Online Thrifting Platforms-A Guide and Goth's Resource #1
There are a plethora of online thrift stores to choose from when you're in an alternative and DIY ethos. Not all of them are created equal, and each platform has its differences that may cater to certain people. With numerous choices, misinformation, and scammers out there, I wanted to provide a guide that's easy to digest and helpful for those getting into alt fashion scenes.
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A Note About Alternative Fashion
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Traditionally, alternative fashion strays from consumerism. This means that people in alt subcultures tend to avoid shopping at large corporations, mainstream online retailers, and fast fashion outlets. Goth, and other music-based movements rely on DIY, second-hand, consignment, and thrift stores for the majority of their outfits.
1. ThredUp
ThredUp is the platform I personally use and purchase from. They've been around since 2009 and are headquartered in Oakland, California.
ThredUp is an app-based platform that allows users to buy and sell used clothing. They specialize in selling second-hand branded clothing at reduced prices. I'm going to giving them a brief evaluation based on four categories: price, quality, UI, and ethics.
Price
ThredUp tends to be on the expensive side. I'd expect this to be due to their Dynamic Pricing algorithm. Clothes usually range from $20-100. Designer brands usually retail at around $100-500.
(Regular Item Pricing)
(Luxury Item Pricing. Final Sale means that the item can't be returned.)
Quality
From my personal experience, the items I've purchased from ThredUp have been great quality. Though, I do research brand quality on consumer review sites like goodonyou.eco thegoodshoppingguide.com, and Reddit before buying.
Through product descriptions, sellers can indicate the condition of the product they're selling.
Conditions range from
Excellent--this item is practically new! It shows no obvious signs of being worn or washed.
Very Good--this item shows no major flaws. Due to being worn or washed, there may be light fading or pilling in areas such as the knees, seams, and hems. Hardware may also have light scratches.
Good--Item has clearly been worn but is still in good condition. There may be minor signs of wear such as small holes (maximum two), light pilling, fading, or stains. If an item arrives not in the condition we listed, please send our support team a chat! We want to make things right. (I personally would not consider garments like this to be in good condition, but you can use this rating index to ensure that the product you're purchasing is undamaged.)
as per their website.
Fabric materials are also listed, including percentages. Depending on the ingredients, you can determine whether or not your prospective garment is sustainable, durable, or a good price for the materials used.
(Natural doesn't neccessarily equate to sustainable.)
Sinosilk has a free fabric pricing guide, measured per yard. This may offer you some additional guidance on determining whether or not what you're buying is truly worth it!
User Interface (UI)
Positives
ThredUp has a distinctive pastel green and white UI, which is quite pleasing to the eyes! However, this is where most of my complaints come in!
so sorry this image didn't center
Sorting categories and buttons are very robust. You can easily filter by Size, Category, Brand, Color, Condition. There is also a tab that sorts by percentage discounts. It's very easy to find clothing on sale here!
Negatives
Unfortunately, the shopping tab is very cluttered. While they do have relevant filtering options, tags for clothing are often misrepresented, misused, and leveraged for SEO.
omg why is it aligned like that-
Another thing I don't like about the UI is the 2-hour shopping cart limit. If you put an item in your cart, you have 2 hours to buy it before it disappears from your cart. Once it disappears, it can be hard to find the item you wanted.
(I'm not actually buying these)
The platform also plays into the psychology of urgency. The ticking time limit creates anticipation, anxiety, rushing users to purchase. I dislike this design decision.
Ethics
Negatives
ThredUp raises some very pertinent ethical concerns. I already spoke about the dynamic pricing.
When looking to buy, you cannot see any information about an item's seller. Sourcing is anonymous, with the exception of the garment's brand. It's impossible to tell whether you're buying from a mass reseller, a family who's kids outgrew their clothes, or a person who's looking to downsize their closet. I have a MAJOR problem with this. Seller Details place credibility, transparency, and accountability, not just on the person selling, but on the platform where the commerce is taking place. Even Amazon utilizes this basic feature.
2. Sellers cannot choose the condition labels applied to their stock. These labels are automatically assigned based on product pictures. There have been cases of items being misrepresented as *Good Condition* even if the manufacturer's intent was to make them look distressed or worn. The credibility of these Condition Ratings have been called into question.
3. Sellers cannot choose the price their clothes retail for. Profit margins are low when selling on ThredUp, (about 10%) but thrifting shouldn't be a money-making venture in my opinion anyway. Still, giving people no control over their old products' price is not a consumer friendly practice.
4. Sizing descriptions are not always accurate. They are inconsistent at best.
Positives
ThredUp packages their garments in a biodegradable package. It's compostable.
Overall Rating
6/10
I hope I've provided some good insight on a lesser well known thrift site. As always, your decisions are your own and I would suggest doing your own research to find out more. I tried to research the best I could, and I hope my findings were helpful to you guys.
Next time, I'm going to cover Vinted next, which is a favorite among Tumblr's goth community (from what I've gathered talking to friends, moots, and acquaintances)
-THIS POST IS NOT SPONSORED.
-Black Bow Animation by @cheriisoda
-Written by SORDID
SOURCES
1. Thredup. “Secondhand Clothes. Firsthand Fun.” ThredUP, 2019, www.thredup.com/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025. 2. Wikipedia Contributors. “ThredUp.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 May 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThredUp. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
