ThredUp is a great default. It’s not always the right default. These are the five sites I rotate to when my ThredUp saved search is dry.
I’ve been ordering secondhand online since 2019 and I’ve tried every major platform in the US market. ThredUp gets a lot of runtime in my rotation because the consignment model is consistent, but there are entire categories of shopping where sites like ThredUp perform better — sometimes meaningfully better. Here’s the five-platform rotation I actually use, which problem each one solves, and what I’ve bought from each over the past year. For the full hub view on resale platforms, see Brand Guides. For the anchor breakdown on ThredUp specifically, start with Thredup Review.
Poshmark: when you want to haggle
Poshmark is the most direct competitor to ThredUp for mainstream brand resale, and it’s peer-to-peer instead of consignment. Sellers list their own items, photograph them however they like, set their own prices, and accept offers.
What it does better than ThredUp: negotiation. I regularly offer 30% under listing and get accepted. ThredUp is take-it-or-leave-it on price (outside of sitewide sales). Poshmark also has bundling — buy two items from the same closet and shipping stays the same, which adds up fast.
What it does worse: consistency. Every closet is a different experience. Some sellers photograph on dress forms with measurements; others snap an iPhone shot on a bed. I’ve had packages arrive in two days and others take ten.
Read the full Poshmark breakdown at Apps Like Poshmark.
Vinted: when you want low prices and free listing
Vinted is European-born (it’s huge in France and Lithuania) and it’s been pushing hard in the US market over the last two years. The business model is different: sellers list for free, buyers pay a buyer protection fee. No commission hit on the seller means prices are frequently lower than Poshmark or ThredUp for similar items.
I bought a Sezane blouse on Vinted for $28 last fall. The same blouse on ThredUp and Poshmark was showing $45–60. The tradeoff is Vinted’s US seller base is still growing, so selection on American contemporary brands is thinner than European brands. If you love French labels, Vinted is a gold mine. If you want Madewell and J.Crew volume, ThredUp still wins.
More on this in Vinted Review.
Depop: when you want weird and young
Depop skews younger, more trend-driven, and more Y2K/vintage-leaning than ThredUp. The feed is algorithmic and Instagram-flavored. Great for finding cropped band tees, vintage Gap, early-2000s designer, and reworked one-offs. Terrible for finding your size in a Banana Republic pant.
Prices vary wildly because sellers price based on trend, not brand value. A vintage Harley tee can be $8 or $120 on the same day. I’ve done well buying under-the-radar categories (European deadstock, vintage athletic wear) and badly when trying to buy trending items.
Mercari: when you want fast and cross-category
Mercari is the closest thing to Japanese-style flea market listing in the US. It’s not fashion-first — I’ve bought a camera lens, a coffee grinder, and a pair of boots on Mercari — but the clothing section is genuinely good for basics and outerwear.
What wins: speed of listing-to-shipped, shipping options (prepaid labels from the platform), and cross-category shopping when you want a sweater and a thermos in the same order. What loses: the brand filtering isn’t as granular as ThredUp, and condition descriptions skew optimistic.
eBay: when you want depth and auction pricing
eBay is still the deepest catalog in American resale, and the auction format is underrated for finding deals. I bought a barely-worn Patagonia puffer for $45 on an auction that ended Sunday night at 10:47 PM when nobody else was bidding. ThredUp would have listed the same coat at $75–90 minimum.
The upside of eBay is the sheer volume — if you want men’s sizes above 17 (see Does Thredup Have Men’s Clothes for why ThredUp struggles here), vintage Japanese denim, or niche designer, eBay has it and ThredUp doesn’t. The downside is that the interface is dated and the search is riddled with irrelevant listings. You have to work harder to find the good stuff.
Goodwill’s ShopGoodwill: when you want a bargain and patience
ShopGoodwill.com is the online auction arm of Goodwill’s regional chapters. Prices can be absurdly low — I watched a Marni dress close at $22 — but the photography is bad, the condition grading is minimal, and shipping is slow. It’s the closest online experience to actually thrifting in person, which means high reward and high risk.
Use this when you have time to wait, aren’t picky about minor condition issues, and love the hunt.
How I decide which site to check first
My actual rotation, in order of frequency:
- ThredUp first for specific brand/size combinations in contemporary women’s
- Poshmark second if ThredUp is dry, because negotiation
- Vinted third for European brands and lower prices on the same American brands
- eBay or Depop fourth depending on whether I want vintage or niche
- ShopGoodwill occasionally when I have time to hunt and lose
Mercari I treat as a bonus round — I don’t start there, but I check it when something specific isn’t turning up elsewhere.
For the lateral view on how these differ from peer-to-peer apps in general, Clothing Resale App covers the mechanics.
The verdict
Nothing is a one-to-one ThredUp replacement. Poshmark gets closest on brand mix and inventory size, Vinted wins on price, Depop wins on trend and vintage, Mercari wins on speed, eBay wins on depth, and ShopGoodwill wins on dirt-cheap auction finds. Treating any of them as an either-or versus ThredUp misses the point. The real skill is knowing which of the six to check for the thing you actually want. For the full cross-platform comparison, Thrift and Resale Fashion is the piece I’d hand a new secondhand shopper first. A collapsible Mesh Laundry Bag on Amazon“>mesh laundry bag and a good steamer are the only two non-software tools you actually need to run a multi-platform secondhand wardrobe.
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FAQ
Is Poshmark cheaper than ThredUp?
It can be, especially after negotiating. List prices on Poshmark are often higher than ThredUp for the same brand/condition, but because Poshmark allows offers, the final purchase price is frequently 20–40% below listing. ThredUp prices are fixed until a sitewide sale hits.
What site is most similar to ThredUp in the consignment model?
In the true “send us your clothes and we’ll handle everything” model, ThredUp is nearly the only major player left at scale. The RealReal runs consignment for luxury, but contemporary consignment at ThredUp’s volume has no direct peer.
Which alternative to ThredUp has the best men’s selection?
Grailed for menswear enthusiasts, eBay for sheer depth, and Depop for young/vintage. Online Thrift Store for Men covers this in detail.
Is there a site like ThredUp for luxury brands?
The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective are the luxury-specific versions. Both authenticate and photograph in-house; prices are higher but the authentication trust factor is the tradeoff.
