Let me first say, that I'm actually always grateful when you all weigh in on Facebook. I've said it before and I'll say it again, most companies would die to have the kind of fans and members we have - so seriously, thanks. Now…
Let me start with a little history.
We actually developed the idea for concierge about a year ago. Believe it or not, many parents wrote to us and said "I love the idea of thredUP and recycling, but the boxes are hard to build, I don't have the time. What else can I do?" After we heard that enough times, it occurred to us there might be a way for us to be more involved. But we waited...
Simultaneously, we were hearing (from a lot of you, too), that folks didn't love shopping by box because they couldn't get precisely what they wanted. This is how the "custom" box evolved. Sometimes you want to know exactly what you're getting. This is especially true with certain brands and items.
So we had two things going on, people who didn't want to build and send boxes and people who wanted to get specific items. We thought there had to be a way to complement the existing peer-to-peer service.
When we trialed concierge for the first time last Fall, I'll grant you we made some mistakes. We couldn't process the bags in time (it's actually quite a bit of work), we couldn't get people feedback on their bags and we didn't have the crediting system down precisely right. But this is how you learn, nothing ever happens in life perfectly. So we learned and adapted how the process needed to work. We needed to get faster, we needed to pay people differently (you now are paid by the item), we needed to get stricter on the types of items we could collect. Just like you, we don't want pilly, smelly, torn things!
Then we launched "Certified Boxes" as a test with these new items and it was mostly a big flop. People didn't want to pay the higher prices (they had to be higher because the cost structure was higher) because they couldn't see the items and there were plenty of good boxes from thredUP Members at lower prices.
It occurred to us that the real win here would be not to compete with member boxes (the swapping part of the platform), but to compliment it. What you'll see soon is an amazing marketplace of single items that you're going to want to buy at affordable prices, certified by thredUP. Photos and all.
Our intent was never to set out and deceive folks. We simply have evolved as a business and we believe wholeheartedly that where we're headed is the right direction. Swapping is still the core piece of what we do, we've merely added another component.
So now to address some issues that came up on Facebook:
1) Price paid per bag is variable. We took our methodology straight from some very successful used clothing stores and consignment boutiques. It's based on condition, brand, season, size, category. Our goal is to pay 20-30% of the likely selling price of the item - very similar to the way it works offline. I'm sorry that some of you disagree with our assessment of the value of your bag - but keep in mind that most resell shops do not accept mass market brands and do not accept baby clothing. This is the same reason that 0-12 mos boxes "sit forever" on thredUP. I wish it were different, because like you, I have tons of this stuff at home!
For those of you who were caught in any period of our transition, I am deeply apologetic. We probably screwed up. Please send us a detailed email at support@thredup.com and we can look into your particular situation.
One thing I can assure you: if you send us clothing in the sizes we accept in the brands we accept and it's clean and in good shape you're going to get a fair price. Period. A data point for you: the average price paid per bag is $17 in January...
A tradeoff you should know: we incur a lot more cost than your average consignment store in getting the clothing from you to us. The envelope, bag and postage is $3. The cost to pickup and ship the bag to us is roughly $15. So before we even see the clothing, we've paid $18. Then we have to sort it, catalog it, etc. But we think that works. Why? Because it's super easy for you. You get the bag, stuff the bag, put it on your porch. No driving cross town with kids in tow, no waiting at the resell shop, no being judged at the store, no having to figure out what to do with the stuff that doesn't sell. Again, we think it works, but it not might be for everyone.
2) Swapping is not going anywhere. In fact, it's about to take a big leap forward in the next few weeks with a sleek new mobile app and (shh: photo integration)
3) Our marketplace that we have not launched yet will have individual items with descriptions, quality photos and be priced affordably. You will be able to get a number of great items at a similar price to what you might pay for a box. Give it a chance.
Finally, a note about change…we know it's hard on you and we have always appreciated you all rolling with it. We do it with the best of intentions. The fact is we're people just like you trying to figure out how to create an amazing service. A service that lasts 50 years and meets the needs of families long after your kids and mine are all grown up and off to college. Do things have to evolve? Yes. Are we trying to make it better? Yes. Do we always get it right? No. But so far, we've helped folks exchange more than 2 million items and we think that's pretty cool.
I really do thank you for your support along the way.
I look forward to discussing more with you in the comments, I will do my best to keep up!
Best,
James
Co-Founder & CEO
thredUP
