If you’ve been bitten by the thrifting bug, but don’t actually want to leave your couch to go shopping, then checking out some online thrift stores may be just what you need! ThredUP and Poshmark are two of the most popular of these sites. Having shopped and sold a little too much on each of these, we will be comparing ThredUp vs. Poshmark in-depth!
ThredUp vs. Poshmark: Overview
| ThredUp | Poshmark |
|---|---|
| People send in their clothes and ThredUp lists them on the site | Individual sellers list items on the website themselves |
| Features frequent discounts, especially for first-time buyers | Discounts only available if a seller decides to mark down or if you haggle |
| $10 off first purchase | $10 off first purchase |
| $5.95 shipping (or free on $79+ orders) | $7.45 shipping for each seller |
| Very in-depth filters for searching and finding specific items | Sellers set their own descriptions, so filters often get left out |
| Sellers get very poor commissions, even for nice brands and clothes in excellent condition | Sellers set their own prices and Poshmark only takes 20% commission, so they make much more |
| Photos are always on a mannequin, so you can’t see how it looks on a real person | Sellers often feature photos of themselves wearing clothes and other quality images |
What Is ThredUp and Poshmark?
First off, what are these two platforms?
ThredUp is more of an online consignment store rather than a thrift store. It’s very brand focused, and *usually* more expensive than purchasing from a regular run-of-the-mill thrift store. That said, you can definitely find good deals (plus they often offer discounts on your first order, like $10 off).
ThredUp clothes come from various sources, one of which is people sending in their clothes to their warehouses to be sorted through, photographed, and put on the site.
When you visit the website, you will see that you can search for what you want, and refine your search based on brand, size, color, price, etc. You can like items, browse different categories, add anything to your cart, and pretty much peruse the site the same way you would a traditional retail site.
Poshmark is more independent. Individual sellers have “closets” with the items you can choose to buy. The sellers take pictures, write descriptions, and set prices for their items all on their own.
You can search the whole site for what you want and refine your search (just like any other retail site), but there’s no cart. When it comes time to actually purchase, you buy from each seller separately. You can’t combine discounts or shipping between sellers.
Essentially, both sites sell secondhand clothes. ThredUp consolidates the process, whereas Poshmark cuts out the middlemen, letting individuals purchase directly from sellers (although Poshmark accepts some responsibility for the guarantee that you will receive exactly what you paid for).
Prices + Shipping
While your best bet in finding a deal is invariably to check both sites, Poshmark is, on average, cheaper than ThredUp. However, you can find great deals on ThredUp as well, especially as a first-time shopper since they offer discounts and markdowns on certain products.
Some sellers on Poshmark underprice their items because they are just trying to get rid of stuff, so you can get some great deals that way! You can also haggle quite a bit on Poshmark – all you do is submit an offer and the seller will get back to you, either declining, accepting, or counteroffering. Aside from this, you can also get $10 off your first Poshmark order.
If you’re looking to buy a bunch of stuff, then ThredUp may work better for you because you only pay $5.99 for shipping, and once you’re buying over $79 worth, then you get free shipping.
On Poshmark, each order from a seller costs $7.45 in shipping. That can add up quite quickly if you’re looking to buy items from multiple sellers.
If I’m looking for bigger ticket items, usually Poshmark is where I go because at that point, $7.45 for shipping isn’t a big deal, and I know I can haggle down the price of the item. If I’m looking for cheaper items, or a bunch of different things, then I aim for the free shipping from ThredUp.
Deals
ThredUp is the place to go for deals! They have sales all the time where you can get 20% – 50% off select items (as well as $10 off your first order). You gain points when you spend money on their site, and those points can be redeemed for $10 off an item or other exclusive discounts.
The one annoying bit about ThredUp’s sales is that they never discount everything. It’s just select items. So, you have to see if the things you want are eligible, rather than just getting a certain percentage off of your entire purchase.
Luckily, you can bundle discounts! ThredUp has a bundle feature where any purchases you make within 7 days can ship together, so if you spend $79 within those 7 days you can get free shipping, even if it was with 8 separate orders. Therefore, you can use sale codes to buy items that are on sale, and use other codes (like the $10 off code) for other items, and still get free shipping!
Poshmark doesn’t really do sales or discounts. Upon occasion, there are Price Drops where a recently discounted item will also get discounted shipping, but only for 6 hours.
There are also Closet Clear-Outs with shipping discounts on qualifying items. However, compared to ThredUP, the deals are few and far between.
