Kids go through lots of clothes between the ages of 0 and 5, given how fast they’re growing. Rather than storing away the wardrobe items your little one has quickly grown out of or giving them away for free, wouldn’t it be great if you could easily earn cash for them?
Well, it turns out you can. My friend recently got rid of about a dozen articles of old toddler and women’s clothing, and she received $34 in return. No, she didn’t have a yard sale or sell the items on eBay.
Rather, she utilized a strategy for selling old clothes that took a lot less effort and that is today’s hint. Her tactic: she shipped the items off to the site thredUP, a 4-year-old site that buys and sells used women’s, maternity, juniors and kids’ pieces, as well as shoes and handbags, that are in “like-new condition.” ThredUp is offering a $100 credit to one lucky Hint Mama reader – more details below.
Here’s how you sell your gently used clothes, shoes and purses to the site: You order a thredUP “clean out bag,” fill it up with the articles you’d like to sell and then give the bag to your post office carrier or drop it off at the nearest FedEx office location, no payment required (the bag comes with a pre-paid, pre-addressed shipping label).
So how much can you get from thredUP for old items? According to the site, you can potentially receive up to 80% of the resale value, with payouts based on what the site expects to receive when it resells the item (accounting for the risk that the item might never sell).
My friend received anywhere from 30 cents to $3.50 for the 12-month, 18-month and 2T clothing items she sent in, with the payout depending on the item. For instance, she received 30 cents for a pair of Carter’s sweatpants (that later sold at $3.49) and $3.50 for a Baby Gap dress (that later sold at $11.99).
An added bonus of selling items through thredUP is that you can either opt to take the money you earn out via PayPal or you can apply any payouts you receive toward buying new clothing items from the site at prices up to 90% off retail. My friend, for instance, uses the money she earns to buy new, bigger clothes for her daughter. She recently spent $78 on 13 items, ranging from a $4.99 Carter’s top to an $11.49 Janie and Jack one-piece outfit.
To be sure, there are limits to what you can sell to the site. ThredUP doesn’t take certain brands (think Walmart, Kids Connection and Koala Kids, among many others), and items that have never been worn and still have price tags generally will result in higher payouts. In addition, items you send in that thredUP doesn’t accept go to charity or to textile recycling companies, or they can be mailed back to you for a shipping fee.
What do you do with old clothes your little one has grown out of and why? What are your tricks for turning old clothes into cash? Share your thoughts, and enter to win a $100 thredUp credit, below.
Enter to win a $100 credit to thredUP
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I just sent my first bag in full of old Vera Bradley bags 🙂 Hoping to make some money for it!
When my son grows out of his clothes, I either a) send the clothes to a younger family member or b) save them in a plastic tub. I haven’t sold any clothing yet, but we have a local kids consignment shop, I should drop some stuff off there!
I usually try to sell them on eBay if I have time…but usually they just stay in a bag in my closet until I have time to bring them to the goodwill 😉
I usually take them to my local Goodwill but for those items that are not in great shape I cut them up and use them as rags.
I don’t have any current tricks to make money from old clothes so I would love to try Thred up! Thank you so much for the recommendation.
I like to donate clothes my kids have outgrown to Goodwill or friends/family members that have kids who are younger!
I always take my son’s clothes to a local consignment shop. I buy a lot from thred up but haven’t ever sent anything in.
In the past I’ve sold to ThredUp, sold at yard sales, sold on Craigslist, passed on to friends and family, and anything that has stains on either get turned into cleaning rags or doll clothes. Currently, we sell all of my daughter’s clothes for pennies to a lady, who gives them to a set of triplet girls in her community.
With four kids, one income, and a very low clothing budget, I have to get very creative to keep the kids clothed, and reselling is one way of getting money back from the clothes to buy new (mostly used) clothes) for them…which is why we love ThredUp.
I do send children’s clothing items to thredUp. I’ve been very pleased with thredUp. They are very transparent in what they accept and what they will pay you for those items. ThredUp does not accept children’s clothing in sizes less than 12 months, so those go to other online consignment stores.
I usually sell my kids outgrown clothes at a twice-yearly consignment sale such as Just Between Friends and buy more new-to-you clothes there.
We donate them to goodwill, family, friends, or salvation army.
I try to sell my kid’s clothes that they have grown out of our just give them away to friends.
I have tried many different routes to make money on my kids’ old clothes. I found the most success with a semi-annual consignment sale. The only problem is I am not always patient enough to wait every 6 months to sell their clothes. I have also had luck with resale type stores, garage sales, and craigslist!
i sell or donate them
I usually donate, but it’s difficult because the clothes are in perfect condition, and we’re so hard up for cash so buying replacement clothes as she sizes up is so difficult. I like this idea.
i dont usually make money off of them. I save for hand-me-downs or give them to the thrift store.
I donate our used clothes to Goodwill or Savers.
Normally I give my kids out grown clothing to friends who have children that are younger/smaller than my own.
I’ve been mostly just donating to Salvation Army or handing the better clothes down to friends or family, but this is a great option!
I save a few special pieces (it was so special when he wore his daddy’s saved toddler clothes) for his child, and give away the rest, or sell them on facebook groups.
I sell on eBay and Craigslist to dispose of clothes that do not fit us anymore. But I usually look for friends who might need them first. We also donate to our local Goodwill.
– Karen
http://www.MrsLookingGood.com
So far, I’ve just been storing her old clothes in a bin. Some pieces that she never wore, I gave to friends and family. We plan on having more kids, so keeping most stuff for now.
my friends and I get together once every few months and bring all the clothes we don’t want anymore to someones house. We pick through each other things, try em on and go home with new and free items. the rest we take to goodwill.
When my daughter got older, we used her dresses as blouses. She was very tall and she grew quickly. This way we got more wear out of the outfits.
I sell some of my family’s used clothing at local consignment shops and some of the clothes I give away to the school or the Goodwill.
I have a nephew that is a year younger than my son so all outgrown clothes head right over to my brothers house.
I donate to a charity or give to friends who can use them.
I have looked into thred up and purchased from them, however, they don’t pay very much for items you send in. I make more on my used clothes by selling in a garage sale or local consignment shops.