Susan G.

I love the wonderful world of online thrifting, so I gave Restitch a try. This site sells women's clothing that has been donated to Goodwill. This site launched in 2017 and is an offshoot of Shopgoodwill.com.

The site has a very broad selection of women's clothing brands and sizes. If you search hard enough (and have the patience with the website) you can find some great bargains. The prices are reasonable for some items, but, in my opinion too high on others -- particularly dresses and jackets. The purchase hurdle to get free shipping is low -- under $30. I would give the exact amount in this review, but their web site is down right now.

I've made two purchases so far for a total of five items. Three of the items were new with tags, and I was very pleased with them. One of the items was described as like-new condition, but, in my opinion, it had been worn more than a few times. I still liked it (and the price tag was only 10 bucks), so I kept it. One of the items was way too large, so I returned it. The return process was easy, but the refund process is taking longer than expected (more on that later). You have the option to mail the return item at your own cost, or have Restitch send you a prepaid mailing label. If you choose this option Restitch deducts the $6.99 postage fee from your refund amount. I chose the prepaid mailing label option. Restitch received the return and issued the Paypal refund eight days ago. As of today I am still waiting for this refund to hit my Paypal account. I contacted customer service about this yesterday via email. They responded quickly (within an hour) and told me it will take 5 to 7 days for the refund to post to my PayPal account. I presume this means business days, so I am giving it a bit more time before I contact customer service again.

As far as their web site, I sum up my experience in one word... UGH! Here's why:

1. The search interface is frustrating to use. Rather than letting you select multiple search criteria and then executing a single search, it executes a separate search each time you select a search criteria. As a result, it takes a long time to search this site if your search criteria consists of multiple sizes and brands.

2. The site does not offer you the option to save "favorite" items as you shop. I am a big fan of "favorites" because I can flag what I like and then review the list when I'm ready to make my final purchase decision. I also like to use the favorite feature if I want to flag something for purchase later. With Restitch, the only option you have If you see something you like is to put it in your shopping cart, then remove unwanted items before you check out. If you want to save those unwanted items for later purchase consideration, you have to search for that item again and put them back in a new shopping cart. This process is tedious and takes a lot of time.

3. The site goes down... a lot. Earlier this week I received an email from Restitch notifying me of an upcoming 40% off event. I had some items saved in my shopping cart awaiting the right discount offering. When this one came I decided to pull the trigger. What a disappointment. I waited until the sale launched, went to my shopping cart, and tried to check out. The site was sluggish and kept kicking me out. Ultimately the site kicked me out and canceled my order. At this point I was so frustrated I just gave up. The next day Restitch sent an apologetic email with a notification the sale would be extended to 5 pm. As I write this review the site appears to be down yet again.

4. There is no mobile app, so shopping this site from your phone is extra frustrating.

In summary, you can score some great finds from this site... if you have the patience to navigate their cumbersome web site. I give this site two stars due to my frustration with using their web site. After my purchase the company did send me a request for feedback, so I told them my opinion of their web site. This is still a new site, so hopefully they will improve the user experience. If they do, I will consider giving it a second chance.

ThredUP is my new addiction. I made three large purchases so far, and have scored some amazing buys on my favorite department store brands. Everything was either new with tags or in like-new condition.

I've read through the negative reviews about selling to thredUP, and feel they're somewhat unfair. If you read through the information under their Clean Out link, the company is very clear about what they accept, what happens to unaccepted items, and how you can optionally have these items returned to you. They also provide a Payout Estimator so you can get an idea of what you will be paid for your items. If you take the time to review this information before you send them your clothing, you'll know what to expect. That said, the number of reviews reporting negative selling experiences indicate there's a disconnect between what sellers expect and what thredUp pays out. ThredUP could probably use some PR help to bridge that gap.

I do plan to sell to thredUP, even though I realize I will recoup only a fraction of what I originally paid for my items. My reasons? 1) It's easy. I just send my items in the postage paid bag. I clean out my closet two to three times a year and I don't have time to sell on eBay or haul my stuff to a consignment shop. 2) Like most women, I have many "mistakes" taking up space in my closet -- impulse buys, sale items, shoes that pinch, those "what was I thinking" purchases, etc. Why not pass these items along to someone else who will be thrilled to find them on thredUP?
3) Recent changes in the tax law eliminated my need to itemize deductions on Federal taxes. That means I can no longer claim a tax deduction for donations to Goodwill. 4) For the items sold to thredUP I can select my payout as a credit against future purchases. What is not accepted will be sold to third party sellers or passed along to recycling partners and upcycled.

I do plan to send some items to thredUP and have ordered my cleanup kit. Once the process is complete I will update this review with my selling experience

ThredUP sells great quality clothing at really good prices. From the $$ they receive for sales they also need to pay expenses to keep the operation going. That includes buying their inventory at low prices and paying their employees to inspect incoming items to ensure quality control.

I like to think of thredUP as Good Karma -- I exchange my unused items for great clothing finds, priced way below retail, that I can wear immediately. So keep an open mind and give thredUP a try.