How to Make Money Selling Used Clothes on ThredUp

ThredUp might be the easiest way to sell used clothing. You just send in your clothes, and ThredUp sells them. “We do all that heavy lifting for you — photographing, listing, pricing, shipping, customer support – all of which can take a lot of time,” said Danielle Vermeer, ThredUp’s Head of Social Commerce. In exchange, ThredUp takes a cut of your earnings. But what you lose in cash, you could gain in convenience. But what if you want a little more cash? If you’ve been thinking about selling with ThredUp, we asked Vermeer how to make the most of — and from — your ThredUp Clean Out Kit. 

Make Money Selling with ThredUp

Let’s back up. What is ThredUp? According to Vermeer, it’s “one of the world’s largest online thrift and consignment stores.” According to us, it’s one of the best places to buy used clothing online, as well as sell it. Because selling with Thredup can come with some hefty fees, follow these steps to maximize your earnings. 

1. Select your clothing

Would you spend big bucks on a dirty, ripped Old Navy hoodie? Neither would most people. Don’t send ThredUp your rags. Send in items people want to buy. 

“Everything should be in a condition that you yourself would feel comfortable wearing, ideally freshly laundered,” Vermeer said. Bonus points for in-season, in-demand items. This might be a Reformation sundress in summer or a Canada Goose coat in winter. 

Thinking of saving the best for Depop? Think again. The better the item, the bigger the payout. Vermeer has first-hand experience with selling a pricey dress. “I sent it in through ThredUp with a Premium Kit and it sold for over $80. So, I got back pretty much what I paid for it,” she said. “The payout for that item was about eight times higher than what I would have got on another luxury consignment site.” 

Pro Tip: Get a preview of your payout before you throw it in the bag with ThredUp’s earnings estimator. A pair of Madewell jeans could net about $9, while a Lululemon track jacket could reach close to $20. 

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2. Order your Clean Out Kit

The next step to selling with ThredUp is ordering a Clean Out Kit. You don’t have to pay for your kit up front – but that doesn’t mean it’s free. The fees are taken out of your final earnings. 

How much are we talking? A Standard Clean Out Kit costs $14.99. A Premium Clean Out Kit – an extra special option for high-end brands – costs $34.99. Each bag costs $2.99. All those fees can add up. 

So, the key to minimizing fees and maximizing earnings? It’s in the bag. Here are some tips to keep in mind before you order yours. 

• Get a Code: You might wait for a piece of clothing to go on sale before buying it, right? Well, you can do the same thing with Clean Out Kits. A recent Earth Month promotion allowed sellers to order them for half off – so, $7.49 in fees instead of the usual $14.99. 
• Be Decisive: Requesting an item’s return costs $5.99. Per item. There’s an easy way to avoid this one: Don’t send any items you aren’t ready to part with. (Unless, that is, you go premium. Premium kits include return shipping.) 
• BYOB: Good news! You don’t have to pay the $2.99 bag fee. Use your own box and slap on the ThredUp shipping label. 
• Fill ‘Er Up: You didn’t pay all those fees just to fill the bag up halfway. The shipping label covers 30 pounds: use ‘em! 

FYI: Want to declutter for a good cause? Opt for the charity label. ThredUp will donate a flat $5 to charity for each box of clothing you send in. 

3. Hit the edit button

Once you send in your items, you could simply forget about them and let ThredUp take care of the rest. But if you’re willing to get a little more hands-on, you could make more money — or get paid faster.

Normally, ThredUp writes your item description for you — it just might lack detail. According to Vermeer, sellers can, “add in some different attributes that weren’t included in the [Quality Assurance] process for whatever reason – maybe it’s the rise of the jeans or whether there’s embellishments like sequins versus ruffles.” Then, when a customer searches for jeans with a 13” rise or a sequined skirt, they’re more likely to find your item – and add it to their shopping cart. 

You can also adjust the price. “Maybe you want to try to get a higher price and payout on certain items. You can definitely do that,” Vermeer said. So, no, you don’t have to let your Chanel bag go for 50% off. 

But what about that old pair of leggings that just won’t sell? “If something has been up from my kit for a while, I can go in and drop that price and someone can get an amazing deal,” Vermeer said.  

Can you list clothing directly on ThredUp in exchange for a higher payout? Maybe. The company is accepting beta testers on a waitlist to try out a new Direct Listing option. 

4. Cash out

So, your clothes have sold and it’s time to cash out. How do you make the most of it?

You don’t have to cash out in cash. If you’re about to spend cash on clothes anyway, consider converting your earnings to credit. You can get 10 to 15% more for your money if you spend it on brands like J.Crew and Athleta. 

If you’re after good old fashioned cash, you’ll have to pay a fee. Direct deposit into your bank account via Stripe costs $.25 plus 1.5% of the total. If you opt for PayPal, you pay a quarter.

Can You Really Make Money Selling with ThredUp? 

Curious about how much money you can make selling with ThredUp? It depends on the brand, condition and seasonality of your items. We sent in several Standard Clean Out Kits, with mixed results. An Abercrombie & Fitch cocktail dress we sent in sold for $43.22, earning us $16. An American Eagle top from the same bag sold for $11.82, earning us just $1.40. One bag earned over $30 after fees, while another earned only $12.92. So, you’re not likely to make a boatload. However, it’s more than you would have made by giving it away or letting it sit in your closet. Bottom line — there’s a chance you could make more money on Depop or Poshmark, but the convenience is a big draw for a lot of people. 

Contributor Ciara McLaren is a freelance writer with work in Huffpost, Insider and elsewhere.