They often do major discounts on holidays like Black Friday and memorial day.
Save Search keep looking
Subscribing to their newsletter Signing to their newsletter Thred up will email on new markdowns or flash sales. Including new items. You get a heads up first on new inventory that just dropped!
Sending items to Thred Up for credit The prices on Thred Up can be high (including the shipping) and can spike your inventory budget fast. Time to time I like sending my stale items from my own resell shop. As also going to the goodwill bins to source for items I can send to Thred Up exchanging for credit they give. If you’re interested in this, I do have another post where I go more in detail about sending stuff to Thred Up. (link post here)
Saving on Shipping(keep)
Thred up has this great deal that if you buy items on separate days but within the same week, it combines the shipping cost so you only pay once for shipping. So you can source on different days just within the timeframe of the same week. Regular shipping is $8.99 with this method they do ship your items a bit later. To overall avoid the shipping cost, spending over $89 gives you free shipping if you have the regular membership, other word
The 3 different types of Thred up’s memberships(all free)
Thred up insider is
Found a potential item to resell? Great, do this Idmetilly.
When you have found your potential item worth reselling, press the “add to cart” right away. Don’t wait after checking comps while the item isn’t secured. It’s possible that in the meantime you’re researching the item someone has swooped in and bought it. A sad lesson learned that day for me. (Sad gif) Even if you’re not sure of the brand, it’s still important to add it to your cart and take your time to look it up. Hold time is about 3 hours so if it doesn’t fall with the profit you’re looking for make sure to remove it from your cart in case someone else wants it.
Make sure to see the condition it’s in based on the photos and description
What if my items I sourced on Thred Up arrive flawed?
Thred Up offers a partial refund for store credit. No hassle to prove your item came flawed. No explanation or proof of picture required. Right away they give you a partial refund to convince you to keep your items. The refund tends to be close to what you paid for.
They do give you other option if you want a full return and get your original payment your item but you’ll have to pay for the shipping cost and you might get hit with a restock fee.
Sourcing on Thred Up exposes you to new brands
Sourcing on Thred Up can feel time consuming as you scroll through the sea of items and when you do find something the price tends to be too high to resell and so you just keep on scrolling. Don’t think of this as wasting time or “failing”. Looking up the brands & styles is good practice. It’s good exposure to learning new brands or styles you’ve never came across in your local thrift stores.
Constantly looking up brands, researching if they’re worth reselling. Even when the items you come across are too high to resell, these brand labels have sticked behind the back of your head. Recognizing these brands when you’re out thrifting.
Thred up has this deal that if you buy items on separate days but within the same week, it combines the shipping cost so you only pay once for shipping. So you can source on different days just within the timeframe of the same week. Regular shipping is $8.99 with this method they do ship your items a bit later. To overall avoid the shipping cost, spending over $89 gives you free shipping.
If you’re still hesitant sourcing on Thred up, you can look at my recent content on my recent flips from Thred Up. I get it’s new, unfamiliar but in the season when your thrift stores aren’t reliable as much this is when it’s a good time to pivot and branch out.
Take the leap and see how it turns out. Are you ready to source from the comfort of your home? Start here. (this is where the Thred up link will be)