The main way to get a deal on Poshmark is through haggling. Sometimes the seller will even take the first step and send you an offer below their original asking price!
Brands
Honestly, both ThredUp and Poshmark have good brands. If you’re looking for designer or trendy brands, you can find them on both sites. If you’re looking for more unique stuff, or odd stuff that you might find in an in-person thrift store, then you’ll want to head over to Poshmark.
Some Poshmark sellers specialize in unique clothing, and there are tons of sellers that are just trying to get rid of whatever’s in their closets. Others just go to thrift stores, pick the best pieces, and resell them.
Regardless, there’s a huge variety of styles and aesthetics on Poshmark. ThredUP, however, is very brand focused, so if it’s not a popular brand, it likely won’t be on the site (or it may be listed as unbranded).
Searching for Products
If you’re looking for an item that you know a bunch of specifics about (such as the brand, color, size, etc.) then ThredUp makes the search easy. You can check a bunch of boxes specifying exactly what you’re looking for, and everything else will be filtered out.
If you have some design details in mind, but don’t have a specific brand or similar qualification, then Poshmark is the way to go. If you want a dress with a high neckline and an A-line skirt, you can just type that into the search bar, and all the dresses with those keywords in their descriptions will show up.
You can also refine your search based on color, size, brand, etc. but that is less of an exact science as compared to ThredUP.
ThredUP does have a search bar and some design detail checkboxes (like type of neckline or fit of jean), but in my experience that hasn’t worked as well as Poshmark. A lot of items fitting the description get left out, which is no fun! On Poshmark though, so many sellers put in a great deal of effort to write comprehensive descriptions, which makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.
Returns + Descriptions
ThredUp offers returns, although you have to pay a $1.99 restocking fee for each item (unless you get the Goody box).
Poshmark does not offer returns unless there is something wrong with the item you received (as in it’s damaged, not the size you bought doesn’t fit you).
Before you buy from Poshmark, you can ask the seller all kinds of questions. Items usually have multiple pictures to show you what they look like, and if you have remaining questions, the sellers are usually more than happy to answer any queries. Additionally, sellers write about how the item fits, what condition it’s in, even the material!
Before you buy from ThredUp, the descriptions have recently been upgraded quite a bit, so you know more about what you’re going to get which is nice. However, each item usually only has two pictures (front & back of the item on a mannequin), and sometimes that’s just not enough to know what you’re going to be getting. And, there’s no helpful seller sitting behind a computer screen waiting to answer your questions!
So, buying from ThredUp is more of a guessing game, but it’s a lot easier to return something if you don’t like it. Buying from Poshmark is more of a sure thing (although it may require a bit of a time investment), especially since returns are such a hassle.
ThredUp vs. Poshmark: Selling
If you’re looking to compare the two platforms as a seller, it’s a lot more straightforward. In our experience, you should not even bother trying to sell your clothes on ThredUp if you want to make decent money.
As shared in our ThredUp review, their system is terrible. Although it will take a bit more time to sell on Poshmark because you need to take your own photos and create your own descriptions, it’s worth it.
Poshmark only takes 20% commission (or a $2.95 fee if the sale is under $15). Your clothes may sell quicker on ThredUp and you can get them out of the way immediately, but it’s definitely not worth it if you’re looking to make a good amount of money.
For reference, check out the payout estimator on ThredUp’s website. For example, if your item costs less than $20, you’ll get a maximum of 15% of the sale price. Plus, you only get paid if your item sells within a certain number of days.
Final Thoughts
If you’re shopping, it’s hard to say which site is better when comparing ThredUp vs. Poshmark. They both have ups and downs, and serve slightly different purposes. I suppose that’s why both services still exist – I certainly use both!
So, if you first clicked on this article to decide which one to try out, my best advice is: try them both! I’m sure you’ll find some great stuff on each site.
That said, if you’re looking to sell your clothes and make a decent commission, avoid ThredUp at all costs. Their payouts are terrible, it’s worth the extra time to spend posting on Poshmark or a similar platform.
Great comparison. I’m learning where to sell a ton of clothes. What about Ebay?
Thank you for your comprehensive comparison of sites from both buyer and seller standpoint. Your review has helped me understand the pro’s and con’s of each site! Thanks again!
Thredup is a scam. They steal clothes with resale value out from under people. If you send a high value flawless item they’ll claim to not have received it or be vague about it not meeting their high standards. I’m a 5 star reseller on many platforms and know how to evaluate items. I’ve never had an issue with poshmark. Thredup are liars and thieves.