The site sells pre-loved items from top high street brands and designer labels, all for a fraction of the original price – but it’s not without its annoyances and writer Sophie Grubb shared her experience
The second-hand clothing market has experienced a revival in recent years, with shoppers turning to online apps or visiting charity shops and vintage markets. Some are rejecting fast fashion due to its environmental impact, while others are looking to save money amidst the cost of living crisis.
Sophie Grubb’s motivation is a combination of both, along with the excitement of finding a bargain – if she ever goes missing in a shop, you’ll likely find her rummaging through the sale rail without any shame. Bristol boasts some fantastic charity shops, so Sophie prefers browsing in-store rather than scrolling online, having thus far avoided downloading Vinted, Depop or any other second-hand marketplace platforms.
However, targeted advertising on social media seems frighteningly attuned to her tastes these days, and Sophie was drawn in when she saw a clip on Instagram promoting ‘pre-loved’ items from a place called Thrift Plus UK. She’d never heard of it before, but the influencer or model was tearing into a bag of stunning big-brand clothes with tags still attached, all priced at less than a fiver each.
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Sceptically, Sophie first checked out the reviews on TrustPilot, before venturing onto the site to understand why it’s so suspiciously cheap. Apparently, it was launched by its London founder in 2017, who was frustrated with fast fashion but recognised the reputation of second-hand as ‘fusty and dusty’, complete with blurry photos and slow service.
They brand themselves as ‘smartened-up second-hand’ – customers can bag up items to sell and they’ll handle the quality checks, photographing, listing, packaging and dispatch all from their warehouse, also offering free 30-day returns for buyers. They sift through the clothing to favour ‘top high street and designer brands’, adding their own Thrift+ tag so it even feels like buying new, reports Bristol Live.
Any items not accepted for sale will reportedly be donated to charity partners, with £1.5m listed as the amount raised so far. Reassured by this spiel, Sophie began browsing and was impressed to see that you can filter by brand. There’s a long list of familiar high street favourites like Zara, H&M, & Other Stories and Mango as well as high-end designer names including Gucci, YSL, Jimmy Choo and Versace.
There are (overwhelmingly) tens of thousands of items to explore but you can use the search tool if you’re after something specific, although she found that to be a bit glitchy. It was easy though to filter by product category, size and condition – you can even whittle it down to ‘brand new with tags’ if you’re worried about signs of wear.
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Some of the higher-end items Sophie spotted still seemed expensive, like £600 for a Chanel top, but she sorted price low-high and was met with literally thousands of items listed at £3.50. The photo quality was far better than you’d see on the likes of eBay, although with really dark or really light fabrics it was hard to make out the detail.
The descriptions she read didn’t provide much information, but Sophie had some success using Google Lens to search the photo and locate the original listing on the brand’s actual website, where she found the full description and even reviews (in the case of H&M). The Thrift listings do include the size, but she recommends checking against the pictures of the label, as some UK sizes seemed to be confused with US sizes.
Some items were also mislabelled, such as a playsuit listed as a dress or a mini skirt listed as a maxi skirt. Nonetheless, there were some incredible bargains. Sophie stumbled upon a dusky pink H&M maxi dress that looked like it was from their bridesmaid or occasion range, priced at just £4.30, or a lemon-yellow ASOS jacket perfect for spring at £3.50.
Sophie ended up ordering a £5 New Balance sports top, a £5 coatigan from Native Youth, a £5 playsuit from Next, a £4 Oasis shirt, a stunning beaded Zara dress for just £4, a Monki dress for £5 and a New Look playsuit for £3.50, plus £3.95 for delivery via Evri.
Funny enough, she admits that she got a bit carried away with the prices. Normally, Sophie would limit herself to just two or three items if she was buying new, as she’s not one for going on a big shopping spree.
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However, given that the clothes were second-hand and so affordable, Sophie felt less guilty about purchasing them. Her package arrived in the post after four days, and she was delighted to find all the neatly-folded clothes unpackaged inside when she opened it. Sophie absolutely detests the unnecessary plastic wrap you typically get with online clothing orders.
She was eager to try everything on but noticed a few disappointing details even as she was unpacking. Some of the beading was coming undone on the Zara dress, despite it being described as ‘like new’, and the coatigan felt bobbly rather than soft to the touch.
The gym top, however, was in pristine condition – she would have been over the moon if she’d found that in a charity shop for a fiver, considering that the brand’s tops usually sell new for around £30-£50. That was definitely a keeper, as was the Next playsuit which was also like-new and featured beautiful broderie embroidery perfect for summer, along with handy pockets. If she saw that new in store, she’d expect it to be priced at about £35-£40 given the quality of the fabric.
Sophie was fond of the Monki dress, but it didn’t quite fit her right, and the same went for the New Look playsuit, which also had a faulty adjuster on one of the straps. Sophie almost kept the shirt as well, but one of the button fastenings was slightly gaping due to wear – an issue that could easily be overlooked during quality checks unless you actually tried it on.
The returns process was straightforward enough, simply requiring a QR code download and a trip to a Post Office or Evri point, with the refund appearing in her bank account a few days later. While Sophie can’t speak for the experience as a seller, she’d certainly consider returning as a buyer if she wanted to update her wardrobe without resorting to the high street.
Although her choices were a bit of a mixed bag, this is a risk with any online purchase, given that you’re relying on a digital photo rather than something you can see, touch, and try on. Sophie still has a soft spot for charity shop trips for this reason, and she appreciates knowing that her money is going towards a good cause, but the vast selection means she’ll likely be tempted to go ‘thrifting’ more frequently. Primark shoppers are raving about the ‘retro’ pyjama range that is ‘very 70s’.
