Poshmark vs thredUP – Which Is Better For Buying & Selling?

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If you’re just getting into buying or selling online you’re probably a bit overwhelmed by the number of platforms available.

Should you use eBay? Poshmark? thredUP? Mercari?

Or maybe all of them? (don’t do that…)

It’s my opinion that you should choose one (or two) platforms and get really good there before branching out. So which ones?

We’ve already done several of these comparisons but we keep getting requests for Poshmark vs thredUP so that’s the matchup we’ll be looking at today!

Introducing The Contenders: Poshmark & thredUP

Poshmark

Poshmark is an online marketplace where one can buy and sell various items. Most sellers on Poshmark specialize in the resale of used clothing items but do offer new items as well.

While Poshmark has become well known for being a place where one can buy and sell used clothing, some of its notoriety comes from its ability to allow a user to find discounted designer items.

Now, Poshmark isn’t eBay. The items that you can buy and sell on Poshmark are limited in comparison to the online auction giant. You can sell clothing, HomeGoods, and pet items.

–> Get A Free $10 Coupon By Signing Up For Poshmark Here

How Does Poshmark Work?

Poshmark is unique because of the social aspect that is built into the platform. You have a “closet” rather than a store and you gain followers to whom you can share your items.

Some people love it, some people don’t.

Let’s go through the buying and selling flow so you have an idea of what you can expect on Poshmark.

Buying On Poshmark

• Create a Poshmark account
• Fill out your address and payment information
• Make an offer on an item that you like or simply buy it outright
• Seller ships off item to you
• You receive the item and give the seller a rating based on how well the transaction went

Selling On Poshmark

• Use our Poshmark Invite Code to create an account (you only need one for buying and selling)
• Fill out the address and payment info
• List your first items on Poshmark
• Buyer purchases an item from you
• Print out a pre-paid label from an email that Poshmark sends immediately
• Package the item in a box, attach a label, and take the box to the post office
• Once the buyer’s item is delivered they will have 3 days to accept it
• When the buyer accepts the item (if the buyer forgets to accept the item, Poshmark will release the funds automatically 72 hours after the delivery time of your item), your funds will be released to your Poshmark account
• Fill out direct deposit information in order to have your money sent to a bank account

thredUP

thredUP is very similar to Poshmark in that you can buy and sell used items. A user can buy and sell NWT items, as well. However, the platform is even more limited than Poshmark in terms of its categories.

ThrdeUp does not have a pet or home category as Poshmark does. You are pretty much limited to buying/selling women’s and children’s clothes.

When purchasing thredUP’s rescue boxes (think of them as the clearance section), you can receive men’s items. At this time, you cannot sell men’s items on thredUP.

thredUP is simpler than Poshmark in terms of the selling process; a user can ship items to thredUP and they will take care of the selling portion for you.

How Does thredUP work?

Buying On thredUP

• Create a thredUP account
• Fill out your address and payment info
• Purchase an item
• thredUP ships the item to you
• You will have 14 days to return the item unless it is a final sale item

Selling On thredUP

• Order a clean-out kit or have thredUP email you a pre-paid label and use your own box
• Fill up the clean-out bag or box with your items
• Drop the package off at the post office
• Wait for thredUP to process your items (processing can take weeks or months)
• Wait for the bidding window to pass (After your items are accepted, you’ll have 12 hours where you can change the price of your items. After this time has passed, an additional 12 hours is allotted for bidding. During this time, people can bid on your items and essentially “buy” them by winning the auction. After the bidding window is over, any items that were not bid on will be listed. The prices of any listed items can then be adjusted.
• Wait for your items to sell (After an item sells, and the buyer does not return the item, money will be sent to your thredUP account)
• When money is in your thredUP account, you can then choose to use it to purchase items or have it sent to a bank account

Important Differences between Poshmark and thredUP

	Poshmark	thredUP
Listable Categories	Clothing, Pets, Homegoods	Children (Women’s & Childrens’)
Fees	20%	20-95%
Listing Duration	Until Ended	60-90 Days
Listing	You	Not You
Shipping	You	Not You
Pricing	You	Not You

Listing Flow

The time and effort that it takes to list an item is an important difference between the two platforms.

