Resale Site ThredUp Just Launched Luxury Consignment

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The online resale site ThredUp just debuted a new category for potential buyers and sellers: luxury consignment. Traditionally, ThredUp is the place you’d go to unload stuff from brands like J.Crew, Zara, Madewell, and Banana Republic. The new portal, called Luxe, launches today, and it’s for your more expensive stuff — think Prada shoes, a Louis Vuitton bag.

“We're seeing over 60,000 searches a week specifically for designer brands,” says Karen Clark, ThredUp’s head of marketing. “It's just been trending up and up.”

With luxury under its belt, Clark says the company is positioning itself as “from Gap to Gucci.” The idea is that users will be able to sell everything in their closets — work clothes and designer accessories — at the same time, in the same package, rather than having to bring their more expensive stuff to other consignment shops.

“Until now, there was really no place to resell both your mainstream brands as well as your designer brands,” says Clark. “That's the hole we're hoping to fill: a really convenient one-stop seller shop.” She adds that sellers will have the ability to set their own price before an item goes live and reclaim their items if they haven’t sold after 90 days. If your merchandise doesn’t meet the company’s quality standards when you send it in, it’ll be returned to you for free.

Luxe’s commission (which is what you receive after your item is sold) is quite high; the site offers up to 80 percent on consigned items, which Clark says is “really competitive for the space.” (Currently, The RealReal has its commission listed as up to 70 percent, as does Vestiaire Collective).

The bigger deal, though, is that buyers will earn 100 percent commission on what’s sold through Labor Day — the site isn’t taking a cut while it gets Luxe off the ground.

To test it out, you can request an invitation here. That's also where you'll find the important info, like how your stuff gets verified and, perhaps most importantly, how you'll get paid.

“We know that these are items that are very valuable and they're important to you, and you want to feel confident sending them into us,” says Clark, “so we eliminated the risk and worry around what happens to these items after you send them in.”

Worried about parting with your stuff? We recommend getting in touch with someone in the customer service department before you commit to talk through any lingering fears. And if you try it out and want to share your experience, we want to hear from you. Send an email to shopping@racked.com.