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My husband and I have been selling on Poshmark, eBay, Mercari and Kidizen since June 2019. We quickly fell in love with reselling clothing and have built up quite the side gig in very little time. It didn’t take us long to run through unwanted items around our house, however. To continue, we needed to find more inventory.
This wasn’t too much of a problem over the summer. The weather was great. There are flea markets, garage sales, auctions, community sales. Winter in the Midwest, however, can last six months or more. It’s cold out there! There’s not much going on.
We have been hitting a lot of estate sales lately. While we have picked up a lot of great stuff, it’s also been a lot more expensive than what we usually pay through other avenues.
Since we have another two or three months until outdoor adventures pick up around here, we’re trying out other options. Last week, I ordered my first Rescue Boxes from ThredUp.
If you aren’t familiar with Rescue Boxes, these are items that may need a little love or they may not have sold within a specified period of time on ThredUp. They have several boxes you can choose from; mixed clothing, jewelry, handbags, designer handbags, DIY denim and more.
Now, you don’t get to choose the sizes or brands. You don’t get to inspect your items prior to purchase. That makes these boxes a lot more appealing to resellers than a regular customer. Who wants to buy a box of stuff that may not even be your size?
I ordered three boxes last week; men’s, shoes and DIY denim. I wanted to share the results with you today.
ThredUp Men’s Rescue Box
I ordered the 10-pound men’s Rescue Box. I have seen a lot of good reviews of this box. ThredUp doesn’t sell men’s stuff, so a lot of people report receiving items new with tags and good stuff. It was $40 for a 10-pound box plus $5.99 shipping. I had $20 of store credit so I paid $25.99 for my box.
First of all, I have to say I was pretty excited about the box the men’s stuff arrived in. When you are shipping a wide variety of items, you need boxes in a lot of different sizes and shapes. I didn’t have a deep, rectangular box like this one. So, that was a bonus.
When I opened the box, however, my hopes diminished a little. I immediately saw a lot of business apparel. This isn’t a category we buy or sell much in. I don’t know about the brands. And I don’t iron my own clothes, I have no desire to iron stuff to list.
My box had 14 items inside:
- 2 pairs of jeans (Gap/TecGen)
- 1 suit coat (Brooks Brothers)
- 2 ties (Hugo Boss/Merona)
- 2 swim trunks (Abercrombie – damaged/Hurley)
- 1 pajama bottoms
- 1 pair of shoes (Alfani)
- 1 pair of khaki pants (Izod)
- 3 business casual shirts
- 1 casual button-down shirt (Lost Dysfunctional)
During my initial pick, I picked out 5 items for resale. That would have given me an average cost per item of around $5. I could work with that if necessary. I should be able to make my money back with the Brooks Brothers jacket alone. Everything else would be profit.
I decided to take a second look and research the brands I didn’t know or wasn’t sure of the comps. I picked out one more item to list; a silk Hugo Boss tie.
Overall, not a big win. But, not a huge loser either. I should make a good profit on the items I kept.
- Paid: $25.99
- Items Kept: 6
- Avg Price Per Item: $4.33
- Listed For: $205
If I was willing to wash and iron those dress shirts, I could make more money. Instead, I’ll donate them to a local charity.
ThredUp Shoe Rescue Box Review
The second Rescue Box I purchased was the shoe box. I ordered the box of 25 pairs. This box is normally $120. I purchased during a 15% off sale so I paid only $102 with free shipping.
I expected this box to take up to 2 weeks to ship. Instead, it arrived within 5 days.
Upon opening the box, I was really excited about two pairs in particular that I saw; Dr. Martens and Tory Burch.