For Poshmark, you can list an item in a matter of minutes, and it will be live on the website. It all depends on you.

If you choose thredUP, you can send in your items but you’ll have to wait for them to be processed, which may take weeks or months. After your items are processed, you’ll need to wait for the bidding window to be up before they will be listed on thredUP.

Listing Duration

The time that an item can stay on the app is different for the two platforms. If you list an item on Poshmark, you can let it stay listed for as long as you want. I’ve had items on the platform for years. With thredUP, your items may remain listed for 60-90 days, depending on the brand. For Poshmark, it’s very simple to relist your items if that’s what you want. With thredUP, the process would be long and drawn out, and in the end, not worth the time or money.

Inventory

Inventory maintenance is another difference between the two platforms. With Poshmark, you’ll always have control over your own inventory. With thredUP, if an item doesn’t sell, and you want it back, you’ll have to pay a reclaiming fee.

Pricing

Pricing is yet another difference between Poshmark and thredUP. With Poshmark, you get to choose the price for your item, whether it be high or low. With items on thredUP, the platform will choose a price for your item, and you can then adjust that price. However, there are restrictions on how high or low you can adjust those prices.

Fees

Unless you’re getting the clothing that you’re selling super cheap (like buying it by the pound at the Goodwill Outlet) you might want to give thredUP a pass.

They use a sliding fee schedule that results in you getting higher payouts (meaning lower fees) if you sell more expensive items. If you send in $5 items, you’ll pay up to 95% in fees to have them sell it for you. On the other end of the spectrum, you pay 20% if the items are over $200.

Should You Choose Poshmark or Threadup?

If you’re interested in selling on Poshmark, then you should give it a try. The platform is pretty user-friendly once you learn the ins and outs of navigating the site. Also, Poshmark is one of the easiest platforms to sell items on.

One great thing about Poshmark is that you get to be your own boss. No one is going to be breathing down your back to get things done or yelling at you. You can make your own schedule and have the complete freedom to run your business your way. Although Poshmark provides many freedoms to a seller, you still need to abide by their rules and community guidelines, and ship items out within their given timeframe.

In addition, in order to be successful on the app, a seller will need to spend some time sharing their items with followers and Poshmark parties. Letting your items sit on Poshmark is not a good idea, you’ll need to spend some active time-sharing items in order to make sales.

If you would like to make some extra money, then you might want to create a thredUP account. If you’re super busy, and you don’t have time to photograph or ship items, then thredUP might be a good choice for you.

Since thredUP does not usually accept all of the items that you send in, and the payouts for each item tend to be quite low, you’ll have to consider whether it’s the right fit for you. A good strategy is to send in lots of items that are in good condition. To be honest, it would probably be very difficult to make as much money on thredUP as you could on Poshmark.

My advice is to become a member of both Poshmark and thredUP so that you can make money from both platforms. Poshamrk is definitely better suited for the active reseller, while thredUP is for people who are more passive when it comes to reselling. With Poshmark, you’ll have to take photographs, list items, and share your closet often

For thredUP, you’ll only need to ship your items to them, and they will photograph your items and take care of the rest. However, thredUP only accepts about 40% of the items that people send in, which is not that high of a percentage. With Poshmark, you decide what you want to list. Gently used items without flaws are probably the best way to go when it comes to listing, but ultimately, Poshmark allows you to make that decision for yourself. It’s a good idea to take advantage of both sites, to make as much money as possible.

If you want, you can send items to thredUP that don’t sell on Poshmark. This is a strategy that I have used in the past that works pretty well.

Conclusion

Poshmark and thredUP are two very different reselling platforms. If you’re an active reseller, Poshmark may be the better choice. For anyone who is too busy to fit reselling into his or her life, thredUP may be a viable option, but not if you would like to make lots of money. In the end, it may be a good idea to use both platforms in order to take advantage of their different attributes.