I quickly sorted through the box separating those brands I recognized to be a possible good flip from those I had never heard of. These are the brands I received:
- Frye
- Kate Spade
- Tory Burch
- Stuart Weitzman
- Coach
- Betani
- Mila Paoli
- Attilio Guisti Leombrui
- Ann Taylor
- Toms
- BCBGMAXAZRIA
- Sam Edelman
- Sam Edelman
- Bandolino
- Everlane
- Dr. Martens
- Converse
- Cole Haan
- Cole Haan
- Vince Camuto
- XMM
- Mariagrazia Ripari
- A2 by Aerosoles
- Moda Spana
- MIA
Once I had my piles, I immediately started listing. I can best spot imperfections and damage under my photography lights. It’s easy enough to just snap a few pictures and save them as drafts while I’m looking them over. I was happy to see there were only a couple of really small sizes. Most were 7-8. Most were pretty clean as well. I set aside a few for a little scrub.
The two pair I was most excited about – Dr. Martens and Tory Burch – ended up being damaged. There was a slice in the sole of the Dr. Martens. The previous owner had cut the ankle strap off of the Tory Burch. I would have kept the Tory Burch sandals for myself, but sadly, they are too big. I’ll go ahead and donate those.
There were a few other pairs that were in good shape but weren’t appealing to me. From experience, I know that if I’m not excited about an item I won’t be motivated to list it. It’s good karma to spread the love around. I’ll donate those pairs.
All in all:
- Paid: $102
- Items Kept: 19
- Avg Price Per Kept Item: $5.37
- Listed For: $600+
Within two days, I was able to sell two pairs of shoes already for a total of $50. I’m on my way to covering my cost. Even on the off-chance I would only get 50% of my listed price on these shoes, I’ll still double my money after Poshmark fees. I’d definitely buy this box again.
If you want to try one out and are new to ThredUp, use my referral link to get $10 off your first purchase.
ThredUp DIY Denim Rescue Box Review
The third box I ordered was the DIY Denim Rescue Box. I ordered 30 pounds for $48. My box arrived within a week. It contained 34 items. Most of it was jeans, but there was also a jean jacket, a couple of skirts, a few pairs of shorts and a shirt.
As has been the case with these boxes, I got really excited about the first pair I pulled out – a pair of Rag & Bone jeans. And a size 29! As has been the case with these boxes, they were damaged. Bummer. It was a hole in the side of the knee and thinning in the seat. I wouldn’t have been comfortable selling them. Into the discard pile.
As for the rest, I kept 20 items and discarded 14. I didn’t notice a lot of damage. Most of the items I put in the donation pile were simply Target or Walmart brands. They wouldn’t be worth my time to list and store.
There were a few gems in what I kept, but most were bread and butter brands – things I’ll probably only get $15 to $20 for. Since my average price per item was about $2.40, even if I sell an item for $15 with $1.80 shipping discount I’m still earning $10.20. That’s almost $8 profit.
Here’s a rundown of the brands I kept:
- Furst of a Kind Jean Skirt (NWT)
- Tory Burch
- Old Navy – 3 pairs
- Indigo Rain
- J Crew
- Bullhead
- ZARA
- Blue Spice
- Eunina
- Gap – 2 pairs
- Levi’s – 2 pairs
- H & M
- Forever 21 Jean Jacket
- AE
- Eddie Bauer
- Vintage Polo
All in all:
- Paid: $46.79
- Items Kept: 20
- Avg Price Per Kept Item: $2.34
- Listed For: $500 +/-
I can definitely make my money back on this box even though these are not high-dollar items. I sell a lot of jeans, so I’m not intimidated by the listing process. There were a few pairs of men’s jeans in this box and those move pretty well for me as well. And, it’s all denim. It’s not too difficult to launder and store!
Final Words
As you can see, there are no guarantees. There will be both bad and good items in any Rescue Box. Your level of expectation and preferred brands will likely dictate your final opinion.
All in all, I would order a Rescue Box again if I would short on time and items in my closet. That being said, I still prefer being able to pick and choose what I’m paying for whenever possible.
ThredUp Discount Code
If you want to try one out and are new to ThredUp, use my referral link to get $10 off your first purchase.
